Unlike the world I grew up in as a kid, military toys for kids in 2017 are a little bit hard to come by. Aside from an True Heroes at Toys “R” Us, Lanard Toys’ The Corps at Walmart and maybe the occasional G.I. Joe release from Hasbro, there just isn’t a huge presence for old-school military adventures, and with that in mind I was pretty surprised to come across a new collection called AWESOME LITTLE GREEN MEN. Featured on display at The Toy Insider’s Sweet Suite ’17, this new line of blind boxed figures and vehicles comes from MGA Entertainment, the folks behind LOL Surprise, Num Noms, Lalaloopsy, Project Mc2, Bratz and Little Tikes. With a goal of “combining humor and battle play with a pop vinyl aesthetic,” Awesome Little Green Men will begin hitting retail stores nationwide on August 1, 2017.
“Awesome Little Green Men is a fresh new take on little green army men, but raises the bar by infusing battle and game play with amazing new characters to collect,” said Isaac Larian, CEO of MGA Entertainment. “With our proven track record of creating successful collectible toys, we are excited to deliver an amazing new brand for kids to enjoy.”
This weekend, Caleb McLaughlin of the Netflix Original Series STRANGER THINGS helped launch Awesome Little Green Men at an epic battle at the Paintball Park at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California.
Caleb McLaughlin and fans at The Paintball Park at Camp Pendleton “battling” with their Awesome Little Green Men. Photo Credit: Randy Shropshire//Getty Images for MGA Entertainment
Although small in stature, Awesome Little Green Men’s larger than life expressions lets you know just how serious they are about the mission. With more than 100 unique characters to collect in Series 1, including four super rare figures in the green army and blue army, the new toy is more than a collectible – it’s a game too. General Pain and General Panic lead the troops, and the goal is to build the best squad in order to win the game. Each pint-sized character is a member of a special unit, and all have seriously funny names such as “Private Porkchop,” “Captain Obvious,” “Sergeant Swag.”
Awesome Little Green Men starter packs include four soldiers (SRP $12.99), and each blind box (SRP $3.99) includes one solider, a dog tag with chain, and a new recruit poster. A battle pack with game piece stickers is also available.
