Re-Halloween 2025: Assortment #1 from Dr. Malgam's Body Bags by ToadFrog

 

   Guess what? Here at Action Figure Barbecue Halloween hasn't ended! In fact, I still have seven days of spooky reviews lined up for you and they're not just the leftover candy that no one wants. No, this is quality stuff! Join me today as we check out another figure in Dr. Malgam's Body Bags, a line that was launched through Kickstarter in 2024. Today I'm checking out Assortment #1 of the line which features the head for the Vampire along with a bunch of other assorted body parts. Now, I am aware that the toe tag on my body bag says Assortment #2. I really didn't think I mixed these up or around at all, but it seems like Assortment #1 and Assortment #2 got mixed up somehow. I don't have any missing parts between the two sets, so maybe I goofed or maybe something just got mislabeled. Anyways, this is either #1 or #2. Rather than sell these as complete figures that you swap (i.e. a Werewolf, a Vampire, etc.) ToadFrog is shipping these pre-mixed up, meaning you'll have to purchase multiple sets to get a full figure (the parts for which aren't all available yet). It's a mix and match gimmick, so it does make some sense, though I think I would have preferred being able to buy full characters with an extra included part. Let's check out this set that's dominated by the Vampire's head after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 5 1/4ths inches

Articulation: Swivel shoulders and a swivel neck.

Accessories: Figure is made up of removable pieces (head, torso, 2 arms, 2 legs) and comes with 1 extra arm and a fabric Body Bag.

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars (or sold in various bundles during the Kickstarter with other sets at a discount).

The Positives:

* It's a bit difficult to talk about each figure individually because you're not getting one complete vision. This guy is made up of the Vampire head, the Cyber-Gorilla torso, a Frankenstein right arm, either a Sea Creature arm or Vampire arm, a Werewolf leg, and a Mummy leg. The paint work is sharp on these, though, and they have a very fun aesthetic. Each piece has different textures and paint effects and I'm excited to eventually see some completed characters, too. 

* The Vampire headsculpt is pretty cool and quite different from your typical Bela Lugosi inspired vampire. His features are longer and bat-like with pointed chin, long ears, and some fairly unique hair. He reminds me a bit of Morbius' look in the 1994 Spider-Man animated series. The paint is sharp and there's a nice mixture of clean paint apps (like on his blood red eyes) and shading effects (to give him an impressive appearance. 

* From the back you can see that there are some neat details on each part. The Cyber-Gorilla's robotic spine peeking through is pretty neat. I also like the patches on the Frankenstein monster's jacket sleeve and the end of the wrappings visible on the Mummy's wrapped leg. 

* Here's a shot of the lower half of the figure to show off the detail in the legs. I'm really excited to put the Werewolf together as he is one of the figures you can fully complete with this series. 

* Each figure can split into six separate parts and a seventh part is included here (an extra left arm) to give you a hint of the mixing and matching opportunities available when you have multiple figures. All of the attachment points are the same though the way the legs attach from the bottom instead of the side does make it odd to, say, replace one of the legs with an arm or something weird like that. Everything feels very sturdy, made from a solid plastic with a bit of rubbery give. They're very solid toys!

* The sales gimmick and packaging for the line is a reusable fabric body bag. This is a pretty cool extra that you can store your parts inside or even use for other action figures, too. They even sold these by themselves during the campaign for folks who ever wanted a body bag. It's durable and has a zipper so you can easily open and close it. The label is made to look like a toe tag and is attached by a plastic fastener. There's even a spot to write the the "Date Expired" for the deceased.

* These are pretty fun and very well made. They zip and unzip easily and there's also a loop at the top (where it has the Body Bags logo) that you could use to hang one of these up. 

*  These guys are durable figures and while the swapping is the main feature, you can also rotate the neck and arms for a little posing/ play value.

The Negatives:

* ToadFrog was certainly upfront about how the legs would be handled but it does seem odd to me that they chose to go with legs that attach to the bottom of the torso (above the waist) rather than attaching to the sides of the waist. It's a bit limiting in movement and I'm not sure what the gain there was to offset the loss of the joints being on the side. You could have built four legged creatures and what not if all of the limbs attached the same way. 

   Dr. Malgam's Body Bags was an excellent Kickstarter project with a well run campaign, good communication and updates, and solid execution. To get these out the way they did, especially in these tumultuous times for manufacturing and shipping, is impressive. It's a Great figure with a very fun gimmick. I've looked at swappable toys a number of times on the site but connecting them to monster building and using the body bags is inspired. I'm still not sure selling them mixed was the way to go when not every figure can be fully built in the first series but the campaign was successful, so what do I know? I'm really hoping we hear more about a second series while the iron is hot. These seem like they could have a good long life with specialty retailers or could be successful if they could somehow become available at retail for kids, though I'd hope they wouldn't go the blind bagged route. 

   Sure, there are many monsters represented here, but the Vampire gets top billing since his head is included. For more vampires who are kind of inspired by Dracula or who actually are Dracula, check  out the NECA Universal Monsters Dracula (Transylvania) and Dracula from the Crypt Club 4-Pack, the Hammer Count Dracula (Horror of Dracula), the Bitty POP! Towns Dracula and Castle, the TMNT x Universal Monsters Shredder as Dracula, the Funko ReAction Dracula, Super7's ReAction Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Count Dracula from Operation: Monster Force, the McFarlane's Monsters Dracula Playset, Jada Toys' Bela Lugosi as Dracula, the Playmobil Take Along Haunted House 9312, the Big Bucket of Monsters Dracula, the Marvel Legends Series Dracula, Mezco's Tower of Fear, the Haunted Haven Vampire Organist/ Dracula, the Wendy's Frosty Bite, and Dracula from the original Playmates Monster Force line.

If you're looking for more of Dr. Malgam's Body Bags I've also reviewed the following:
Assortment #2

Assortment #3