If you loved the Muppets, then you know Ken Lilly, or at least his work. As the heart and soul behind the amazing line from Palisades, he made his mark on the action figure market. After leaving Palisades, Ken moved on to form his own company, Creatus Maximus.

The first product Ken developed on his own was Smart Bombs. These are actually Little Boy and Fat Man, the two bombs dropped on Japan to end the Pacific side of World War II, done up with clear domes that show off small brains inside. While the first sets were done with satirical designs, like R2-D2 or Batman, the new releases are completely blank. In fact, they are called ‘blanks’. They are designed for YOU to free your creative beast, and see what you can do with a couple unique bombs.

In my review of the original Smart Bombs, I did a long intro on the history of these two particular weapons. Check it out here for the full skinny – now on to the review of the blanks!

Packaging – **1/2
The white boxes do a fine job of getting them to you in one piece. The graphic design is solid, but the basic packaging fits the style and size of the company itself.

Sculpting – ***1/2
The sculpts aren’t exact duplicates of the infamous bombs, but are designed to be as close as possible, and still be unique. You (or anyone that stops by your cube) is going to instantly recognize these two guys, no matter what funky paint job you might give them.

As I mentioned in the previous review of the painted Smart Bombs, the actual scale between these two bombs is actually quite good, being only slightly off. They are fairly small though, with Little Boy at about 3 1/2″ and Fat Man at 3″. It’s going to depend on how you paint them up as to what other lines they might work well with.

The sculpts are a bit more detailed than you might expect, with rivets and other doo-dads giving them some texture. The sculpt on the brains is a bit soft, but considering the scale, it’s not too much of an issue.

Paint – Bupkis
Usually a bupkis is not a good thing, but this time it’s really the whole point. These are white, with clear domes to show off the ‘brains’. These are intended to bring out the artist in you, allowing YOU to design the paint scheme, much like the vinyl figures from many Japanese companies.

Articulation – **1/2
The articulation here is at the arm joints. Since several arms are included, and are meant to be easily swapped around, there’s one post joint where the arm meets the body. It’s not too much, but considering the size, probably enough. Some of the extra arms could have had wrist articulation, but it’s not a major loss.

Accessories – ***
As I mentioned, both bombs come with all three extra sets of arms. There’s robot arms, cartoon arms (think Mickey Mouse), and bat wings. By including these arms, or skipping them altogether, you can create quite a number of different looks for the base body. This gives you even more options when it comes to the final deco. The actual small bomb attachments on the sides pop off to allow you to attach the various arms.

Fun Factor – **
Hmmm. Not sure exactly how these would fit in with the normal 8 year old play patterns, but the concept of drawing and painting on them would go over big. I’m betting most parents would prefer cut bears or cats though, and those are out there in blank form as well from other companies.

However, if you’re an adult looking for a fun, creative project, then you can add at least another star, maybe two to this category for you!

Value – **1/2
These are actually a pretty good price at $10 each. The painted sets from last year were $30 for the pair, but they were also a convention exclusive. It’s also a plus that these are sold individually, rather than in sets, allowing you more choice.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not a thing. What you see is what you get, and it’s sturdy and well made.

Overall – ***
If you’re looking for something interesting and unique upon which you can unleash your inner creative spirit, these are a great choice. In many ways, I like the blanks much better than the versions that were already painted, and I can’t wait to see the many cool ideas that CMX fans come up with to decorate their Smart Bombs.

If you’re still not sure about using two of the most deadly weapons ever unleashed on civilization as templates for art, I can’t do much to change your mind. I did go through an explanation in my previous review though, which I’m going to post here again:

“Are these anti-war? Pro-war? Or bad taste? In reality, they’re art. And that means they will be anything and everything, acting as a mirror to the viewers opinions and feelings rather than representing the same thing to everyone.

I can’t speak for Ken, since what he felt when he designed them and what purpose he hopes they serve is a personal thing. I could assume of course, using my own conceptions and judgments to color that assumption, but I’ll leave that for the more rabid.

I can tell you though what they mean to me. I am terribly afraid that we’ve forgotten what these bombs represent. In a world where people are stupid enough to believe the Holocaust never happened, or that the U.S. never landed on the moon, there are already going to be enough people stupid enough to believe that nuclear weapons are somehow a possible solution to a conflict. They think it’s like somebody else has a vest of dynamite strapped on, but we have the button. In reality, everyone has a vest of dynamite strapped on, and they all have the buttons – and once one of them pushes it, they are all going to explode.

While we can’t get past the fact that there will always be some people that stupid, we can’t let them become the majority. We have to remember that this genie can’t be let out of the bottle again. The first time, we were children playing with an electric outlet. Oh, sure, we had some logical idea that it was going to hurt, but we had to experience it to understand it emotionally. But that was a long time ago now, and forgetting is a little too easy. If something like this disturbs you, or you find it in bad taste, that’s a good thing. It means you remember and appreciate the magnitude of destruction that these little bombs represent. And if you appreciate the irony of the little brains in the top, and the silly motifs, well, all the better.”

Where to Buy –
These are available through the Creatus Maximus online store, and run $10 each. They aren’t quite there yet, but should be listed by Friday, so book mark the site!

Related Links –
Check out my review of a couple of the original painted versions from CMX, and head over to their site as well.

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