Misfit Robot Daydream: Universal Monsters Retro Cloth Figure Creature From the Black Lagoon (2012, Diamond Select and Emce Toys)

Universal Monsters Retro Cloth Figure Creature From the Black Lagoon (2012, Diamond Select and Emce Toys)

The Creature From the Black Lagoon was released in 2012, alongside The Bride of Frankenstein as part of the third series of Diamond Select and Emce Toys Retro Cloth Universal Monsters figures. It features an interesting mix of cloth and plastic that's a little unusual, but works very well.

Attack of the Gill-man

To start off, it has a great headsculpt, and a paint job that almost looks slimy -- like it's been underwater for a long time. The paint job highlights the details in sculpt and really makes them pop. Then the figure has a set of originally sculpted hands and feet. Again, really great sculpts with lots of details, and a paint job in multiple shades of green that makes them come alive. The figure also has a sculpted plastic piece that sits around his neck and his shoulders that adds an extra layer of dimensionality to the creature -- it works much better than simply having his head pop out of a hole in a cloth jumpsuit.

Night Fishing

Then there's the cloth jumpsuit itself. To begin with, I have to point out that that in my photographs, the flash from my camera makes the jumpsuit look like a much lighter shade of green than the plastic pieces, but under normal lighting conditions, they are a much closer match, so bear that in mind when viewing my photos. The jumpsuit is screen-printed with scales and details from The Creature. In a way, this is like a throwback to old-school Mego figures, such as the Dreadful Dracula, or The Joker, that had costume details screen-printed on to a jumpsuit. But the print on this costume is much more detailed, and my eye was constantly being fooled into thinking there was an actual scaly texture woven into the fabric, when it was actually just printed on. Finally, there are plastic fins attached on top of the jumpsuit, on his back, arms, and legs. The final result is a really unique looking figure that sort of bridges the gap between a fully sculpted plastic action figure and a cloth outfit retro figure.

Gill-man Meets Aquaman

The Creature From the Black Lagoon has appeared as a Mego style figure a couple of times in the past, but this figure is easily the best of the bunch. If you're a fan of the Universal Monsters and 8 inch retro figures, then this is a figure you should certainly seek out.

Brothers From Another Mother

As a final note, Happy Halloween, everybody. This is my final review for the Countdown to Halloween. I hope you enjoyed all the scary movies and toys I featured on the blog this month. I'll be back later this day for one final Halloween post, which will feature all of the Mego-style monster figures I reviewed this month in one big group shot, so tune back in later for that, if you're not too busy trick-or-treating!

MORE PHOTOS AFTER THE BREAK...