Hideous Heat Wave

"Gross! Ghastly!"

Madballs were marketed like crazy and I've even listed some of the ludicrous items that were plastered with their ugly likeness in past posts. What we've got here are two very rare Madball items that were hunted down on two continents by two intrepid Madball hunters. Like Indiana Joneseses but for toys. And no one was trying to rip out anyone's heart.

Now, they may look like regular Madballs but these are actually Water Squirting Madballs! Much like the Euro minis or Squirt Devils, They're made from hollow rubber so you can fill them with water and then blast your unsuspecting nerdy friends in the face! Hopefully knocking their glasses to the side (not off, that would be mean). Both of these were loose when I got 'em but you can rub your slimey eyeballs all over the packaging here.

The first one is Screamin' Meemie and was brought to me from South Africa by Justin of Weirdo Toys (see? monster ball adventurers!). The material allows for greater detail, a better paint job, and greater size! They're different sculpts and I'm not sure of TCFC did the modelling or if someone else did (these were farmed out by American Greetings to Arco), but whoever it was did a great job.

You can see a bit of the detail in the mouth here along with the hole for water blasting. The "rump" shows the detail of the stitches as well as how you fill these guys up. You pull that little tab to remove the plug and it has a "T" shaped piece of plastic on the other side to prevent it from falling out (like a squirt gun).

Screamin' Meemie's a very streamlined Madball but even so, his eyes look buggier, his mouth more realistic and his nose more Groucho on the Arco version.
This Slobulus was spotted in a lot of 4 Madballs on Ebay by yours truly. I know, not as exciting as a South African flea market hunt but still. The seller didn't know what they had and no one else seemed to notice or care. But this is where the Waters Squirters really shine. Their version of Slobulus is much bigger than his foam counterpart and painted so much better! There's even details that weren't there at all on the first. Like the bugs on his face and those awful puckered ears!
The eye socket really really grosses me out on this one. The way the tendons lay really makes me think of an actual eye hanging out! The retina's and pupils are actually raised on each eye creating a layered effect. And the bugs...oh the bugs....The one in his hair is present in both renditions but the one on his face is a formless bump in the original. Here its got a head, legs, antenna and spots!

In conclusion, buy these if you can! But don't buy Oculus Orbus because he's the only one I'm missing. So, just tell me if you see him. Yeah, the high detail in sculpt and paint, bigger size, and durability of these make them some of my favorite Madball products of all time. And you can blast bullies in the face when they try to shove you in a locker!

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UPDATE!

Thanks to an amazing reader of this blog and fellow collector, I've completed my Water Squirter Collection! Josh from Australia mailed me this dude for free!

You can see the difference in paint detail and fortitude. The plastic of the Water Squirter takes to the paint much better and holds up over time without rubs or chipping. Granted, my Oculus Orbus has seen better days (if you have a mint one, I'm in the market) but the water dudes are just crisper even without wear and tear.

Thanks again Josh!