Griffins - A "Gargoyles" knockoff

[runamuckduck]

I am trying to find pictures or any information on a line from the 1990s called GRIFFINS. The only thing I know is that it is NOT the Gargoyles toy line made by Kenner. I have seen it mentioned but I have no idea what they look like. Any info would be appreciated!

[bowspearer]

I came up with nothing sorry, google is swamped with Aus TF forum posts, VTC has a listing but no section and ebay had nothing relevant for them. The closest I got was a minatures game called "Griffins of Akkylanie".

[muckmonster87]

found this guy at a thrift shop today, and kinda fell in love. hard plastic body, rubber limbs and head that pop off and reattach easily. no markings except made in china. about 4 inches tall, missing wings and a tail. he works great with dragonriders fgures i think. anyone ever seen him or others like him before?

[countzackula]

Never saw him...BUT...did you ever see that gargoyle movie from the 70s? I think it was simply called "Gargoyles". Is it possible they made toys from that?! Kinda looks like the head gargoyle from that flick...been a while since I've seen that gem. If anyone can verify that toys were made from that old movie, I'd freak! Of course, could be some generic, unlicensed tie-in as I don't think that movie was any type of blockbuster.

[muckmonster87]

ha i've never seen it, but i don't think that's what it's from. i thought that he looks kind of similar to the gargoyle protector figures. a knockoff of a knockoff perhaps?

[countzackula]

"They" did make some kinda 4 inch scale Gargoyles knock offs back in the 90s. I remember them in KayBee. I believe they came in multi-packs and large semi-plush figures. They were pretty brightly colored and not this detailed though. I tried asking about 'em a while back and never got a response. They MIGHT have been called City Protector...but am not sure.
This guy just puzzles me. It'd be really nice to find out what he's from AND if they made a whole line of figures or not. That would be awesome!

[runamuckduck]

He is from a line called Griffins! I have a boxed example lying around somewhere. ANYWAY, they were sold under that name at K-Mart. The gimmick was that humans were able to transform into griffins, so you could switch out their heads, arms, torsos, etc.

The back of the box shows a HUGE series, but I've only seen the one I have and this example out in the wild, so to speak.

[muckmonster87]

countzackula- i know the line you mean, i've had a few before but always end up getting rid of them. i've had a purple and blue one for sure.

runamuckduck- thanks so much! i'd love to see a pic of the figure you have and the back of the box. i've actually heard of that line, but never seen anything from it.

[countzackula]

Wow...neat...never heard of "Griffins" before...what year (or at least decade) were they released?
Now I'm jonesin' to see more of these things!

[muckmonster87]

if i remember correctly they're from the early 90s oddly enough

[runamuckduck]

They're from right around when Gargoyles were out, about 1994 or 1995, according to the box.

[Grizzlor Adams]

This probably isn't much help, but a couple Griffins 2 packs have popped up on ebay a couple times over the last few years. They're pretty neat. Kinda like a Socket Poppers/Gargoyles amalgamation of sorts.

[countzackula]

Yeah, been trying to look for 'em since I heard of them. What I found...is a whole lotta nuthin', that's what...ARGH! Unless you want role playing game figurines or Family guy figures, looks like it's gonna be a real waiting game. I just can't believe I never saw nor heard of them before.

[daltron]

I have one in the box.

[countzackula]

Wow...I cannot believe I never saw these in store...I wonder if they were only at K-Mart or not. Freakin' awesome, though...love seeing "undiscovered" obscure toys come to light! Any chance we can get a peek at the back of the package?

[muckmonster87]

wow that devil is AMAZING. i've heard they were kmart exclusives. would love to collect all the monsters from this line.

[daltron]

Apr 8, 2011 3:43:10 GMT -6 countzackula said:

Wow...I cannot believe I never saw these in store...I wonder if they were only at K-Mart or not. Freakin' awesome, though...love seeing "undiscovered" obscure toys come to light! Any chance we can get a peek at the back of the package?

Maybe later.

[victoryleo19]

I would be greatly interested in seeiing the back also! Thanks so much for that pic!

[daltron]

I can't find the Griffin, but did find this other weird Gargoyle KO that I have.

[muckmonster87]

i've come across those gargoyles in all kinds of sizes and colors.

[countzackula]

Wow, what an awesome set! Never saw those before...what scale are they?

There's still this one type of Gargoyles knock off I'm jonesin' to at least see a photo of...I know they sold 'em at KB Toys in the USA. They had more articulation and were in 3 3/4inch scale...I don't think they had weapons and I believe the main colors of the package were a mix of oranges and yellows...they also made plush large figures with plastic or rubber heads...help! I know someone out there has a pic!!!

[daltron]

Apr 11, 2011 14:47:31 GMT -6 countzackula said:

Wow, what an awesome set! Never saw those before...what scale are they?

There's still this one type of Gargoyles knock off I'm jonesin' to at least see a photo of...I know they sold 'em at KB Toys in the USA. They had more articulation and were in 3 3/4inch scale...I don't think they had weapons and I believe the main colors of the package were a mix of oranges and yellows...they also made plush large figures with plastic or rubber heads...help! I know someone out there has a pic!!!

They are around 2 or 3 inches tall.
Sorry I've got nothing on your unknown 3 3/4 line. Sounds pretty sweet though.

[bowheadwhale]

I think they look even better than the "actual" Grgoyles line! In fact, those look like REAL gargoyles, while Goliath and Demona feature th same clichés (male with big chin and huge muscles, female with extra long legs and lipstick) we see everywhere else. Those knock-offs look a lot more authentic to me!

[countzackula]

Been a while since this thread was revisited...I can't believe no one elaborated sooner! Well...actually, I can...BUUUUT...here!



I actually have the very two-pack Daltron posted long ago (won it off of him...hee hee!). Just snagged three more sets for cheap not too long ago and was stoked to the max about it! All that time spent wading through sports collectibles with athletes whose last name is "Griffin", Family guy toys, and plastic Schleich monsters has finally, FINALLY paid off threefold!

I coulda SWORE I posted the back of this thing as soon as I won it, but I guess I did not...here it is. Seems the responsibility is now in my hands.





Gotta love that back story, huh?

As you can (hopefully) see, made in 1995 by Formative International for KMart stores. Just click on my little pics...you can see a bigger version...I ain't re-typin' that back story!

The spread of characters is indeed impressive. I just wonder if they all got made. Funny that they only show the griffins and not the humans...well, I guess 'cause they are technically the same if you follow the origin. Speaking of which...pfffft *snrkkk*...God! I cannot read that with a straight face. What numbnutz wrote that? Either it has a blaring spelling error or the person who researched it was a simp. I mean, I know a tad about that kinda stuff. I'm no history nut, but I always loved mythology and such. I guess the rough date is somewhat accurate. I'm also almost positive that ziggurats were solid and actually the temples were atop them...since they were essentially man-made mountains. I don't think ziggurats...or these "ziggutats" held treasure INSIDE of them. Also, these creatures are clearly not griffins...demons, maybe. Gargoyles, maybe. Griffins? Nope. I also don't think people back then had well-combed hair either but I'm not damn historian. I'm getting too geeky, I suppose.

Before I yammer about the toys themselves, here are some nice shots of the figures freed of their ancient prisons of paper and plastic. Enjoy!










You know...I'm beginning to think these guys were like the first Stone Masons, eh? Obviously! So...anyone in the Masons...can TRANSFORM INTO A GRIFFIN?!?! Sweeeeet! I want in! Where's the nearest lodge? I've exposed your true secrets! All the grand wizards and and imperial cyclops can't stop me now! I'm onto you!

There appears to be at least three main body types/sculpts, with each figure mold in four colors (red, grey, green, and blue). You can see all the griffins on the package back to (more or less) prove it, but the human characters? Inconclusive. The human bodies are all the same, only the heads and armor are different. I have two head sculpts, and the one is done up in two different hair colors. I have two armor styles. We'll hafta see...in time, I suppose.

You can remove the humans' armor. According to the crude directions right on the package, you are meant to be able to "transform" the humans into griffins. Ehhhh, no. You don't really do anything to transform them. You just kinda take the griffin body apart just to, um, but the human torso within the slightly larger griffin torso and put it back together. Why? Extra work? I dunno. What's really sad is that you cannot mix and match the human and griffin body components. These ain't Socket Poppers, kids. The torso parts are plastic and the rest of the limbs are rubbery. The parts come off very easily. It seems the manufacturer even dropped a smidge of glue to keep the Griffins intact in the box! Not as crappy as you might think, though. I'm probably being too dramatic. You CAN mix body parts griffin to griffin or human to human if you so desire. Oh, and I desire alright.




Such desires...such desires, indeed...look at those poor abominations! What have I wrought?! Who can stop 'em? (Earth Corps., I hope......)

Here's a kind of crappy comparison shot with the completely unrelated Jasmen brand Gargoyles knock offs. I like to pretend they're like the servant class of the Griffins, maybe. The temples at Uruk need more guardians...more, I say! The Fertile Crescent needs it's chick pea crops to survive, or no hummus for us!



So fertile!

Oh, before I forget...figured I'd show a spread of the parts...the figures disassembled.



You can (hopefully) see that the pegs and sockets are clearly different sizes on the two figure types, and therefore incompatible for mash-ups. Dang.

Another reason I like...no, LOVE these fellas? Aside from being a cool Gargoyles knock off, they are very size compatible with MotU knock offs of the mini variety! Yo ho!



Hotza mama! Epic battles in the Fertile Croissant tonight! Treasures of Those Lost Temples? Try "Treasures of those Lost Ziggutats"! Come to think of it, why has no one ever made a move to make Gilgamesh action figures? C'mon...Enkidu, Humbaba, scorpion men...why not? I should do a Kickstarter for them, huh? Too much work. I'll hafta pretend with these.

[funkyterrance]

Thanks count for the extensive post, I like to learn about toy lines and not many people would show them broken down like that and stuff, much appreciated .