#50: K'Nex Super Mario Series 2 - Dry Bones

In my original attempt to buy the Dry Bones, I inadvertently ended up with another Mario (I'm not planning to keep it, as it's a duplicate, and thus gets no entry on the blog). If I remember correctly, the Dry Bones was first introduced in Super Mario World, the first 16 bit Mario game. As members of the undead, you couldn't kill them. You could jump on them and make their bodies fall apart, but they'd pull together and come back for more after a bit of downtime. Does the Mushroom Kingdom have some sort of zombie problem? I can't really think of any other undead characters Mario has had to face. There were also those Koopa wizards in the game, did they create the zombified Koopa Troopas? What is really going on in the Mushroom Kingdom?

Anyway, the packaging has an easy way to identify which figure is which. There is a number printed on the back, with one digit underline. Dry Bones has the fourth digit underlined. For example: 0513119.

#45: K'Nex Super Mario Series 2 - Shy Guy

First appearing in Super Mario Bros. 2, the Shy Guy has proven popular enough to transcend Mario's dreams and make it into the wider Super Mario universe. There's something I really like about the design of tiny guys in cloaks with slightly shocked looking masks. There's also a certain ridiculousness to the Shy Guy, he'll just keep walking back and forth, even if you're standing on his head. Finding him in the package is easy, as his lower torso is a separate piece, so you just have to feel for a perfectly round piece. His arms and feet are also packaged separately, so feeling for small loose pieces will help as well. The packaging has an easy way to identify which figure is which. There is a number printed on the back, with one digit underline. Shy Guy has the sixth digit underlined. For example: 0513119.

#44: K'Nex Super Mario Series 2 - Koopa Paratroopa

Next in the batch of Super Mario K'Nex figures is the Koopa Paratroopa, one of the classic enemies of Mario. Befitting a character that does nothing more than floating back and forth in a tightly proscribed pattern, the Koopa Paratroopa has a rather vacant expression on his face. The wings aren't articulated, but they are a fairly soft plastic, so I suppose you could put the shell in boiling water and reset their position if you were so inclined. The wings are what makes the Koopa Paratroopa rather easy to find by touch alone. The packaging has an easy way to identify which figure is which. There is a number printed on the back, with one digit underline. Koopa Paratroopa has the fifth digit underlined. For example: 0513119.

#43: K'Nex Super Mario Series 2 - Wario

K'Nex has done another series of blind packed minifigures, and they finally released one of the characters I've been waiting for: Wario. With his extra wide physique, he's completely new parts. Thanks to the parts being wrapped in tissue in the packaging, using the touch method to find what you want is a bit more iffy than with the LEGO series. His body being extra wide helps. Fortunately, there is a very easily determined number code on the back of the packaging that indicates what inside, if you know how to read it. There is a number printed on the back, with one digit underline. Wario has the second digit underlined. For example: 0513119.

#13: K'Nex New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Princess Peach

There's a second series of blindpacked K'Nex figures, this time based on New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii. Mostly it's repaints of Mario (Fire Mario is probably the only one I'm even kind of interested in), Luigi, Yoshi, and Toad, but there's one completely new character, Princess Peach. Or Princess Toadstool as she was known when I was a kid. I can see why they might want to change her name to something more attractive sounding, but as a princess in the Mushroom Kingdom, Toadstool makes sense. Anyway, Peach is the only new character in the series, and she's a completely new figure. She comes in three pieces: skirt, upper body, and head. She's easy to find in the package because the skirt is such a large piece. Now bring on Wario! Thanks to James for finding this for me.

PLEASE SELECT PLAYER

#81: K'Nex Mario Kart Wii - Donkey Kong

Except for Yoshi and Diddy Kong, which I have no intentions of acquiring, I've got all the K'Nex Mario Kart Wii minifigures. I'm hoping they expand the lineup with Peach and Wario. And Birdo! But for now, Donkey Kong will round out the collection. I'm glad to finally have the Donkey Kong minifigure, because he's such an important part of the Super Mario universe, predating all the Mushroom Kingdom stuff. He's been there from the beginning, throwing barrels at Mario on construction sites. I'm aware that supposedly the original Donkey Kong is Cranky Kong, and this version of Donkey Kong is a different character, but I choose to ignore that. In my head, only one Donkey Kong is necessary. It's great that the K'Nex minifigures all get mostly unique bodies, because all the different body types wouldn't work well for a LEGO style minifigure. So DK gets the short legs and wide body that he needs, complete with slightly hunched posture. Unfortunately, that means his head doesn't turn, but it's not too big a deal for me. Donkey Kong is part of the blindpacked series, but since the pieces are all wrapped in tissue paper within the packaging, using the touch method to identify the figures is a little more difficult than with the LEGO counterparts. Fortunately, there is an easy way of identifying which figure is in each package. Per the OAFE blog post on the subject, there is a series of numbers on the back, and Donkey Kong is in the package with the fifth number underlined. Neat. Happy hunting!

An embarrassing moment at the costume party

#62: K'Nex Mario Kart Wii - Toad

For a while now, K'Nex has had the minifigures for Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Bowser available and labeled as such on the packaging. Now they've started blindpacking figures and have expanded the character selection to include Toad, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong. I was hoping to get Toad and Donkey Kong, but ended up with Toad and Yoshi. So here's Toad! He's easy to find because of his big round hat. Also, printed on the back of the figures is a series of numbers with one underlined, which seems to correspond to which figure is inside. Toad's underlined number is 6. This is based on a sample size of two, so your mileage may vary. He's like the other figures, but has the same size arms, so they look oversized for him.

Here's a cheery idea for you. What if the Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants buried their dead in ? blocks? Kind of like the Egyptians buried their dead with their wealth, so that's why a lot of ? blocks have coins in them. So when Mario gets a power mushroom, maybe it's the mummified remains of one of Toad's ancestors? How that confers super powers, I don't know. Super Mario: grave robber?

#3: K'Nex Mario Kart Wii - Luigi building set

I got Mario, so I got Luigi so I could have both of the Mario Brothers. He's taller than Mario, and his overalls are a darker blue. There's not really much else to say, so have a comic to pad out this post:

#2: K'Nex Mario Kart Wii - Mario building set

After I picked up Bowser, naturally I got Mario too. He's my namesake, after all. One thing that sets these apart from LEGO minifigures is that it's not the same base body used every time, so each character gets its own shape. I would totally buy a LEGO Mario minifigure too, but I do like this approach. He moves at the neck, shoulders, wrists, and hips. Unlike Bowser, there is no movement at all in the waist. He comes packaged in three pieces. Now I'm really hoping they come out with a second series of these. We need Peach and Toad!

#1: K'Nex Mario Kart Wii - Bowser building set

So far I've been passing on all the K'Nex Mario Kart building sets because I don't have room for the tracks, and the cars that are sold by themselves don't interest me enough to want to buy them. Then I heard they were putting out individually packed minifigures, so I figured it would be a good opportunity to get just the characters I like (you see that Hasbro, this is how you should release the Kre-o minifigures!). I heard that Bowser was going to be shortpacked at only two to a case, (because K'Nex hates you, that's why) so I was worried I wouldn't be able to find one. As it turns out, I found both Bowsers. A few days before I found these, I noticed an empty spot on one of the shelves with a tag for the minifigures, so I was keeping an eye out for them. The case must have been put out not too long before I got there, because it looked pretty full. Both of the Bowsers were easy to find, one was right in the front, and the other was actually on top of all the other packages. Maybe someone picked them out and decided they didn't want them? Whatever happened, it worked out for me. It's definitely nice to be able to see which minifigure is in the packaging without having to resort to some mysterious bump codes or feeling through the packaging.

Bowser here is one of the largest minifigures I've seen. On the whole, these seem to be about the same size as Minimates, but Bowser is pretty massive due to his bulk. That's probably a factor in why he's shortpacked, he has so much more mass than the others and is thus less profitable. While Bowser is a minifigure, he is packaged as a building set, so there is some assembly required. He comes in six pieces which are easy enough to fit together, although instructions are included. He moves at the hips, shoulders, wrists, neck, and (kind of) at the waist–the shell kind of gets in the way of that. Of the minifigures I got from the series, this is definitely my favorite.