Recently we were reminded of a favourite childhood toy we had from Mattel—a Boglin. First launched in 1985, they’ve sporadically returned over the decades to thrill kids.

And well, we want to bloody well reminisce about them! As they’re damn good fun and you need to know about the goblins.

What are Boglins?

Boglins are goblin-themed hand puppet thing that you can stick on your hand and make the thing come alive.

They came packing in arguably the greatest bit of kid’s toy packaging since time itself began.

The Boglin would be ensconced in a wee box, replete with bars on the front to ensure the little bastard couldn’t escape.

A great little touch there was that two of that bars were slightly bent, showing just how dangerously mischievous these things were! Alive! And demented!

Tim Clarke, Maureen Trotto, and Larry Mass created the series.

It launched back in 1987 over in that there America and the toys were a big hit over the next few years, soon sweeping across Europe (when we got our sweaty hands upon one).

They remained a hit until the mid-1990s, when (as with many fads like Magic Eye) the popularity began to wane. So, production rates dropped.

But before then, these toys made a lot of young people very happy.

We can’t quite remember the year we had one, but it would have been around the early 1990s for sure. 1992 or 1993.

And although our memory is hazy about it, what we do remember is absolutely loving the demonic beings. And that’s the fun thing about kid’s toys. Happy memories.

Boglins: The Re-Releases!

For some reason (perhaps in a drug crazed frenzy—although, please note, that’s probably not true) Mattel brought the series back in 2000.

This time out they introduced electronic versions with speech functions.

Others would spit water at you or stick out their tongues. The bloody impertinence of the blasted things!

17 years later (that means in 2017), the toys got another launch.

And as you can see in the video above, in late 2020 one of the creators (Tim Clarke) has begun a kickstarter campaign to get MORE Boglins out there!

So, if you’re desperate to see these things back out and about then feel free to hurl your money at this thing. Why? Because:

“For the first time the complete story of the 7 Bogs and the 7 Kings will be told! Fans of the original Boglins® will be excited to learn more about these lovable uglies. Anyone new to the Boglins® world will get to enjoy the fleshed out origins of these retro-collectibles. Donors will receive a Boglin® from the FIRST BATCH ever made in 2021. They can buy up to 8 Boglin® styles including the first 3 Kings, Blobkin and the glow in the dark Bog o Bones.”

Frankly, looking at those two final Boglins on the right we’d love to own them!

Now they come packing with an origins story for the first time, here’s hoping these little lunatics take over the bloody world! Rather.