Herman Munster 8 Inch Retro Cloth Action Figure (2004, Classic TV Toys)

Herman Munster 8 Inch Retro Cloth Action Figure (2004, Classic TV Toys)

In 2004, Classic TV Toys released a line of 8 inch "The Munsters" action figures in the retro Mego style.  Today I'll be looking at "Herman Munster" from this line.

Herman Munster in His Package

This Herman Munster figure has a nice headsculpt.  It's not as detailed as the Diamond Select Herman Munster action figures.  It's a bit more simplified and cartoony, but that works well for this type of retro figure.  It does a nice job of capturing the likeness and goofy charm of Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster.

Click here for my review of  Diamond Select's Herman Munster action figure.
Click here for my review of  Diamond Select's Hot Rod Herman action figure.

Herman Says "Hello" to Spot

Classic TV Toys and Figures Toy Company have improved their bodies quite a bit since this figure was made, but at this point in their history they were still having issues with their manufacturers and had a lot of broken figures.  My figure was not broken, but his body does not articulate very well, and feels a bit fragile, so I didn't try to force his arms or legs into any extreme positions.

The Friendliest Frankenstein

Herman's cloth outfit captures his TV look, but fits a little too loosely, which hurts it's appearance.  While there is a whole line of CTVT Munsters figures, Herman is the best looking figure, the rest look a bit sloppy.  So I probably won't get the complete collection, but I still had to get Herman, since Frankenstein's Monster is my favorite movie monster, and I like to get all the versions of him I can, even the Herman Munster version, and he does fit in nicely with the other figures in my Frankenstein collection.

BONUS!  MUSIC VIDEOS:

The Munsters - Munster Creep (1964)

"The Munsters" were a 1960s surf rock band inspired by the TV show, they put out one album full of instrumentals and vocal songs with monster-themed lyrics, many of them directly referencing the Munsters TV show.  The above video is comprised of home movie footage shot at the Hollywood Bowl, and features the band in what looks like a sound check, along with footage of Al "Grandpa" Lewis, Butch "Eddie Munster" Patrick, and their car the Munster Koach.

ANOTHER MUSIC VIDEO AND MORE PHOTOS AFTER THE BREAK...

The Comateens - The Munsters Theme (1981)

Live video of 1980s New Wave band The Comateens performing their cover of The Munsters theme song.

Herman Munster

Herman Inspects His Black Fingernails

Frankenstein Family

Sundry Monday! Raceway Lily and Hotrod Grandpa Action Figures from Diamond Select's The Munsters

Week 3 of my Countdown to Halloween officially begins with this post, as I begin HALF HUMAN, HALF HORROR: Vampires, Werewolves, Apemen, and More, a Week of Human Beings Crossed With Horrible Things!  I'm kicking it off with a look at two action figures of Half Human, Half Bats, aka Vampires!  It's Grandpa Dracula himself, along with his daughter Lily, from Diamond Select's The Munsters action figures.  In particular, it's "Raceway Lily" and "Hotrod Grandpa," both based off of their appearance in the Munsters episode "Hot Rod Herman."  let's check them out after the break.

Sundry Monday! Diamond Select's The Munsters Hotrod Herman Action Figure

Welcome to "THE DEAD SHALL WALK AMONG THE LIVING: Frankenstein Monsters, Mummies and Zombies Abound in a Week of Reanimated Corpses," Week 2 of my Countdown to Halloween.  Today I'm going to be looking at one of Dr. Frankenstein's more oddball creations: Herman Munster!  Specifically, it's Hotrod Herman, from Series 3 of Diamond Select's The Munsters Action figures.  With this figure, Herman is dressed up in leather drag racing gear, sort of looking like a monster version of Marlon Brando in "The Wild One!"  It's based on the 1965 Munsters episode "Hot Rod Herman."  My pictures and thoughts on this figure are coming up after the break.

Diamond Select Toys Munsters Select Marilyn & Eddie Action Figures

Marilyn & Eddie

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Diamond Select Toys Munsters Select
MARILYN & EDDIE ACTION FIGURES

I've reviewed the other Munsters action figures Herman, Lily, and Grandpa, already, so I don't want to waste a lot of time going over the same stuff.  The packaging for Marilyn & Eddie is the same as the other figures, and like the other figures, the stuff inside is secured by a bunch of pain-in-the-butt twist ties.

Marilyn Close-Up

The accessories that come with this package are a little sparse, especially compared to the Grandpa figure.  Marilyn comes with a book, I guess just because they couldn't think of anything better to give her.  Eddie comes with his Wolf-Man doll, which is pretty sweet.  It also comes with a giant collar for Spot, the Munsters' pet dragon that lives under their stairs.

Eddie Close-Up

The figures are about the same quality as the other figures, and have the same decent level of articulation.  My Marilyn figure has a tendency to lean backwards a bit... not to the point of falling backwards, just enough to make her posture a little strange unless you work at getting her pose just right.

Eddie's Funeral

Overall, these are fun figures, and they pair great with the rest of the Munsters, as well as other monster action figures.

This is my last post for the Halloween Countdown, I hope you enjoyed it!  Check below for more pictures of Eddie and the gang.  In November I'll have more movie and toy reviews (including a bunch of Batman 1966 stuff) and I'm going to start reviewing season 2 of the 1970's Hardy Boys TV show, so I hope you'll keep coming back for more!

BONUS!  MUSIC VIDEO:
Eddie and the Monsters (Butch Patrick) - Whatever Happened to Eddie?

Marilyn & Eddie's Package

Marilyn & Eddie's Accessories

Saturday Morning Horror - 1966

 

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The Spookiest Saturday Morning Cartoons of 1966
SATURDAY MORNING HORROR

Last year, I did a series of posts for the Countdown to Halloween about horror movies and Halloween themed music from 1966, which I tagged as "Halloween 1966."  This post was originally supposed to be part of that, but I ran out of time on the countdown last year, and never finished it.  So I decided to dust it off, finish it up, and post it now, for this years countdown.

1966 was a good year to be a monster kid.  Classic monster movies, like Frankenstein and Dracula, were popular again due to their being shown to a new generation of fans on TV.  Monster themed toys, like Marx Toys' Cinema Creatures, and Aurora Monster Model Kits, were on the toy shelves.  Television had the premieres of Dark Shadows, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Star Trek and Batman.  Other shows that aired in 1966 included Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, My Favorite Martian, The Munsters, and The Addams Family.

Even the Saturday Morning Cartoons were not immune to monster-mania.  I'm going to count down the top 6 spooky, scary, or monster-filled cartoons that were available to kids on 1966 Saturday mornings, starting with the least scary, and working my way up to the most horrifying!

6. FRANKENSTEIN JR.

Frankenstein Jr. was one of the co-stars of the cartoon show Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles, which paired Frankenstein Jr cartoons with cartoons about The Impossibles, a combination rock band/superhero team.  Frankenstein Jr. was giant robot that looked like Frankenstein, who was controlled by a young boy and his scientist father.  Together they would fight crime and disasters.  Basically, it was an American version of the Japanese cartoon Gigantor.  This was really more of a superhero show than a horror one, but any show that features a giant Frankenstein robot has got to be on the list.

5. SPACE GHOST

Like Frankenstein Jr., this is really a superhero show, not a horror one.  But, heck, it's got "ghost" right in the title, right?  Plus, Space Ghost did fight a variety of scary aliens, so the show did have it's share of monsters!

I think the closest thing to straight up horror it did was the episode "The Creature King," featuring a Doctor Moreau style mad scientist alien.  Check it out:

Space Ghost - The Creature King




 4.  KING KONG

Here's another show that's more of an adventure show, and not really scary.  It's sort of like a poorly animated version of Jonny Quest.  But any show that stars King Kong, one of the greatest movie monsters of all time, has got to go on this list!  Plus, this show had a great theme song:

 King Kong Animated Series -1966 (Intro)



3. WINSOME WITCH

Winsome Witch was a cartoon segment of The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show.  It followed the misadventures of a friendly witch who flies around on her broom getting into weird adventures.  It's a bit like I Dream of Jeannie crossed with Casper the Friendly Ghost.  Like most Saturday Morning Cartoons, it's not actually scary, but at least this one does have elements of the supernatural in it, so we're on the right track.  Here's the cartoon's intro:




2. MILTON THE MONSTER

Milton the Monster was a friendly Frankenstein-type monster, who lived in the Haunted House on Horror Hill with his mad scientist father Professor Montgomery Weirdo, and Weirdo's gay husband (or maybe just his lab assistant?) Count Kook.  This show is full on comedy horror along the lines of the Addams Family or The Munsters, and is chock full of weird monsters, skulls, bats, and Gothic imagery.  This was the perfect show to warp the impressionable minds of the kiddies on Saturday mornings.

Check out the show's creeptastic theme song:

Milton the Monster (Intro) 


AND NOW, CLICK BELOW TO REVEAL THE SCARIEST SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON ON THE AIR IN 1966!

Diamond Select Toys Munsters Select Grandpa Action Figure

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Diamond Select Toys Munsters Select
GRANDPA ACTION FIGURE

I've already reviewed Diamond Select's Herman Munster and Lily Munster action figures, and today I'm taking a look at Lily's father, Count Dracula himself, otherwise known as Grandpa!

Packaging: Front, Side, Back

Packaging
The packaging on this toy is pretty much the same as it was on the Herman and Lilly figures, with a big photo on  the side, and plastic in the front.  This had a few frustrating twist ties, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the Lily figure was.  Some of the stuff in this one was held in with tape instead.

Inner Clamshell Thingamojobbers (Technical Term)

Grandpa's bio on the back of the box reads:

Sam Dracula, the famous Count Dracula of legend, is over 600 years old and personally knew King Arthur and Jack the Ripper.  He can still turn into a wolf or a bat... if he takes his pills.  He is a persistent inventor, having modified his own coffin into a race car, the "Drag-U-La".

Behold the Face of Dracula!

Appearance(Sculpt/Paint/Likeness)
I really like the looks of this toy.  Like with the Lily figure, I don't know if it captures Al Lewis's face as strongly as it could.  The Herman Munster figure definitely has the best facial sculpt of the three.  It seems to me that the Grandpa facial sculpt looks better in real life than in my photos, though.  I think the photos tend to magnify the flaws.  But aside from the facial sculpt, I think his suit, cape, and accessories look fantastic.

Articulation/Playability
The figure doesn't have as many points of articulation as most figures this size.  You can't really do much with his legs or head.  He does have some decent articulation in his arms, though, both at the shoulders and elbows, and he comes with two sets of hands.  As a result, you can make him gesticulate, point, and even smoke a cigar in a variety of interesting poses.

Grandpa's Laboratory

Accessories
Where this figure really shines is with all of his accessories.  He comes with a lab table and a variety of really awesome test tubes, beakers, and magic books to fill it up.  They look really cool, and they are all little individual pieces that you can move around and arrange as you see fit.  They really take this figure to another level.  I thought Herman and Lily's accessories were kind of lackluster and random (a lunch pail and a cuckoo clock), but Grandpa's accessories more than make up for it, plus they fit his character perfectly.

The lab equipment alone would have been plenty, but this figure also comes with a removable cloak, and a little bat that can perch on Grandpa's shoulder!  And it also comes with the rest of the pieces needed to build Herman's collect-and-connect electric chair.  The accessories with this figure a just fantastic.  I don't "rate" figures in my reviews anymore, but if I did, the accessories would have my highest score.

Herman in the Electric Chair

Final Thoughts
This is a really fun, good looking figure by itself, but the fantastic accessories take it to another level.  I'm a huge Frankenstein fan, so I thought that Herman Munster would be my favorite figure from this series, but after playing with Grandpa, I have to place this one on top.  Heck, even if you're not a Munsters fan, this figure pretty much worth just for the lab equipment alone, which would look good with any kind of mad scientist horror display for 6 or 7 inch action figures.  So, if you're even remotely interested, I'd recommend you pick one of these up while you still can.

Diamond Select Toys Munsters Select Lily Munster Action Figure

 COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN 2013
Diamond Select Toys Munsters Select
LILY MUNSTER ACTION FIGURE

I reviewed the first of these Munsters action figures, Herman Munster, back in January.  I had originally planned to write up the other characters in this line soon after, but I never found the time.  It's probably for the best, though, because what better time to review figures like this then in October, as part of the Countdown to Halloween?

Packaging: Front, Side, and Back

Packaging
The packaging for this toy is adequate.  It's exactly the same as the Herman Munster packaging, except with Lily on it instead of Herman, so you can check out my previous review to read more about it.

Lily's bio on the back of the box reads:

"Born Lily Dracula of Transylvania, the matriarch of the Munster family is the daughter of a vampire, but werewolf blood also runs in her family, as both her brother and her son bear the curse.  Loving dust and decay, she keeps the Munster household nice and messy."

When Twist Ties Attack

Unlike the Herman figure, though, I found this one to be a pain-in-the-butt to remove from the packaging because of some extremely tight twist ties.  In fact, one of Lily's arms was popped out of of the socket because the twist tie on it was wound so tightly.  This has been a recurring problem with Diamond Select's toys.  I had a Diamond Select Bride of Frankenstein figure whose head was broken off for the same reason.  With my Bride of Frankenstein figure it was actually broken, and I had to use super glue to glue it back on, losing all of the articulation in the process.  With Lily, her arm wasn't broken, just popped out of the socket.  I was eventually able to pop her arm back in to place after several attempts at putting the figure in boiling water to soften it up.

Appearance(Sculpt/Paint/Likeness)
This is a very good looking toy.  The facial sculpt is probably the weakest as far as likeness goes.  It doesn't look as close to Yvonne DeCarlo as the Herman figure does to Fred Gwynne, or the Grandpa figure does to Al Lewis, but it still looks pretty good.  I think they should have painted the white hairs individually instead of with a solid white streak, though.  A little texture there would have gone a long way.  But those are minor complaints.  Overall, I think it looks great.

Articulation/Playability
This figure doesn't have much articulation, and is not nearly as good the Herman Munster figure in that regard.  Her plastic dress limits her leg movement, her plastic hair limits her head movement, and her wrists are sculpted in place.  What's left is some movement in her arms. Basically she can hold her arms out, or to the side a little bit, and that's about it.

Accessories
Lilly comes with a wooden base, some more pieces of Herman's collect-and-connect electric chair, and the Munsters cuckoo clock. Like the lunch pail that the Herman figure came with, the cuckoo clock is a pretty odd accesory.  But it could look good if you were building a Munsters diorama to pose your figures in.

Lilly Hands Herman His Lunch Pail

Final Thoughts
While I'm not as enthusiastic about this figure as I was of the Herman Munster figure, I still like it quite a bit, and I'm looking forward to assembling the electric chair and posing this figure together with the rest of the Munster family.

The Brides of Frankenstein

"May I have this dance?"

Luna - Tiger Lily

Coming Soon: The Munsters Toy Reviews

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN 2013

PREVIEW

Earlier this year, I reviewed Diamond Select's  Herman Munster action figure.  This year, as part of the Countdown to Halloween, I'll be checking out the rest of the family with reviews of Grandpa, Lilly, Eddie, and Marilyn.  So check back in a couple of days when the fun begins!

Diamond Select Toys Munsters Select: Herman Munster Action Figure

Atomic Robots (and Other Toys)
Diamond Select Toys Munsters Select: Herman Munster Action Figure

I'm a huge Frankenstein fan, from the original book by Mary Shelley, to the Boris Karloff movies, and his various incarnations in comic books, cartoons, TV, and movies since then.  Frankenstein's Monster has come in many forms over the years, but this guy may be one of the goofiest: Herman Munster from "The Munsters" TV series.  How does this gruesome but loveable Sitcom Dad / Reanimated Corpse rate as an action figure?  Read on to find out...

Herman Packaging: Front, Side, and Back

Packaging: 3 Robots

The packaging on this toy is adequate.  Nothing to get very excited about, or upset about.  It's a big plastic box with some cardboard attached to it, designed so that you can see as much of the contents as possible.  The clamshell opened up with a boxcutter, and the figure was not difficult to remove from the package.

It has a big photo of Herman on the side of the box.  The other characters in this series have similar photos on the side of their boxes.  I've read that it is designed that way so you can display it on a bookshelf with the photo facing out.  This seems like an odd way to display an action figure, since you wouldn't see the actual figure, but if some people like that, I guess there's no harm in it.

I did like the brief bio of Herman written on the back:

"Weighing 350 pounds and measuring 7 feet 3 inches tall, Herman Munster was built in 1850 by the famous Dr. Victor Frankenstein.  A good-natured, soft-spoken funeral home employee, Herman is a World War II veteran, a good husband to his wife Lily and a loving father to his son Eddie."

Herman Munster's Grinning Mug

Appearance(Sculpt/Paint/Likeness): 5 Robots

The sculpt on this toy is fantastic, they've really nailed the look of actor Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster.  The paint job on the figure is great, too, I can't find any flaws with it.  He's got some extremely unsubtle shading painted on his forehead, and normally I wouldn't like that, but here it seems like an attempt to replicate the look of the make-up job from the TV show, so it works for this figure.

Posing Herman

Articulation/Playability: 4 Robots

This toy has a good amount of articulation.  It is is BIG step up from Diamond Select's Universal Monster figures, which are more like plastic statues.  This figure has hinges at the elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles, cut joints at the thighs, wrists, elbows, waist, and upper arms, and ball joints at the hips, shoulders, and head.  The figure can be posed in a variety of ways, such as standing, sitting, walking, and gesturing.  It comes with a base to stand on, but the figure is fairly well balanced and can stand on it's own with out it.

Herman with his lunch pail, plus the tray with his stand, and pieces of the electric chair.

Accessories: 4 Robots

This figure comes with a few accessories.  First, there is a base to stand the figure on.  The figure stands pretty well on it's own, though, and the base doesn't really feel like it anchors to his feet very well, so I don't know that it is really useful.

The second accessory is a lunch pail, like the one Lily used to hand Herman in the opening credits of the TV show.  It's fine.  He can hold it in his hand reasonably well.  I'm not really sure if anyone was really clamoring for a lunch pail prop for Herman to hold, though.  Then again, I don't know of any other item I would have preferred him to have.  I guess I don't really think of Herman Munster and automatically picture any accessories for him.

The third thing he comes with are pieces of an electric chair that can be assembled for Herman to sit in.  Other pieces come with the Lily and Grandpa figures.  I imagine that this will be a really great prop to play with once I assemble it.  I do have the Lily and Grandpa figures waiting for me to open, so keep your eyes on this blog in the coming weeks to see how it turns out.

I, Herman

Cool Factor: 4 Robots

I'm really digging this Herman Munster figure.  Yeah the TV show was kind of corny.   The Addams Family was way cooler, those guys actually seemed kind of gleefully perverse, while The Munsters was basically just a generic family sitcom in monster drag.  But I still loved the show as a kid.  Plus, while this Herman Munster figure is great on his own, he also fits in very well with my collection of Universal Monsters and Frankenstein toys.

Value: 3 Robots

I got this figure as a Christmas gift, so the "value" for me was great, he was free!  Normally, this figure retails for around $21.00.  That seems a little high to me, but not too bad.  Also, I imagine that the price well go up quite a bit once this figure sells out at retail, and is only available at places like eBay.  So, if you're thinking about getting this figure, I'd recommend you pick him up soon.

Final Score: 4 Robots

Rating: 4 Robots (out of 5)

Note:  Normally, I do "Thrift Store Thursdays" on Thursdays, but I'm way behind schedule on my blog this week.  I haven't had time to assemble and photograph my latest thrift store purchases.  Thirft Store Thursdays should return next week, and hopefully I will get a few posts typed up in advance this weekend, so this won't happen again.  Thanks!  - Joshua Raymond