Official Universal Studios Monsters "Frankenstein Monster" 9 Inch Vintage Action Figure (1980)

Remco 9 Inch Frankenstein Monster Action Figure (1980)

Earlier this month, I looked at "Count Dracula" from Remco's 1980-1981 line of 9 inch cloth outfit Universal Monsters action figures.  Today I'm featuring Remco's "Frankenstein Monster."

On the Slab

All of these figures have strange looking accordion-like arms under their clothes (see pic below) and a button on their backs.  When you press the button, their arms contract, as if they were crushing their victims.  Either that or they're just really friendly and want to give you a hug.

The Monster Walks

This figure has a simple, almost cartoonish sculpt, but it has all the key elements and is immediately recognizable as Frankenstein's Monster. It reminds me more of Lon Chaney Jr.'s version of The Monster than of Boris Karloff's.  I'm a big Frankenstein fan, so of course I love this figure.  What do you think?

A Face Only a Mad Scientist Could Love

MORE PHOTOS AFTER THE BREAK...

Count Dracula Vintage 9 Inch Action Figure - Remco (1980)

From 1974 to 1976, Azrak-Hamway International (aka AHI) had their own line of 8 inch, cloth outfit, Universal Studios Monster action figures, that were heavily inspired by Mego's similar figures in the 1970s.  The figures were fairly cheaply made, and were obviously imitating Mego's figures, but unlike Mego's figures, these were officially licensed from Universal Studios, so they were actually able to get closer to the likeness of the characters from the movies.  In 1980 and 1981, AHI revisited this license through their child company Remco, producing a series of 9 inch Universal Monsters figures with cloth outfits.  Aside from being slightly bigger than their original figures, these all had an arm closing action feature when you pressed a button on their backs, it sort of made it look like they were grabbing ahold of their victims and crushing them to death.

The 1980 Dracula figure's face is nicely sculpted, although it looks closer to Frank Langella or George Hamilton's Dracula than Bela Lugosi.  It's body looks quite a bit bulkier than Bela's, as well.  His vest, medallion, and tie are screen printed on to his shirt, similar to the Mego Mad Monster Dracula.  He also has a black cape with red lining, like the Mego version.  One nice feature is that his cape has loops on it that fit over his wrists, so that when you activate his arm crushing feature, he actually wraps his cape around his victim along with his arms, which definitely has a great "Dracula" feel to it.

BONUS!  MUSIC VIDEO:

Hot Blood - Soul Dracula


MORE DRACULA PHOTOS AFTER THE BREAK...

Star Trek Aliens Neptunian - Mego (1975)

Mego Star Trek Aliens Neptunian (1975)

In 1974, Mego launched a line of of Star Trek action figures.  The first wave consisted of five members of the Enterprise crew (Kirk, Spock, Scottie, Bones, and Uhura) and a generic Klingon who looked to be based on Captain Koloth from "The Trouble With Tribbles."  The figures were all pretty straight forward and looked to be modeled more or less accurately from either Star Trek the Original Series, or Star Trek the Animated Series.  For the next two waves in 1975 and '76 the name of the line was changed from "Star Trek" to "Star Trek Aliens" and that's when things got a little weird.  The figures went from being closely based on the designs from the TV series to more like loosely inspired by the series.  On no figure is that more true than on the Neptunian, which does not appear to be based on anything that ever actually appeared on Star Trek.  In fact, it looks more like some kind of mutated version of Mego's Green Goblin figure from it's World's Greatest Super Heroes line.  But it's that weirdness that makes the figure so great!  Let's check it out after the break...

Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, Part Three

  

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN 2012

HAUNTED TOYBOX

DAY 20 - 11 DAYS TILL HALLOWEEN

Wow!  We've finally made it!  Are you ready for the final three entries in Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s?  Feel the burn!

Click here for part one.
Click here for part two.

The Mad Monsters!  Note: the figures in the photo are of the reissued figures from Classic TV Toys, not the original figures from Mego.

3.  Mego Mad Monsters
Several entries in this list have been of "Mego-style" monster dolls, and now it's time we get to the original line of toys by Mego themselves.  While the Marx Toys Cinema Creatures may have been the original line of monster action figures, they were all solid pieces of plastic, really more like plastic statues than what we think of as action figures today.  Originally issued in 1973, Mego's Mad Monsters was the first line of fully poseable monster action figures with moving body parts.  These are the toys that were later imitated by companies like Lincoln International, AHI, and others.

The line-up consisted of four figures: "The Monster Frankenstein,"  "The Dreadful Dracula,"  "The Human Wolfman," and "The Horrible Mummy."  While clearly inspired by the Universal Monsters, these were not officially licensed products, so they don't look exactly like their movie counterparts.  Instead, Mego went with a somewhat friendlier and cartoonier take on the monsters, while still trying to keep their monstrous appeal.  Mego also produced the "Mad Monster Castle,"  a fun vinyl castle playset for the monsters that featured a drawbridge, an operating table, and some neat mad scientist laboratory artwork.  These dolls were interchangeable with the other dolls that Mego produced, so if you wanted to have Robin Hood team up with Mr. Spock to fight Dracula, or dress up Frankenstein in a Superman costume, you could!

The Mad Monsters and the Mad Monster Castle are still available, in reissues from Classic TV Toys, click here to check them out.

To learn more about the Mad Monsters and other Mego toys, check out the Mego Museum at http://www.megomuseum.com/.

Remco Mini Monsters and Mini Monster Playset!  Not Pictured: Mini Monsters Monsterizer

2. Remco Mini Monsters
For most of the 1970s, the action figure aisles of the toy store were dominated by Mego-style dolls in the 8 inch or larger range.  But, by the end of the decade, that all changed with the massive success of Kenner's 3 and 3/4 inch Star Wars action figures.  Out were the big doll figures with removable cloth outfits, and in were smaller, all plastic figures, along with their vehicles and playsets.  Remco and their parent company AHI had already issued two lines of Mego-style, officially licensed Universal Monsters figures.  In 1981, they responded to the changing times by coming out with a new line of plastic monster action figures in the 3 and 3/4 inch scale, dubbed "Mini Monsters."

The line-up of characters was the same as Remco's 9 inch monsters: Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, the Mummy, the Wolfman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Phantom of the Opera.  The figures were first introduced in regular versions, and then later in glow-in-the-dark versions.  There was also a Mini Monsters scaled "Monsterizer" operating table, like the 9 inch line had.  Remco also produced a Mini Monster Playset, designed to look like a creepy dungeon with a sarcophagus, operating table, and mad scientist lab equipment.

This is a really fun group of figures, with great likenesses to the characters and actors from the movies.  While there's a lot of competition in the larger figures, these one have this size all to themselves.  But even if there were other figures in this scale from other companies, I think these ones would still come out on top.

Marx Toys Frankenstein Robot!

1. Marx Toys Battery Operated, Remote Control Frankenstein Robot
The Marx Toys Battery Operated, Remote Control Frankenstein Robot: With it's vinyl head and hands, tin body, and remote control robot action, it's like a bunch of different toys, "Frankensteined" together!  Get it?  "Frankensteined?"  Oh, you did get it?  Okay, umm, sorry about that.

But seriously folks, this toy is like a triple threat, appealing to collectors of tin toys, robots, and, of course, Frankenstein.  The robot actions include walking and grasping objects.  Plus, it appeared on an episode of the Munsters, where Herman mistakenly thinks that Lilly was pregnant, and that this toy is actually his new son!  With a pedigree like that, you'd expect this toy to be highly sought after by collectors, and you'd be right.  In fact, this might be the single most collectable Frankenstein toy of them all.   Depending on the condition, and whether it is loose, or in the box, you can expect to pay anywhere from $400 to $4000 for one of these!  That's pretty much out of my price range... but who knows, maybe I'll stumble onto one cheap at a thrift store or yard sale one day!  Sure, that's not very likely, but don't ask me to give up my dreams.





Closing Thoughts
Welp, that does it.  I hope you enjoyed my list of Frankenstein toys.  Here are some fun sites you can check out online if you want to learn more about vintage toys:

The Mego Museum
You can read about Mego's Mad Monsters, and all of the other cool toys Mego made that ruled the toy aisles in the '70s.

Plaid Stallions
This great site is chock full of vintage toys from the '70s and '80s

The Gallery of Monster Toys
A great site to learn about monster toys from the 1960's through the 1990s.

Ebay
So you can search for all the toys of yesteryear I mentioned in this list, and then wail in despair as you see how much they will cost to buy today.

Oh, and if you think there is some great Frankenstein toy or game that I overlooked, feel free to chime in in the comments!

Thanks for reading!
Your pal,
Joshua the Atomic Robot

Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, Part Two

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN 2012

HAUNTED TOYBOX

DAY 19 - 12 DAYS TILL HALLOWEEN

I hope your ready for another plastic-molded dose of creepy, Frankensteiny ghoulishness, becuase it's time for part two of...

Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s!

 For part one, click here.

Official World Famous Super Monsters!  Not Pictured: The Creature from the Black Lagoon

6.  AHI's Official World Famous Super Monsters
These are the third group of Mego-style monster dolls on this list: AHI's Official World Famous Super Monsters.  AHI were probably number two behind Mego for these type of figures in the '70s, and these figures are of a much higher quality than the Lincoln International Monsters from earlier on this list.  AHI also managed to outbid Mego for the Universal Monster license with these toys, so they are all "official" depictions of the monsters from the movies, not off-model generic ones.  This didn't stop AHI from imitating Mego, though, as their "Offical World Famous Super Monsters" logo is a pretty shameless rip-off of Mego's "World's Greatest Superheroes" logo.  I guess they were hoping to confuse the two lines in the minds of kids, so that some of Mego's success would rub off on them.  They also ripped of the artwork from the Aurora model kits for the artwork on the back of their cards.  All of which, of course, adds to the fun.

Being officially licensed products, the likenesses of the sculpts are pretty good.  This is especially true of their Frankenstein figure, which looks more like Boris Karloff than any of the other Mego-style Frankenstein dolls of this era.  Other characters in the line were The Mummy, Count Dracula, Wolfman, and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Aurora Monster Model Kits featured amazing monster artwork by artist James Bama

5.  Aurora Monster Model Kits
Aurora Monster Model Kits are perhaps the most well loved and influential of all the monster toys.  Thanks to television reruns in the late '50s and early '60s, as well as the popularity of the magazine "Famous Monsters of Filmland," the classic Universal Monster movies were being exposed to a whole new generation of fans, and monsters in general were becoming more and more ubiquitous in pop culture.  In 1961, the Aurora Plastics Company decided to cash in on this trend in by offering a model kit of Frankenstien's Monster, and it was a "monstrous" success.  This kit was soon followed by a dozen more kits featuring characters like Dracula, the Wolf-Man, The Bride of Frankenstein, Godzilla, and more.
 
Aurora models are probably the most "classic" of all the monster toys, and it seems like most of the monster toys that came afterward drew inspiration from them, many of them openly aping the looks of the models, or copying the artwork on the boxes.  The Aurora model kits were issued and reissued in various forms throughout the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, and reproductions of many of the kits are still available today.

Marx Toys Cinema Creatures

4.  Marx Toys Cinema Creatures
The Marx Toys Cinema Creatures were the monster toys that practically every boy in the sixties played with, as they were cheap, durable, and a lot of fun. They were the first ever line of Universal Monster action figures. They were like the little green army men many of us had as kids, but oversized, and in the shape of various monsters.  Even though they only came in two colors, blue and orange, the sculpts were fantastic, and they look great.  Over the years these toys have been bootlegged and reissued in other colors, including glow-in-the dark versions.  While these may seem simplistic to modern eyes, these were fantastically exciting toys in the 1960's.

In addition to Frankenstein's Monster, Marx also made figures of the creature from the Black Lagoon, Wolf-Man, the Mummy, Dracula, the Phantom of the Opera, and the Hunchback of Notre Dame.


Tune in tomorrow for the earth-shattering conclusion of...
Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s ...if you dare!   Boo-wah-hah-hah-hah!  Again, that was my EVIL laugh.

Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, Part One

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN 2012

HAUNTED TOYBOX

DAY 18 - 13 DAYS TILL HALLOWEEN

Alright!  Buckle your seat belts, kiddies, because we're about to take a wild ride down Frankenstein road, and it's a twisty one on the side of a creepy mountain!  Boo-wah-hah-hah-ha!!  That was my evil laugh, by the way.

Today I'm treating you to the first part of my top 10 list of vintage Frankenstein toys from the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.  These are all toys that were inspired by or feature Frankenstien's Monster, either individually or as part of a line of toys that Frankenstein was a part of.  Numbers 10 through 7 will be featured today, then come back tomorrow and the next day, when I'll be finishing up with parts 6 through 1.

Lincoln International Monsters Box Art

10.  Lincoln International Monsters
The Lincoln International Monsters are the first of several Mego-style "doll" action figures on this list.  Mego-style dolls (after the Mego toy company, which is famous for these types of figures) are kind of like Barbie dolls for boys, they wear cloth outfits that you can take off, or swap outfits between different characters.  This would probably seem weird to people from younger generations, but if you played with action figures in the 1960s and 1970s, like the original G.I. Joe, The Six Million Dollar Man, or Mego's World's Greatest Superheroes, these are what they were like.

The Lincoln International Monsters guys are kind of the cheapest and cheesiest looking ones of the bunch, basically generic knock-offs of the toys being made by better companies like Mego.  The artwork on their packages is really goofy, it almost looks like it was painted by a little kid.  On the original boxed version of Frankenstein's Monster, his name was misspelled as "Frankensten."  Lincoln International did not have the rights to use the actual likenesses of the Universal Monsters, so all of their characters are off-model just enough so they could avoid being sued.  The low-quality goofiness of these figures actually increases the appeal that these toys have for me.  I really think these figures are a lot of fun.

These line of toys featured the monsters "Wolfman," "Count Dracula," "Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Phantom of the Opera," "Mummy," and of course, our main man, "Frankenstein."  And, no, I'm not leaving off the word "the" from the beginnings of the Mummy, the Wolfman, etc...  Apparently Lincoln International was not a fan of that word, and did not include it at the beginning of any of their monster's names.

For more info about Lincoln International Monsters, check out lincolnmonsters.com.

Frankenstein Mystery Game - Box Art and Playing Cards

9.  Hasbro's Frankenstein Mystery Game
The Frankenstein Mystery Game is part of a series of Universal Monster Mystery Games that Hasbro released in the 1960s.  The other characters who received their own games were Dracula, The Wolf-Man, The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. 

The game play was fairly simplistic.  Players spin a spinner and move their game pieces around the board to various locations in a spooky town, such as The Cemetery, The Haunted House, The Tower, and The Lab, collecting cards with townspeople on them as you go.  If you collect the card with Frankenstein on it, you then try to make it to the lab to win the game, while avoiding being "challenged" by another player who suspects you of having the Frankenstein card.

The appeal of this game, and the other games in this series, isn't really the game play, it's the awesome monster artwork, combined with the spooky locations like the cemetery and the morgue.  I think if I had this game as a kid, all the scary scenarios I would think up in my head as I played it would help make this game into a spooky good time.

Monster Lab Toy and Box

8.  Ideal's Monster Lab
This is a hellaciously cool looking game.  Against the backdrop of a big crazy looking Mad Scientist lab, a weird, helmeted monster, clearly inspired by Frankenstien's Creation, moves back and forth between two players.  The two players must take turns twisting a knob on their control to direct the monster away from them.  If the player fails to direct the monster away, the monster's helmet falls off, revealing his hideous green skull face, and the player loses the game! 

This game looks really cool, but was supposedly not much fun to play.  The knob twisting didn't seem to do much, it seemed more of an act of chance than one of skill over who would win or lose the game.  Consequently, kids didn't like playing with it, and Ideal quickly ceased production on it.  Of course, these days, that scarcity makes it all the more valuable, and for a modern collector, who is probably going to display it, not play with it, it's great look overcomes what it lacks in game play.  Good luck on finding one for your toy collection, though, as these things now go for thousands of dollars at auction.

Remco 9 Inch Monsters and Monsterizer

7. Remco 9 Inch Monsters
AHI had already produced an officially licensed line of Mego-style Universal Monster figures in the '70s, and they returned to that with their subsidiary company Remco in 1980, with this new line of deluxe, 9 inch monster figures.  The figures all have nice sculpts, and look closer to their movie counterparts then the "unofficial" monster figures from other toy companies.  Under their outfits, the toys had odd looking accordion style arms that would contract to "crush" their victims.  The figures also had glow-in-the-dark hands and faces. 

A neat accesory was sold alongside these figures: The Monsterizer.  The Monsterizer was a Doctor Frankenstein style lab table upon which the monster figure could be placed upon.  The Monsterizer lit up and made weird noises.  In addition to just looking neat, the light would serve to "charge up" the glow-in the-dark features of the figures.

Besides Frankenstein's Monster, other characters that appeared in this line were, Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolfman, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Phantom of the Opera.


Come back tomorrow for part two of Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s!