New 2006 Tikis at Big Lots!

Once again Big Lots! has released their spring tiki line for 2006.

We know that the items are generally knock off replicas (copies of others work), but they have had a few good finds in years past. Here is what they are offering this year. I added a tiki lelani mug in each of the pics for scale.

This fellow is 100% resin. ($19.99)

It has a photoelectric cell on the top, so when the lights dim down the eyes automatically turn on and glow.

This guy was out a few years ago. ($9.99)

This resin bowl is about the size of an ice bucket. ($7.99)

These guys are plastic and a little cheesy. They come in blue and purple and can be easily repaited. There is a battery operated flicker flame inside of the mouth. ($19.99)

But hands down, the best find is the knock off Pele sclupture from the Disneyland ETR mug. This guy is 100% resin and stands 32 inches tall. ($29.99)

Good luck and happy hunting. The first store I visited did not have any of these itmes, the second store had all of them.

Zulu

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2006-03-13 23:51 ]

You take one of those ice buckets, put a plant in it that the leaves or vine hang down covering the somewhat, and it will look cool.
Just sitting there its ugly, but in the right atmosphere with a tropical plant in it..... could be nice.

A cheap flower pot that you won't feel bad about the weather ruining or somebody knocking over.

Mahalo for the update. Maybe I should replace my TikiRoom tiki, which is broken, particularly as there is a Big Lots down the street, next to the Bali (on Sabu's list).

Time to go shopping

FYI. There is a thread in collecting tiki on Biglots tiki. http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=14080&forum=5&45

*On 2006-03-13 20:47, ZuluMagoo wrote:
*I added a tiki leilani mug in each of the pics for scale.
The underappreciated but undisputed workhorse of the World Of Tiki Mugs!!
The standard by which all things tiki are measured!!

All Hail Tiki Leilani!!

I found bupkis at our local Biglots. (Tho' they did have a wicker loveseat I'm thinking about--but I want to pay $10)

Anyway, for those of you in the MA area, I did see some cool stuff in Grossman's Bargain Outlet. They have a lightup fuzzy palm tree for $120 and I'm really, really thinking about the black, (lavarock?) fountain for $200. Sorry, no pics.

As you probably know, I am in Denver. Which Big lots did you go to? I gots ta know.

T.F.

I hit the Big Lots in Downey, CA today and they had it all. I bought one of each and 2 of the Ice Buckets / Planters.

Thanks for the heads up ZuluMagoo!!

Warwick RI Big Lots had very little. I picked up the little 9.99 tiki totem and a bamboo beaded curtain (palm tree on it) for 15. Other than that they had a talking tiki mask (ultra cheesy) and the flaming tiki heads. I was so hoping to find the Disneyland knock off but no luck :(

I just went to BigLots today in Pasadena and saw a bunch of these things, most everything in the pictures. Not bad for a bunch of cheap plastic stuff! I might grab a thing or two, since the prices are so reasonable.

The big lots in south pasadena had squat.

My Big Lots had it ALL - save the big Disneyland guy. (I suspect they thought, "WTF?" and sent the boxes back!)

Got some amber tiki lights, some more skinny bamboo cylinder lights, and I'm trying to resist Mr. Glowy Eyes. House-painting looms...

Big Lot's in Delray Beach, FL had everything but the bucket. They only had 2 Peles (Now one, yes!). Now that I got it, I really need to know how to properly paint her. The issues are many.

[ Edited by: HelzTiki 2006-03-16 11:08 ]

YAY!! I picked up a Pele, 2 buckets, a glowing eye tiki, and some (kinda cheesy, but cute) fish netting with shells sewn on. The big score was across the street at a 'going into retirement' sale at a home and garden decorating store - they had glass floats on sale, big 'uns and little 'uns - so I picked up one big yellow one and two small ones (blue and red) for under $50. They had another yellow and a turquoise in the big size, but I didn't have enough cash.

All in all, a pretty pleasant shopping day here in NC!

amiotiki

THe Big Lots on University in Pem. Pines had nothing. The Oakwood store had one Pele that I did not get. It looked too much like some sort of Conquistador wearing Bermuda Shorts. Very distracting.

There was one bit of fun... One of the room dividers for sale was a "Flower Door Covering" that was nothing more than plastic pot leaves with some little pink flowers every few inches.

Mr Glowy Eyes is cheesy enough to be cool and is going to look really good in my back yard, but the bucket/planter thing is going to take a bit of thought.... Cool enough to have, but not cool enough to show off.

Good luck and Happy Hunting.

WoooHooo! The Big Lots in Mission Viejo is "FULLY" Stocked with Tiki Trinkets. Very cheap too!!! I picked up the only Pele the store had. :)

[ Edited by: WooHooWahine 2006-03-16 16:12 ]

Thanks Woo! The LAST Pele?!! I'll check a few more locales.

I want it NOW!!!

I stopped at Big Lots earlier today. They had a few of the glowing eye tikis, and two Peles - they all ended up in my cart.

This Big Lots also had some neat looking 'Tiki Bar' signs - but a closer look revealed that they were made of fake - not real bamboo, else I might have bought one.

I swear I had at least 3 women later in the store ask where where I found the tikis - one of them actually put her hand on my cart and said 'Stop - I want to see those' and then apologized when she found out I was not a store clerk moving stock around. In hindsight, I wonder if 'Where did you find the tikis' is the new pick-up line used by gray-haired, middle-aged women, Suburban women to pick up guys at Big Lots. The other alternative is that all these women were giving up on Martha Stewart and discovering the world of tiki.

Vern

Well, my Big Lots here in the boondocks had some stuff, but not the stuff I was hoping for. The glowing eye guy wasn't here. Nor was Pele.

I did get a couple strings of tiki lights, 4 plastic leilani design tumblers, 48 drink umbrellas for $1.99 and since I needed some hurricane glasses, I got their cheapo ones.

But most of the other tiki stuff was so cheesy, it was frightening.

EDITED TO NOTE: I went to another store and found the statue with the light-up eyes. So it's all good.

--SBiM

[ Edited by: Suffering Bastard in Maine 2006-03-20 11:25 ]

The Big Lots store closest to me (Tamarac/N. Lauderdale, Florida)had two extra Peles when I was there this weekend.

The pele is cool. I'm really thinking about rigging fire for his head.

The ice bucket is great too. It will become a planter rather than an ice bucket.

The solar eyes light up one was a little cheesey for me personally, but I could see how people will be split on whether its cool, cause it was almost cool.

What I did buy that was cheesey was some glasses, trays, plates and bowls that were yellow and had 2 tikis on them with big red flowers. They were cheese, but something was cool about them.

Anyone thinking about painting their pele like the one at Disneyland?

On 2006-03-20 11:29, ErichTroudt wrote:
The pele is cool. I'm really thinking about rigging fire for his head...
Anyone thinking about painting their pele like the one at Disneyland?

Yeah!!! I want to dremmel out the circle on top and find the right sixe tiki torch insert....And painting it...

On 2006-03-16 09:34, HelzTiki wrote:
Now that I got it, I really need to know how to properly paint her. The issues are many.

But what color to paint it. Green and yellow or the new red and yellow. The amazing Gwenners has a good pic of the red and yellow version I'll ask if she'll post an enlargment here.

Here's the Green and yellow version. I think I prefer the red version.

On 2006-03-20 20:24, hodadhank wrote:
But what color to paint it. Green and yellow or the new red and yellow. The amazing Gwenners has a good pic of the red and yellow version I'll ask if she'll post an enlargment here.

I believe you are thinking of this paint job. :)

Cheers,
Gwen Smith

Mahalo Gwenners!

While I prefer the red, can anybody confirm that the green and yellow version is the original mid-century color scheme? Who's got the the earliest Pele pix available?

On 2006-03-20 11:29, ErichTroudt wrote:
Anyone thinking about painting their pele like the one at Disneyland?

Several people said that they were going to paint their pele on this thread:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=14080&forum=12&48

I also posted this thread hoping to spur a little discussion about painting these guys...but to no avail.

But what I find funny is that the Big Lots Pele is a tiny bit different than the Disney original. The one from Big Lots looks like he's(She's?) wearing shorts, as Chip and Andy mentioned. It might be difficult to pull off the orange on the legs like in the photo above.

Just my $.02

Also...as you can see in the pic here:

There is some texturing needed to make him/her look authentic. I guess you could just dry brush on some lines for the effect, but does anybody have any other suggestions?

[ Edited by: HelzTiki 2006-03-21 14:14 ]

I didn't even notice the damn shorts until you guys mentioned them. :x

I thought I'd dust it with brown spray paint and add a coat of clear matte. Then I was thinking about using some oil crayons I have but I've used them before on something similar and it got kind of gloppy and hard to work with. So now I'm thinking about going to a craft store and seeing what they have in the way of chalk-like sticks. I don't know if there exists anything beyond simple colored chalk but I was thinking something that worked like a moist chalk or a colored charcoal or something like that would work good. I'm no artist and I don't know what the hell I'm talking about or if such things exist but that's what I was thinking. Maybe I should just shut up until I actually go to the store and see what's available. :)

Finally found time to go to my nearest Big lots and found only one type of tiki. I asked the retail help if they had seen any more stuff like this and they acted like I was some kind of alien freak. It was a true anthropological experience. I am going to try another Big Lots today. Man I forgot how wierd those places are, but whatever it takes in the name of Tiki.

On a separate note there are some pretty bitchin hand woven palapa palm leaf table umbrellas at Home Despot these days. They are pretty pricy approx $200. but they are really the shit. I am going to procure one soon, can't resist. A great addition to paradise.

Helztiki, the painting idea intrigued me too. I just wished the hat looked better. I almost think it would be easier to just make one from scratch with wood. Its certainly one of my favorite mugs. You get so much for so little.

If and when you do paint it, you got to show us.

On 2006-03-21 14:04, HelzTiki wrote:
I also posted this thread hoping to spur a little discussion about painting these guys...but to no avail...

There is some texturing needed to make him/her look authentic. I guess you could just dry brush on some lines for the effect, but does anybody have any other suggestions?

Thanks for the awesome close-up Helztiki.

Sorry I missed your previous post on this subject.

I say Shorts Schmorts, this is as close to having a Disney Pele as I'll ever have so I'll make do. It might have been a copyright issue where changing 10% of the sculpture keeps the manufacturer safe from a Disney lawsuit.

I expect acrylics would be fine. Try an inconspicuous test area, let it dry and wait to see if it peels in a day or so. If that's the case maybe some very fine sand paper to make the surface more porous and the a clear non-gloss coating afterward to seal the sucker. That's what I'm doing anyhow... I'll let you know how she turns out.

I'm more concerned about finding the right diameter tiki torch to put in it's hat. I'll have to cut off the very top and that makes me nervous. To dremel or not to dremel that is the question.

For those of you in Denver, the Big Lost in Aroura at Chambers and East Hampden has it all and more, for example there is a pretty nice Tiki Bar sign that I didn't buy and other luau shwag that may or may not be useful. The Pele is freakin' awesome!!!

Thanks ofr the tip Zulu!! You Rock!
See you 4/1/06!

On 2006-03-22 11:38, hodadhank wrote:

I'll have to cut off the very top and that makes me nervous. To dremel or not to dremel that is the question.

Just be sure stand back, in case anything creepy pops out at you!

*On 2006-03-22 11:56, Tikiwahine wrote:*Just be sure stand back, in case anything creepy pops out at you!

I hadn't thought of that...

I think Tikiwahine may be referring to what Bargoyle found in his resin tiki when it broke:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=18564&forum=1

heres an idea: for the cracks over the left eye, like in the WDW Pele picture, build up the surface on either side of the crack with Bondo or a model sculpting medium then you can paint over it.

Too baD, there isn't a better way to add to the hat. Or is there? Best Pele look-a-like contest. GO!

I am definitely painting my Pele Tiki. I really don't care if it is anything like the Disney one, although the fire colors seem to make the most dense. I am almost tempted to get a couple more and paint each one differently. Pretty good bang for the buck in terms of size and useability. I am planning to put mine in an outdoor garden setting near my Tiki bar, so with good plants and the pre existing torches, etc. Pele should look pretty Tikiriffic!

Maybe I'm a bit slow, but I just realized .......
That is not a hat on Pele's head - it is a miniature volcano!

So if you paint it, you've got to make the top look like a mountain/volcano. And if you're ambitious, you will rig the whole thing so it erupts every now and then.
The only thing cooler than a Pele figure, would be a Pele figure with red lava flowing down around its head.
Johnny Cash fell into a burning ring of fire, but it was Pele who created the burning ring of fire

and it burns, burns, burns
Vern

On 2006-03-22 16:59, ikitnrev wrote:
Maybe I'm a bit slow, but I just realized .......
That is not a hat on Pele's head - it is a miniature volcano!

So if you paint it, you've got to make the top look like a mountain/volcano. And if you're ambitious, you will rig the whole thing so it erupts every now and then.
The only thing cooler than a Pele figure, would be a Pele figure with red lava flowing down around its head.

Maybe the top of the volcano hat can be cut out and the statue can be made into a lamp... with a red/orange lightbulb recessed inside the hat so that it projects a lava-colored light onto the ceiling. Hmm...

Big Lot's in Delray Beach, FL had everything but the bucket.

Fear not! For a mere $80.00 you can get three of the $8.00 planters on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Planters-TIKI-Totem-Pole-Bar-Statue-Tribal-Garden-Art_W0QQitemZ4451752915QQcategoryZ36025QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I was in my Big Lots again this week (large canned dog food for $.59!) and was stunned to see that ALL of the Mr. Glowy Eyes were now GONE!!!

Who-the-hell else besides ME in Houston wants one of these?!? (Thank you, whoever you all are, for saving me from my own stupid desires.)

Interesting too that my store only got one of the ice bucket/planter styles (the one on the right on the eBay picture). I might have bought one, had they had the other 2 styles.

I'm in Houston and have been really bad about putting off my tiki shopping. I need to hit the Big Lots on 45 in Spring and see what's what. I'm the other person around here who'd be into the glowing eyes Tiki...heres hoping that there's still some to be had.

MAN, A H, where have you BEEN?

I hoped that my message would drag you hiding Houstonians out of the woodwork!

Good luck finding a Mr. Glowy Eyes. Don't bother trying the one on Shepherd at 11th St. in The Heights!

Has anyone noticed that the totem style tiki ( one on top of the other group of three jobber ) is fashioned after the tiki on the classic Enchanted Tiki Room poster. Check it out. Big difference is the top tiki has an oval head on the poster. I found one of these recently at Big Lost on Broadway in Denver.

If you are still wondering what I am referring to, look at the second Tiki on Zulu's first post on this thread.

Now back to the lagoon.

Aloha!

T.F.

On 2006-03-29 09:57, Tiki Fink wrote:
Has anyone noticed that the totem style tiki ( one on top of the other group of three jobber ) is fashioned after the tiki on the classic Enchanted Tiki Room poster. Check it out. Big difference is the top tiki has an oval head on the poster.

Yes Fink, I think that has been brought up before. Also, there is a much larger resin tiki sold by Design Toscano and Sky Mall that also looks very similar to the tiki pictured in the Enchanted Tiki Room poster.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=2646&forum=5

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=578&forum=5

big lots in morton grove had 1 glowing eyes tiki, the blue plastic flame tiki heads and the luau crap and tiki bar sign.....I picked up the boogie board....has a cool reto 70's look to it...I'm gonna make mine into an end table. would make a nice wall shield with some crossed spears behind it, maybe a light too....most of the big lots stuff is low-grade crap....it's a shame people actually spend money on it as it only perpetuates the production of more crap similiar to it.....the tikis look good but apparently big lots (and target) feel that, if the stores are not located by an ocean then they should not contain any tikis as land locked people don't want to buy that sort of thing....what a bunch of discriminating mother****ers!!

Thanks for the tip on that particular tiki. Just purchased it. I am revamping my Tiki Patio so this will look great with the Big Lost Pele in my patio garden.

Coolsville!