Opening Toy Mini Brands Series 3!

Have you seen all the new Mini Brands?

I’m itching to lay my hands on these tantalizing little orbs. Sadly, my toy budget is currently tapped out thanks to the ever-rising grocery bill. As much as I want my dolls to have a fully stocked pantry, the cats and I need to eat.

Don’t worry. We’re not giving up Mini Brands altogether (heaven forbid!). I just need to let my pocketbook recover.

In the meantime, I thought we’d tackle the pile of oldie but goodie Mini Brands already in my stash, starting with the ones I’ve had the longest:

If you collect Mini Brands, you’ve probably heard of Toy Mini Brands and know what they are—tiny dupes of popular toys and games.

This latest series was released in January 2023. You can find single capsules for about $6 to $7 in stores or get a 2-pack from Amazon for $15 (though Amazon’s prices fluctuate depending on availability).

I purchased mine from Amazon. They came stacked in a clear, cylindrical container that was a bit crumpled. Thankfully, the capsules are fine.

As you can see, the shells are sunny yellow. They have Toy Mini Brands printed on the front in bright, bold letters, plus a few fun facts on the sides.

Now comes the tricky part: removing that nail-killing plastic wrap!

Tip: Tired of fighting with Mini Brand wrappers? Try using a dull tool with a thin tip to tear the perforated strip on the side and pull off the plastic. Or, you can be like me and use scissors to snip through the layers.

Once the plastic is off, just pull out the plug at the top to release the five wedges.

It’s possible that Mini Brands hidden in wedges will soon be a thing of the past. The newest series (Series 5) uses pop-apart pods (like Mini Fashions and Mini Foodie Brands), which makes me think Zuru is switching styles. Hopefully, my theory is right because the undivided capsules are a lot easier to upcycle.

The fairy has spoken—let’s trot out the toys!

Toy Mini Brands Capsule 1:

Our very first Toy Mini Brand is:

This is the Angry Birds Pullback Racer Car.

I know zilch about Angry Birds and have no clue who this guy is or why he’s so cross. Nevertheless, I’m impressed with the toy’s lifelikeness.

The figure is sealed in a blister pack that’s covered with pictures, text, and barcodes. There’s even a tiny QR code on the back (though I doubt it leads anywhere).

I happen to know some of these toys are unboxable. But you know my rule: First-time finds stay in their boxes for display purposes. Duplicates, however, are fair game!

Our second toy is:

We found Battleship!

This is one of my favorite board games. My sister and I used to play it all the time.

Granted, it’s only a box. There aren’t any battle boards inside—just strips of paperboard.

I don’t care, though. I like Mini Brand boxes (they’re excellent shelf fillers), and timeless games like Battleship, Monopoly, Life, and Clue are the best.

In wedge number three is:

It’s a Fidget Popper.

This is the rainbow unicorn fidget popper. It’s rubbery and has bubbles that push back and forth, exactly like a real Pop-It.

Go right ahead, Tink! Just don’t get too distracted popping bubbles. We still have toys to unwrap😉.

Our fourth Toy Mini Brand is:

YAY! We found one of the classic books: Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland!

The book is modeled after the real-life hardback from the Puffin Chalk Collection.

Flip the book open to reveal pages with words and pictures. Only the first two or three pages are legible, though. The rest have faded letters.

Only one slice left: the one with the elusive catalog!

Here is our Collector’s Guide:

The toys are grouped into six categories based on rarity:

So, Battleship is bioluminescent? Interesting.

The catalog shows a sparkling green box, but that could be an oversaturated image (you know, marketing and all).

What do you say we turn off the lights and find out?

After skimming the catalog, Tink and I are even more excited about this series. There’s a nice selection of toddler and kids’ toys, electronic gadgets, board games, and three books.

What’s at the top of our wishlist?

Black Beauty! It’s an iconic story about a horse; therefore, my dolls need it. The Mini Fashion and Mini Foodie Brand capsules are also a must-have, as are the board games.

The only pieces I don’t want are the Piggy figures. Sorry, but violent swine aren’t my thing.

Now let’s return to our toys!

Along with the catalog, this section also had:

I totally forgot this series has money!

The bills are remarkably authentic, save for a few minor details, like the 5 Surprise logo and text reminding us that this is not legal tender.

Why do I have a feeling I’m never going to see that money again?

Our toy is the Play-Doh Animal Crew Pigsley Playset:

Pigsley is a plump, pink pig and comes fastened to a barn-shaped box. There is a picture on the back showing the playset in action. It looks like you use it to create tiny Play-Doh piglets and a mud bath for them to play in.

It’s true. Our Play-Doh-themed toy is devoid of dough.

So there you have our first five toys from Toy Mini Brands Series 3.

On to ball number 2!

Toy Mini Brands Capsule 2:

Wait a minute, is that the credit card reader?

I can’t believe it! My doll entrepreneurs can finally accept payments!

The card reader comes with a sheet of instructions, a sticker for the screen and buttons, and a Mini Brands credit card.

I’m thrilled we found this little machine. It’s going to take retail in my miniverse to a whole new level!

Moving on to our next slice, we have:

Ooo, we found the Hello Kitty iHome Speaker and another bundle of dollars!

The speaker comes in a paperboard box. I’m not familiar with an iHome speaker, but according to the information on the box (which I assume is accurate), it’s a cordless audio player that streams via Bluetooth.

I’m a sucker for Hello Kitty-themed knickknacks and would love to see this somewhere in Tink’s house. Still, I’m resisting the urge to unbox it—for now😉.

Yes, we also uncovered a stack of $10 bills—fifteen, to be precise.

Ah, the unavoidable duplicate. We were bound to get one eventually, though I wish it was something besides the crasher car. My gals don’t collect Angry Birds. They like cutesy things.

The boys? They’re into power tools. Cliche, I know, but that’s how it is.

Anyhow, the upside is that we now have an extra to unbox. Let the experimenting begin!

Just for fun, I googled Angry Birds Crasher Car and, I must say, Zuru did a fantastic job recreating this toy on such a small scale.

I also discovered the bird’s name. It’s Red. And he’s driving a rocket-powered roadster.

I talked Petra, Joe, and little Marianne into posing with the car so you can see it compared to a Barbie, a Ken, and a Chelsea-sized doll.

I’d say the size is fairly accurate.

And since the box is relatively undamaged, I was able to repack the car so we can still use it to stock our toy aisles.

This is the common blue Fidget Spinner, one of two fidget spinners in this series (the other is a rare, glow-in-the-dark spinner).

I think it’s neat that some of these Toy Mini Brands function like their real-world counterparts. Unfortunately, this spinner is not Barbie-sized. It’s better suited for 16″ to 18″ dolls, like Disney Animators or American Girl.

We’re down to our very last Toy Mini Brand. What will we get?

We found the Tamagotchi! Fun! I’ve never had a Tamagotchi, but I love digital pets, so this is right up my alley.

The gadget is encased in a paperboard box that is identical to full-sized Tamagotchi packaging.

The front has the Tamagotchi logo, colorful doodles of the characters, and a tagline reading “the original virtual pet“. On the back are instructions showing how to operate the buttons and play with your pet.

We did it! The tabs unfolded without a hitch, and the plastic tray holding the device slid right out!

Fun Fact: Did you know that Tamagotchi literally means “egg watch“? It’s a combination of the Japanese words “tamago” (egg) and “uotchi” (watch). At least, that’s what Wikipedia says.

Here is a close-up look at our Tamagotchi:

Of course, the big question is can we use it with our sixth-scale dolls?

We sure can! It fits perfectly in a Barbie’s palm!

That’s it, friends! We emptied every slice.

I think we had a successful Toy Mini Brands haul. We found some great toys, a fancy card machine, and doll-sized cash.

Are more Toy Mini Brands in our future? I haven’t decided.

There’s no denying their adorability, and I love that most are compatible with Barbies. Still, I doubt they’ll ever rank as one of my favorite Mini Brands lines.

That doesn’t mean I won’t splurge on a capsule here and there. We still need Black Beauty and Tink’s safe, after all. I’d just rather focus on other lines, like regular Mini Brands, Mini Fashions, and the new 2024 releases.

Speaking of which, I’m about ready for another 2-pack but can’t decide what to pick. They’re all so tempting!

Leave it to the fairy to come up with the perfect solution!

Alright, this time you get to decide which Mini Brands we open next!

Vote for your favorite Mini Brands in the poll below, and the series with the highest number of votes will be featured in our next review. The poll ends on September 12th, at which time the results will be revealed. May the best Mini Brands win!