Mini Barbecue Grill

Okay, one last cookout before the weather changes. RMS International is a company that makes a lot of different playthings for kids - we hesitate to say "toys," because is a slime-making kit a toy? Is sidewalk chalk? They're things kids would love playing with, but I'm not sure "toy" is quite the accurate term for them. However, one of the toylines they do make is Teeny Tinies, little diorama-sized sets of themed accessories, perfect for giving to your action figures. The sets are available at many different retailers, but this one, specifically, came from Five Below. It's the Mini Barbeque Grill, and it's been released in a few different styles of packaging, but this one is red, with smouldering coals at the bottom of the box and a red-and-orange canopy along the top. The insert behind the tray matches the theme, and the back of the box has renders and a list of the 19 pieces included in the set. The centerpiece of the set is, naturally, le grille. [what the hell is that?! --ed.] It's a decently sized bit of furniture, about 4" tall, 5¾" wide, and 2" deep. The base is a large black cabinet with two opening doors to allow access for storage, while the actual grill part is gray: it has three black knobs on the front, as well as an unpainted button that's likely the ignition. The cover lifts to reveal the interior, which is molded with three gas burners. The black grates are separate pieces, packaged separately in the box. One side of the grill has shelf for prep work or storing the utensils, while the other has... a warming tray? Griddle? I don't know I'm not a cookout guy. But I know it has a power knob in the front, so I feel confident saying it's getting heat for something. If the burners inside the grill didn't make it obvious, this is gas-powered, not charcoal or wood - you know, for when you want your food to have temperature, but no particular flavor. Smartly, the set includes a white propane tank. It doesn't have any hoses to connect it, of course, but the nozzle gets a fully detailed sculpt, and there's even the appropriate cutouts in the cylinder collar. You can either sit it next to the cabinet, or open the door and keep it inside. For utensils, we get a knife, a barbeque fork, and a pair of tongs (click-click). The fork and knife get painted with black handles, but the tongs get nothing. They are, however, made from a soft enough plastic that you can squeeze them shut and they'll pop open again, which is basically the entire play pattern for tongs anyway. Finally, we get a single white plate, for when it's serving time. However, like the song says, "you don't win friends with salad," so we also get a bunch of food to throw on the grill. There's a large porterhouse steak, made from a slightly gummy plastic for a realistic texture, and left a pink-brown liver color to show that it's still waiting to be cooked. A slightly redder shade is used for the single hot dog, and for the chunks of meat on one of the two included shish kabobs (the other one appears to be veggie; they're unique sculpts, and they both get full paint apps all the way around, which is always nice to see, especially on a budget release like this). If that all weren't enough, we get some things that are done cooking! First is another hot dog, this one with mustard pre-applied (that is, sculpted and painted) and a bun to fit in. Unlike similar dogs we've seen before, this one doesn't have anything to permanently attach it to the bun, so it really wants to slide out if you're not careful; I think maybe the idea was that the natural "grippiness" of the plastic used for both pieces would make them stick together semi-firmly, but in practice that doesn't happen. Anyway, after that, we also get a burger. The bun is plain, without any seeds on top like stylized representations often get, while the burger itself has melted cheese on top and... well, they're probably meant to be slices of tomato, but since there are four of them and they're so small, they look more like pepperoni. Whoever's hosting this BBQ is making pizzaburgers?! I'm there! We finish this set with condiments - one bottle of ketchup, and one of mustard. Showing an attention to detail most companies wouldn't bother with, they're different styles of bottle: the mustard is the typical old-fashioned kind with the twist-open nozzle at the top; while the ketchup is the more modern kind, with a white flip-open cap at the bottom. Nifty! Unfortunately, a molding artifact on the mustard bottle means it can't actually stand up very well; since the base has a small bump instead of being flat, it wants to rock to one side or the other and fall over. The Teeny Tinies sets are, like MiWorld before them, probably meant for figures in the 4.5" range, but will work well enough with anything up to NECA's 7" scale. And for just five bucks, the Mini Barbecue Grill set is a terrifically fun piece of set dressing. RMS International put a surprising amount of detail into what could have been a forgettable set. -- 09/14/25 What do you put on your hot dogs? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.