It’s Okay To Get These Gremlins Wet – Make My Monsters Grow!!
One of my favourite movies since childhood is Gremlins. It appealed to me on a little monsters level then, and on many more levels now. It’s a dark holiday comedy that plays its horror card well and its tongue-in-cheek card just as well. So I love Gremlins. I also love vintage toys, not exactly a unique combination :P. Recently I was gifted something that captured both sides of this coin…
WHOAAAAAAAA! Don't feed them after midnight!!!
Water growing Gremlins! Yes, violating one of the three cardinal rules that were laid out in that very movie! These water growing toys are a bit of a nostalgia trip, period. I remember having them now and then – the first of which was a green crocodile which grew to huge proportions. So why don’t we see how these Gremlins fare?
Ultra Super Disclaimer for the more pedantic collector: This was a gift given to me with the INTENTION to open and grow them and be a nostalgia trip in general. So don’t freak over me opening this up, I need to honour the spirit of the gift.
Packaging:
But first, let’s take a look at the packaging. Lovely Gremlin of art of my main man Stripe. Lots of cool little details, clean art, and to the point.
Stripe AND Gizmo!Uh-oh, LJN? All of those short-breathed red-faced people who scream and curse on Youtube will be VERY upset, ha ha.I should mention that the glue has turned and the plastic had separated from the cardboard. So I was worried about the viability of these growers.500% Larger is a bold claim.Visual instructions. So they don't actually hatch in water.
The Contents
Gizmo's Figure is very lumpy and lacking distinction.Stripe is more detailed, possibly beause he has more distinct features than a mogwai. Still, these are water growers - the detail is going to be understated.The Storage Pod is the most detailed because.... well because it's plastic and doesn't change sizes.It opens in the middle to store the growers when they are at small size... I don't think there's quite enough room. I'd say a kid is more apt to hold onto this than the growers themselves (which might deteriorate with repeated use).Here's a measurement of Stripe.
Here’s a measurement of Gizmo.
In The Water
1 Hour in. Bubbles forming, but no growth yet.Two hours in. Starting to puff...Four hours in, significant growth.12 Hours in. From When I could check these (hours 8-12 I was available) there was very little change. So I left them overnight...
But they had grown quite a bit by 24 hours. Gizmo kind of looks like he's made of corn pops, yeah?!
Aftermath
Stripe Broke 4 inches by 24 hours. I don't know if these dudes were 500% larger - certainly not in height. But possibly in volume? Perhaps I should have done some displacement tests in retrospect!Gizmo was around 2.5 inches. Again, these didn't seem to grow as much as others in my experience. But they did get to grow from minifig/capsule toy size to standard "GI Joe" size. So that's cool.Comparison shot with the storage pod.You can shrink these things by laying them on a sheet of wax paper with a thin coat of petroleum jelly. Gizmo dried out, but looks a little worse for wear. I suppose a dip back in the water would sort him out.Stripe was more mishapen than Gizmo, however. I think this is because his parts could reposition during growth and he had more protrusions to act upon.
So that’s that – they could still grow! And now I will put them somewhere very safe – and probably not in the Storage Pod (which if anything is displayed, it will be the pod). This was a great nostalgic trip for me, and it was a load of fun to grow these kinds of toys again. But… I violated one of the cardinal rules of the Gremlins… where are the offspring. Oh… they’re… stay away…. no… noo… NOOO!
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2 Replies to “It’s Okay To Get These Gremlins Wet – Make My Monsters Grow!!”
Gremlins is a classic.
Not a huge difference in size between dry and wet, but they did grow a bit, so… still a success!
Yeah, if I wanted to be really scientific about this I would need a beaker to measure volume as well as a pack of these things where the glue has not started to give away – because who knows what has effected these in almost 30 years?
But they did grow, they did feel gross and slimy, and they are Gremlins. So all in all, thummer up!
Gremlins is a classic.
Not a huge difference in size between dry and wet, but they did grow a bit, so… still a success!
Yeah, if I wanted to be really scientific about this I would need a beaker to measure volume as well as a pack of these things where the glue has not started to give away – because who knows what has effected these in almost 30 years?
But they did grow, they did feel gross and slimy, and they are Gremlins. So all in all, thummer up!