DIMIC

I like ghasapons, danglers and the likes. Usually the quality isn’t that great but they’re just so darn cute! And these Mario Kart items are just like that; cute and extremely cool!
Most of these items have been in the Mario Kart games since the beginning but some only appeared in the later games. Now I’m going to list all these cool items! Doesn’t that sound like fun?

Bloopers appeared as an usable item in the DS, Wii and 3DS versions.
After the player has launched it, the Blooper will create a large ink blot on the screen of all the drivers who are currently in a higher rank than the player, which obstructs the driving view of opponents and causes CPU characters to swerve around on the track. To get rid of the ink, the player can use a Mushroom, go on a Boost Pad, or wait for it to go away.

The Banana (also known as the Banana Peel) is one of the most common, and oldest, items in the Mario Kart series. A Banana Peel causes a kart to spin-out if the vehicle touches the slippery item, slowing them down. Banana Peels can either be placed behind a kart, or be thrown forward down the track. It can also be held behind the kart as a defensive countermeasure against homing red shells and, to a lesser extent, green shells. Bananas can also come in threes, known as Triple Bananas.

Eating a Red Mushroom in the original games made you bigger, in the Kart games, it gives you a boost. Like the Banana, it’s one of the original items from the first Mario Kart game. In later games, you could also get a Triple Mushroom, granting you three boosts to use.

Bob-omb was first a special character item in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! but became a regular item in the DS, Wii and 3DS versions.
If this item is thrown backwards, it explodes after three seconds. When thrown forwards, the Bob-omb waits until another driver comes near it and explodes.

Another oldie is the Green Shells which appear as a projectile weapon. Racers can shoot Green Shells forward in a straight line to hit opponents and it is able to rebound from walls. The Green Shell will be destroyed once it hits a kart, another item, or falls off the race track or into water or lava. If the shell hasn’t been destroyed or fallen off the track, the game engine will remove it after more items are released onto the track. When a kart is hit by a Green Shell, the kart will stop dead in its tracks whilst spinning out, unlike a Banana where it would continue to move for a short while.
Aside from single Green Shells, this item also comes in a triple variant.

Of course, no Green Shell is complete without it’s big brother the Red Shell which can home in on the opponent whose rank is one higher than the driver’s. But you always had to be careful when sending them to your opponent. You could lose the Shell if he (or she) just went around a corner.
Red shells can be picked up in sets of one or three.

In the DS, Wii and 3DS games, the player can collect Bullet Bills as items. After activating the Bullet Bill, the player’s entire kart will transform into a giant Bullet Bill, which will automatically rocket down the track, knocking over any enemies or projectiles in the player’s way, similarly to the Chain Chomp from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. It will only last for a limited time, which increases the farther behind the player is in the race, and can only be received by the racers in 6th-8th place in Mario Kart DS, and 8th-12th place in Mario Kart Wii.

The POW Block was a new item in Mario Kart Wii. When dispatched by a player, all racers ahead of the user finds POW Blocks above their karts. The POW Block makes players spin out in a similar way to that caused by a Banana Peel, except that they lose all of their current items. Players won’t be affected by the POW Block if the third strike goes off while they are in mid-air. Players can also avoid it by starting a wheelie, or shaking their controller (like doing a jump trick) right when the third strike goes off. By doing this, they still spin out and lose items, but retain their momentum. It is also possible to avoid it by doing a hop right at the third strike but requires perfect timing. When players have a Star, Mega Mushroom, or Bullet Bill activated, they won’t get affected by the POW block.

In most Mario Kart games, since Mario Kart 64, the Golden Mushroom gives the player an endless amount of boosts for a limited time. Additionally, in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! it is Toad and Toadette’s special item.

Unlike other items, the Thunder Cloud activates itself automatically when obtained from an Item Box. Then the player automatically receives a constant boost of speed. However, the Thunder Cloud eventually strikes and shrinks the player. But before that happens, it can be passed on to another kart by bumping into any other racer before the lightning strikes. To use the item efficiently, racers have to bump another player and let her or him be shrunk instead. It can be destroyed when the character holding it drives into a cannon, uses a Star or a Mega Mushroom.

The items are about 2-3cm in size and are connected to each other by metal hooks that you can remove if you want that. They’re made of PVC and are well painted for such small things.

Conclusion:
I really like these danglers. But then again, I’m a sucker for these kind of things. They’re cute, well made and of good quality for such small things. If you’re interested in things like these, I highly recommend them! They’re so awesome!

Pictures:

Item reviewed: Mario Kart Phonestraps/Danglers
Type: phone danglers, mini-figures
Manufacturer: Yujin
Variations: none
Rarity: Getting harder to find mostly due to the fact that they’re getting pretty old (2009). Watch out for fakes!