Yes, REN AND STIMPY was disgusting and crude. But it wasn't just disgusting and crude, it was disgusting and crude in a hilarious way. On top of that, unlike most of the similarly styled cartoons of today, this was a show aired on a children's network, Nickelodeon. And this show, along with RUGRATS, helped make Nick in its early years.

Back in the heyday of the show, Mattel took a crack at making a line of action figures based on the show. They were aimed at kids, and it was 1992 - how detailed would you expect them to be? Now Palisades has picked up the license to give us a new series of figures, done in the same quality and style that Palisades has brought to licenses like the Muppets.

The first series is almost out, including Ren, Stimpy, Mr. Horse and the shaven Yak. I reviewed them last week over at MROTW, where I gave them high praise, but they won't be hitting stores for about 7 to 10 days. Palisades actually air freighted in a few sets to sell at the Wizard World show in Chicago, where I picked them up.

Today's review covers the Wizard World convention-exclusive Fire Dogs set of Ren and Stimpy. These were available at the show for $25, but I also have some links at the end of the review where you can still pick them up without paying ebay prices.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"Ren and Stimpy Fire Dogs Wizard World Chicago exclusive"

The premise for the episode Fire Dogs, from the first season, was fairly simple - our two heroes are broke, down to the last of Stimpy's Gritty Kitty litter. They have to find some work, and the local fire station has an opening, but only for Dalmatians. They paint themselves up, and just like an old I Love Lucy episode, hilarity ensues.

Billy West was at Wizard World, signing autographs, and many folks took the opportunity to get their Fire Dogs two pack signed. I know I did! Now if I can just manage to get John K. to sign it...

Packaging - ***
I really like the packaging of the regular line - the graphics and text are great, and I love dem clamshells - and I also love boxed figures. Boxes are always easier to store for people who don't open stuff, they tend to be more collector friendly for those that do, and they usually just look better than the average card/bubble package.

I'm giving this boxed set a lower than usual score though for one major reason. Twisty tie hell. At first glance, it didn't seem to bad. There's one twisty around Stimpy, but this goes all the way through the plastic insert and through the cardboard tray. There's one twisty each for the hydrant helmets. And then there is Ren.

While fat, heavy Stimpy has but one twisty, skinny, lightweight Ren has a total of seven, count them five, twisty ties holding him in place. There's one for legs, and TWO for EACH arm. And these are arms that make Pee Wee Herman look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. They are also cut off very tight to the wrap, and deep inside the plastic tray, making it tough to twist them loose. I didn't have my handy wire cutters uh, well, handy, and had to resort to trying to untwist them. I managed to pop off Ren's left arm before I was through, and while it's not broken, it is very loose now. Be forewarned and keep those wire cutters handy.

Sculpting - ****
If you own the old set of figures by Mattel, you'll realize what I mean when I say these are the finest representations of Ren and Stimpy we've ever gotten. Both Ren and Stimpy figures capture their look from the specific show, and in general, tremendously well.

Both figures are sculpted wearing their firefighter coats from the episode. Stimpy sports the same goofy, wide grin of the regular release, but has new arms that include the jacket sleeves. While this is almost a reuse - as most convention exclusives tend to be - it is a wonderful expression, that works great for Stimpy in just about any situation.

While the Stimpy is predominately a reuse, the Ren is predominately new. Only the legs and hands match up exactly with the regular release Ren, with the new jacket changing the arms and torso, and this head sculpt being the "sad" Ren.

Originally, Ren's head would have been a reuse as well. The plans for the first series included this sad Ren as the variant figure, similar to the way all the Muppets cases have one variant figure. However, that ended up falling through, and now the sad Ren version will be offered through the Palisades Collector's Club only, probably in October. At that time, new members can select him as their 'sign up' figure, or existing members will be able to buy him. I've included some shots of a prototype sad Ren that I was lucky enough to win in a raffle at SDCC, so that you can compare the two versions.

I think I prefer this sad Ren expression to the wildly grinning version in the regular release, but both versions have their strong points.

While I'll mention it in the articulation section, it's worth mentioning twice - they used a very stiff, hard plastic for the limbs on these figures, and that's awfully important. Had we gotten softer, more rubbery material, these characters wouldn't have been able to remain standing under their own weight.

Paint - ***1/2
While the sculpting is spot on perfect, the paint apps had a few issues. Small companies like Palisades are forced to outsource the manufacturing to different plants at different times based on everyone's schedule and resources, and it seems like the paint quality is the area that varies greatest from manufacturing plant to manufacturing plant.

Both figures are painted in great solid, bright, fairly show accurate colors. They both have a nice share of spots (remember, they were trying to convince the fire fighters there were 'fire dogs'), but some of the spots, particularly the large ones, have fuzzy, unclean edges. There's also a fair share of stray marks and paint spots, and the softer rubber of the coats tends to have a tackier feel to the paint. This wasn't nearly as bad as the entire series 8 wave of the Muppets, but it was still noticeable right out of the package.

A big plus here is there was no weird gloss paint, again unlike series 8 of the Muppets. The matte finish looks much better, but in general, the paint ops are the one area over which Palisades needs to continue to slap their contract plants around.

Articulation - ***
The articulation on this pair matches the articulation on the regular release Ren and Stimpy - Ren has a ball jointed neck, ball jointed shoulders, and hips, while the stumpy Stimpy has ball jointed shoulders and cut wrist and leg joints.

While the articulation is limited, both figures stand well, and the hard plastic used for the legs means there's far less likelihood that they'll suffer from the droopsies over time. The ball joints for the neck on Ren and the wrists joints on Stimpy are a nice example of Palisades going the extra mile.

Accessories - ***
There is one accessory included for each figure, the fire hydrant hat. There is a strap attached to the hydrant, but these are for decoration only. The hat is held in place with a magnet, but neither of my magnets were as strong as some of the ones we've seen with the Muppets figures. They still work fairly well though, and unless I turn the figures upside down, the hats stay nicely in place.

This is due partially to the magnets, and partially to how the three strands of hair on each head fit up inside the helmet. Ren also has a couple sculpted grooves in his helmet to fit around his droopy ears.

The sculpt and paint ops on both hydrants look great, and they really match the appearance on the show perfectly!

Fun Factor - ***1/2
If you know someone that loves Ren and Stimpy, they'll love these figures. Oh, sure, there aren't many kids who will even know who they are, but there are plenty of adults who act like kids that would be more than thrilled to get a set of these. If actual kids WERE into this show still, these would make perfect toys for them.

Value - **1/2
This is actually a little weird - I almost marked a convention exclusive as a better value than the regular release figures. See, here's da poop - regular release figures are going to cost anywhere from $12 to $15 each, depending on the retailer. They come with more accessories than this convention exclusive set, but convention exclusives are always more expensive than regular figures, often up to twice as much. Here, you're getting two figures with fewer accessories as a nifty exclusive for about the same price you'd pay for two of the regular figures. In the end, that all evened out to a relatively average value score for the exclusive set as well.

Overall - ***1/2
When Playmates produced the World of Springfield, they produced the end all Simpsons action figure line, effectively removing any desire for any company to ever try to top it. When Palisades produced the Muppets line, they did essentially the same thing, producing the definitive line of Muppet action figures that all other Muppet merchandise will be held up against in comparison for all time.

With this line of Ren and Stimpy figures, Palisades is making that magic again. The figures are excellent so far, but there is still a likelihood that due to a lack of retailers - toy sellers are drying up faster than a puddle in Phoenix in August - that this series will never hit series 2. Right now, Palisades is remaining in a 'wait and see' mode. If all goes well with series 1, they'll move on series 2, but not before they feel confident in sales.

Both Sven and Powdered Toast Man have been discussed for series 2, and how can we live without a Commander Hoek and Cadet Stimpy? If you're a big fan of the show, do yourself (and all other R&S fans, hoping to get more of these terrific figures) a favor, and pick up this first set.

Where to Buy -
There are a few on-line retailers with these, but your first choice is:

- the Palisades Collector's Club. Members can buy them for the same $25 they were at the show right now, but I suspect they won't last long. And of course, you have to first pony up the bucks to be a member, so for the casual buyer, the next choice might make more sense.

- Clark Toys has a terrific price for series 1 if you buy the whole set - just $50 for the four figures. You can also get the individual figures for $15, or this convention exclusive two pack for $35.

- Southern Island has the regular series figures for that same terrific price of $50 for all four!

- CornerStoreComics has the individual figures for just $14, or the set of four for $55.

- Killer Toys has the set of four for $55, or individual figures for $17, but they don't have this exclusive set available.