The Palisades figure series was a line of action figures manufactured by Palisades Toys in the mid 2000s and was one of the last licenses the company worked with. The line consisted of two series containing 5 figures each, Hot Topic exclusive variants of both series, a few show/store exclusives, a set of 4 unarticulated mini figures, and a large box set featuring alternate versions of several characters, mostly from series 1. In addition to this they released a large "Mega Gir" figure, which included his dog disguise, and a statue of Zim's Voot Cruiser with Zim & Gir seated inside, they also created the Gir figure included in the house box-set.
Though the figures themselves sported a good attention to detail and multiple points of articulation, the nature of the character designs made them quite delicate, with the necks being a particularly prone to breaking due to the large size of the heads, some figures could also have problems if paint covered a "wrist" joint as it was difficult to loosen the joint without breaking it.
Series 1[]
The first series included five characters: (Undisguised) Zim, (Undisguised) Gir, Dib, Ms Bitters, and Almighty Tallest Purple, however two versions of each of the characters were produced for a total of 10 different figures. The regular releases were available in a number of different stores and included the featured character with a more neutral expression, a large playset piece, and a handful of accessories, while the Hot Topic exclusive version gave the character a more expressive face, and forewent the playset in favour of a larger selection of accessories and a smaller box. Both releases had different accessories included and often encouraged collection of series and 2 by having pieces related to each other, such as the Hot Topic Zim including an accessory for the Standard Zim's playset, or Tallest Purple's playset piece connecting to Tallest Red's.
The production process for this series is well documented by Bryan Wilkinson on his website
Characters:
Irken Zim: The standard release was expressionless, the playset was of one of his work consoles with a number of screens that could be connected to it, the set also included Mini Moose and featured the unique gimmick of a second PAK with the PAK legs out that could be switched with the standard one. The Hot Topic release gave him a screaming expression and included the house's A.I. brain to connect to the playset.
Robot Gir: The standard release included the pig-shaped Voot carrier and many other accessories from the same episode to re-create the UFO fair, the Hot Topic release had Gir in "duty mode", giving a salute.
Dib: The standard release came with his bedroom computer set up along with a laptop and some documents, the Hot Topic release gave him a determined expression and more alien hunting equipment, including his briefcase which could be opened to store the files both Dib figures came with.
Ms Bitters: The standard release came with the front of the classroom, including her desk and chalkboard, the Hot Topic release sported a grimace and included the auxiliary hall pass and The Chihuahua.
Almighty Tallest Purple: The standard release came with half the platform that connected to Tallest Red's half, Irken snacks, and a puppet of Tallest Red, the Hot Topic release gave him a smirk and more screen & Irken food.
Series 2[]
The second series added Gaz, The Robo Parents, and Almighty Tallest Red, as well as disguised versions of Zim & Gir. Like the previous series there was a standard release that included a playset and was available in most stores, as well as a Hot Topic exclusive variant that typically gave the characters a more expressive face (Tallest Red is the exception) and offered unique accessories instead of a playset. Furthermore, instead of all of the playsets being standalone pieces except for one, this series had the reverse where only the living room set included with the Roboparents was a standalone set, Tallest Red included the second half of the platform Tallest Purple came with, while the other three figures each came with part of the façade of Zim's house.
Characters:
Disguised Zim: The standard release has a devious grin and comes with the mid-section of the house, including the front door and a pair of lawn gnomes, among others, the Hot Topic release gives him a pondering expression with his lower lip out and Pustulio from "Rise of the Zitboy" on one cheek, his accessories included another pair of gnomes to give him the full set of four.
Disguised Gir: This release sported major differences between the two releases, with the standard one having him fully wearing his iconic dog suit and the Hot Topic version having the hood flipped back so that his robot head was exposed, this version also included the TV while the standard version came with the upper half of the house.
Gaz: The standard release included the front yard of Zim's house as well as the Game Slave 2, Professor Membrane's floating screen and another laptop, while the Hot Topic version gave her a furious expression along with her original Game Slave, a soda can and various Bloaty's paraphernalia.
Robo Parents: Both were included in package for both releases, the standard one included Zim's living room, complete with the sofa and a stand for the TV set, while the Hot Topic release had the Dad laughing and the Mom missing an eye and came with a few accessories, including a toothbrush and bag of flour.
Almighty Tallest Red: Unlike most releases, this version gave the more expressive face to the standard release, having him shouting, while the Hot Topic version had a calmer grin, this release also came with the matching Tallest Purple puppet while the standard release had the second half of the platform. Curiously, his skin was a much more saturated shade of green.
Exclusive Sets[]
Three exclusive sets were produced for various stores and events, each featuring alternate versions of Zim & Gir, these included Zim in his old man disguise & Gir with his hood flipped back, Zim in his Germ fighting outfit & Gir with an alternate paint job on his costume to show him covered with germs, and a more standard set with Zim looking slightly annoyed & Gir making a goofy expression.
Special Edition Set Of Doom[]
One of the final releases was the special edition set of doom, which consisted of alternate releases of five characters: Disguised Zim using the face mold from the undisguised Hot Topic release with the hair piece added, Dib with the hypnotized expression to go with the version of Zim with Pustulio, Gir with his hood flipped back and his "duty mode" expression, Tallest Red with the same expression as the standard version of Tallest Purple, and a "shadow" version of Ms Bitters with parts of her cast in clear plastic. This set also came with several accessories, including two lawn gnomes, Dib's briefcase, two mutant vermin, and a recolour of Mini Moose.
Other Releases[]
A few more figures were made and released over the life of the line including:
Mega Gir
A large (presumably life size) figure of Gir was released after series 2, similar to "Mega" releases of Muppet figures, the figure was about a foot tall and came packaged with a replica of his dog suit that could be put on him similar to the one in the show. However the costume opened and closed in the back, rather than the front like his outfit in the show, and unlike the smaller versions of the figure, this version's head did not open up.
Figurines...of DOOM!
This was a set of four unarticulated PVC figures, each with a unique appearance for the four main characters: Zim wearing his plush human suit from season 2, Gir riding on the back of a pig, Dib partially transformed into baloney, and Gaz in a beaver costume briefly seen in "Gaz Taster of Pork". The figures were initially packaged together as part of a box set, however they were later re-released as a series of individual keychains.
Box Set Gir
A special figure of the standard Gir sculpt with his "Duty Mode" colouring was manufactured by Palisades to be included with the house box set release of the DVDs.
Voot Cruiser Statue
One of the final products Palisades produced was a polystone statue of Zim & Gir seated in the Voot Cruiser, the statue came packaged in foam with a stand that mimicked the hanger in Zim's house with each copy being numbered in an edition out of 510. The packaging depicts the prototype, which had a somewhat different paint job from the final product, featuring pink accents that were painted purple on the final statue. Initially Palisades had planned a run of 1,500 copies, however, as the company was nearing bankruptcy during production, just over a third of the planned number of figures were made.