Twenty five years later, Boomer, Spaulding, and Travis are back.
One of Blink-182’s most memorable music video moments are now a new collectible as Encore! Toy Co. celebrates the 25th anniversary of Take Off Your Pants and Jacket with officially licensed 7 inch vinyl figures of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Travis Barker.
Instead of simply recreating the three members of Blink-182 as they normally appeared during the era, Encore! went directly for the nostalgia.
The figures are based on the band’s ridiculous alter egos from the 2001 “First Date” music video, recreating the exaggerated looks that helped make the video such a memorable part of Blink’s history.
Preorders opened September 24 exclusively through Encore! Toy Co., with the limited edition figures expected to begin shipping in February 2027. For anyone who grew up watching Blink-182 videos during the early 2000s, these are immediately recognizable.
Blink-182’s “First Date” Characters Become Collectibles
The original “First Date” video took Blink-182’s sense of humor and pushed it into full character mode.
Mark Hoppus became Mr. Boomer, Tom DeLonge transformed into Spaulding, and Travis Barker completed the trio as Travis. Each vinyl figure stands seven inches tall and recreates details from the band’s appearance in the video. Mark’s exaggerated look, Tom’s unmistakable aesthetic, and Travis’ checkerboard styling all return in the set.
It’s the type of Blink collectible that immediately connects with a specific generation of fans. Encore! Toy Co. isn’t simply putting the musicians into different outfits. The company is recreating a visual moment tied directly to one of Blink-182’s biggest albums and music videos.
The packaging continues that approach, with artwork created by Jeremiah Purinton and the figures sculpted by artist alarconos.
A Blink-182 Fan Helped Bring The Project To Life
There’s also a personal connection behind the collectibles.
Frankie Blydenburgh, co owner and managing operator of music culture and fan merchandise for Rockabilia.com and Encore! Toy Co., has been a Blink-182 fan since discovering the band in 1997. For him, working directly with Blink’s team on an officially licensed project nearly three decades later brought things full circle.
“Blink-182 has been a huge part of my life since I discovered them in ’97, and they were really the catalyst for me getting into punk rock,” Blydenburgh said.
He described working alongside the band’s team to bring the figures to life as “pretty unbelievable,” especially with the project arriving during the 25th anniversary of an album that became so important to Blink fans.
That connection matters for something this specific.
Blink-182 has released countless pieces of merchandise over the years, but recreating the “First Date” characters requires understanding why three intentionally ridiculous looks from a 2001 music video still resonate with fans decades later.
Take Off Your Pants And Jacket Turns 25
The timing isn’t accidental.
Blink-182 released Take Off Your Pants and Jacket in 2001, following the massive breakthrough of Enema of the State two years earlier.
Rather than losing momentum, the band entered another defining chapter. The album delivered “The Rock Show,” “Stay Together for the Kids,” and, of course, “First Date,” three songs that remain closely associated with Blink’s classic era. It also arrived as pop punk became impossible to ignore.
Blink-182’s combination of huge melodies, fast punk influenced songs, immature humor, and surprisingly serious emotional moments connected with an enormous audience. Their music videos became nearly as important to their identity as the records themselves.
“First Date” captured the humor side perfectly.
Instead of making a polished performance video, Blink leaned into absurd characters and an intentionally dated visual style. More than two decades later, those characters have remained part of the band’s visual history.
That’s what makes them an interesting choice for an anniversary collectible.
More Than Another Blink-182 Figure
Music collectibles have expanded considerably since Take Off Your Pants and Jacket originally arrived.
Vinyl variants, action figures, statues, limited merchandise drops, anniversary editions, and collaborations have become another way for fans to connect with specific moments in an artist’s history. For a band with as much recognizable imagery as Blink-182, there is plenty to work with.
Encore! Toy Co. chose a particularly nostalgic one. These aren’t figures designed around Blink-182 as the band appears today. They’re frozen inside a very specific point in 2001, when Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Travis Barker were in the middle of one of the most important periods of their career.
For younger fans who discovered Blink following the reunion of Hoppus, DeLonge, and Barker, the figures offer another connection to the band’s earlier history. For anyone who was already there in 2001, they probably don’t require much explanation.
One look at the figures is enough.
Blink-182’s 2001 Era Lives On
Twenty five years is a long time for any album to remain culturally relevant.
Yet Take Off Your Pants and Jacket continues to occupy an important place within Blink-182’s catalog and the wider history of pop punk. The songs survived. The videos survived. Even the ridiculous outfits survived.
Now Boomer, Spaulding, and Travis can sit on a shelf.
Encore! Toy Co.’s limited edition Blink-182 7 inch vinyl figures are available for preorder exclusively through the company’s website and are expected to ship in February 2027.
For collectors, they’re another officially licensed piece of Blink-182 history. For longtime fans, they’re something even more specific: a physical reminder of an era when turning on a Blink-182 music video could be just as entertaining as hearing the song itself.
