Stink Blasters are a set of children's toy manufactured by Morrison Entertainment Group and distributed in thirty-one countries. The toys were first released in the early 2000s, and Series 2 was released in 2005. A series 3 is in development. The range consists of 24 collectable action figures per series, which release unpleasant odours when squeezed. However, the scents are not unbearably bad, but rather a mildly stinky scent, something that their target audience, young boys ages 5 and up, would love.
Contents
History
The dolls, which were inspired by the popular Breath Blasters from the 1980s, are three inches tall. They feature a hard, small plastic body and a large, hollow rubber head. When you lightly squeeze the head, a small hole, usually located near the mouth, emits a stench. The dolls can be squeezed over 30,000 times before losing their scents, ensuring efficiency. The toys were released to Chicago for test marketing, because it is "the windy city" and sold out in almost every major store. The toys were so successful, that it led to a nationwide rollout in February 2004, priced at $4.99 each so kids could buy them themselves. Soon, the toys were available in 34 countries.
Production
MEG has never explicitly described what goes into making the scents, because they are afraid of knock off brands. They have said that to make the scent formulas, they use about 95 percent polypropylene glycol (used most commonly as a moisture-carrying agent in cosmetics), and the last 5 percent are oils, food flavorings and extracts. Scientists carefully analyze the scents to match what they are supposed to smell like. Another important factor in the scents is the emission of cyclohexanone and toluene. Though the chemicals are naturally toxic, MEG is careful to use them at levels much lower than established permissible exposure limits, so they are safe. They make the formulas in laboratories in the United States, although the toys are produced in China. This is so because they want to control the quality of the toys. MEG is also careful not to include materials that one could be allergic to in the toys.
After a year of development, the company had an idea to make a town called Smellville, full of stinky children who had friends and nemeses and varying degrees of stink power. When the toys were packaged, each came with a plastic "stink containment unit" to store it in and to hide the smell. The "stink containment unit" also had a clip, so you could attach it to things for travel, and to avoid losing it. And, rather than simply names, designs and their distinctive scents, the toys also come with trading cards that go farther into their backstories. They are rated on their scents and are given a fictional biography, comically detailing their favorite foods and archenemies. This allows the toys to be more three-dimensional and relatable to kids, as they are not just a face, but a detailed character.
Availability
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. Stink Blasters released 200,000 units to the Czech Republic, but there was little success. Stink Blasters slowly became extinct. They achieved some more success in places like Italy and Australia. 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.
Series One
Stench Bros.
Veggies
Nature Crew
B.O. Boys
Breathers
Gasser Guys
Series Two
Breathers
Stench Bros.
The Dukes
Nature Crew
The Zoo Crew
Veggies
B.O. Boys
Gasser Guys
Series Three
A special Series III of Stink Blasters was produced for test markets, but never officially released. Most people do not even know that it exists and they are highly rare. They contain only 12 figures, and it is believed by the few who know about them that the series was never actually finished and was given up on due to declining sales or impracticality of the series.
The series was so small that, whereas the other two sets were divided into several groups, Series III was only divided into two groups. However, Series III did bring something new to the table, as 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.
Smellville's Finest This group focused entirely on the adults of Smellville, also a first for the series. The adults apparently stink like the children, despite having jobs.
So few people know about this "mini-series" that it is not even considered a part of the Stink Blasters continuity. The vice president of MEG Toys, Daniel Stenton, has announced it will make a companion line of figures, called Scent Stars, that will be girl dolls with pretty faces and pleasant scents such as roses, bubble gum, and cinnamon (season one and two were all grotesque-looking boy figures with disgusting scents), as Stenton, Vice President of MEG, 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. The Scent Stars line will be a new way of taking advantage of the Stink Blasters technology, by not only reaching a new audience, but using it for different scents.