Rocks, Bugs & Things KNOCK OFFS?!

[countzackula]

Recognize these? If not, then don't worry...

In case you didn't know, Rocks, Bugs & Things was a toy line made by Ideal in the 80s. Basically, they were rock and bug monsters which ate...uh...things! Yessir.

The bugs were unscientific looking but based of of real insects or arachnids. Squeeze or push their abdomens and a secondary monster face would be revealed and a capture feature would be activated for grasping prey.
The rocks weren't as cool...'cause they looked like plastic rocks until you unleashed their hidden horror. Press the button or lever and they transformed into monster mode , ready to nab prey.
The prey (or things) were called Mordles...little day-glo colored impish bipeds. These guys are often sought after by collectors of "little-rubber-guy" lovers.

I had one of the bugs as a kid (Evil Beetle) and one of my brothers had a rock (GravelGuts). They were cool, but without a show the line became a gem of obscurity. I recovered an Evil Beetle and a Blooderfly via eBay in recent times but ended up reselling them...nuts! These guys are hard to find and depending...expensive!

Well, I saw a sample of the scorpion knock off of Scarepion years ago and filed it away in the "neat stuff to know" corner of my mind. I stumbled across a lot of monster toys on eBay not too long ago and what the heck?!?! Holy cow! A knock off Scarepion and Terrorantula?!!!! What are the odds! The real things alone are hard enough to find! I was lucky to win the lot but at a hefty monetary cost. I'm glad 'cause these are awesome. They are about the same size as the real RB&T figures even though I currently own none to compare side by side. They are solid vinyl with hollow, squeezable bodies and a heavy duty squeaker inbedded...drove my dog nuts with 'em! Like I said, solid...no moving parts...they are sculpted as if their action features were activated showing their monster faces. Interestingly enough, their eyes are tiny little googily eyes...the kind you'd buy in a craft store...but not just haphazardly glued on, but embedded into the eye areas.

[countzackula]

So, now you're wondering about markings...manufacturer...stamps? Here you are:

It's hard to see, but here is my crude, enlarged drawing of the stamp...a six-pointed star with a weird "H" with a "S" through it...surrounded by the words "made in Hong Kong".
Well, anybody hear of this company? Anybody have any other toys or products with this sigil on it? Do any other RB&T knock offs exist, and if so can you post pics?

Hmmm, I wonder if they made knock offs of the rocks....ehhhh, doubt it (but you may never know).

[muckmonster87]

thanks for finally posting this! such a rare find, i'm glad if someone was gonn get them instead of me, it was you!

[ryan0001]

Congrats! The only other time I've seen the knock-offs, it was of these same two characters.

[jongernaut]

That is the strangest symbol.

[Ebessan]

Appreciate the pics on these. I bid for the yellow/orange lobster, he looks like a bug f*cked a comic strip character. Didn't even notice the googly eyes originally, makes 'em even cooler.

Edit: meant lobster not scorpion.

[Ebessan]

If I may ask countzackula, what's the scale of these compared to Imperials?

[muckmonster87]

i realized i have some jigglers with that symbol. i'll try to find em.

[countzackula]

I actually found a picture, somewhere on somebody's website of the Scarepion KO doen in the Terrorantula KO's color scheme...AHA! I figured they'd go that route. Too bad I forgot where I saw it...didn't wanna mention it 'til I had proof...I'll hafta see if I can find it again.

[countzackula]

HALLELUJAH!!! Looky what I gots...and for less than two bucks (plus shipping).



Another color scheme of the fake Scarepion! The only other alternate color I've seen of these...although I've seen this guy here with more red paint apps on him. You can see what I believe are traces of red paint around the inner face area...unless it was used as a murder weapon and it's really just dried blood...*shudder*...bludgeoned to death with a rubber bug monster...horrible way to go!

Anyway, another twist in this case...turned this guy over and he doesn't have that strange "mystical" symbol the other two have, but instead a MADE IN CHINA stamp over where the star thingie is on the others! Did that company change its name or is this a re-bootleg? You decide!

[josha]

I love your posts. Always fun to read.

[bowheadwhale]

If this green fake "Scarepion" is marked "Made in China" instead of "Made in Hong Kong", it simply means it is more recent than the orange-red one. You see, Hong Kong doesn't belong to Great Britain anymore, but to China. So, we will never see new "Made in Hong Kong" toys anymore.