Company: Zuru
Release: August 2024
Size: Various (<4cm)
Main distribution: UK / Europe / Australia / America
Barcode: 193052071545
This is a blind ball series by Zuru with miniatures of real life brands, hence the name Mini Brands! This particular line is the Retro version; Mini Brands! Retro.
Several Mini Brands lines have come out; Mini Brands (grocery shopping articles), Mini Brands Disney Store (Disney Store articles), Mini Fashion (clothing and accessories), Foodie Mini Brands (fast food), Toy Mini Brands (toys), Mini Brands Books (books), Mini Brands Sneakers (shoes), Mini Brands KFC (KFC items), Mini Brands Netflix (merchandise), Mini Brands Home (furniture) and Mini Brands Retro (old things) amongst others.
Here I’ll list the Mini Brands! Retro.
Each Blind Ball splits in 2 halves and holds 5 items. There can be dupes within these 5. It also comes with a small leaflet that acts as a Collector’s Guide / checklist.
There are various “categories” which indicate rarity. There’s Legendary, Iconic, Luxury, Ultra Rare, Rare and Common items.
The Retro series exists out of 57 items to collect.
I got 10/57.
Mead Wide Ruled Notebook [Ultra Rare]
Dinty Moore Beef Stew [Rare]
Turtle Wax [Rare]
Mentos [Common]
Pringles [Common]
3M Diskette [Common]
3M Scotch Cassette Ferrichrome 90 [Common]
Kodak Ultramax Filmroll 800 [Common]
Kodak Fling 35 Camera [Common]
STP Oil Treatment [Common]
I love miniature things, let alone if they’re realistic or mimicking the real world. And as an 80s and 90s fan, retro items sound amazing. However, these are quite expensive (RRP £8).
I wasn’t entirely sure what would all be in it, but I saw it had floppy disks so I bought one to check them out.
Sadly I did not get any floppy disks. I did get a cassette tape though, which I love, although it seems a bit big. It’s cool that it opens though and you can take the cassette out. The film roll is also quite nostalgic, although again big. Whenever I see Mentos it’s iconic jingle comes to mind so that one is great too, although again it seems too long. I’m not sure what scale is being applied here, but it’s not the one I use normally.
I have no clue what Turtle Wax is, but it looks cute at least. I’m also not familiar with Dinty Moore.
I got a second one, hoping for a floppy again, and got another Dinty Moore, 2 Oil cans, Pringles and a notebook. At least the Pringles are cool and the notebook which is fully functional.
So I have 2 Dinty Moore Beef Stews and 2 Oil Cans for sale/trade.
As I still really would like the floppy disks, the VHS and possibly the throwaway camera, I went looking for them separate. I managed to get the big floppy and camera of a Facebook group. I still would like the blue floppy disk (or a couple even), but again, it’s probably too big a scale for my taste.
If you love miniatures, or retro items, you might like these. They are expensive though and you’ll likely need to trade.
If you prefer bigger stuff, you want to give these a miss.
Got any more details / information you think I should add? Or did I get something wrong? Do you own any Mini Brands? Which one is your fav? Do you agree or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments below!