Wayne's Garbage Pail Kids References - United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers

Introduction

Shortly after Topps Europe Limited (also called Merlin) released the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Gross Sticker Cards, they released the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers. The United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers was the first United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids release to consist only of stickers (not cards or stickers on card backing). The stickers were meant to be stuck in the Garbage Pail Kids sticker album created for the release. Album sticker sets are very common in Europe, but making a Garbage Pail Kids album sticker set was a huge change from the original Garbage Pail Kids releases for the United Kingdom. This change was meant to appeal to the younger collectors, and it also converted Garbage Pail Kids to something that was more like Topps Europe Limited's other sticker products. The set contained regular stickers and foil stickers, and the characters were taken from the United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 10 to 15 and All-New Series 1 and 2. This release truly was an experiment because it tested to see if children would be interested in Garbage Pail Kids, and it tested to see if the veteran Garbage Pail Kids collectors would be interested in collecting album sticker sets instead of card sets.

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General Information
Date Released	August 2004
Number of Printings	1
Sticker Numbers	1-181
Number of Stickers to Make a Numerical Set	181
Number of Variation Stickers	0
Poster Sticker Numbers	G1-G11
Number of Poster Stickers to Make a Numerical Set	11
Number of Variation Poster Stickers	0
Total Number of Different Wrappers	1

Sticker Dimensions (in Inches)	3.35 x 2.41 x 1/96
Sticker Dimensions (in Millimeters)	85.09 x 61.214 x 0.265
Poster Sticker Dimensions (in Inches)	3.35 x 2.41 x 1/96
Poster Sticker Dimensions (in Millimeters)	85.09 x 61.214 x 0.265
Number of Packs Per Full Box	50
Number of Stickers/Poster Stickers Per Pack	5
Box Dimensions (in Inches)	4.75 x 3.5 x 2.1875
Box Dimensions (in Millimeters)	120.65 x 88.9 x 55.5625

Section Last Updated	January 1, 2015

Sticker and Wrapper Variations

Sticker Variations

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Wrapper Variations

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Printable Sticker and Wrapper Variation Checklist

You can either click the following link to open the variation checklist in a new window and print it out, or you can right-click the following link and save the variation checklist to your computer. United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers Sticker and Wrapper Variation Checklist

Comparison List

     The following list compares the sticker numbers and character names of the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers to the United States Garbage Pail Kids. The United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers sticker number and character name are listed first. The United States Garbage Pail Kids series is listed next. The United States Garbage Pail Kids card number and character name are then listed. This list will allow you to see what character was used for a certain sticker number, it will allow you to see how the series was arranged, and it will allow you to compare the names of the characters. The United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers stickers with an asterisk before the number are different (i.e., sticker number, character name, series number, etc.) than the United States Garbage Pail Kids series.

     There was 1 sticker that had new artwork. For the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers, there were 22 characters from the United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 10, 21 characters from the United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 11, 20 characters from the United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 12, 18 characters from the United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 13, 16 characters from the United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 14, 18 characters from the United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 15, 35 characters from the United States Garbage Pail Kids All-New Series 1 (28 from the cards and 7 from the foil cards), and 41 characters from the United States Garbage Pail Kids All-New Series 2 (28 from the cards, 8 from the foil cards, 4 from the scratch 'n stink cards, and 1 from the bonus cards).

     All of the characters taken from the United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 10 were already used in the United Kingdom The Garbage Gang '91. The characters taken from the United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 11 (15 characters out of the 21 that were used) and United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 12 (11 characters out of the 20 that were used) that were from the "a" numbered cards were already used in the United Kingdom The Garbage Gang '92.

Gross Sticker Cards Comparison List

The list below shows the 27 characters that were used in both the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers and the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Gross Sticker Cards. The United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers sticker number and character name are listed first. The United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Gross Sticker Cards card number and character name are then listed.

Stickers

     There were only two different items found in the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers packs. There were regular stickers and foil stickers. Each pack contained 4 regular stickers and 1 foil sticker. Even though all of the stickers were the same size (slightly smaller than the regular trading cards), there were some that were numbered as album stickers (1-181) and some that were numbered as poster stickers (G1-G11). The numbering was also very different than the previous United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids/The Garbage Gang series because there were no "a" or "b" stickers.

     I did not see the purpose of the foil stickers since there was nothing special about the characters nor was there anything special about the areas in the sticker album they were meant to be stuck down in.

     The release consists of 192 stickers. There were 160 regular stickers and 32 foil stickers. The foil stickers were numbers 1, 5, 15, 16, 22, 32, 39, 42, 47, 49, 61, 66, 67, 75, 76, 84, 87, 93, 95, 106, 113, 117, 123, 128, 139, 150, 154, 162, 164, 169, 177, and 180.

     I provided a couple of samples of what the stickers of the series look like. The fronts and backs of the first and last album stickers and poster stickers are shown above. Since there were so many stickers to the set, I decided not to create image overviews for the series. Higher quality images of these items will not be provided on this website or by request.

     None of stickers had die-cuts or "Peel Here" arrows, and the sticker backs all had the same design with the exception of the different sticker numbers. The foil stickers seemed to come slightly arched while the regular stickers were completely flat.

     There were no checklists for the release. The sticker album could somewhat be used as a checklist since you could see which sticker numbers you still were missing by the empty spaces left in the album.

     The release used some of the foil card artwork from the United States Garbage Pail Kids All-New Series 1 and United States Garbage Pail Kids All-New Series 2 for the stickers. This allowed us to see what the new renditions of the original Garbage Pail Kids characters looked like without being dulled and darkened by a foil background. Still, the original artwork looked significantly better than the new renditions.

     It was very common to get many extras of the same foil sticker numbers. Usually, you would still end up missing around 5 to 25 stickers even after going through a full box of 50 packs. This did not make much sense since the set consisted of 192 stickers, and a full box yielded 250 stickers (200 regular stickers and 50 foil stickers). I felt this was a very frustrating aspect of collecting the set because it meant you would either have to buy more unopened packs, order singles from the company, or trade with other collectors. Buying more packs to complete the set meant you would end up with even more extras that you most likely would not have any use for. You were limited to ordering up to 20 singles from the company, and you could only order singles from them one time. If you were to order singles, it was common for them to arrive damaged (bent corners and edges) because they were not packaged properly (they came in a regular envelope without any protection). It was also not easy to find other collectors to trade with since the release was limited. The release was somewhat experimental, and it was only sold regionally in the United Kingdom. But, anyone could order packs and albums from Topps Europe Limited's website.

     The regular stickers had glossy fronts and matte backs. The foil on the foil stickers had a similar look to silver, and the foil was smooth and reflective. The foil sticker backs were matte just like the regular stickers.

     The character names that were misspelled in the United States Garbage Pail Kids All-New Series 1 and United States Garbage Pail Kids All-New Series 2 were left that way for the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers. For sticker 18, the name Brainy Janey was used by mistake. In the original United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids 1st Series, the name was spelled as Brainy Janie (with "ie" at the end of the name instead of "ey"), which is how the character's name should have been spelled in the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers. For sticker 87, the name Wacky Jacky was used by mistake. In the original United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids 1st Series, the name was spelled as Wacky Jackie (with "ie" at the end of the name instead of "y"), which is how the character's name should have been spelled in the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers.

     The United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers sticker 37 Rachel Retch was the only character name unique to the set. The artwork was originally used for the United States Garbage Pail Kids All-New Series 2 bonus card B1 On Camera Cameron.

     There were some design differences between the stickers from United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers and the cards from United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 10 to 15 and All-New Series 1 and 2. The borders on all of the regular stickers are green. The name ovals were changed to look like they were covered in slime, and they are the same color green as the border. The font used for the name ovals was changed to a different style, and all of the character names were in black. The banner text color and inner border color of the stickers match with the sticker placeholder border color of the sticker album. Also, the full images (everything except the name ovals and borders) can be zoomed in or shifted over slightly.

Sticker Album

     The sticker album for the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers was a key aspect to the release. The sticker album tells stories about the various characters (first there is some information about the theme, and then there is a rhyme), and it groups together characters with similar traits. You can tell that the album was geared towards children because of the stories about the characters and the various activities connected to the album (placing the stickers in the album, doing a "fill in the blank", and drawing your own Garbage Pail Kids). I provided sample pictures of the sticker album, so you could see what the album cover and some of the album sections look like.

     The sticker album measures approximately 11.75" x 8-9/16" (298.45 mm x 217.4875 mm). The album has a thin cardboard cover, which has a thin, protective, plastic coating. The backgrounds for the pages of the sticker album and the poster were comprised of various portions of Garbage Pail Kids cards mixed in with texture, shading, and coloring effects. The inside front cover of the album has information on the Garbage Pail Kids World website that Topps previously had up. The last page of the album has shadow outlines of six different characters, and you were supposed to figure out the names of the characters (i.e., fill in the blank). Also on the last page, there is an area where you can draw your own Garbage Pail Kids characters. The inside back cover of the album has information on ordering sticker singles directly from Topps Europe Limited. The back cover of the album has the pricing information (the album original cost 1.49 British pounds or 2.40 Euro dollars) and bar code (5018819903547).

     There was a poster that was folded and stapled in the center of the sticker album (see image above). There are areas on the poster for stickers G1 to G11. The poster measures approximately 23-1/8" x 16.5" (587.375 mm x 419.1 mm).

     The album has 21 sections of stories (including the story on the poster), and each section is tied to a color. For example, sticker numbers 81 to 85 all have banner text and inner borders that are dark green. The section in the album for stickers 81 to 85 is on page 19, and it is titled Obese Oddities / Fat Club. The sticker placeholders in the section are also dark green. All of the characters in the section are overweight: 81 Lost In Austin, 82 Dick Tater, 83 Hy Cholesterol, 84 Flabby Abby, and 85 Slobby Robbie. The text for the story of the section is: "Now I don't want to say that these kids are fat, but they have all forgotten what their feet look like. They are so greedy they went into an all-you-can-eat buffet and didn't come back out for three weeks!". Then there is a rhyme: "You are what you eat, or so the saying goes, so what have these kids been eating? Heaven only knows! Take a look at Austin, he seems like a cool dude. He so needs a wash though, he's covered in food!".

     The very first section of the album only has one sticker (sticker 1 Garbage Pail Kids), and it is the introduction story of the album. All of the other sections consist of 5 or more stickers.

     Above, I provided a listing for each section of the album. First is the page number. Next is the sticker numbers that are to be stuck on the page. After that is the color of the Garbage Pail Kids banner text and inner border for the stickers that go on the page. Finally the title(s) on the page are listed.

     Each section of the album usually has two titles. There is a long title (e.g., Grossout Garbage Games), and a short title (e.g., Sport). The long title is on the first page of the section, and the short title is usually used for the remaining pages of the section. The two titles may be on the same page if the section only takes up one page.

     An interesting part about the album and the poster is that they both have the following disclaimer printed on them: "Garbage Pail Kids is just for fun! Do not try to imitate anything you see in this collection as it may cause harm to yourself and others." Topps was trying to avoid concepts that could cause harm if imitated. This was one reason why the United States Garbage Pail Kids All-New Series characters were much more tame than the original United States Garbage Pail Kids series characters. But, Topps Europe Limited used characters from the United States Garbage Pail Kids Series 10 to 15, and some of those concepts were more violent and could be dangerous if imitated. It would be great if Topps went back to creating concepts that were more like the original United States Garbage Pail Kids series just by adding in a disclaimer.

Additional Items

     There were a few items that I wanted to display larger images of, which is why created this additional section just for them.

     The characters featured on top of the box and on the packs were the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers characters 149 Snotwich Sandra, 151 Billy Ache, 155 Toilet Bo, and 176 Take-Out Dinah. The worm images were taken from sticker 95 Slimy Hymie. The fly images were taken from sticker 100 Infested Lester.

     Each United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers box (see image above) contained 50 packs of stickers. The packs were all in one stack. The boxes were supposed to be displayed with the lids folded inside so that the character pops out. This design was similar to the original United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids/The Garbage Gang boxes. The boxes did not come shrink-wrapped. The bar code printed on the bottom of the boxes was 5018819903530. The boxes also had the code EDIGPK4SASU printed on the bottom.

     The pricing for the packs was printed on the box and not on the individual packs. The prices were listed in pence (for sales in Great Britain) and in Euros (for sales in European countries other than Great Britain). The packs were to be sold at 35 pence or at 0.55 Euros each.

     Each United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers pack (see image above) contained 5 stickers (4 regular stickers and 1 foil sticker). The pack wrappers were made out of paper, but they protected the corners and edges of the stickers very well because there was a protective overlap that measured over 0.50" (12.7 mm) around the stickers. Since the stickers from the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers were slightly smaller than the cards from the United Kingdom Gross Sticker Cards, the pack wrappers were also slightly smaller for the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers. The bar code printed on the back of the packs was 5018819903523.

     It was nearly impossible to open the packs without damaging the wrapper. I had no success opening a pack without tearing the wrapper. I ended up using a razor blade to carefully make a slit through the back of the wrapper just above where the stickers were located. I was then able slip the stickers out through the opening.

     There was also a dealer ad (sales sheet) that was e-mailed out to various dealers and distributors (see image above). The dealer ad was saved in the format of an Adobe pdf file. If you were to print out the dealer ad, it would measure 8.26" x 11.68" (209.804 mm x 296.672 mm). The dealer ad provides a sample of what the release looks like, and it tells how many stickers are in the set. The dealer ad also has the following quantity details: 5 stickers per packet, 50 packets per display box, 24 display boxes per case, 25 albums per pack. The dealer ad also lists the following bar codes: sticker packet (5018819903523), display box (5018819903530), and album (5018819903547).

Closing Comments

     The United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers tested collectors' interest in Garbage Pail Kids album sticker products. While the concept of album stickers were new to Garbage Pail Kids, they were not new to other topics that children were interested in collecting.

     The main focus was children, and I felt this release may have gone overboard by the way it was designed. By creating a Garbage Pail Kids product that would mostly interest children, you are neglecting the veteran collectors who make up the majority of the collectors. The veteran collectors liked the original design of Garbage Pail Kids (i.e., stickers on card backing), which was possibly why Topps Europe Limited created both the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Gross Sticker Cards and the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers. I felt that it was best to keep things as close to the original plan as possible because it was very successful.

     Another problem was the cost to collect the set. There were just too many stickers to collect. Reducing the number from 192 stickers to 125 stickers would have made a significant impact on the ease to complete the collection. It takes a few minutes just to count through all 192 stickers of the collection, which was a good indication that there were too many items. Even if children had enough money to purchase a full box of 50 packs, they would not be able to complete a set without buying more packs, ordering singles, or trading. This was unlike the United Kingdom Gross Sticker Cards set because it was possible to make at least 1 complete set per box (usually 2). Since the release was created for children, it should be simple for children to collect.

     While there were design changes to the borders and name ovals for the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers, I felt it did not improve the overall appearance of the stickers. The drab green border got very tiresome to look at, and the same color was also used on the boxes, wrappers, and sticker albums. It would have been nice to see a border design that looked something like what was on the cards from the United Kingdom The Garbage Gang '92. I did like that the stickers were designed to look very different than United States Garbage Pail Kids releases.

     I did not see the point of using foil stickers in the set. It would have been better just to use regular stickers throughout the set.

     Another thing collectors missed were the card backs. Since the set was comprised of stickers, there was no content on the sticker backs like comics, Would We Lie To You?, awards/licenses, wanted, etc. And, those are the types of things that both children and veteran collectors enjoy to looking at.

     Just like the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Gross Sticker Cards, the packaging for the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers was excellent because it did a great job of protecting the stickers from damage. It would have also been nice if the boxes came sealed in shrink-wrap so that you would know that the contents were not tampered with (e.g., the packs would not be switched from one box to another box).

     The availability to order singles and other items on Topps Europe Limited's website was a huge plus. This was especially great for those that could not buy the items locally or just needed a few singles to complete their set. If you do order something from Topps Europe Limited's website, make sure you receive exactly what you ordered. If there are problems with your order, contact the company immediately to resolve the problems. The downside to ordering from the website was that the items were not packaged well and would usually get damaged in the mail.

     The design of the sticker album was excellent, but once again I must mention that the concept of album stickers does not appeal to most of the veteran collectors. And, anyone who collects Garbage Pail Kids should know better than to adhere the stickers to the sticker album or poster. It is a costly set to complete, so it is a horribly bad idea to significantly decrease the value of the stickers by putting them in the album or on the poster. If you are collecting the set and want it to retain its value, then you should not remove the stickers from the backing. Save an empty sticker album and the unstuck sticker set.

     While it was nice to see Garbage Pail Kids again being sold in Europe, I did not feel Europe was getting a Garbage Pail Kids product to that would excite children or interest veteran collectors. Besides there being too many items to collect for the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers, there was already the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Gross Sticker Cards, which was release almost at the same time as the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers and contained many of the same characters. There definitely did not need to be two Garbage Pail Kids releases put out at the same time for distribution in the same countries.

     In order for Garbage Pail Kids to be successful in Europe, Topps Europe Limited needs take a better look at the Garbage Pail Kids releases from the 1980s. They need to go back to producing Garbage Pail Kids cards (not stickers), create a more eye-catching card design, eliminate uninteresting items (foil cards and sticker albums), and create sets that will appeal to the majority of the current collectors. It will be interesting to see if the United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Gross Sticker Cards and United Kingdom Garbage Pail Kids Stickers were successful enough to have Topps Europe Limited produce additional Garbage Pail Kids series. I cannot imagine that they will again produce both a card set and a sticker set at the same time, but you never know.

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