The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum has turned its Garbage Pail Kids 40th Anniversary tribute into an ongoing, multi-wave release rather than a single commemorative drop. Confirmed via GPKNews.com, The Toy Book, and the museum's own store listings, the collection has expanded across three separate waves since its debut, bringing the brand's gross-out card characters into 3D bobblehead form for the first time.
The museum's own listings confirm the following rollout:
The shift from numbering Wave 1 to 2,025 pieces and Wave 2 onward to 2,026 pieces is a small but deliberate detail, tying each wave's edition size to the year it was announced rather than using a single flat production number across the whole collection.
Despite Garbage Pail Kids' four-decade run as one of the most recognizable trading card parody franchises, this marks the first time the brand's characters have been produced as bobbleheads. That's a meaningful gap in the collectible landscape the museum is filling specifically for the 40th anniversary, giving longtime GPK collectors an entirely new format to chase for characters they've likely only owned as cards or vinyl figures before.
Several figures across the waves lean directly into the 40th anniversary framing rather than simply reproducing classic card art in 3D, including dedicated 40th Anniversary editions of Dead Ted, Leaky Lindsay, Nasty Nick, and Adam Bomb alongside their standard versions. That pairing of classic and anniversary-specific editions gives collectors a way to chase both the original character designs and a version tied specifically to this milestone year.
The museum's listings confirm pricing, character lineups, and edition sizes across all three announced waves, but haven't indicated whether additional waves beyond the third are planned, since Garbage Pail Kids has an enormous roster of classic characters still unrepresented in bobblehead form. Collectors specifically hoping for more entries should watch GPKNews.com and the museum's own store for further announcements.
Since each figure across all three waves carries an individual edition number, keeping them protected and organized as the collection grows is worth setting up early rather than after several waves have already arrived.
For dust-free display of individual bobbleheads, an acrylic modular case protects each numbered figure while keeping its edition details visible.
For collectors building out a full multi-wave set, a tiered acrylic display stand makes it easier to organize figures by wave rather than lining them up flat on a single shelf.
$40 each, or $175 for the full five-figure Wave 1 set.
Three so far, spanning thirteen total characters and editions.
Yes, each figure is individually numbered, with Wave 1 limited to 2,025 pieces and later waves limited to 2,026 pieces.
Yes, this marks the character franchise's first appearance in bobblehead form.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame's Garbage Pail Kids 40th Anniversary line has grown from a five-figure debut into a genuinely substantial multi-wave collection, giving longtime GPK fans their first chance to own the brand's characters in bobblehead form. With three waves already confirmed and the franchise's deep roster still largely untapped, more entries seem likely as the anniversary year continues.
Since every figure across all three waves carries an individual edition number, setting up proper display protection now makes it easier to keep the whole collection in matching condition as it grows.
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