Before I go into information about this figure, I'd like to take a few minutes to tell you about the mascot that became known as "Snaggletooth" or "Warpig" and how he came into being.
After Lemmy left Hawkwind in 1975 he formed a band called Bastard, which was later changed to Motorhead to ensure they would be able to play on mainstream music shows such as Top of The Pops - a weekly music show that ran on the BBC in Britain from 1964 to 2006, showcasing the most popular bands and songs from the weekly charts - It was a pretty big thing in it's day as it was an easy way of getting your music out to the masses and introducing new bands to people who wouldn't normally get to hear what you have to offer.
Lemmy chose to rename his new band Motorhead, after the last song he wrote for Hawkwind.
In 1977 the band released their first album, which was as many bands first albums are, self titled Lemmy wanted an image for the band that would become a mascot of sorts and so he contacted Joe Petagno, an artist who Lemmy met when he had done some work for Hawkwind in 1975.
After discussing ideas, in typical Lemmy fashion - over a few drinks, Joe left to go home, on his way he past by the library and decided to look few a few books to get some ideas to incorporate into the themes Lemmy had already given him; Lemmy wanted something that wouldn't look amiss on a cut off over a biker jacket and could be scaled down for a patch or up for an album cover without loosing detail and would be easily recognisable as a symbol for Bastard, and later Motorhead...
This was a a fortuitous idea on Joe's part as he began to look through books on animal anatomy he hit on the idea of an animal skull this idea, during initial sketches developed into a hybrid creature's skull that was a cross between a canine skull, with a gorilla's cranium and huge oversized tusks from a wild boar, after adding a few more touches and ideas from Lemmy, such as the chains, iron cross, a human skull dangling from one of the tusks and spikes coming out the top of the skull; the iconic creature that would become known as Snaggletooth, Little Bastard, War Pig etc, was born.
Out of the 22 studio albums Motorhead released, there are only two that do not feature Snaggletooth on the artwork in some way. as a consequence Snaggletooth became as synonymous with Motorhead as the music itself.
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| Google images |
He would first appear on the cover of Motorhead's first album released in 1977 as shown in the picture above and would continue to make an appearance on albums, t-shirts, badges, patches, and all manner of merchandise for the band over the next 40 years of the band's existence!
So it was inevitable that at some point Funko would add this iconic figure head to their line up of Motorhead themed Funko Pop! Rocks figures.
In 1982 Motorhead released thier 6th studio album, Iron Fist, which went to number 6 in the UK Album Charts, with the album came the Iron Fist Tour the same year.
As with any tour, there was merchandise, one such piece of merchandise was a t shirt which depicted Snaggletooth as an anthropomorphic being wearing a biker jacket and jeans.
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| Iron Fist Tour t shirt, Worthpoint.com |
It was this image that Funko decided to model their Snaggletooth Funko Pop! on, in my mind it was an inspired choice and of course, as you should know by now as soon as I discovered him, I just had to have him... And so I did!
Now I've whetted your appetite it's time to give you a look at the cute little guy, so here he is...
Doesn't he look adorable in his little box?!
If you are a motorhead fan or know anything about the mascot you really don't need any more information, in a way this is a very motorhead thing to do, they were a no frills band in a lot of ways and very down to earth in their individual outlooks to fame and it's trimmings.
I couldn't wait to release him from his cardboard and plastic prison, so I didn't!
He's absolutely perfect and so dwt - he stands around 4 inches tall, but because of his head he is quite chunky, although fortunately not top heavy, which would have been very easy to have done with this size head.
Because he is perfectly weighted, he can stand up by himself without fear of falling over.
Detail wise, he's spot on, right down to having a little skull hanging from the right side of his chain, and in keeping with the fact he's a Funko Pop, the skull is a "Funko shaped" skull instead of a human shaped one!
When you rotate him and view him from all angles, you can see that a lot of thought has gone into making him look as close to the source material as possible - He even has little rivets holding his back plate onto his metal skull!
I love the fact his little axe is blood stained because it should be, it is a "battle axe" after all!
Unusually for a Funko figure, he also has a lot more detail on his jeans and leather jacket than I've seen on other figures.
His jeans and leather jacket have little belt loops on the waist, the back pockets of his jeans have stitching detail, his jacket has sliver press studs to hold down the collars and zip details on the pockets and main body... He even has boot laces on his little DM's!
Because his body is moulded in the position he stands in, it isn't possible to pose him in any way other than moving his head from side to side.
All in all, I think you can guess, he is an awesome little figure and I'm very proud to be able to add him to my collection.
If I did have to pick something negative about him, I'd say the only complaint I have is that he isn't wearing an Iron Cross on a chain around his neck, which as you know was a favourite thing of Lemmy's.
Well that's it for now, I'm sure I'll something else to brag about soon!
Take care, stay safe and keep your distance!
Hugs,
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