Stink Blasters are a children's toy line manufactured by

Morrison Entertainment Group Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...

and distributed in thirty-four countries. The toys were first released in the early 2000s, with Series 2 released in 2005 and a limited-release Series 3. The original line consisted of 24 collectable

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...

s per each of the two series, which release unpleasant odors when squeezed. In 2024 they were relaunched with a small collection.

Characteristics

The dolls are three-inch figures of "grungy" boy characters with cartoonishly grotesque faces. They feature a hard, small plastic body and a large, hollow rubber head. When the head is lightly squeezed, a small hole, usually located near the mouth, emits a stench. According to the producer, the dolls could be squeezed over 30,000 times before losing their scents. MEG has never explicitly described what goes into making the scents, citing fear of knock off brands. According to the company, the scent formulas were about 95 percent

polypropylene glycol Polypropylene glycol or polypropylene oxide is the polymer (or macromolecule) of propylene glycol. Chemically it is a polyether, and, more generally speaking, it's a polyalkylene glycol (PAG) H S Code 3907.2000. The term polypropylene glycol or PPG ...

, and 5 percent oils, food flavorings and extracts. The emission of toxic

cyclohexanone Cyclohexanone is the organic compound with the formula (CH2)5CO. The molecule consists of six-carbon cyclic molecule with a ketone functional group. This colorless oily liquid has a sweet odor reminiscent of benzaldehyde. Over time, samples of ...

and

toluene Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon with the chemical formula , often abbreviated as , where Ph stands for the phenyl group. It is a colorless, water Water is an inorganic compound with the c ...

from the toys was kept at levels much lower than established permissible exposure limits, so they are safe. The formulas were made in laboratories in the United States, while the toys were produced in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. MEG is also careful not to include materials that one could be allergic to in the toys. When the toys were packaged, each came with a plastic "stink containment unit" with a clip to attach it to things for travel, and to avoid losing it. Stink Blasters also came with trading cards that went farther into their backstories, giving them a biography and details on favorite foods and archenemies. The toys were released with suggested price $4.99, intended for children to afford them with their own allowance money.

History

The toys were first released in 31 countries outside of the United States. In United States, they were first introduced to Chicago in 2003 for test marketing and sold out in almost every major store. The toys were so successful, that it led to a nationwide rollout in February 2004. These dolls were once a popular toy in the United States. After a few years, however, they slowly disappeared off the market, as the demand for them had slowly declined. They were re-released several years later in the United Kingdom, with some limited success, however, not nearly to the levels once had in America. They achieved some more success in places like

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Toy collectors try to find the rare toys, which have begun to fetch high prices. They can be found on online auctions, from places such as Europe, as they have nearly fallen into obscurity in the states.

Toys

Series One

Stench Bros. * Garbage Truck Chuck * Barfin' Ben * Porta Potty Paul * Tony Anchovy Veggies * Garlic Gus * Broccoli Bill * Cauliflower Carl * Blue Cheese Charlie Nature Crew * Cow Pie Pete * Skunk Punk * Pig Boy * Matty Manure B.O. Boys * B.O. Brian * Toe Jam Jimmy * Sweat Sox Sammy * Rotten Egg Reggie Breathers * Dog Breath Danny * Fish Mouth Fred * Lizard Lips Lenny * Monster Mouth Gasser Guys * The Master Blaster * Burpin' Buddy * Butt Breath Bob * The Silent Gasser

Series Two

Breathers * Toxic Tyler * Spewy Huey Stench Bros. * Chill E. Dawg Joey * Never Wash Nick The Dukes * The Duke of Puke * Pizza Face Pat * Oil Slick Rick * Dude Boy Doug * Clammy Cliff * Dandy Doo Dave Nature Crew * Rankin' Ryan * Wart Hog Henry The Zoo Crew * Rat Boy Rob * Vinnie the Vulture * Elephant Drop Eric * Zoo Boy Zach * Camel Mouth Chris * Monkey Cage Mike Veggies * Jurassic Josh * Rotten Onion Ollie B.O. Boys * Ear Wax Max * Armpit Andy Gasser Guys * Fartasaurus Frank * Billy Bob Booger

Series Three

A special Series III of Stink Blasters was produced for test markets. In Series III each figure had its own accessory, which had a scent of its own. The Band This group revolved entirely around musicians, one of which was a girl, a first for the series. Skunk Punk, the apparent guitarist of the band, was used in Series I. * Smooth Sounding Sammy * DD Drum Boy * Sweet Lips Suzie * Skunk Punk (previously appeared in Series I) * G Tar Garry * Agent Boy Arnie Smellville's Finest This group focused entirely on the adults of Smellville, also a first for the series. * Principal Prickly * Detective Ratzzo * Poppa Anchovy * Mayor Poochie * Chef Grimee * Coach Grunge

Scent Stars

Scent Stars was a companion line of toys, featuring female dolls with pretty faces and pleasant scents (such as roses, bubble gum, and cinnamon). Vice president of MEG, Daniel Stenton has stated that girls, the target audience of the series, "would not be interested in nasty things", and that "nobody would want to buy a bad smelling female doll, as girls are not known for being grungy". First series consisted of 12 dolls (named Lizzy, Maggie, Olivia, Cindy, Kate, Cookie, Jordy, Trisha, Vanessa, Lily, BeeBee and Jamie), with smaller version of them released as "wearable Scent Stars". Designs of next 12 dolls for series 2 were proposed during release of series 1, and later in some countries a series consisting of 6 of them (Tess, Natalie, Jillian, Courtney, Lucy and Alyssa) was sold.

External links

* Photos of the toys: http://www.virtualtoychest.com/s/stinkblasters/stinkblasters.html

References

{{reflist Toy characters Action figures 2000s toys