#85: Super Mario Hot Wheels - Cool-One (224/250 HW Screen Time 4/5)

I don't know why this exists. But it does. Normally when Hot Wheels cars are based on licensed properties, they are either completely new cars that resemble characters or they are regular cars with some sort of image printed onto the paintjob. They usually run a few dollars each. The licensed vehicles that make it into regularly priced assortments are usually just reproductions. So this is kind of an odd duck. It's a Super Mario licensed vehicle, but it's completely new, and it's in the standard assortment so it's only a buck. The Cool One is some sort of souped up hot rod van with a Mario inspired color scheme, "Super Mario" on the side, and an M logo on the front. I really only got this because of its ridiculousness.

#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.