A great hobby for classic monster movie fans is collecting monster movie-related toys and models.   Unfortunately, it's also a hobby that can lead to disappointment.  So, let HORROR-WOOD guide you through...

(From June 2006)

Probably the most talked about figure recently is Sideshow’s Freddy Krueger Dream Warriors figure. This version of everyone’s favorite nightmare man features a unique chest appliance that is being called "Chest of Souls", paying tribute to the scene in A Nightmare On Elm Street 3 where Krueger lifts his sweater to reveal the souls of his victims stretching underneath his flesh. This figure also comes with interchangeable hands that includes Freddy’s gloved right hand and burned left hand and also a set of hands that feature syringe fingers from another scene in the film.

Other accessories include Freddy’s hat, a crucifix and Freddy’s burned remains including skull and bones. This 12-inch figure is going for $49.99 and is limited to just 1,500 pieces. Sideshow is already sold out of this figure but is offering a waiting list.

Returning to their Classic Universal Monsters roots, Sideshow has announced that they will be releasing a Premium Format Mummy and Sarcophagus figure. This will be another of their ¼ scale figures that look terrific but are a bit pricey.

Sideshow and Electric Tiki are also offering a Herman Munster maquette in what they are calling their "Tuned Up Television" series. This figure stands about 13 inches on its base. It is hand cast in high quality polystone and hand painted. Each piece comes with a numbered certificate of authenticity. This one goes for $149.99. There is also a black and white version available for the same price and limited to just 100 pieces. These are slated for the third quarter of this year.

Fans of both Freddy and Jason may be interested in something called "Killer Trivia". This Trivial Pursuit type game features a Friday The Thirteenth trivia game with over 500 questions pertaining to the popular film series and also A Nightmare On Elm Street trivia game featuring over 500 questions about that film series. Fans of these films can have a lot of fun recounting the ways that various victims of each series met their gruesome end.

Last but certainly not least this month is some great offerings by Hawthorne Village. They have announced the release of what they are calling "Village Of Horror Classics." This set features the Camp Crystal Lake Cabin from the Friday The Thirteenth films, The Hewitt House from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and the famous house at 842 Elm Street from the A Nightmare On Elm Street series. These houses light up and feature figures of each of the killer icons from the films. These houses run $59.95 each plus $7.99 for shipping and are available here.

Fans of the Classic Universal Monsters need not feel left out by Hawthorne Village though. Hawthorne has put together what looks to be a fascinating set featuring Frankenstein's Castle, Count Dracula's Castle, The Mummy's Tomb and the Creature's Black Lagoon. These also run $59.95 plus $7.99 for shipping.

Rounding out the Halloween village offerings by Hawthorne is a set featuring The Munsters! The first of the houses is 1313 Mockingbird Lane, the famous house of the Munsters. Subsequent houses include "Lily's Inn", "Grandpa's Touch Of Transylvania Hotel" and "The Drive-In" which features the Munster's Koach. I know this is going to run into a real expense, but I expect that I'll subscribe to all three different villages and figure out where I'm going to put them once I get them all.

(From April 2006)

Collectors of modern horror film figures will have a number of collectibles to choose from in the upcoming year. Sideshow Collectibles will be once again going to the well to release yet another Jason figure from one of the Friday The Thirteenth film series. This entry is the 12-inch Jason figure from Friday The Thirteenth Part IV: The Final Chapter. This version of Jason has accessories, which include a machete, hacksaw, removable hockey mask and a Pamela Voorhees tombstone. In all honesty, I’m not enamored over this one at all and really don’t see the need to spend $45 on this one if you already have some of the other Sideshow Jasons.

Neca has a full slate of horror collectibles due out between now and the summer. Some of these items include Series 3 of their Cult Classics figures which include Bubba Ho Tep from the film of the same name, the original Dawn Of The Dead’s Flyboy, the Endoskeleton from Terminator 2 and Die Hard’s John McLane figure.

This will of course be followed by Cult Classics Series 4 figures which will include a much anticipated Shaun Of The Dead figure, the Plaid Zombie from Dawn Of The Dead, Bruce Campbell as an older Elvis from the film Bubba Ho Tep and yet another Chucky figure. Neca is also releasing a "Bloody Showdown" Action Figure 3 Pack featuring new versions of Baby, Spaulding, and Otis from the extremely popular Rob Zombie film The Devil’s Rejects. Look for this three-figure set to fly off the shelves when it comes out!

Fans of the Classic Universal Monsters finally have something to look forward to! Dark Horse Comics has announced that they are resurrecting the classic monsters in upcoming novels that will start hitting the streets in March. Be sure to look for a new Creature From The Black Lagoon novel titled Time’s Black Lagoon, a Dracula novel titled Asylum; and a Wolf Man novel titled Hunter’s Moon. No telling if any of these will be nearly as good as Jeff Rovin’s Return Of The Wolf Man that was released back in October of 1998 which is out of print and still commands a hefty price for a used copy. Personally, this is one of my favorite novels, written with great skill and care for our old favorites.

(From February 2006)

Well, the new year is already upon us and so far I can’t really say that the future looks bright for classic monsters collectors thus far.

Sideshow continues to go the high end collectibles route with ¼ scale figures that fall in the $250 price range, a far cry from the economical 7-inch figures which launched the company just a few years back. Majestic Studios, the company that brought us the awesome looking 12-inch Hammer Dracula figure have been promising to release a Vincent Price Doctor Phibes figure since 2004 but still no firm details about it’s release have been announced. Hopefully, with the New York Toy Fair later this month, some new revelations of cool horror collectibles will be announced.

One interesting but very hard to find item coming out is a 12-inch Blade figure, based on the famous horror film character portrayed by Wesley Snipes. This figure comes only with a box set of the three Blade films in DVD format. Now for the bad news: This item is a "Japan-only" release, although you will be able to find it online if you look hard enough. Trust me, this one is going to be one hot ‘lil monster! 

Fans of the old Marvel comics monsters series (like me) will be thrilled to learn that Toy Biz has announced that they will be releasing a Marvel Legends Box Set featuring the monsters from the following comics: The Tomb Of Dracula, Monsters Unleashed Frankenstein, Werewolf By Night, and Tales Of The Zombie. Having long been a fan of the Gene Colan/Marv Wolfman Tomb Of Dracula, you can bet this boxed set will be in my hands as soon as it is released. This was showcased at the UK Toy Fair to a great reception.

(From November 2005)

Well, gang, another Halloween has passed but it’s not time to put away those wonderful memories of the famous monsters of filmland just yet. Here’s what the collectibles manufacturers have in store for you in the coming future.

Majestic Studios will be launching their line of 12-inch Dark Shadows figures with two different versions of Barnabus Collins along with a Quentin figure. The first is a figure that comes in clothing from the late 1700’s and the second is the same figure in his more familiar 1900’s clothing. While the sculpt looks very accurate (this is the same company that came out with the Hammer Dracula figure late last year), the prototype I saw just looked like it was swimming in the 1700’s clothing.

One of the major problems doll makers have had to overcome (yes, I said doll makers…I know that they like to call them "action figures" but face it guys, these are dolls with monsters’ faces) is the fact that so many times the clothing just does not look right on the figure. The modern day Barnabus figure looked fine so I’m hoping that this is something that will be rectified. The figures’ release date has just been pushed back but I’d bet you can expect to see this in the very early part of 2006. The suggested retail price is $39.99.

For those of you with deep pockets, Sideshow Collectibles is offering a great looking 1:1 scale bust of Boris Karloff as Ardeth Bey from the Universal classic The Mummy in the first of what they promise will be a new line of full size classic monster busts. The good news is that this bust looks spectacular and captures the likeness of Karloff The Uncanny exactly. Many sculptors have had success with the Karloff likeness, as does sculptor Mike Hill in this case.

It will be interesting to see how well the Bela Lugosi Dracula will look when it is eventually released, as sculptors attempting to capture the likeness of Lugosi have been far less successful. The bad news for the average Universal Monster collector is that the suggested retail price on this full size bust is a whopping $550. Make sure the housekeeper is careful when dusting this beauty!

For those of you with even deeper pockets, Sideshow Collectibles is offering another life-size bust, this one being of the Lord Of Darkness character from the film Legend. This bust was sculpted by Miles Teves, who designed the character’s final film appearance while serving as the lead concept illustrator for the film. This horned bust goes for $899 but Sideshow is generously offering three "Flexpay" payments of about $299.66 each. If this keeps up, they’re going to have to start offering mortgages! Jeez, I really miss the days of the $9.99 action figures!

(From September 2005)

(From July 2005)

Sure do miss the days of talking about all the new Universal Monsters items streaming out of Sideshow and the Polar Lights re-issues of the classic Aurora model kits. We’ve got a few new figures to spotlight this month as well as some beautiful prints that are "must-haves" for anyone who considers themselves a Creature From The Black Lagoon collector.

Actually it’s really DiFate, as in Hugo Award winning science fiction artist Vincent DiFate. Chances are if you’ve ever browsed the Sci-Fi section of your local book store, you probably have seen his artwork. Vincent has won just about every award imaginable for his artwork in the fields of science fiction and fantasy. Through some incredible stroke of good luck (or insanity on Vincent’s part), DiFate has become the program cover artist for our own Monster-Mania Conventions since our beginning just three years ago.

In that time he has produced two paintings featuring the Creature Of The Black Lagoon, the first of which won the Rondo Award for best cover of a publication or program in 2003. The demand for prints of this cover painting were so great that he decided to issue high quality limited prints of not only the two Creature From The Black Lagoon paintings, but also one celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the She Creature film.

DiFate’s first Creature print celebrates the Fiftieth Anniversary Of The Creature and features the Gill Man carrying Kay Lawrence who was played by Julie Adams in the film. The vibrant colors grab you like a claw out of the water and pull you into the painting. This 16" x 20" print is available signed and numbered by the artist in a limited run of only 1000 pieces and is available for just $35. DiFate also offers a limited number of prints that are actually signed by Ben Chapman and Julie Adams for just $60. This is the print that won the Rondo Award.

The second Creature print was used for the program cover of our second Monster-Mania Convention and is titled Above And Below. This print features both men that played the Creature in the first film, Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning under water. Again, this print is available signed by the artist for just $35 or signed by both Chapman and Browning for just $60.

The Fiftieth Anniversary of the She Creature features Paul Blaisdell’s amazing She- Creature costume, which is probably my favorite of all the horror film costumes. Vincent DiFate does Blaisdell justice with his absolutely stunning print. This print is available for $35 not only signed by the artist but also by Bob Burns who was Blaisdell’s friend and collaborator. To purchase these prints, go to the official Website of Vincent DiFate.

Universal Monster fans will be happy to know that Sideshow has decided to issue a Silver Screen version of the 12-inch Hunchback Of Notre Dame figure. This 12-inch doll will be issued in a run of only 500 pieces and retails at Sideshow for $45 with a limit of 2 pieces per household. It’s their black and white version of the color figure that was released a short time ago.

Sideshow has also gone to the well once again for new Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger figures. This Jason is the one as seen in the film Friday The 13^th Part 9: Jason Goes To Hell. This time the Jason figure features a new face sculpt featuring the hockey mask buried deep within the skin of his face and has rooted hair. Some cool accessories include Jason’s black heart and a copy of the Necronomicon, just in case you want to raise a little hell of your own. This is limited to a run of 666 and retails for $45. This is expected to ship in the 4^th quarter of this year.

Also scheduled for a Fourth quarter release this year is the 18-inch Demon Freddy figure features Robert Englund as he was seen in Freddy Vs. Jason featuring the demonic look he had in parts of the film. This ¼ scale figure retails for $225 and is limited to a run of just 400 pieces.

(From April 2005)

TOY FAIR NEWS

Sorry about missing last month’s issue, sometimes life intervenes with fun. Anyway, we’re back this month with loads of exciting news resulting from the recent Toy Fair. NECA toys apparently has decided to become a major player in the horror toy field, with lots of exciting announcements made for this coming year. Most of their news features licenses with the modern horror film realm. First up is their second CROW boxed set featuring the rooftop scene of Eric Draven facing off against Top Dollar. This will be the first time that the character of Top Dollar has been made into an action figure.
Neca continues with the boxed set idea and will be featuring a set that includes Pamela Voorhees from the first film and Jason from Friday The 13^th Part 2. This set also includes the unforgettable shrine to Mrs. Voorhees from the second film.

The big news from Neca is the release of their larger, 18-inch figures. Included in this year’s lineup will be a 19-inch Jason figure that includes a removable mask and other accessories; a motion activated Captain Spalding from The House Of 1000 Corpses and the Endoskeleton from Terminator 2. There are also plans for a motion activated Robocop figure later in the year.

Neca has also announced the lineup of their Cult Classics Series 2 figures, which will include Frank The Bunny from Donnie Darko, Freddy Krueger from New Nightmare, the Tall Man from Phantasm, and Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Horror collectibles fans will be happy to know that there is a new player on the block. SOTA TOYS. Sota is coming out strong with an 18-inch figure of the Lord Of Darkness from Ridley Scott’s film Legend.

McFarlane has announced part of the Movie Maniacs Series 8 lineup, which will feature figures from the film Bram Stoker’s Dracula. So far confirmed figures in that lineup will include the bat and wolf versions of the vampire. 

(From February 2005)

HUNCHBACK OUT AND ABOUT

Sideshow’s much-anticipated Hunchback Of Notre Dame 12-inch figure has escaped the bell tower and is now on the shelves of your local or online collectibles store. I’ve always been a sucker for the Lon Chaney film and Sideshow’s Matt Falls did a quite respectable job with his sculpt of the Man Of A Thousand Faces in one of his most popular roles.

This figure comes with a crown, scepter and cape, complete for your own Pope Of Fool’s procession. Limited to a run of just 2000 pieces, I have a hunch this figure might soon be a bit hard to find.

NEW NIGHTMARE FREDDY

Continuing their line of Modern Classic Monsters, Sideshow has just released a 12-inch Freddy Krueger figure from the film Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. This is the re-imagined version of Freddy Krueger and Sideshow did a fantastic job with this representation.

This Freddy comes with an all-new outfit with a long coat featuring the famous red and green stripes for the inside lining. He also comes with the redesigned biomechanical bladed right hand. This is a very good representation of what is one of Robert Englund’s favorite Nightmare On Elm Street films.

(From January 2005)

Well, the year comes to a close with the release of one of the most anticipated figures that I can remember in a long time. Product Enterprise has finally released the 12-inch Hammer Dracula figure and it is certainly well worth the long wait! The sculpt is a dead-on (or would that be "undead-on") likeness of Christopher Lee as Bram Stoker’s celebrated vampire. Though Christopher Lee apparently has not authorized this figure, make no mistake, it’s him. I just can’t rave about this one enough.

Limited to a run of only 3500 pieces, this figure comes with accessories that include Jonathan Harker’s diary, a flaming candlestick and a crucifix (presumably to keep him trapped in the box). Speaking of the box, my only disappointment at all with this figure is the rather pedestrian box that it comes in. Rather than featuring any number of the posters that came out for the first Hammer Dracula film, Product Enterprise chose to go with an all black box that features the new red letter "H" logo that represents Hammer films currently.

Quite a few online dealers are charging as much as $57 for this figure, but we’re selling it at the original suggested price of $49.99 at Monstermania. Hopefully this will be the first of a long line of great Hammer figures offered by Product Enterprises. They certainly hit the stake on the head with this one!

‘Cause if you do, chances are the Zuni Warrior figure from the TV film Trilogy Of Terror is lurking there. December sure proved to be an eventful month with the release of both the Hammer Dracula figure and this life sized 13-inch Zuni Warrior. Another great sculpt and fantastic looking figure! The Zuni Warrior comes with a feathered spear, warrior skirt and protective charm.

Unlike the Hammer Dracula, the Zuni Warrior comes in quite an attractive box that is made to resemble the shipping crate that contained the doll in the Dan Curtis production. Best news for fans is that this full sized figure is a real bargain with a MSRP of $40 and many online dealers selling it even cheaper ($35 at Monstermania). Just remember to keep the protective charm on the doll, you remember what happened to Karen Black when she removed it! Another solid entry in the outstanding toy lineup of 2004.

THE RETURN OF THE MAD MONSTERS

Remember the Mego Mad Monster figures that were released in the Seventies? Well, Classic TV Toys does. They have released reproductions of The Dreadful Dracula, The Monster Frankenstein, The Human Wolfman and The Horrible Mummy. The new reproductions do have some differences when compared to the original figures but overall they did a wonderful job recreating the look and feel of the Mego monsters.

The new reproductions feature Glow-In-The-Dark eyes and hands. Though they are much less detailed compared to the much more sophisticated modern action figure releases of Sideshow, Neca and McFarlane Toys, Monster Kids certainly hold a special place in their hearts for the original series.

At that time Mego also made superhero figures in the same size and style so I’m sure there were many Spiderman versus Dracula battles going on in the rec rooms and basements of many homes in the Seventies. The only drawback with these figures is the price. MSRP is $15 per figure, which is a bit steep when compared to the inexpensive highly detailed figures offered by the manufacturers of the more modern figures.

Still, there is definitely a market for these figures. Mad Monsters Series Two, scheduled for release in April 2005 features four more figures: The Demonic Devil, The Salem Witch, The Gruesome Ghost and The Grim Reaper.

(From December 2004)

Hi, everyone! So sorry for missing you last month, a new marriage will kind of do that sometimes but we’ve got some catching up to do to close out the year. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and we’ll see you back here again next month as we start listing the upcoming conventions as well!

Actually not a lot for the classic horror fan but Sideshow has announced that they are releasing ¼ scale London After Midnight figure sculpted by Oluf W. Hartvigson. The sculpt looks accurate and this is one of my favorite figures in the 12-inch line of classic monsters but I still have a hard time shelling out $225 for a figure. Classic horror fans with deep pockets will find this an attractive figure and it is limited to a run of 100 pieces, which a scheduled shipping date of the first quarter of 2005. Call me a sentimentalist, but I miss the days of the $7 action figures.

 Sideshow also is releasing a Frank Black action figure in their X-Files line which may interest the devoted fans of the Millennium television series. This 12-inch figure will be released in the first quarter of 2005 and will cost $45. Frank Black has over 30 points of articulation, and includes a Webley revolver, old school .45 & holster, pager, cell phone, flashlight, Millennium case file w/ photos, and an X-Files 12" figure display base.

NECA NEWS

Fans of modern horror will be excited about a number of the offerings over at Neca headquarters. Scheduled for a Feb. 05 release is a series of action figures based upon the upcoming Rob Zombie film, The Devil’s Rejects, which is the sequel to last year’s House Of 1,000 Corpses. The assortment includes Dr. Satan, All American Spaulding, Corpses Otis, Tiny, Baby, and Rejects Otis. Neca is also releasing an 18-inch talking Captain Splading at the same time. 

(From October 2004)

Hi, everyone! So sorry for missing you for the last two issues; running Monster-Mania Con 2 was all consuming but I’ve finally gotten enough rest and free time to turn my attention back to the collecting end of things. Lots to catch up on this month so here goes:

DEPARTMENT 56 UNIVERSAL MONSTERS

If you’re a person who enjoys setting up those porcelain villages for Halloween and Christmas, Department 56 has some really cool Classic Universal Monsters sets that I highly recommend. Introduced initially in Spring of this year, they have issued a Frankenstein figure along with an illuminated windmill.

Joining Frankie is a great looking Wolf Man set that includes the Wolf Man figure, illuminated wagon, graveyard base and moon background.

Also new this year is the Phantom Of The Organ which features a seat animated Phantom that plays creepy organ music.

These figures all join the line that was started last year with the now retired Dracula’s Castle set that included a Bela Lugosi Dracula figure along with the illuminated Dracula’s Castle. These sets average between $50-65 and are very nicely done.

Many of you probably know this info already but there are a number of new Sideshow figures that have been announced since our last column. First up is the ¼ scale mixed media Phantom Of The Opera figure that was sculpted by Matt Falls. The figure looks very good and despite it’s $225 MSRP, I’m very tempted to add this one to my collection. Limited to a run of just 750 pieces, this one is due out by March of 2005.

Joining the ¼ scale assortment is Jason from Freddy Vs. Jason which is sculpted by Brian Dooley. Sideshow has not yet announced just what the limited run for this figure will be, but it is scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2005 but it has a MSRP of $275. Can’t say I’m particularly thrilled with the look of this one.

Sideshow has also announced a number of new 12-inch figures. Following the lead of Neca, Sideshow will release a pre-burned Freddy Krueger figure. Limited to a run of 750 pieces, this figure is scheduled for a first quarter 2005 release. I do have to say that I was much more impressed with the Neca pre-burned Freddy. I’m just not overly impressed with the likeness of the Sideshow piece.

Universal fans will be pleased to know that Sideshow is releasing an Invisible Man 12-inch figure in the second quarter of 2005. Again, limited to a run of only 750 pieces, this costumed figure comes complete with jacket, trench coat, muffler, fedora, medical bag and removable nose. Problem is, if you completely undress this figure, you’ll never find it again.

Most recently the great looking Ardeth Bey figure was released and has already sold out at Sideshow but it is still obtainable from a number of online collectible stores.

Many fans are still anticipating the long awaited Hammer Dracula figure soon to be released by Product Enterprise. After much delay, we are anticipating a release sometime this Fall. The sculpt looks like a dead-on accurate sculpt of Christopher Lee who apparently has not approved the figure’s release. Time will tell what happens here.

(From August 2004)

JAKKS UNIVERSAL MONSTERS SERIES 2

The ever-surprising news out of Jakks Pacific is that they have released the Classic Universal Monsters Series 2. Originally this series was supposed to contain a Creature From The Black Lagoon figure as well as a Bela Lugosi Frankenstein frozen in a block of ice, but low and behold, Series Two comes out without any fanfare and it is comprised of Silver Screen Editions of the Series One figures, which were Frankenstein (from The Bride Of Frankenstein), Wolf Man and Dracula.

Odd thing about this set is that while Jakks painted the figures in tones of silver, gray and black, they neglected to change the color of the inside of Count Dracula’s cape, which they still left a bright red. While the packaging of Series Two is much better, adding a "Try This" feature that makes the moon rise on the background of the Wolf Man figure and causes Frankenstein to raise his chained arms, it’s obvious that Jakks has given up the ghost as far as the classic Universal Monsters figures go. Hopefully one of these days a toy company will come along that will treat the Universal Monsters with the respect they most certainly deserve.

If you don’t have or couldn’t find Series One of this set, or if you are a completist that won’t mind the flaw in Dracula’s cape coloring, I’d still recommend picking this set up. Jakks definitely tried to put the "fun" back in the Universal Monster toys and I still can’t help but think that this line certainly had a future if only Jakks had had a bit more confidence in their own product and hyped it just a bit. The MSRP on these were a bit high at $14.99, but if Jakks could have possibly repackaged them and put them out at an MSRP of $9.99, I think it would have made all the difference in the world.

THE NIGHT HE CAME HOME…

Neca Toys has just announced an upcoming line of Halloween figures that includes a Donald Pleasance Doctor Loomis figure. Their Deluxe boxed set features a diorama that spans over 17 inches and includes a Michael Myers figure facing an armed Doctor Loomis. The set also includes a light up jack-o-latern on the porch and yard of the Myers home. The diorama allows each figure to be posed separately or together. This set should certainly find its way into the homes of any fan of the Halloween film series. I’ll definitely be adding this to my toy shelves!

SIDESHOW’S NEWEST RELEASES

Sideshow Collectibles (remember when they were just "toys"?) has just released the Thomas Hewitt as Leatherface figure from last year’s remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I must say that I’m quite impressed with this one. Limited to a run of only 6500, this has quickly sold out at Sideshow but is readily available at other online collectibles websites.

Sideshow’s MSRP is a pricey $45 but we are selling this at just $40 at Monster-Mania. The figure comes with the traditional blood stained chainsaw but also includes a replica of the axe used in the film and comes with a rather impressive looking base.

SPRINGWOOD SLASHER

Just a reminder that Neca Toys has announced a pretty cool exclusive figure that they will feature at three conventions this year. Called "The Springwood Slasher", this is an action figure features a sculpt of the unburned Freddy Krueger. Fans of the Nightmare On Elm Street film know that a group of parents trapped the child killer Freddy Krueger in a basement and burned him alive, after which the nightmares really began. This figure comes with the pre-burned face and hands of Freddy but also has interchangeable burned head and hands. The figure also comes with the rag doll that was shown in the opening scene of last year’s box office hit Freddy Vs. Jason. So far Neca plans to only make this figure available to fans at three different conventions. They are:
San Diego Comicon
Wizard Chicago
Monster-Mania Cherry Hill NJ

(From June 2004)

Not really much to report this month but there is some very exciting news out of Neca Toys. Neca Toys has just announced a pretty cool exclusive figure that they will feature at three conventions this year. Called "The Springwood Slasher", this is an action figure features a sculpt of the unburned Freddy Krueger. Fans of the Nightmare On Elm Street film know that a group of parents trapped the child killer Freddy Krueger in a basement and burned him alive, after which the nightmares really began. This figure comes with the pre-burned face and hands of Freddy but also has interchangeable burned head and hands. The figure also comes with the rag doll that was shown in the opening scene of last year’s box office hit Freddy Vs. Jason. So far Neca plans to only make this figure available to fans at three different conventions. They are:
San Diego Comicon
Wizard Chicago
Monster-Mania Cherry Hill NJ

(From April 2004)

Well, last month just a day or two after publishing the Collector’s Crypt column, I received a phone call from Jakks Pacific domestic toy distributor and was told that I has the opportunity to purchase part of a large order that was cancelled by one of the big domestic retailers. Thrilled to death (or somewhat close to that), I ordered both Series One and Series Two and dashed off a quick update to the column and persuaded our Fearless Editor to post the news as quickly as he could. Now, a month later, in the continuing quest of the monster version of "Where’s Waldo" I’m at a loss to explain just what is going on with the Jakks figures. The figures have been removed from the Amazon website, which can only lead me to believe that they were the company that cancelled the order but I have seen neither "Hyde" nor hair of the order that I was expecting to receive weeks ago. Universal Monster fans can only hope that someday a company will come along that will do our favorite monsters proud in a line of action figures. One can only lament the decision by Sideshow to abandon their line of Universal action figures.

Our friends at Sideshow Collectibles have announced that some more additions to their line of ¼ scale figures. Due out in Sept/Oct is an 18" Freddy Krueger from his latest appearance in Freddy Vs. Jason. It is described as a highly detailed, semi articulated figure that has polystone head and hands, film-authentic costume, flocked removable fedora, and a gloved right hand made with real leather, copper plates and metal blades. This bad boy looks good but comes with the ¼ scale hefty price tag of $225.

Also scheduled for a Sept/Oct release is a 12-inch Jason Voorhees figure from Friday The 13th Part 2, before Jason took up playing hockey. This Jason comes complete with a sack cloth to cover his head (I’ll be good and avoid all the put a bag on their head jokes), pitch-fork, pitch-axe and a machete (all the tools you need for a good massacre). Under the bag the figure has the typical misshapen head that is now familiar with Mrs. Voorhees’ son.

Sideshow also has the license for the Hellboy line, with three different 12-inch Hellboy figures available. They include Hellboy himself, who comes with detailed authentic film costume, belt complete with BPRD logo buckle, pouches, revolver holster, horseshoe and cross with rosary beads along with a base that sports the Hellboy logo.

The second figure in the line is Abe Sapien, who comes with wet suit, utility belt including the BPRD logo buckle, multiple pouches and a map case. The figure includes two interchangeable heads and display stand. The third figure in the line is the supernatural and spectral Kroenen figure that comes in detailed armor, and has two removable masks. He comes with weapons, which include knives and double-bladed baton-swords and sheaths.

(From March 2004)

NEW SIDESHOW REVEALED

Well, Sideshow Collectibles hit the Toy Fair in New York last month and unveiled a few 12-inch action figures that should make the Universal Monster lovers out there smile. Already announced was the Fredric March Mr. Hyde but joining him this year will be a Boris Karloff Ardeth Bey and Lon Chaney as The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. Also Sideshow is continuing in their line of quarter scale sculpture with a Bela Lugosi Dracula.

The Mr. Hyde figure is limited to a run of 2000 and for some reason carries a MSRP of $45, $5 more than the usual price of the 12-inch figures (though websites other than Sideshow are selling it cheaper). The Hyde figure comes with costume, cane and base and is due out later this month. The sculpt look pretty impressive. This is one I’m really looking forward to.

Both the Ardeth Bey and Hunchback Of Notre Dame figures carry a MSRP of $40 and again, the sculpts look very accurate. Ardeth is limited to a run of 2000 and comes with a mummy scroll, sacrificial knife, and a 12-inch figure display stand. This figure is due out in July/August. The Hunchback, also limited to a run of 2000 is due out Sept/Oct. and comes with a crown, scepter, cape and 12 inch figure display stand.

Just last month the quarter scale Boris Karloff Frankenstein sculpture hit the streets and I have to say, it’s quite impressive in person. Constructed of a semi-posable wire armature and very accurate clothing. Still, a bit pricey at $225, but again, available cheaper at other websites online.

Recently Sideshow announced the release of the quarter scale Bela Lugosi as Dracula figure, which is limited to a run of 1100. In my opinion, Sideshow just didn’t hit the mark with the head sculpt of Bela. Bela seems to have one of those hard to capture accurately looks. While the sculpt for this figure resembles Lugosi, it’s just not dead-on accurate enough for me to warrant the $225 MSRP. Hopefully some changes will be made from the prototype to help this situation.

Sideshow hasn’t forgotten its recent success with the modern horror figures, with the announcement of the release of Thomas Hewitt as Leatherface from last year’s remake. This figure comes with the higher $45 MSRP and is scheduled for a June/July release. Sideshow is also expanding their licenses to include the new Van Helsing film, characters from the upcoming Hellboy film and Mulder and Scully from The X-Files.

WHERE’S THE JAKKS?

That’s the question a lot of people are asking. Apparently Jakks Pacific has decided not to produce or distribute the first series of Classic Universal Monsters domestically despite earlier promising to do so (and taking wholesale orders for them!). What this means is that they are only available as FOB Hong Kong.

Just one day after publishing the latest article, I received an important call from Jakks Pacific.  Seems that one of the larger retailers who had placed an order for the Classic Universal Monsters Series One and Two had cancelled their order.  Jakks has offered me the opportunity to get these figures, which we are now offering for Pre-Order at www.monstermania.net   We’re expecting to get Series One hopefully late in the second week of March.As explained in this month’s column, Jakks Pacific had made the Classic Universal Monsters available only via FOB Hong Kong, which meant that only orders of large quantities would be made to order and shipped directly from Hong Kong.  This essentially meant that generally only large retailers such as Toys R Us or Target could afford these large quantities.  With the now recent disinterest in the classic monster lines by one of these larger retailers, it may mean that these figures will prove still harder to find in the future.  If you are a person who is interested in getting these figures, my best recommendation is to grab them while you can.

(From February 2004)

GET HAMMERED—THE SEQUEL

Not quite sure how this works, but apparently 12-inch Hammer Horror Dracula figure is not licensed by Christopher Lee. I received an email from the Christopher Lee Website with the heading "Copyright Infringement" that went on to tell me that I was "adverting a Hammer Dracula figure and commercializing it by using Christopher Lee's name. You are not allow to do that. The figure is authorized by Hammer but unauthorized by Christopher. If you have any doubts, please get in touch with your distributor." Needless to say we immediately removed the words "Christopher Lee" from the website and we are now listing the Dracula figure simply as the "Hammer Horror Dracula."

I’m not exactly familiar with how the whole legal end of the copyright laws go, but it sure looks like Christopher Lee to me. Apparently whether it carries his name or not, fan interest is very high. My advice to people who are considering picking up this lil sucker is not to wait to place your Pre-orders, as I would not be the least bit surprised if the lack of a Christopher Lee license for this item eventually has some repercussions on its availability further down the line. Completely a guess on my part. As to whether or not it looks like Mr. Lee, we’ll post a close-up photo here and let you be the judge.

JAKKS CLASSIC MONSTERS SERIES ONE IS OUT

Well, I’m happy to say that I received our first shipment (of many) of the Jakks Universal Classic Monsters this week and I’m really much more impressed with the toys seeing them first hand, rather than just viewing the prototype photos. Though a bit price at a MSRP of $14.99, I definitely think that these are items that are both great for the Universal Monsters collector and kids. Each figure comes packed in a sturdy cardboard box with cellophane windows on three sides.

(From January 2004)

No, I’m not recommending that you really, really enjoy yourself this New Year’s Eve, I’m talking about the upcoming release of the Hammer Horror Christopher Lee 12-inch Dracula figure by Product Enterprises. Overall from just the few photos I’ve seen, I’m quite impressed with the head sculpt of a snarling Christopher Lee. This is the first of what promises to be a series of 12-inch figures in the Hammer Horror Collection. The figure comes packaged in the folding gate box that Sideshow has just about made the standard of the industry and features the half sheet of the first classic Lee Dracula 1958 film (Dracula in the UK, Horror Of Dracula in the US). The figure comes with Jonathan Harker’s diary and a candlestick (I guess even Dracula needs a little light in the dark).

Being the real "HammerHead" that I am, you just know we’re already taking orders for this at Monster-Mania. The figure is sadly limited to a run of only 3500, so this little sucker may quickly become hard to find. The manufacturer suggested price tag is a bit higher than I would like at $49.99 but for a Christopher Lee Dracula, I’ll pay the price. Can’t say that I’d do the same for another figure in this line, but for a Christopher Lee Dracula that looks this good, I’d make an exception. Release date for Drac is scheduled for May 2004, but you know how release dates can be.

Still no photos available of the action figures that will be released for the upcoming Universal film Van Helsing from Jakks Pacific but I do know that they are slated for a March 10^th, 2004 for the 5-inch figures and April 10^th for the 12-inch series release. The 5-inch figures have an MSRP of $5.29 each and the 12-inchers go for $19.99, which only goes to prove that you can sell a 12-inch figure for under twenty bucks and still make a profit. Jakks will be releasing their highly anticipated Classic Monsters series at the end of this month and have already announced plans for a series two.

Jakks seems to be taking their classic monsters line very seriously and have plans for a Bela Lugosi Frankenstein frozen in ice and a Lon Chaney Jr. Frankenstein figure being hit by lightning. Seems that they’ve done their homework. MSRP on series one of the Classic Monsters is $14.99 with an anticipated release on Jan.25, 2004. 2004 is looking like it may be another great year for monster collectors!

(From November 2003)

UNIIVERSAL MONSTERS TOYS

In case you haven’t already heard by now, Jakks Pacific Toys has released the much anticipated photographs of their upcoming Universal Monsters action figures lineup that will be hitting the streets sometime in January/Feb 2004. They are slated to retail for $14.99 each with a second wave of figures due to follow in the Spring of 2004.

Preliminary reaction from monster fans has been mixed. The sculpts are not nearly as accurate a depiction of the actors who played the characters. The Dracula figure particularly doesn’t resemble Bela Lugosi nearly as well as the Sideshow action figure did, but once you get over the disappointment of the likenesses, I think you’ll find that this is a fun set of action figures, particularly for kids. My favorite of the first four would have to be our lovable Gill-Man. The set features Frankenstein bound in the dungeon chair, a Larry Talbot/Wolf man figure that comes with interchangeable parts to transform from human to werewolf form, Dracula who comes complete with his coffin (a very nice touch!) and The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

Not to be outdone, Sideshow surprised many (including myself) by announcing more Universal Monsters 12-inch figures. They have released photos of an absolutely stunning Frederick March as Doctor Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. Limited to a run of only 2000, I have to say that this may be my favorite of all the Sideshow 12-inch offerings. Slated for a Feb/March 2004 release, the figure comes with a film-accurate monster portrait, costume and cane. I can’t wait to see this one in person!

Continuing with their modern monsters, Sideshow will be releasing a Leatherface figure from the most recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. Sideshow has done extremely well with their lineup of modern monsters, which has rejuvenated new blood into the Sideshow Collectibles Monster division.

Another nice addition to the Sideshow lineup is a 12-inch Vlad The Impaler figure that accurately depicts the 15^th Century Romanian Prince most directly associated with the Dracula legend. This is scheduled to ship in March/April 2004 and makes a nice addition to the Dracula line of the Universal Monsters offered by Sideshow. 

Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of ARMY OF DARKNESS comes a statue based upon the art for the film’s one sheet poster. Sculpted by Gabriel Marquez, this one foot tall statue features Bruce Campbell as the perpetually set upon Ash complete with chainsaw in hand (actually chainsaw ON hand is more accurate). The highly detailed base features the beautiful maiden from the film as well an attacking deadite warrior, three mini-Ashes attacking with cutlery, and car wreckage. This piece is very nicely done, the face sculpts are very accurate (without a doubt one of the best sculpts of Ash that I’ve seen yet) and it is limited to a run of only 1993 (the year of the film’s release). Save your pennies up, this baby goes for $250.

JEEPERS CREEPERS

A company called Factory X is releasing some notable collectibles for fans of the Jeepers Creepers 2 film. They are offering a statue that towers at a 17-inch tall height featuring the Creeper with a 14-inch wingspan perched upon his cross, ready to attack. This piece is limited to only 1000 and retails at $179.99. Factory X is also offering 2 different Jeepers Creepers 2 waterglobes. The first features the Creeper in his human form and retails for $49.95. The second features the Creeper on the cross with wings spread as seven menacing talons grip the globe from the outside. This globe retails at $69.95.

AMC MONSTERFEST FIGURES

Scheduled for a January ‘04 release, these Japanese imports certainly look like they’ll wind up on my shelf. The first is the She Creature from the 1956 film of the same name. I’ve always been hypnotized by the work of Paul Blasdell on the costume for this monster and this toy certainly does not disappoint.

The second figure is "Marty-the three eyed monster" from the 1956 Roger Corman film Day The World Ended. Both figures are limited to a run of only 1000 and look very well done. They retail for $39.99 each. Because these are imports they may be a bit hard to find., but well worth the search. I know we’ll be carrying these for sure at Monster-Mania!

PUPPET MASTERS

Funko, the company that first brought you the Wacky Wobbler lines have just come out with a great new line of Handy Dandy Universal Monster puppets. The first two in the series is the Frankenstein Monster and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. The heads are plastic attached to a silk screened cloth body. These have instantly become popular with fans of the Universal Monsters and retail for about $8. Next up should be Dracula and The Bride Of Frankenstein. Definitely a fun toy worth picking up for the price!

(From September 2003)

GIMME SOME SUGAR, BABY

Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of Army Of Darkness comes a statue based upon the art for the film’s one sheet poster. Sculpted by Gabriel Marquez, this one foot tall statue features Bruce Campbell as the perpetually set upon Ash complete with chainsaw in hand (actually chainsaw ON hand is more accurate).

The highly detailed base features the beautiful maiden from the film as well an attacking deadite warrior, three mini-Ashes attacking with cutlery, and car wreckage. This piece is very nicely done, the face sculpts are very accurate (without a doubt one of the best sculpts of Ash that I’ve seen yet) and it is limited to a run of only 1993 (the year of the film’s release). Save your pennies up, this baby goes for $250.

JEEPERS CREEPERS

A company called Factory X is releasing some notable collectibles for fans of the Jeepers Creepers 2 film. They are offering a statue that towers at a 17-inch tall height featuring the Creeper with a 14-inch wingspan perched upon his cross, ready to attack. This piece is limited to only 1000 and retails at $179.99. Factory X is also offering 2 different Jeepers Creepers 2 waterglobes. The first features the Creeper in his human form and retails for $49.95. The second features the Creeper on the cross with wings spread as seven menacing talons grip the globe from the outside. This globe retails at $69.95.

AMC MONSTERFEST FIGURES

Scheduled for a January ‘04 release, these Japanese imports certainly look like they’ll wind up on my shelf. The first is the She-Creature from the 1956 film of the same name. I’ve always been hypnotized by the work of Paul Blasdell on the costume for this monster and this toy certainly does not disappoint. The second figure is "Marty-the three eyed monster" from the 1956 Roger Corman film Day The World Ended. Both figures are limited to a run of only 1000 and look very well done. They retail for $39.99 each. Because these are imports they may be a bit hard to find., but well worth the search. I know we’ll be carrying these for sure at Monster-Mania!

PUPPET MASTERS

Funko, the company that first brought you the Wacky Wobbler lines have just come out with a great new line of Handy Dandy Universal Monster puppets. The first two in the series is the Frankenstein Monster and The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

The heads are plastic attached to a silk screened cloth body. These have instantly become popular with fans of the Universal Monsters and retail for about $8. Next up should be Dracula and The Bride Of Frankenstein. Definitely a fun toy worth picking up for the price!

(From August 2003)

Well Sideshow Collectibles finally released photos of their upcoming 12-inch Creature From The Black Lagoon figure on their website and at the San Diego Comic Con last month. As expected, the doll comes with a rubber wet suit. Sideshow states "the construction of the wet-suit is nearly identical to the original, with separate upper and lower portions.

The body section wet-suit will cover nearly all visible joint lines and stretch to allow for a strong range of posing options. The Creature will also include a fossilized "Creature" hand in 1/6th scale, as well as a support base with The Creature from the Black Lagoon film logo."

Early reviews of the head sculpt are mixed. With the long delay in releasing photos of the prototype, speculation ran rampant, but most collectors’ fears were quelled with the release of the photos. Overall early opinion has been mixed, with the most common complaint being the head sculpt, but I’m sure that the Creature fan will definitely want to add this to his collection.

Please be aware though that Sideshow’s price for this figure is $45, $5 higher than their regular price for the 12-inch line of monsters.

Also unveiled at San Diego Comic Con was the new ¼ scale Karloff Frankenstein Monster. Sideshow once again goes to the Karloff Frankenstein well and pulls out their second of the ¼ scale line of monsters, the first being the Vampyre (Nosferatu). This piece has a posable wire armature inside its body and is slated for an early 2004 release but the price tag on this lil monster is a bit hefty, in the $200 and up range. A bit pricey for what is essentially an 18-inch doll but the likeness looks very good.

RAISIN’ HELL….AGAIN!

Neca has announced that the figures in what will be the second of the very successful Hellraiser line of figures. Series One sold out much quicker than almost anyone had predicted and Neca has wasted no time to cash in on the opportunity. Series two will include the following figures: a second version of Pinhead, Butterball (no, NOT the turkey, sheessshhh!), Skinless Julia (I’m sure you are waiting for a Skinless Frank joke here), Angelique, fire breathing Barbie (nope, I’m not going there!), and Surgeon. Once again Neca has come up with a great idea for the base.

This time the bases put together form the Pillar Of Souls, which was featured in Hellraiser 3: Hell On Earth. Many people were disappointed that there is not a Dr. Channard figure in this series, but I’m sure he’ll find his way into Series 3. All in all, a very solid follow up to the first series and another that will sell out fairly quickly, I’m sure.

(From July 2003)

Our good friend Adam Chiet of Chiet Designs has come up with another great addition to his line of 28-inch Monster Figures. This one features Henry Hull as The Werewolf Of London. In a major step for Chiet Designs, Adam has teamed up with Cortland Hull of the Witches Dungeon and Silver Screen Museum and Archive to present this fully authorized figure.

Those of you who have seen Adam’s astounding figures at the most recent Monster Bash can attest to their incredible look and the outstanding detail that each of these hand-made figures have. Pictures just don’t do them justice. If you haven’t already seen them in person, be sure to look up Chiet Designs at the upcoming Monster-Mania Con and Chiller Theatre Con this coming fall.

The Henry Hull piece will be limited to just 100 figures and each doll comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by both Adam and also Cortland Hull. In a great opportunity to not only get a true authentic collectible, you can also help educate others about the films and history of the Silver Screen as $10 of each of the purchases goes toward the Silver Screen Museum and Archive. You can visit Chiet Designs at http://www.chietdesign.com/ Congratulations, Adam on a job very well done!

Early interest in the upcoming line of Sideshow Collectibles’ Modern Horror Classic figures seems to be really booming! We’ve received lots of Pre-Orders for the Freddy Krueger, Jason and Leatherface 12-inch figures. Not to be left out, Michael Myers has just joined the fray. Sideshow has just released photos of the prototype of the killer from the Halloween series and this, too, looks to be a winner. The Michael Myers doll’s accessories really please me. They include a bloody butcher knife, a pair of eyeglasses, a white sheet (to recreate one of my favorite parts of the film) and a display base.

Limited to a run of 7500, hopefully this line can renew interest in Sideshow Collectibles and curb the trend of poor sales of their monster line. Of course, if Sideshow turns around and offers these figures at half price just a few weeks after their release, it could spell disaster for the future of Sideshow Monster figures as it’s looking more and more like the Creature From The Black Lagoon figure will be the last in their lineup of Universal Monsters.

Majestic Studios is once again promising (or is that threatening?) to release their 12-inch Return Of The Fly doll, that they debuted at the NY Toy Fair two years ago, as part of their Film Freak Figures. They’ve retooled the sculpt a bit, making the head of the fly a tad smaller and thus more true to scale.

Personally this is one figure I have high hopes for but we’ll wait and see what the finished product looks like. Keep your fingers crossed kiddies! Along with The Return Of The Fly, Majestic has plans to release The Creeper figure from the film Jeepers Creepers. I’d consider a name change for the line though, "Film Freak Figures" just doesn’t do it for me. Plans are to release both of these figures in August.

(From June 2003)

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS POSTERS

Three new Universal Monsters posters have just hit the streets and they are really quite impressive. The three featured monsters are Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy. Each poster features a large image of the individual monster along with either three or four smaller images. Of the three, my favorite by far is The Wolf Man one, perhaps the best Wolf Man poster I’ve ever seen.

While both Frankenstein and The Mummy have had some spectacular poster art released in the past, it always seemed that so much more could have been done with The Wolf Man. Finally I now have a Wolf Man poster that I can proudly hang alongside the others. The posters measure 23.5 inches by 35.5 inches and have sold extremely well already from our Website. I’m not sure just how long these posters will remain in print, so I would strongly suggest picking them up soon.

Both The Mole Man and Werewolf Of London figures are now shipping from Sideshow Collectibles. The runs on each of these have been reduced to just 1500 each, so I don’t expect that these will wind up for sale around the web at the heavily discounted $20 price that some of the previously released figures are now selling for. The Mummy figure is also another of the more recent Sideshow releases that I don’t expect to see heavily discounted any time soon. Both of these latest editions look good and should nicely round out the Universal Monster collections of the fans of this line.

With no other Universal Monsters figures announced after the Creature From The Black Lagoon, these two figures may be part of the last offerings in the Sideshow Universal Monsters catalog. Don’t wait much longer to order these, with the limited run of 1500, I don’t expect that they’ll be around for very long.

Neca is continuing to add to their upcoming line of modern horror collectibles and is quickly picking up where Sideshow has left off. The Hell Raiser action figure line is widely popular and Neca has just announced that they will release an 18-inch Jason Voorhees figure with motion-activated sound. This is the deteriorated Jason from the later films in the series and comes with a removable hockey mask.

The sculpt features a detailed look at the shoulder blades and spine of the camp ground slasher. Neca will also be releasing a limited edition statue of essentially the same Jason sculpt.

(From May 2003)

SIDESHOW FIRE SALE

Like the Frankenstein monster trapped in the burning windmill, Sideshow Toys is frantically reducing prices on many of the Universal Monsters 12-inch line of figures. They are unloading the following figures at just $20, half of their original MSRP price:

Bela Gypsy, Dwight Frye Renfield, Bela Lugosi Silver Screen Dracula, Boris Karloff Silver Screen Frankenstein, Silver Screen Phantom Of The Opera, Silver Screen London After Midnight, Silver Screen Wolf Man, Dwight Frye Fritz, Lon Chaney Jr. Larry Talbot, the Glenn Strange, Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi Frankensteins, Karloff Son Of Frankenstein and Phantom Of The Red Death. At these drastically reduced prices, especially for such new figures as the Son Of Frankenstein and Red Death Phantom, along with the drastic reduction in the quantity of The Mole Man and Werewolf Of London figures, one can only assume that the forthcoming Creature From The Black Lagoon may well be the swan song for the Sideshow line of Universal Monsters.

It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback this situation, but as I said in an earlier column last year, I thought the collecting public would suddenly become much more discerning when Sideshow raised the MSRP price of the 12-inch figures from $20 to $40. While a collector may have considered shelling out $20 to buy a Fritz or Renfield figure that frankly didn’t resemble Dwight Frye that much, that same collector was much mire likely to give those figures a second and third look before paying double that price. The much anticipated Glenn Strange Frankenstein didn’t exactly hit the mark and the release of the three non Karloff Frankensteins at the higher price was a major disappointment to both the collector and the sales of those figures. At times it seemed that Sideshow made some odd choices, putting out a 12-inch Gypsy Bela figure but not a Bela Lugosi Ygor figure. A Lon Chaney Jr. Son Of Dracula figure would have been a nice addition to the line as well as a Colin Clive Doctor Frankenstein and a Ernest Thesinger Doctor Pretorius. In my heart I still believe the decision to move completely away from the

8-inch action figures to the 12-inch generic body dolls was a mistake. Also the absence of a Series 5 Silver Screen set was notable as the Series 5 color set was quite popular and the figures (Bela Lugosi Dracula, Bela Lugosi Ygor and Phantom Red Death) surely lent themselves to the Silver Screen motif, with the possible exception of the Red Death Phantom. This decision also left the 8-inch Silver Screen collector without a completed set of the Silver Screen Universal Monsters run.

Dealers at the recent Chiller Theatre convention in East Rutherford, NJ this past weekend were already matching or beating the reduced prices of the 12-inch Sideshow figures in order to both be competitive with Sideshow as well as reducing their own overstock of these items. Because Sideshow became not only a wholesaler but also their own retail outlet, many of their loyal vendors are now competing with them and are forced to offer Sideshow’s firesale prices in order to retain their own market share. While Sideshow still makes a considerable profit from selling these figures at the $20 price, vendors are barely breaking even when you factor in the inflated shipping costs that Sideshow charges them. The drastically lowered limited edition runs of The Werewolf Of London and Mole Man (1500 each down from 5000) is in part due to the lack of interest and lower order quantities of the dealers. It considerably hurts the dealers when just a few weeks after releasing the Red Death Phantom Of Opera or Son Of Frankenstein, Sideshow slashes the price in half to their online customers. The obvious result of this is a much more cautious vendor when it comes time to order the next figure in the line.

So what does this all mean to you, the collector? Well, initially great prices on the 12-inch line of Universal figures and a great opportunity to fill in those gaps of figures that you weren’t willing to pay the $40 MSRP for. But, in the long run, for the most part it means less quantity of new figures with the exception of the Creature From The Black Lagoon figure(which still has no prototype photo available) and quite possible the eventual death of the Sideshow Universal line. To be honest I’d love to get a call tomorrow telling me that they have decided to release a new series of 8-inch action figures as well as lowering the MSRP on all forthcoming 12-inch Universal Monsters to $25, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for that phone call. More likely, Sideshow will end the line with the release of the 12-inch Creature From The Black Lagoon or shortly thereafter. I’d still like to see a 12-inch Bela Lugosi Ygor figure before they end their run but I haven’t had any word at all on that happening. The sad thing is, I definitely think that the Sideshow Universal line can be saved with a few changes made and a new approach to the market. Maybe Sideshow should look to hire a consultant to revitalize the monsters one more time?

THE SHAPE

As of the writing of this column, details are sketchy but Sideshow is promising to release a Michael Myers 12-inch figure along with their line of Modern Horror Classics, along with Jason, Leatherface and Freddy Krueger. The Myers figure is slated for an October release, one month after the release of the other three. 

(From April 2003)

X-Plus Toys, already known for some great looking Ray Harryhausen and also Godzilla figures will soon be unleashing their latest license titled the AMC Monsterfest Collection. This series will feature some of the famous monsters from the AIP movie titles. The first three figures come from the films The She-Creature, War Of The Colossal Beast and Day The World Ended. These will be 8-inch vinyl action figures and the MSRP of each figure is $16.99. I’m really looking forward to this line, most especially the She Creature, which is one of my favorite monster costumes in all of horror film history. These are scheduled for a release sometime in May. Knowing the quality of X-Plus’ other releases, I’m sure this set will not disappoint.

Sideshow Toys has recently announced that they are cutting back the limited editions of both the Werewolf Of London 12-inch figure as well as the 12-inch Mole Man. Originally scheduled for a run of 5000 each, the run has been drastically reduced to just 1500 of each figure. I’ll leave it for the gypsies to read the tea leaves on this one but I think the lack of Universal Monsters product at Sideshow’s Toy Fair appearance just about says it all. Sideshow recently started taking Pre-Orders for their Creature From The Black Lagoon figure and the MSRP on that one is listed at $45 but so far Sideshow has not revealed a prototype for the figure. Other on-line dealers offer the figure much cheaper on Pre-Orders, though there is no telling when the actual release date of this will be. Sideshow is saying that it will feature a rubber wet-suit that is identical to the one used for the original costume, with separate upper and lower portions. This wet suit will cover all the doll’s joints but still allow for articulation. The Creature figure also will come with a fossilized "Creature" hand and molded base featuring the movie logo.

CREATURE WALKS THIS WAY

Sideshow is scheduled to release The Creature Walks figure this month, one of the more popular figures to be released by Sideshow in quite some time. Fortunately the demand of Pre-Orders and dealer’s orders kept this Limited Edition run to 5,000.

(From March 2003)

UNIVERSALLY DISAPPOINTING TOY FAIR NEWS

Looks like it’s not going to be a spectacular year for new Universal Monsters figures. Sideshow Toys attended the recent NY Toy Fair and had some of their latest offerings for 2003 but other than the already announced Werewolf Of London, Mole Man and Creature Walks Among Us 12-inch figures, there were just a few new figures announced.

As foretold here last issue, Sideshow will be offering a 12-inch Creature From The Black Lagoon figure but fans were disappointed that there was no prototype available of this at the show. In Sideshow’s defense, they never really promised that they would have a prototype ready, but as word quickly spread throughout the collector’s market about the forthcoming figure, Sideshow decided to make the announcement at the Toy Fair in order to substantiate the rumors. Sadly, there were no other 12-inch Universal Monster figures or action figures announced, but Sideshow will be offering an 18-inch Graf Orlok figure that will be available in June. This color figure has a soft body houses a poseable wire armature that allows for basic re-positioning of the pose to your desired taste. A stonework stand is also included for sturdy support of the figure when on display. This figure is limited to a run of just 700 but comes with a hefty price tag of $150.

As mentioned last month, Sideshow is moving into the modern horror collectibles market with 12-inch versions of Freddy Krueger, Jason and Leatherface. Photos of all three of these prototypes are on the Sideshow website and all three look very accurate. I’m sure fans of the modern horror classics will be very happy with each of these. Each figure is limited to a run of 7500 apiece.

I hate to say it, but it looks like Sideshow’s interest in the Universal Monsters line is waning. After the release of the new Creature From The Black Lagoon figure, it may be time for Sideshow to turn over the Universal Monsters license to someone else who may be more willing to pursue the license more aggressively.

This is not meant as a slight at all to Sideshow, after all, they have provided us with the best Universal Monsters collectibles that I can ever remember and revitalized the interest of collectors in the monsters and films that we all love so dearly. I doubt that we would have ever seen a line of 12-inch Vincent Price figures from Neca if it were not for the success of the Sideshow Universal Monsters line. While I would love to see a 12-inch Bela Lugosi Ygor figure as well as a Colin Clive Doctor Frankenstein (not to mention a new series of action figures), it seems that Sideshow is interested in pursuing other licenses now that they have released the major characters from the Universal universe. We can only thank them for the excellent collectibles that they have already offered us and pick up the new releases.

It may be time for another company to take a shot at the Universal Monster lineup, possibly delving back into the 8-inch action figure category. To be honest, I’ve never really been a big fan of the 12-inch line of dolls though I do think that Sideshow did the best that they could with them. All in all, the 12-inch figures are still dolls and they come with the limitations that dolls have. I’ll take a sculpted action figure over a generic body 12-inch doll any day. Hopefully, the upcoming release of the fully sculpted 12-inch Creature From The Black Lagoon figure will either bode the dawn of fully sculpted 12-inch offerings by Sideshow or serve as their swan song for the Universal Monsters line.

BARGAINS, BARGAINS, BARGAINS

Bargains on Sideshow figures seem to be popping up in local Sun Coast video stores as well as on the Internet. Some of the most recent 12-inch figures such as The Masque Of The Red Death Phantom, Bride Of Frankenstein figures and the Outer Limits series are popping up on the Internet for well below their original $40 price tag. At Monster-Mania we are offering a Blow Out Sale with many of these figures at greatly lowered prices. You can visit the Blow Out Sale here.

(From February 2003)

MISFITS AND MUMMIES AND CREATURES

I thought we’d try something a little bit different this month as we anxiously await the news from this year’s Toy Fair Convention in NY later this month. Along with covering the latest news from the big companies, we’re going to take a visit with an artist who puts hisr heart and soul into his work, which is more a labor of love than a burgeoning business with account execs and wholesale contracts. But first, the news from the biggies.

The Sideshow 12-inch Boris Karloff Mummy was recently released. Finally fans of the bandaged one have a collectible that they can be proud to add to their dungeon walls. The Mummy head sculpt is very well done and the box of course features the beautiful one sheet painting from the original Universal film. This one is light years ahead of the awful Mummy doll that was released by Hasbro some years ago. Definitely one to add to your collection.

My favorite Sideshow collectible in a long time is the full scale Zanti Misfits from what many consider to be the best episode of the Outer Limits. The Zantis were issued as a set, one figure being the Zanti Regent and the other is the Zanti Prisoner. I’ve been waiting all my life it seems for a Zanti Misfit figure ever since I saw the episode on it’s original airing back in 1963 (isn’t that when dinosaurs roamed the earth?) Well, my wait is over and I have to say, it was worth it! The figures look fantastic, the sculpts are very accurate and I just couldn’t be happier! As soon as they arrived, I popped open the box and threw the episode into my DVD player. Sideshow really hit the bullseye with this set! All in all, a good month for Sideshow collectibles.

The much anticipated The Creature Walks figures would be more aptly named The Creature Crawls….backwards. The release date of this figure has been pushed back again but fans of the Gill-Man have other good news on the horizon. I was sworn to secrecy with this but because other vendors have already left the fish…er….cat out of the bag and listed this on their websites for Pre-Orders, it’s safe to say that the word is already out about the latest addition to the Sideshow line-up. The Creature From The Black Lagoon 12-inch figure is slated for an August/September release! This figure will be unlike the other Sideshow 12-inchers because the entire doll will be specifically sculpted rather than just the head and hands. My biggest complaint about the Sideshow 12-inch line was that they used the same basic body for all figures, which meant that your Dwight Frye Fritz figure was just as large as your Glenn Strange Frankenstein Monster. With the Creature, Sideshow will be sculpting the entire body to resemble the Gill-Man. You can expect a hopefully slight increase in price for this one but believe me, this is the one 12-inch figure that will really stand out from the crowd. Some websites are already taking orders. Don’t wait on this one, Pre-Order them wherever you can.

IT’S HAMMER TIME!

Well, someone has finally licensed some Hammer figures and I couldn’t be more jealous! A company called Product Enterprise debuted their upcoming 12-inch Christopher Lee as Dracula figure at the UK Toy Fair this past week and by all accounts it looks great! This figure is scheduled for release later this year as a two-pack along with a Peter Cushing Van Helsing figure. More info on this as it develops!

SATURDAY AFTERNOON MONSTERS

Well, now it’s time to take a look at a small company that has a black heart at its soul and couldn’t be happier about it. Chiet Design is owned and operated by Adam Chiet, a renowned artist and sculptor who has done work for amusement parks among other clients. Chiet Design has just announced the release of Saturday Afternoon Monsters, their line of 28-inch figures depicting new versions of the classic monsters. Each of these dolls is 100% hand made, with simulated hair and fully clothed.

Though I’m a real stickler for authentic looking monsters, I have to say that I’m quite impressed with one figure in particular in this line, The Count. With obviously a dash of Lugosi thrown in for good measure, this figure reminds me a bit of the Dracula puppet in Mad Monster Party. The other two figures in this lineup are Frankenstein and The Wolf Man, but Adam is promising the release of his version of the 1950’s Fly. If you want to support someone who truly loves the monsters, stop by his Website.

(From January 2003)

I’M BAAAAAAAAAACCCCKKKK!

My apologies for missing last month’s column. Seems my computer gets jinxed every year around Thanksgiving. This year a fried motherboard was the culprit. Thankfully, all is well and I’m back at the keyboard. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year celebration!

Well, let’s delve into the recent goings-on in the world of horror movie collectibles. Since the last column, the Phantom Of The Opera Red Death and Son Of Frankenstein 12-inch figures have come out, mainly to great accolades. The sculpts of both figures were very well done, though some feel that Sideshow went to the Frankenstein well one too many time with yet another version of the monster. Still, I really like this entry in the Frankenstein series. How can ya squawk about a monster in a fur coat (well, unless you’re a member of PETA-but I doubt we’d see anyone spraying red paint on this guy’s ensemble). The Son Of Frank figure comes complete with the arm of the Inspector Krogh, who was played so well in the film by Lionel Atwill. The figure from the film that screams to be made is a Bela Lugosi Ygor figure. Clearly the most popular of the Series 5 action figure set, the Ygor character is near and dear to the hearts of many Lugosiphiles.

Sideshow is also releasing another version of the Ash figure from the Army Of Darkness line. This one is called "S-MART ASH" and is only available online directly from Sideshow. Dealers are allowed to purchase these figures from Sideshow, but Sideshow is offering no discount at all. Also, as part of a "web exclusive", Sideshow is offering a S-Mart price marker gun for the first 250 web orders. As predicted, Sideshow is starting to pull away from their wholesalers once more. One can only guess when they will totally become a retailer with only affiliates rather than wholesalers. What that means to you, the consumer, is more of a set price rather some of the discounts that you can receive by purchasing Sideshow product elsewhere on the web.

TIME TO PLAY

Neca continues its venture into horror film collectibles with a number of new products in its Reel Toys division. String lights featuring Jason, Leatherface, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Freddy Kruger are hitting the stores and look great! Word has it that they have signed a license for the Cenobites from the very popular Hellraiser series. First up is a fantastic looking statue of Doug Bradley as Pinhead, the lead cenobite. This fully painted resin statue stands over 15 inches tall and is limited to 1000 pieces. Each kit includes a numbered and Certificate Of Authenticity signed by Doug Bradley and the sculptor, Kyle Windrix. The box for this item is holographically numbered. The pins are made of real metal and the sculpt looks quite good. I know I’ll have to get one of these for my oldest son and I think I want one for my own collection. MSRP on this little biter is $120 and it is due out this coming February. Neca is also releasing those cute little Gremlins, Gizmo and Stripe in plush form (just don’t get them wet!). Each one comes in its own crate. No word yet on when we’ll see the much anticipated Vincent Price Doctor Phibes figure.

(From November 2003)

SIDESHOW SHIPPING

Not really a lot of news this month in regards to the horror collector’s market so I’ll keep this brief as I write this on Halloween night, after just having seen the reconstructed London After Midnight on TCM. Sideshow has begun shipping the Son Of Frankenstein and Masque Of The Red Death 12-inch figures. Sideshow is continuing to offer certain figures at a deep discount to dealers but they are requiring an investment of at least 6 cases per figure. Sideshow also has recently advertised deep discounts on many of their slower moving figures.

Seems to me that the general feeling out in collector land is that people are willing to spend $20-25 per figure, but the $40 price tag on many of the recently released dolls is just to high for many people, more or less as I predicted. I’m sure they will do well with the Masque Of The Red Death and Son Of Frankenstein figures, but people are much less willing to spend the $40 on some of the secondary figures such as Renfield or Fritz. Dealers such as myself are matching or bettering the discounted figures offered by Sideshow. Curiously Sideshow has posted a message on their website warning people not to buy their figures from their wholesale dealers on Ebay.

It appears to me that Sideshow is moving closer and closer to the point of becoming a retail operation, eliminating their dealers completely. First they started the unusual practice of shipping out their retail orders before they ship their wholesale orders to dealers, then they raise the dealer’s cost by cutting back their discounts and now the Ebay warning.

POLAR LIGHTS MODELS

At the recent Chiller Theatre convention, we did very well with some of the latest Polar Lights offerings. We completely sold out of our Land Of The Giants snake diorama model kit as well as both the Johnny Lightning diecast Fifties and Sixties Batmobile model kits. Both of these diecast cast come pre-painted in a very attractive window box that can be used for display once the kit is assembled.

The re-issue of the old Aurora Bat Plane didn’t sell nearly as well, but it’s still a very nice kit to add to your collection if you were ever a fan of the caped crusader. Polar Lights promises more Bat Man related kits such as the Bat Boat and Bat Cycle along with one of the favorite kits of my youth, Spiderman. This kit features Spidey on the banister shooting a web at the fallen Kraven The Hunter. PL will also be re-issuing the Incredible Hulk kit and a Star Trek Enterprise kit as well.

Sadly, no announcements have been made by Polar Lights of any monster kit re-issues. When oh when am I ever going to see that Jekyll and Hyde kit? Is anyone at Polar Lights listening? 

From October 2002)

RAVEN’ ‘BOUT VINNIE

The latest entry into the horror film collectibles field has hit the streets. The 12-inch Vincent Price as Doctor Erasmus Craven figure arrived this past week and I have to say that for being the inaugural figure in a proposed line of Vincent Price dolls and collectibles, I’m fairly impressed. The head sculpt looks dead-on accurate. I showed one of the figures to a friend of mine who has no interest at all in horror movies and she knew immediately that it was Vincent Price, so that’s saying something. The clothes fit fairly well, which is one of my pet peeves about dolls. I know some people prefer to call these 12-inch specimens "figures" but if it looks like a doll and dresses like a doll, it’s a "doll" in my book, though I do use the words "figure" and "doll" interchangeably when talking about these lines of collectibles. Anyway, Neca didn’t do badly when they came out with this one, especially for their first time issuing a figure. The box is collector-friendly, which means you can easily open it without damaging the package. The package is very colorful, though a bit flimsy, certainly not up to the standards that Sideshow has set. The box art features an altered version of the movie one sheet for the film, deleting the heads of Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre from the original poster. No folding gate box cover here, this is the open cellophane window on the front with the one sheet shown on the back.

This is not to say that the doll or package is without flaws. The first thing I noticed was the hands. I hate them. The fingers are extended very wide and the whole hand just appears to be too thin. It looks like Peter Lorre squashed them under a heavy weight. More importantly, many of the boxes I received had smears of flesh colored paint on the inside of the window box, in front of the face of the figure. It’s my best guess that the doll does not sit deep enough back from the cellophane window and that they placed the dolls inside the box while the paint was not yet fully dried.

Still, I highly recommend this figure for those classic monster collectors and Vincent Price fans out there, especially at the average price tag of just $25 on the net. This is the price that the Sideshow figures sold so well at, before they made the jump up to the $40 price range. At $25, I can be more forgiving of the minor flaws in the packaging and credit Neca for a very good first attempt. I eagerly await the next in this line of figures, which Neca promises will be from the film The Abominable Doctor Phibes. Keep in mind, folks that we are firmly planted in the second wave of famous monsters of filmland collectibles and count your blessings. Enjoy it, it has been a long time coming!

"THERE’S SOMETHING OUT THERE"

Also this week the Sideshow 12-inch Gremlin from the classic Richard Matheson penned Twilight Zone episode Nightmare At 20,000 Feet arrived. Tough call on this one, I’d say. After seeing the Vincent Price packaging, I better appreciated the job that Sideshow does and this figure even comes with a doll stand with the Twilight Zone logo on it. The sculpt is extremely accurate, again a spot on likeness of the head of the gremlin that tortured a young William Shatner while tearing up the wing of the airplane. The problem is, I was never really thrilled with the rest of the costume for the monster in the show. Because he crouched over on the wing of a plane that was traveling through clouds and heavy rain, you never really got an extended glimpse of just how plain the costume was.Here, in the box without any precipitation, you realize just how bland the costume was.

While Sideshow accurately depicts the mask and costume of the creature, I just don’t know if I can really recommend this one to anyone but the avid Twilight Zone collector. If it was closer to the $25 price range I’d probably be a bit more willing but at the $35 MSRP (Sideshow lowered the price on this one by $5 off the MSRP of the rest of their latest lines of 12-inch figures), I’d have to think about it.

GOT A LIGHT?

For fans of modern horror, I’ve got something for your next Halloween party. Neca is coming out with string sets of 10 lights, featuring plastic light covers of some of your favorite contemporary monsters. These light sets are similar to the very popular Creature From The Black Lagoon lights that I’ve been selling for years on the website and also at the conventions we go to. Neca’s line of lights includes the goalie masked Jason from the Friday The 13^th film series, Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare On Elm Street films, Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series and even a set of Jack Skeleton lights from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Previously there had been a set of Jason lights that were offered as a promotion for one of the films and that proved to be a very popular collectible. I would expect these sets to sell very well.

I know that this has nothing to do with collectibles, but in case you haven’t already heard, Turner Movie Classics will be offering London After Midnight at 8PM on Halloween night. This isn’t the lost film, but perhaps the closest that we’ll ever get to seeing it. They have painstakingly put together stills from the film using the original script as a basis and even added movement to some degree to the photos, essentially creating a version of the film. Now, I realize this is not of course, an offering of the film in its original state, but personally I’m happy, make that THRILLED to be seeing this in any form. Hats off to TMC for a job very well done!

On a personal note, my oldest son and I are about to embark into the field of horror movie and collectibles conventions, with the first ever such endeavor in the Philadelphia area. Please stop by our Website for full details.

As of press time, we’ve secured a number of classic Universal, Hammer and even some modern stars with some big names as yet to be announced. This is our first time entering into a field that is so widely represented in a number of areas and we thought that it was time to drag Philly and South Jersey into that realm. Special thanks go to Ron Adams of Monster Bash and Kevin Clement of Chiller Theatre for all their advice and mentoring. You guys are the best! 

(From September 2002)

Sideshow has announced more new releases, including two new Outer Limits 12-inch dolls. These are Andro from The Man Who Was Never Born and The Helosian from O.B.I.T. No target release dates have been announced. They have also announced the release of the Werewolf Of London 12-inch figure, scheduled for a March/April 2003 release. 

(From August 2002)

UP ON THE SOAPBOX

Wow, just realized that this is my 30^th issue of this column. Time sure does fly when you having a good time. Lots of news this time around so we’ll start off with the latest info from Sideshow.

Recently Sideshow has changed their pricing policy to dealers which may result in less bargains around the net and in your favorite local store. Sideshow has raised their prices to dealers 10% for anything less than 5 cases of the same figure. For more than 5 cases of the same figure, it will cost an additional 5%. The increase may not sound like very much but consider that a case of 6 dolls that used to cost a dealer $120 will now cost a dealer $144 or $4 more per figure and that is before paying shipping costs that average about $10 per case when shipped here to the East Coast. Now the same figure that used to cost the dealer $20 will now cost the dealer $24 before shipping. Adding in the average of $1.66 for shipping each figure, we’ve now reached a grand total at cost of $25.66 per figure. What particularly hurts the dealer is that even if they have ordered say 10 cases of one figure, if they should decide they need another case or two after the initial order, they still will pay the higher cost of the one additional case, irregardless of how many total cases of the particular figure they may have ordered previously. Initially Sideshow was strictly a wholesale business but in recent years they decided to become a retailer as well, basically competing against their own wholesalers who initially supported their line of products when the first series of action figures came out. Dealers who find themselves competing with Sideshow for the customer that the dealer may have even introduced to Sideshow’s product line have sometimes attempted to sell below Sideshow’s price of $40 per 12-inch doll (at Monster-Mania we currently offer the $40 dolls for just $32 with one set $6 shipping fee no matter how many items you order) in order to retain our own customers.

Now those dealers may find it very hard to offer any type of discount below Sideshow’s MSRP, strictly due to these new increased prices. Sideshow cites the increase in the cost of the plastic used to manufacture these figures as one of the main contributing factor in the dealer price increase. However, this price increase effects only the dealers directly as the MSRP still remains the same. This all translates into either less profit made by the dealers (believe me, a profit of $6.34 on an investment of $25.66 is not very good margin) or higher dealer prices, moving many of the discounted prices closer to Sideshow’s $40 price. I hate to say this, but I can foresee a time somewhere in the future that Sideshow may move out of the entire wholesale business and be the sole source of obtaining their product, other than the affiliate program that they are now offering. With the affiliate program, much like that offered by Amazon some time ago, a person gets a certain small percentage of the sale of a product from Sideshow’s website.

Now, believe me, I don’t expect anyone to greatly sympathize with dealers of monster toys and I’m certainly not trying to say anything negative about Sideshow Toys but what this does mean to you, the collector, is that there will certainly be less bargains of Sideshow product on the net and with less competition from their own wholesale customers, Sideshow will have a bit freer hand to universally dictate the prices of their product. Many customers were turned off by the jump in price of the 12-inch Sideshow dolls from the $25 price to the $40 price point. This recent increase in dealer’s cost, though not nearly as drastic as the previous MSRP jump, will certainly have its effects felt throughout the monster collectibles world. What it means to me as a dealer is that I’ll be less inclined to take a chance on a buying a few cases of a doll such as the Dwight Frye Fritz or the Lon Chaney Jr. Larry Talbot doll or the new double set of the Twilight Zone Eye Of The Beholder figures.

I do try to get at least a case of every new Sideshow 12-inch doll that is in the horror/sci-fi field, mainly so that I can supply my own customers who want to have a complete collection. In the long run, I wouldn’t be surprised if this actually doesn’t reduce the overall amount of Sideshow dolls actually sold. Whereas I believe some people may be willing to pay $32 for a Dwight Frye Fritz doll I think that they would be a bit more reluctant to shell out $40 for one. Time will tell, I guess. I’ll get off my soapbox now and move ahead into the news.

NEW SIDESHOW PRODUCT ANNOUNCED

Sideshow has officially announced the two products I told you about last month, namely the Creature Walks Among Us and Boris Karloff The Mummy 12-inch figures. Each of these dolls will come in the folding gate box featuring the fantastic one sheet artwork for both films. This is the first version in the 12-inch size of the popular Creature From The Black Lagoon figure but many fans are still anticipating the eventual release of the Creature in his original form. Still, I expect this Creature to be a very popular addition to the Universal Monsters Collection offered by Sideshow. The Creature Walks head sculpt by Mat Falls looks great and the figure comes with a gas container and a round boat torch. The Mummy figure, also sculpted by Matt comes with the sacred parchment of life scroll and a limestone box with lid. Both figures are slated for November/December releases.

Also announced recently was the latest additions to the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits lineups. From the classic Richard Matheson penned TZ episode titled The Invaders that starred a non-verbal Agnes Morehead comes a one to one scale size version of the one of the spacemen. Once again, this item was sculpted by Mat Falls (Mat seems to be a very busy guy!) and accurately depicts the rotund little spacemen that Agnes Morehead’s character seemed to find so tormenting. This figure is limited to a run 5,000. Though the original Twilight Zone was one of my very favorite programs and this episode one of the very best of the series, I have to wonder just how popular this collectible is going to be at the $40 price tag. Being the Twilight Zone and Richard Matheson fan that I am, I’ll be adding this to my collection but while fans are willing to pay for a doll that depicts a "Brand Name" actor such as Karloff or Lugosi, I’m anxious to see how an item like this will fare in the market.

The recently revealed Outer Limits figure is from my favorite of all Outer Limits episodes, The Zanti Misfits, featuring loudly buzzing crawling insects with elongated human-like heads. Turns out that these Misfits (from which the rock band The Misfits derived their name) are actually criminals on their planet who were sent to Earth to be destroyed by humans because on their planet the government cannot commit capital punishment. Sideshow has followed in the path of their recently released Eye Of The Beholder figures, offering two Zanti Misfits on one large package that will retail for $70. Personally I just as with the Eye Of The Beholder figures, I would have preferred to have the ability to buy just one of these figures and forego a boxed set of two figures that look pretty much alike.

A number of customers have asked me if they could buy just the doctor figure from the Eye Of The Beholder set, but the doctor and nurse figures come packaged together in one box. Quite a nice package it is, complete with the folding gate box and even doll stands with the Twilight Zone logo for each doll. Still, some collectors may find $70 a bit too high of a price to pay for two similar figures and I’m afraid that the Zanti Misfits set may fall into this category. I’ve been clamouring for years to have a Zanti Misfits figure and I will most definitely add this boxed set to my collection, but again, I wonder just what the interest of the general monster collecting public will be. I think a single Zanti Misfit figure would have fared much, much better in the collectors market.

While not quite what I was hoping for, Polar Lights has announced some items that may be of interest to the monster collector. Going back again into the Aurora models archive, they are issuing a re-release of the Land Of The Giants model kit. I had this kit when I was a kid and I loved it. It features the crew trying to raise a large safety pin to defend themselves against a giant rattlesnake. It’s a great fun kit and one I would definitely recommend to the Aurora model fan.

Also delving into the Aurora backlog, Polar Lights will be releasing the 1960’s Batmobile featured in the classic BatMan television series starring the quite gregarious Adam West (said with tongue firmly in cheek). They will also be offering a re-issue of the Bat-Plane along with two new metallic kits, the 1950’s Batmobile and the 1960’s Batmobile. Not quite the Doctor Hitchcock and Mister Hyde model re-issue I’ve been hoping for, but good news, just the same.

(From July 2002)

Sideshow Toys has just released the two 12-inch figures from the third film in the Evil Dead series, Army Of Darkness. The two figures depict Bruce Campbell as the popular Ash character and also the character derived from his bad half, Evil Ash. Both dolls are packaged in essentially the same folding gate box featuring the movie one sheet poster from the film, which can be a bit confusing. In the upper right hand corner of the box it lists which of the two dolls are inside but I would have liked to have seen perhaps two different covers used to help differentiate them. Both sculpts were done by Mat Falls. Each doll comes with a plastic stand.

I really prefer the Evil Ash figure to the regular Ash one, as did most people who viewed them at our tables at the Monster Bash convention last month. The head and face sculpt of the Evil Ash figure looks very good but I found the sculpt of the Ash figure to be a bit too cartoonish. One common complaint that I have about many dolls is the fit of the clothes and I find that to be a problem as well with the regular Ash figure. Perhaps a blood-splattered shirt would have been an improvement. Each figure does come with a great assortment of accessories which include such items as a chainsaw, metal hand, sword, and shotgun. All the things you need when battling those nasty deadites in faraway lands. Overall I’d say that if you’re an Evil Dead collector you won’t want to pass on this pair, but for the casual or discerning collector you may want to just pick up the Evil Ash figure and take a pass on the regular Ash.

The Outer Limits 12-inch figures were also just released and I have to say that I’m very impressed with each of these. The first two figures in this line are the Ebonite Interrogator from the Nightmare episode and the Gwyllm character from The Sixth Finger episode. Both figures were sculpted by Mat Falls and Mat really hit the mark on each of these.

The head sculpts look excellent and the clothes fit perfectly on each of the two figures. Along with this, Sideshow really put together a terrific package for each of these two figures. Each figure comes in the folding gate box that has a blue tinted black and white motif. The box has a wealth of information about the Outer Limits classic television series itself, along with photos, plot, credits and production notes from each of these two episodes. Truly a fantastic job with the packaging; overall the best of any offered by Sideshow. If only they had done this with the Universal Monsters line. Again, each of these two figures comes with a display stand that features the Outer Limits logo. Sideshow really outdid themselves with this line. I just can’t wait to see the Zanti Misfits figures that they have planned for this line later this year!

UPCOMING SIDESHOW FIGURES

The 12-inch Son Of Frankenstein figure is doing very, very well in Pre-Orders, quickly becoming one of the most popular of the Sideshow Universal Monsters lineup. Also doing extremely well in Pre-Orders is the upcoming Vincent Price 12-inch figure of Dr. Erasmus Craven from the Roger Corman classic 1963 The Raven from Neca Toys, which is promising to be the first in a line of Vincent Price figures, followed by The Abominable Doctor Phibes.. Sideshow will also be releasing a Creature Walks Among Us figure as well as Boris Karloff as The Mummy figure at a date to be announced. They have also decided to get back into the 8-inch action figure lineup with Series six sometime in the future.

I know I share many of your sentiments when I say that as good as the 12-inch doll line looks at times, I still prefer my monsters in action figure form. The sculpts are better, they cost much less and they offer a great opportunity for kids to become more familiar with the classic monsters that we adults love so much. Sideshow is still running their poll for you to choose which action figure you’d prefer with Lon Chaney from London After Midnight leading the pack. Their poll for which 12-inch action figure you’d like to see next was won by the Henry Hull Werewolf Of London figure which was followed closely by The Mole Man. You can cast your vote for which action figure you prefer by clicking here.

Okay, I’ve been good, I’ve been patient, but enough’s enough already! After whetting our tastebuds with fantastic re-issues of some great Aurora model kits in those gorgeous Bama illustrated long boxes, Polar Lights has gone silent on us with any new monster releases. True they’ve released their own version of a Godzilla model which looks fantastic, but where are the rest of the great Aurora monster lineup? Where’s The Phantom Of The Opera with the victim trapped in the rock behind bars? How many more times must I go to a convention and tell people that there are no plans to make the Doctor Jekyll model that their mom threw out on them while they were away at college or out at sea saving the whales? It’s time to pick up our torches and pitchforks and storm the castle my friends! Write or email Polar Lights and tell them that you just can’t live without the rest of the Aurora monster model line. You can reach them at the following address:

Playing Mantis/Polar Lights

3618 Grape Road
Mishawaka, IN 46545

or call: 1-800-626-8478

While you’re at it, let them know that you’d love to see them come out with the original Creature From The Black Lagoon kit that they were trying to build interest in!

(From June 2002)

NEW LINE OF VINCENT PRICE COLLECTIBLES

Finally, fans of the late great Vincent Price will have something to crow about. Or should I say they’ll be raving? Neca Toys has announced their plans for a series of 12-inch Vincent Price dolls and I just can’t wait to get my hands on them myself! The first figure will be Vincent as Dr. Erasmus Craven from the Roger Corman classic film The Raven. Scheduled for an August 2002 release, this promises to be the first in a line of Vincent Price figures that will also include his character in the film The Abominable Doctor Phibes.

This is Neca’s first excursion into the horror line of figures but they have a very good track record with many licensed collectibles, currently including the two summer blockbusters, Spider-Man and Attack Of The Clones. The Raven figure is limited to a run of 5,000 pieces and comes fully dressed in the detailed costume from the film. They’ve even added a raven that can clip onto the doll’s arm. Judging by the great Pre-order sales I’ve already taken at Monster-Mania in a very short period of time, I’d say this figure should be one of the more popular monster collectibles of the year.

NEW SIDESHOW FIGURES ANNOUNCED

I just got this word at the time of writing this article that Sideshow is definitely planning to release two new Universal Monsters 12-inch figures. They have announced to dealers that they are taking dealers orders for the figure from The Creature Walks Among Us and also a Mummy figure. At the time of this writing I don’t have further details regarding which Mummy figure they plan to release but I’m guessing that it’s Boris Karloff as The Mummy. I’ll have further clarification on this for next month’s issue. In the past month Sideshow has released the terrific looking 12-inch figures of Bride and Monster from Bride Of Frankenstein. Also Sideshow’s line of Silver Screen Edition versions of Frankenstein, Mummy, Wolf Man, London After Midnight, and The Phantom have just been issued.

Sideshow is also looking to return to the 9-inch action figure lineup and is currently taking a poll to see which figures the public would most like to see. The choices in the online poll include Graf Orlok from Nosferatu, Murder Legendre from White Zombie, The Creature Walks Among Us, Frankenstein’s Monster from Bride, Ardeth Bay from the Mummy, and so far the leader in votes by far is what they call The Man In The Beaver Hat from London After Midnight. Sideshow is also offering a poll on which 12-inch figures fans would like to see them produce. Those choices include Werewolf Of London, Ardeth Bay, Invisible Man and Mole Man. So far The Werewolf Of London is way ahead with 50% of the votes. You can cast your ballot (hopefully they’ll be no need for recounts) here.

GETTING A HEAD

I’ve been fortunate enough to find an artist who is currently producing some great looking life masks and busts of some of our favorite Universal Monsters. My favorite piece is a life size, full size Creature From The Black Lagoon bust that matches exactly the colors used for the original costume. It was cast from an original headpiece worn by Ben Chapman in the first and best Creature film.

These masks and busts are currently being considered by Universal for their own line of merchandise but you can own one of the original pieces now while they are still available. Other items available are the Karloff Frankenstein Monster and the Glenn Strange Monster. Monster-Mania is offering these exclusively at our Website here.

MORE HARRYHAUSEN

Just last month I told you about the 12-inch Ray Harryhausen figures released by XPlusUSA. This month I’m happy to say that there is a fantastic looking line of 8-inch vinyl action figures that have been imported from Japan. These figures include Centaur and Griffin from The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad, Cyclops from The 7^th Voyage of Sinbad and Minoton from Sinbad And the Eye Of The Tiger. These are very nice collectables at a reasonable price. They have approximately four points of articulation and should be available in September for a suggested retail price of about $11.99 each.

These are particularly great for kids who have an interest in the classic Harryhausen films. For me, one of the best things about the 8- and 9-inch action figures are that they are affordable enough for kids to play with and in almost every case, I much prefer an action figure to the 12-inch dolls that the various companies produce. While companies like Sideshow have made great strides in the 12-inch doll lines, the action figures always seem more precise sculpt-wise and make for a better collectible.

(From May 2002)

HERE COMES THE BRIDE

Better late than never, as the saying goes. After getting cold feet at the last minute, the 12-inch Bride and Frankenstein’s Monster will finally be heading your way from Sideshow. The newlywed pair is currently on their way over to Sideshow from the Orient and should be hitting our shores sometime early this month after production delays temporarily postponed the wedding. I would think that you can expect to have these dolls in hand by mid to late May at the latest. Sideshow’s suggested retail price on these are $40 each, but you can certainly find them considerably cheaper on the internet if you do some searching.

Also the Silver Screen versions of the 12-inch Silver Screen versions of The Vampyre, London After Midnight, and Phantom Of The Opera are currently shipping from Sideshow. These figures will soon be followed by the Silver Screen Versions of Dracula, Wolf Man and Frankenstein. Sideshow had been running a poll to see which character fans most wanted to see produced in the 12-inch line. The contestants included the humanized Creature from The Creature Walks Among Us as well as an unspecified Mummy. One can only guess whether that would be either Chaney Jr. or possibly Tom Tyler as our bandaged friend or perhaps another character from the film such as Boris Karloff as Ardath Bey.

Personally, I’d like to see the Bela Lugosi Ygor character made into a 12-inch doll. Check that, actually I’d like to see the Ygor as perhaps a 9 ½ inch doll, keeping the figure to scale to the larger Chaney Frankenstein. One of my pet peeves with the 12-inch Universal Monster lineup is that the Dwight Frye Fritz doll is just as tall as the Glenn Strange Frankenstein. I’d like to see Sideshow come up with a few different doll sizes to add some variation to the line. I also thought it would have been a bit better if the Lugosi, Chaney and Strange dolls weren’t all the same size. A small complaint I realize, yet one that quite a few Universal collectors agreed with me on in conversations at this past Chiller convention.

CHRIS LEE FIGURE ALERT

Fans of Hammer Horror’s Dracula will be interested to know that there are a number of Christopher Lee figures coming out shortly, but none of them portray Chris as Dracula. First up is Christopher Lee as Count Dooku from the upcoming Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones film. This figure is the 3 ¾" action figure size and is produced by Hasbro. Hasbro is also doing a 12-inch Count Dooku figure.

Not to be left out of the mix is Sideshow, which is producing a 12-inch Christopher Lee Francisco Scaramanga figure from the James Bond film Man With A Golden Gun. Sideshow is also producing a Chris Lee Sauruman bust from his role in Lord Of The Rings. Lots of Chris Lee figures on the way, but unfortunately, none of them have fangs. Still, avid Hammer fans will undoubtedly be snatching some of these up anyway.

HARRYHAUSEN IN DA HOUSE

Fans of stop motion genius Ray Harryhausen will be pleased to know that quite a bit of collectibles are available from one of his most famous films, The 7^th Voyage Of Sinbad. A line of 12-inch statues that averages between $99.99 to $140 are available and look very nice. These statues are made by XPlusUSA and include the characters Ymir, Minoton, Centuar, Griffon, and Three Ghouls. For those who prefer a toy at a cheaper price, poseable vinyl figures are available as well. The vinyl figures average $30 and have a different lineup which includes Cyclops, Talos, the Dragon, Ymir, and a new Cyclops with two horns. These are actually very well done and certainly worth the asking price.

Along with these are a series of chess figures that are quite impressive. My favorite set includes pieces such as the giant octopus from It Came From Beneath The Sea. Not quite sure if it’s a bishop or a rook, but either way, these pieces would sure make a chess game a lot of fun.

XPlusUSA also has a nice series of resin Godzilla figures though they are a tad on the expensive side, ranging from $99 to $150. These resin statues include a few different versions of Godzilla, along with figures of Ghidorah, Mothra, Anquirus, and a flying Gamera. XPlus also offers various Godzilla chess piece sets for fans of the big green guy.

(From April 2002)

NEW RELEASES DUE THIS MONTH

Not really a whole lot of news to report this month, but I did want to keep you updated with this month’s scheduled releases from Sideshow. Both the Elsa Lanchester Bride Of Frankenstein and Boris Karloff Frankenstein Monster have been delayed due to what Sideshow is calling "production reasons". The following 12-inch figures are due to be released in their Silver Screen Versions this month: Vampyre, London After Midnight, and Phantom Of The Opera. The Dracula, Wolf Man and Frankenstein Silver Screens are scheduled for April/May but I’m expecting them in May rather than April. May/June is promising the release of the much anticipated Army Of Darkness figures, Ash and Evil Ash. No word yet on any other forthcoming figures out of Sideshow that I haven’t already announced in this column last month. Sure would like to see another set of 9-inch action figures and although I believe that idea is being kicked around a bit at Sideshow, I’m not anticipating any forthcoming announcement anytime soon. You never know though, at times the news from Sideshow comes fast and furious.

Another toy company is promising to step into the 12-inch figure arena. Neca announced at the recent Toy Fair that they will be releasing Vincent Price figures from The Raven and The Abominable Doctor Phibes. No word yet on any release date or any packaging details, but I’m keeping my eye on this for further information. Neca currently makes such collectibles as Misfits and Crow bobble head dolls as well as some The Nightmare Before Christmas items. We’ll have to see what the quality of these Vincent Price dolls will be like. I’ve got my fingers crossed. Visit their Website.

I wish I had more to announce here but the simple fact of the matter is that there have been no major announcements in the past month. Sure would like to see something new monster-wise from Polar Lights models but the flow of new monster models from them has dwindled considerably over the last year.

NICK OF TIME

One collectible that has seemed to peak recently for fans of the classic TV series The Twilight Zone is something called a Swami Fortune Telling Napkin Holder. This was the machine that was featured in the TZ episode titled Nick Of Time starring William Shatner. The creator of the Swami Fortune Telling machines adapted some of his machines to the "Mystic Seer" versions that were shown in the episode.

These napkin holders date back to the 40’s and 50’s and are selling in the $150-300 range on Ebay, where I purchased mine. For cost of just one penny you can learn your fortune. For those of you not willing to spend that kind of money, you can have the same experience at a wonderful website dedicated to the great classic series. This site allows you to ask a Yes or No question and provides the key to your future. I gotta warn you though, it may be as addictive as the one in the TZ episode! Visit the Website.

(From March 2002)

TOY FAIR 2002

Well, I didn’t quite make the trip to the Big Apple this year, due to a last minute flu, but with the help of Diane from Sideshow Toys, I’m able to give you the scoop on this year’s offering anyway. Let’s delve right into the package.

As you’ve probably read here before, Sideshow has recently announced their new licenses for this coming year, which include two of my favorite Sixties classic television anthology shows, The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Already announced figures from The Outer Limits have included Gwyllm and the Ebonite Interrogator. At the Toy Fair, Sideshow has announced two more offering in that line, including the one I was really hoping for, The Zanti Misfits. So far there has been no official photos offered for the Zantis, but I am including a past photograph of a model kit to give you an idea what they look like. Of all the Outer Limits figures, this is the one I’m really waiting for.

From The Outer Limits’ episode, The Keeper Of The Purple Twilight", Sideshow will be releasing a pair of figures, namely Ikar and Ikar’s Soldier. While I like the figures, I really have to question again the idea of offering two dolls that are so similar in appearance. In my most humblest of opinions, I really feel that they would do much better to offer just one of each similar figure. I can see someone paying the $40 MSRP for one of these, but I just don’t see the demand for a pair at a price near $70 for two dolls that look so much alike. Time will tell, however.

From The Twilight Zone, Sideshow has pulled a number of figures. Besides the already announced Doctor and Nurse pair from the episode "Eye Of The Beholder," Sideshow is offering the Gremlin that terrorized a young William Shatner in the Richard Matheson penned episode, "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet." While the sculpt and outfit are deadly accurate, I’m afraid that the figure really illustrates the low budget costuming and special effects that were used for the creature. It may have looked scary on the wing of a plane in a storm, but out of the box and on a shelf it may tend to look a bit amusing. No fault of Sideshow Toys here, as I said, the sculpt and costume very accurately depict the monster.

Another figure culled from The Twilight Zone archives is the tall alien Kanamit from the episode titled "To Serve Man." Again, the sculpt and costume is truly authentic and should make a nice addition to the shelves of a Sideshow or Twilight Zone collector. Each of these recently announced Twilight Zone and Outer Limits dolls are limited to a run of 7500. Kanamit and the Gremlin are scheduled to ship Aug/Sept. of this year. At this time I don’t have a definite release schedule for the Zanti Misfits.

From the Universal Monster lineup comes the announcement of two new figures. The first is the Boris Karloff Son Of Frankenstein figure, complete in sheepskin coat and packaged with the arm of Inspector Krogh. This doll looks great and is limited to a run of only 7500 with a scheduled release date of Oct/Nov 2002.

The second figure from the Universal line will be the Phantom Of The Opera in the Mask Of The Red Death costume. This is also limited to a 7500 run and slated for an Oct/Nov 2002 release. Though not announced, I’m sure we’ll be seeing a Silver Screen Edition of the very popular Series 5 action figures as well as a 12-inch Bela Lugosi as Ygor figure. Personally, I can’t wait for that one!

MacFarlane Toys is re-entering the monster field with the promised release of McFarlane Monsters. These are being touted as new interpretations of some classic horror characters. By now you know my opinion of new interpretations. While not totally shutting the door on such things, it takes a lot to convince me that a new version is going to look better than the classic versions that have stood the test of time. These new MacFarlane Monsters do nothing to win that argument. These figures, unlike the original line of 3 3/4" monsters they did a few years back, will start at approximately 6 inches tall. The figures will include a Frankenstein, Dracula, Werewolf, Mummy, Sea Creature and Voodoo Queen. These monsters are threatening to hit the stores sometime in March.

Continuing with their popular Movie Maniacs line, Series 5 provides some interesting characters. Jason X, which was pushed back from Series 4 due to the delay of the release of the next installment of the Friday The 13^th series, heads up the list. This features the worst kept secret costume that is combination classic Jason and cyborg. Also included in the set is Djinn from the Wishmaster film, 5-T800 robot from Terminator, Sarah Connor from Terminator 2, the great looking Lord Of The Darkness figure from Legend and the Tooth Fairy. The boxed set for this series will be Aliens Vs. Predator. The tentative release date for Series 5 is August but keep in mind that MacFarlane has quite often run late on their release dates.

(From February 2002)

CREATURE FEATURES

As promised last month, we are going to pull back the curtain and take a look at some new action figure offerings from one of Hollywood’s renowned special effects men, Stan Winston. Mr. Winston is known for creating some of films most memorable monsters and makeup on such films as John Carpenter’s The Thing, Edward Scissorhands, The Monster Squad, Aliens, and Predator, as well as winning Oscars for Jurassic Park and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It was with great anticipation that we awaited the action figures that were announced to be forthcoming from the newly formed toy company consisting of the actual artists from Stan Winston Studios. The first series of action figures was called "Creature Features", based upon the feature film series of the same name that aired on HBO and Cinemax. These were retellings of some of the great classic SCI-FI films, such as War Of The Colossal Beast, Earth Vs. The Spider, and The Day The World Ended. If you’ve been reading this column for any length of time, you know me by now. I like the classic version of my favorite monsters. I wasn’t thrilled by Toy Asylum’s reworkings of the Silent Screamers monsters though I did think that the Nosferatu was okay. For me, the definitive Nosferatu figure was the Sideshow 12-inch Vampyre doll. So you can probably guess what I’m going to say next about the Winston Creature Features offerings. I’ll pass.

While the figures are nicely sculpted and painted, they just don’t do anything for me. They’re nice to pick up and look at in the package, but nothing about them makes me want to open my wallet and add to my already overloaded credit card account. If these figures were from the original classic films, I’d definitely have them in my collection. As I said, the sculpting and paint jobs are very nicely done and it’s obvious that they took the time to do them justice but it’s the subject matter that matters most. Just for the record, the figures included in the Creature Features series are Quentin (Earth Vs.The Spider), Queen Of the Lair (War Of The Colossal Beast), Teenage Caveman (Future Mutant), The Creature (The Day The World Ended) and Evilution Demon (How To Make A Monster). It would be great to see Stan Winston Studios acquire the rights to do the original versions of these monsters and maybe give Sideshow and MacFarlane Toys a run for their money, but until then, this line is relegated to the second tier of action figures. Wait a bit, and this exlusive to Toys R Us lineup will be in the clearance bins.

Sideshow Toys has just released the two newest additions to their ever growing Universal Monsters family, the Bela Lugosi Gypsy Bela and the Dwight Frye Renfield 12-inch dolls. Overall I’d say that the likeness of Bela as the Gypsy who turned Larry Talbot into wolf man is quite good, second to the sculpt of Bela as Murder Legendre, but better than the Dracula likeness. Gypsy Bela comes in a very colorful outfit that would make any gypsy werewolf proud, featuring accessories such as 3 large Tarot cards, stone base and long pipe. Comparisons with the photo on the back of the folding gate box bring my only criticism of the sculpt. To me, he looks just a tad too young. I realize I may be a bit nitpicky here, but I’ve been completely spoiled by the Murder Legendre sculpt. Still, this is a great looking figure and a must-have for Lugosi collectors.

The sculpt of Dwight Frye as Renfield is much better than the sculpt of Dwight Frye as Fritz. Again, the accessories are nicely done, featuring a leather briefcase, lantern and the deed to Carfax Abbey. The folding gate box features my favorite Dracula poster but comparisons to the photo on the back of the box leave me thinking that something is still just a bit off with the sculpt, though I can’t put my finger on it. Overall, a much, much better likeness than the Dwight Frye Fritz doll released last year and this makes a great companion piece to the Lugosi Dracula doll.

The latest dolls to be announced from Sideshow dip into the vaults of one of my favorite classic television series, The Twilight Zone. The first pair of TZ dolls come from the episode "Eye Of The Beholder." This pair will come in a boxed set of the pig-like doctor and nurse. It should prove interesting to see if Sideshow collectors will be willing to pay the $70 list price for this pair of dolls.

Sideshow has also announced the upcoming releases of Silver Screen Editions of Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolf Man, Vampyre, London After Midnight, and the Phantom Of The Opera dolls. All of these dolls will come in the popular folding gate boxes, something that the Vampyre and London After Midnight did not do the first time around. Great news to many Sideshow collectors, a Series 6 of action figures is currently under consideration. Here’s hoping that comes to fruition. The glow in the dark action figure line has been cancelled due to the poor sales of the glow series one. Only so many times you can go to the well with the same figure, I’m assuming. Ironically, I’m sure that Sideshow would still do very well with the color version of Series One if they ever decided to re-release those, especially in different packaging (hint, hint).

On a personal note, I’d like to take a second to offer my get well wishes to Diane Kamahle from Sideshow. Diane has always been a pleasure to deal with and has truly been an asset to Sideshow as they have grown in leaps and bounds. Anyone who has had the pleasure of dealing with Diane knows exactly what I mean. She is one of Sideshow’s best assets and we wish her well.

THE ZOMBIE AWARDS

Well, it’s that time of year again, folks. Time to select the winners and losers of the past year’s horror collectibles offerings. Without further adieu, here are the best and worst of 2001:

 Best Action Figure (9 inches and under)

Could there be any doubt at all? Sure the Sideshow’s Phantom of the Opera Red Death costume looked great, but nothing compared to the Bela Lugosi Ygor from Son Of Frankenstein figure! This was the collectible that many Lugosiphilles have been waiting for! I get all choked up even thinking about it!

Best Action Figure (over 9 inches-includes dolls)

Bela Lugosi again! This time, as the 12-inch Murder Legendre doll from the film that inspired a rock group, White Zombie. Absolutely the best sculpt of Bela Lugosi that I’ve ever seen, anywhere!

Unsung Hero Award (Most Overlooked Figure)

Sideshow’s London After Midnight 12-inch doll. Sales on this were initially very slow, as compared to the Vampyre and Phantom Of The Opera dolls that came out at the same time. This is one of my favorites of Sideshow’s offerings.

Worst Figure

I’d have to go with the Dwight Frye Fritz doll here. I just didn’t like the likeness and judging by sales, no one else did either.

Best Re-issue Model Kit

Absolutely have to go with The Forgotten Prisoner from Polar Lights. What has happened with PL anyway? After thrilling us with assorted re-releases of the great classic Aurora models and their own original kits, the flow of monster models has just died! Contact PL and let them know we want our monsters back! When will we ever see that Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde model we are clamoring for? How about the original Phantom Of The Opera model with the victim behind bars in the base? Email PL here:

Best Movie Poster Reprint

Universal’s Frankenstein Style B poster. One of my favorites!

Best News Of The Year

Sideshow releases a Glenn Strange Frankenstein doll

(From January 2002)

Christmas 2001 is now in the history books, but for many, Christmas came just a bit later than usual. Sideshow has released the much-anticipated three-figure Frankenstein set and the wait was well worth it! The three dolls are Bela Lugosi as the Monster from Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man, Lon Chaney Jr. from The Ghost Of Frankenstein and my favorite, Glenn Strange from House Of Frankenstein. All three sculpts are by talented Matt Falls and each looks quite like the actor it represents. The packages come with the folding gate box cover of the one sheet from the film, my favorite being the Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man art. The back of each box features a great black and white close-up photo of the actors in full makeup.

As always, Sideshow hit the mark with the accessories for each of these dolls. The Lugosi figure comes with wood walking stick, The Secrets Of Life and Death book by Ludwig Frankenstein and the bundle of dynamite that was used to destroy the castle at the end of the film. The Chaney doll is the better-read monster, featuring not one but two books. They are Notes And Memorandum by Dr. Wolf Frankenstein, and The Diary of Doctor Heinrich Frankenstein. The third accessory is a pair of shackles. The Glenn Strange Frankenstein comes with my favorite accessories, two clear jars and two brains, belonging to Strauss and Ullman as well as the Experiments In Life And Death book by Henry Frankenstein. All in all, a fantastic looking set of monsters and another feather in Sideshow’s already fanciful cap. To celebrate the New Year, Monster-Mania, HORROR-WOOD and Sideshow Toys have teamed up to offer two free sets of these Frankenstein Monsters to the lucky winners of our trivia contest. Check here for details!

HERE COMES THE BRIDE

Continuing with the Frankenstein theme, Sideshow is scheduled to release the Newlywed Couple from The Bride Of Frankenstein. Photos of the proto-types of both the Elsa Lanchester and Boris Karloff figures look truly stunning. I was quite impressed with the face of the Elsa Lanchester dolls. The eyes look so lifelike, I almost expected her to speak . . .er, make that "hiss." Many fans consider Bride to be the best film in the series and these dolls certainly look as though they may give the Bela Lugosi Murder Legendre doll a run for best looking Sideshow doll. Sideshow is expecting the unhappily married couple to hit the street sometime in January. This will leave the Boris Karloff Monster from Son Of Frankenstein as the only one left to be made. I’d love to see a release of that doll with a Bela Lugosi Ygor 12-inch doll.

Further announced Universal Monster releases for early 2002 include the Bela Lugosi Gypsy Bela doll from The Wolf Man and he Dwight Frye Renfield doll from Dracula. Sideshow is then scheduled to release Silver Screen editions of The Vampyre, London After Midnight and Phantom Of The Opera dolls. These dolls are scheduled to be packaged in the folding gate box with the movie poster art, rather than the window box that the full color versions were packaged in. The folding gate boxes will be collector-friendly, meaning that you will be able to open the box and remove the doll without any damage to the package, again unlike the original full color dolls. It will be interesting to see if Universal Monster collectors will be willing to pay $40 for a different version of a doll that they paid only $30 for. This is one time that the package may make a considerable difference.

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR TELEVISION SET…

The modern television show really is that bad. Fortunately, Sideshow will be controlling the transmission of two new 12-inch dolls of their recently acquired new licenses, the classic television show, The Outer Limits. Heading your way in early 2002 will be the David McCallum character Gwyllm from the episode titled "The Sixth Finger." The doll features the large head with pointed ears and six fingers on each hand as well as two books (The Descent Of Man by Charles Darwin and Bach’s "Preludes For Piano"). Also from the same television series will be The Chief Ebonite Interrogator, which will come with torture wand, a handheld control box, and batwing costume. Each doll with come with a display base featuring the Outer Limits logo and are scheduled for a March/April release. Again, both of these dolls were sculpted by Mat Falls and the prototype photos look quite impressive.

My oldest son is quite happy that Sideshow has chosen to produce two new 12-inch dolls featuring characters from the Evil Dead line, namely Ash and Evil Ash from Army Of Darkness. The two Bruce Campbell likenesses look very good and are also due out in March/April. The Ash doll comes with a shoulder slung shotgun boot and shotgun, a shoulder slung chainsaw sling and chainsaw and cape. The Evil Ash doll will feature a fixed skull helmet, rib boned breastplate, shoulder and elbow armor, forearm plates, sword, scabbard and cape. Both dolls feature a stone textured display base and list for $40.

STATUES AND WATERBALLS

One of the best kept secrets in the West has been the Universal Monsters line of statues and water globes offered by Westland Giftware. Westland offered some pretty good sculpts for their licensed statues, featuring the likeness of Lon Chaney Jr. as both the Mummy and the Wolf Man. The Mummy and Wolf Man statues are actually very nice, featuring great looking bases. The Dracula is the generic one rather than Bela Lugosi, as these items were made prior to Lugosi’s agreement with Universal.

I’m a sucker for water globes and these certainly do not disappoint. Each water globe is musical and again features Lon Chaney Jr. as both the Mummy and the Wolf Man. The Frankenstein water ball is my favorite, as it has not one but two domes. The top dome features the Frankenstein monster on a lab table and the bottom dome features a brain and plays the tune, "If I Only Had A Brain." The Wolf Man globe features the wolf heads from the cane and plays "Thriller." The Mummy water ball plays the "Funeral March" and Dracula rounds out the set with "Moonlight Sonata." I thought enough of the statues to give them as Christmas gifts to some of my "monster friends" and the Wolf Man statue has sold very well to those who have seen it in person at our location in the mall.

Finally Polar Lights has issued a new monster model kit! I was beginning to worry there for a bit. This kit was a Toys R’ Us Exclusive, 16-inch Godzilla, King Of The Monsters. This is a new kit, not the re-issue of the old Aurora kit that we all loved so much. This new kit features a great looking diorama and shows our favorite man in a rubber suit monster chowing down on the Tokyo subway system.

Previously this kit had been available only at Toys R Us, but now the kit will be available at some online dealers site such as Monster-Mania. I wonder if we’ll ever see Polar Lights release some of the other great Aurora kits such as Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde or the original Phantom Of The Opera kit with the guy imprisoned in the base. One can only hope.

(From December 2001)

Well, the fat man in the red and white suit will be sliding down some chimneys soon and I know his bag will be full of some great Universal Monster toys and dolls! Sideshow is going full steam ahead on their collectible doll releases. Within a one week span I received both my Dwight Frye Fritz doll and my Bela Lugosi Murder Legendre doll. While I’m not overly thrilled with the Fritz doll (I’d prefer my hunchbacks to be shorter than my Frankenstein doll), I am totally knocked out by the likeness of the Murder Legendre sculpt. The Lugosi head sculpt is absolutely fabulous, perhaps the best of all the Sideshow doll heads so far. This is a dead-on likeness of Bela, much more so than the Dracula doll, in my opinion.

The Murder Legendre doll box looks great, as does the doll inside. The box features the very nice movie poster art for White Zombie. As I said, the sculpt of Lugosi is incredible; his eyes almost seem like they really can hypnotize you! Sideshow really stepped up to the plate on this doll and hit a home run. Make that a grand slam! This has quickly become my favorite of all the Sideshow dolls released so far. Lugosi fans take note: this is THE doll that you have been waiting for! I can’t wait to see what Sideshow can doll with a Lugosi Ygor doll.

It seems that Sideshow is making a concerted effort to release the announced dolls for this year pretty much on time. I was very happy to see the flood of new merchandise finally start to roll in (Series 5, Silver Screen Series 3, 12-inch Dracula, Fritz and Murder Legendre). I understand that the Larry Talbot human form doll will be released any day now as well. Hopefully we will see the release of the three upcoming Frankenstein dolls in time for the holiday gift giving season. The release date of the Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester Bride Of Frankenstein figures has been officially pushed back to Dec./Jan. essentially ruling those out for a pre-Christmas release I would say.

OTHER SIDESHOW RELEASES

Silver Screen Series 3 was also released within the last month, with Series 4 soon to follow. The suggested Sideshow price of these figures are in the $60 per set range, which is a bit steep compared to the previous prices of the action figure line. Silver Screen Series 3 and 4 are limited to runs of only 1,500 so if you want any of these to round out your collection, I would suggest buying them ASAP. Some online dealers such as myself are selling these below the Sideshow suggested price.

Sideshow will also be releasing Silver Screen Editions of the 12-inch dolls, with Frankenstein, the Wolf Man and Dracula dolls being released simultaneously in early 2002. I just don’t know what the general consensus will be on silver screen editions of these dolls, especially at the higher retail.

I very much enjoyed the Silver Screen Editions of the action figures, but with a $40 price range on the latest dolls, it may be a bit much for the everyday collector who has a budget to adhere to. I can see an interest in Silver Screen versions of the London After Midnight and Vampyre dolls if a folding gate box package is offered (which I fully expect).

Sideshow has also announced some new licenses, including the Outer Limits and Evil Dead Army Of Darkness. The Bruce Campbell Ash and Evil Ash photos just look outstanding. More news on these releases will be featured in an upcoming column.

Horro-Wood editor in chief Renfield and I are working with Sideshow on what we are hoping will be a great giveaway contest featuring some of the upcoming Sideshow Frankenstein dolls. We’ll hopefully have everything ironed out for next month’s issue, so please do stay tuned!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Need something for that Christmas tree? Well, Chiet Designs has just the thing! Sculptor Adam Chiet has released the first of his holiday ornaments, featuring "Frankie". Frankie is the first of six announced ornaments. These are hand painted, signed and numbered and limited to a run of only 75. Adam is selling these ornaments for only $40 each. I have one and it looks fantastic! Visit Chiet Design by clicking here.

In the meantime, my son and I would like to wish all our friends and readers the very best holiday season ever! This one has a very special meaning for me, as this is my last Christmas with my oldest son living at home here with me. Doesn’t seem all that long ago we were playing on the floor with those 3 ¾ inch Remco Universal Monsters toys. Time sure does fly! May all your Christmas stockings be filled with monster goodies! Happy Holidays to all!

(From November 2001)

The much anticipated Sideshow’s Series Five action figures have finally hit the street and they are quite impressive. My personal favorite is the Bela Lugosi Ygor figure. The head sculpt by Oluf W. Hartvigson is just fantastic. The broken-necked blacksmith comes complete with tools, belt and horn. This is a great depiction of one of Lugosi’s fans most cherished roles.

The other Bela Lugosi figure in this set is of course Dracula. Due to the long standing legal battle between Bela Lugosi Jr. and Universal, fans of the Universal Monsters vampire have been forced to endure a modernized looking Dracula instead of one that resembled Bela, but in recent years that has changed. First there was the Exclusive Premiere Lugosi Dracula that was marred by looking like it was stuffed into clothes that were 3 sizes too large and came with a wrist watch (I kid you not!). Following that was the release by Figures Toy Company, who had their hearts in the right place but came up with poor sculpts for the action figures. This was followed by the release of a very nice looking but tad expensive Flatt World Bela Lugosi Dracula figure that was a bit diminutive in size. It had a dead-on likeness of Lugosi and came in a fantastic looking coffin as well. I think the original price of $60 along with the small size kept many people away from this collectible.

The score has finally been set right by Sideshow with the release of this action figure. Though there have been some complaints about the facial expression and coloring of the figure, this is by far the collectible that fans of the Bela Lugosi Dracula have been waiting for. The figure comes with cape, candelabra and an extremely large bat. The pose depicts the famous scene from the film where Bela, holding the candle, welcomes Harker to his castle.

The third figure in the set is the Lon Chaney Phantom Of The Opera as the Masque Of The Red Death. The figure looks great and comes with 2 interchangeable heads. The first features the visage of Lon Chaney as the Phantom while the second is the skull mask that goes with the outfit. One major problem with this figure is that the Chaney head which is on the figure comes off the body very easily while still in the blister packaging. I pulled a number of these from my unopened cases and held them aside, but I’ve gotten a few phone calls from people who received headless figures from the sets that I’ve sent out to customers. Apparently the heads came off during shipping from me to the customers. It’s not a problem if you intend to open the package, but for collectors who wish to keep everything in a sealed package, it’s a major concern. I’ll speak with Sideshow shortly and I’m sure they will rectify the situation.

This appears to be the last of the action figure line, except for the various Silver Screen and Glow In The Dark versions of the same figures. Though Sideshow hasn’t actually come out and tolled the death bell on this line, unless there is a change of direction, I don’t expect to see a Series Six anytime in the near future. Personally, I’d have loved to have seen the Frankenstein line offered as a Series Six, featuring the Chaney, Lugosi and Strange versions of the Frankenstein monster. The Glenn Strange Frankenstein figure alone would have been a major collectible for fans of the films that grew up with Forry Ackerman’s Famous Monsters magazine in the 60’s. If this truly is the end of the action figure series, we can certainly thank Sideshow for giving us what I consider to be the best Universal Monsters collectibles ever made. I enjoy the line of dolls, but there was something very special about the action figures. The sculpts were always extremely accurate and the prices were affordable. Many of us were able to give these figures to our sons and daughters to play with while we kept ours on a shelf in pristine packages. This is a line that I’m very sad to see come to an end.

LUGOSI DRACULA DOLL

Sideshow has also just released the 12-inch Bela Lugosi Dracula doll. This doll comes in the much preferred folding gate box, featuring the poster art from the film on the cover. Again, the sculpt is by Oluf W. Hartvigson and is very accurate. This doll comes with two rats and a large bat, along with a base and a very nice cape. Sideshow is currently sold out of these dolls but they are available at various independent dealers.

I have been deluged with calls and emails asking me what I know about the balance of the planned Sideshow 12-inch dolls’ release schedule. In all honesty, I just don’t know. I do know that Sideshow is virtually swamped with orders and merchandise coming and going on a constant basis and that they are adding new people in an attempt to keep up with the growing business. They have indeed posted a very ambitious schedule but as readers of this column know, it’s just a general rule of thumb that toy and model businesses run anywhere from 60 to 90 days or more behind their original release schedules.

I’d like to think that Sideshow will get the Frankenstein dolls out in time for Christmas, but at this time I’ve got my fingers crossed. Hopefully I have good news in time for next month’s column.

LUGOSI BUSTS

While we’re on the subject of Lugosi collectibles, I just have to mention two great looking busts that have recently been issued by Budgie Models in the UK. The first bust is sculpted by artist Joe Hope and depicts Bela Lugosi as the Frankenstein Monster. The likeness is absolutely incredible and has some great touches to the base. The base features Frankenstein’s Castle as well as the hands of the Wolf Man, reaching up to strangle the monster. The kit stands approximately 11.5 inches high and is cast in one piece of cold cast resin. Fans of Lugosi just have to add this to their collectibles shelf.

The second kit, also released by Budgie Models, features Bela Lugosi as Igor. This kit is 6 inches high and is cast in 4 pieces. These two garage kits would be a welcome addition to any fan of the Classic Universal Monsters.

(From October 2001)

Well, after taking last month off, things have certainly changed a bit in our world. Suddenly the fact that the sculpt of the head of Sideshow’s upcoming 12-inch Fritz doll bears little resemblance to Dwight Frye seems much less important now than it used to. Nevertheless, as our country tries to comprehend the real life horrors that we have witnessed, I’ll attempt to delve into the horror movie collectibles scene.

The latest news from Sideshow is that the much anticipated and much delayed action figures Series Five should now be shipping along with the 12-inch Bela Lugosi Dracula doll. Sales on the limited editions of the Vampyre (Nosferatu), Phantom Of The Opera and to a slightly lesser extent the Lon Chaney London After Midnight dolls have been very good, making these collectibles a bit hard to find. Limited to runs of only 3500, the dolls are quickly becoming scarce. If you intend to add these dolls to your collection, I strongly urge you to pick these up now before it’s too late. Sideshow is currently sold out of the Series Five figures, which are Bela Lugosi as both Dracula and Ygor along with the Phantom Of The Opera in the Masque Of The Red Death outfit. Series Five is still available through some online dealers, but I suspect they will soon be hard to find as well. Sideshow is releasing a separate amount of the Lugosi Dracula, but the Ygor figure seems to be very much in demand. Quite a few people have commented to me that they are unhappy with the sculpt of the Lugosi Dracula head, but we’ll see what the actual figure looks like. Hopefully it will be an improvement over the photos of the proto-type that we’ve seen.

Personally I’m a bit concerned about the rest of the Sideshow release schedule. With Sideshow announcing so many new dolls for this year, one can only wonder just how much of their lineup will actually be available before the end of the year. Already far behind schedule with the Dracula doll and the Series Five action figures, they will either need to double up on their announced October, November and December releases or push some of the dolls into the early part of next year. With Sideshow’s refusal to grant dealers net terms (this means the dealers must pay for their orders at the time of shipping rather than what most companies do, which is grant a 90 day net period), many dealers will have a hard time paying for so many dolls at one time. I would guess this would mean that Sideshow may have to begin to grant some dealers net terms, but this is only a guess. The point being, unless they do offer net terms, many dealers may balk at having to pay up front for so many releases at one time, thus forcing Sideshow to delay the release of some of their product, if indeed, they can actually come even close to matching their proposed release dates. Personally, I would guess that we’ll see some of the releases pushed back as far as February of next year but I would suspect that Sideshow will strive to make the upcoming Frankenstein series of dolls available for December of this year. Again, this is just pure speculation on my part, but it has been my experience that most toys and models don’t actually hit the street until approximately 60 days after their originally proposed date. That is certainly holding true for both the 12-inch Dracula doll as well as Series Five. Time will tell.

Nevermore

Nevermore Creations has recently released photos of their upcoming line of action figures based upon mythical legends of local monsters and creatures. The first series of their Legendary Creatures will include the Missouri Monster, Mothman, Chupacabra and my personal favorite, the Jersey Devil.

Optimists that they are, Nevermore has already released the figures in their second series of this line. The second series includes the Yeti, Dover Demon, Flattwords Monster, and Loveland Frogmen. Although I don’t know much of some of these legends, I can say that the Jersey Devil figure looks very much like the drawings that I have seen of this legend. (The Jersey Devil was actually reported to have been electrocuted by a train rail not very far at all from my home, but it was later reportedly sighted again a few more times.) Each legendary creature also comes with a victim figure. I don’t have a definite release date for these figures other than Fall 2001. Although I don’t think they will have major appeal, I can imagine that they will have some local appeal to those familiar with the individual legends. I know I’ll definitely add a Jersey Devil to my personal collection.

Todd McFarlane’s Movie Maniacs Series Four has been released this past month. This series includes Evil Ash from Army Of Darkness, Candyman 3, an interpretation of the Blair Witch, T-800 and T-1000 from Terminator 2 and the Freddy Krueger second edition, which replaced the Jason X figure that was originally announced. The Jason X figure was pulled due to the film’s release date being pushed back into next year. The Krueger second edition action figure is based on the sculpt for the larger 18-inch Freddy Kruger figure. McFarlane is also releasing an exclusive Army of Darkness two pack featuring the Ash figure along with the Pit Witch.

This will be available in select stores such as Sam Goody, SunCoast, Musicland, Media Play, and On Cue. Also being released by McFarlane is the 18-inch versions of Ash from Army Of Darkness and Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (both with motion activated sound) along with a Jaws deluxe boxed set featuring the shark on the boat, devouring Quint. McFarlane has also recently released the Lost Souls line, based upon the cenobite characters from Clive Barker’s Hellraiser films. Although the sculpts for this line is very good, I was disappointed by both the packaging and the diminutive size of the action figures themselves.

McFarlane is also threatening to release yet another Chucky doll from the Child’s Play films. This version will be 12 inches tall, have real hair and clothes as well as a "voodoo knife."

Personally I’m not at all thrilled by the sculpt. The one redeeming quality about this doll is that the clothing actually says "Good Guys" on it rather than "Chucky." It’s always bugged me that versions released by other companies such as Applause and Sideshow changed the clothing from the doll in the original film. Still, it’s not a reason to pick up this one.

(From August 2001)

Latest Sideshow News

The VAMPYRE (Nosferatu) 12-inch dolls have hit the streets and I must say the sculpting job on this doll is a real treat! The face and head are very accurate as well as the hands of the vampire. I was very impressed with the coat that the doll comes with, which I thought was very detailed and accurate. To be honest I was extremely disappointed with the window box that it is packaged in which is similar to the Young Frankenstein doll line. Sideshow in the past has packaged the 12-inch Universal Monsters dolls in the folding gate box with the fantastic movie one sheet posters on the outside flap with the movie credits inside, but for both the Young Frankenstein and Vampyre doll boxes, they’ve gone with the open window box.

It’s a shame, especially considering the great poster art that they could have used for the Young Frankenstein line. One of the major drawbacks about the current package is that it is sealed on all sides, so you have to tear open the box to get to the doll inside. I’ve spoken to Sideshow and they have already received some complaints about the packaging. The upcoming Frankenstein lineup will come in the folding gate box similar to the Frankenstein and Wolf Man 12-inch dolls, but I expect that the London After Midnight and Phantom dolls will be packaged similar to the Vampyre doll. Personally I’m really looking forward to seeing the poster art on the box of the Bela Lugosi Frankenstein doll, featuring the art for Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man.

Don’t let the packaging scare you off the Vampyre doll though. If it weren’t for their already stellar packaging job with the Frankenstein and Wolf Man dolls, there would be far less complaints about this package. It’s a top notch collectible and will soon be hard to find, with a limited run of 5,000. Sideshow has been sold out of the doll for quite some time and rumor has it that one of the largest wholesalers for comic book shops and collectibles stores missed the boat on getting their orders in on time. Quite a few stores and websites that are expecting to be receiving this doll may not be getting any at all, which could really cause the price on this doll as well as the upcoming Phantom Of The Opera dolls to skyrocket.

Upcoming Sideshow Releases

Recently Sideshow has announced more dolls in the Universal Monsters line. These include a Bela Lugosi as The Gypsy Bela from The Wolf Man (due Nov.), a Dwight Fyre as Renfield doll (due Nov.), Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester dolls from Bride Of Frankenstein (due Dec.) and most recently at the San Diego Comic convention they announced upcoming Silver Screen versions of London After Midnight, The Vampyre and The Phantom Of The Opera. There is no release date yet on those but I would suspect that they will be made available in December or the early part of next year. Keep in mind with these release dates that everything is tentative. The toy and hobby market is at times at the mercy of the Eastern manufacturers who more often than not miss their targeted release dates. My general rule of thumb has been to add about 60-90 days onto the originally announced dates but in the case of the dolls listed above, I think Sideshow will be sticking fairly close to these dates. Also available at the San Diego fest was a translucent Metaluna Mutant action figure, similar to the translucent Creature From The Black Lagoon figure they issued last year.

Pre-ordering for the upcoming line of Frankenstein dolls has really started to take off with the release of the photos of the dolls. By far the Glenn Strange Frankenstein is the most popular in a large part due to the familiarity of Strange’s Frankenstein on the part of the Baby Boomers who grew up on Uncle Forry’s Famous Monsters magazine. With the announcement of the Karloff Bride Of Frankenstein figure, I’m sure that Sideshow will round out the lineup with Karloff from Son of Frankenstein, complete with sheep skin coat. I would also anticipate a 12-inch Bela Lugosi as Ygor doll to be announced for sale sometime in 2002. There has been a tremendous interest in the Sideshow Series 5 Ygor figure but so far Sideshow has decided only to release the Dracula action figure in additional runs. I would expect a Silver Screen version of this line to also be announced for sometime next year. Barring any further announcements, that should be the last of the Sideshow action figure line, sadly.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Another line of Sideshow dolls is certainly drawing much attention, the upcoming Monty Python And The Holy Grail dolls. This line of 12-inch dolls features the five Pythons from the film dressed in their tunics and suits of armour. Accessories include the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, the killer rabbit and the measuring duck. This line is scheduled to be available in October. A recently announced sixth figure, Terry Gilliam as King Arthur’s servant Patsy (the man with the coconuts) will round out the set. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Black Knight added to this series somewhere down the line.

Sideshow has also announced that they will be expanding their lineup to include 12-inch dolls for the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits television series, as well as dolls from the cult classic film Army Of Darkness. You can expect to see these dolls sometime next year.

Living Dead Dolls II

Mezco is currently releasing the second wave of their popular Living Dead Doll line scheduled for October. This line includes Sadie in her school uniform, Louis Sapphire (devil), Kitty the Cheerleader, Lizzie Borden complete with axe, and Deadbra the Prom Queen. The first series in this line sold very well, with the Eggzorcist doll being extremely hard to find. Apparently American retailers for whatever reason had apprehensions about selling a doll which could be mistaken as an Easter product, so only 2,000 of them were shipped within the States. Japan, on the other hand received 4,000 of these and they now have become a bit of a collector’s item. One of these recently sold at an online auction for $255. Mezco will also be releasing 4-inch versions of the series two dolls in Ocotober.

McFarland Figures

McFarlane Toys will be releasing some 18-inch action figures of interest. These include Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Ash from the Evil Dead series and for music lovers Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie figures. The only one of these that I’m a bit disappointed in is the Alice Cooper figure. To me the face sculpt is just a bit off but that is judging by the photos that have been released of the prototype. The upcoming Movie Maniacs Series Four set includes two Terminator figures, Candyman, Blair Witch, and Evil Ash. The Jason X figure (Cyborg Jason) will not be released along with the rest as originally announced due to the uncertain release date of the upcoming film. I suspect that the Evil Ash figure will be the most highly sought from this lineup.

A Correction

Last issue I mistakenly said that the upcoming Silent Screamers Deluxe Golem figure would be a limited edition of 4,000 pieces. In actuality, it will be a limited run of 40,000 pieces. I’m not quite sure how a run of 40,000 pieces can be considered "limited" but in the era of "Pre-Owned" rather than "Used" cars I guess anything is possible.

(From July 2001)

After Bash

The Monster Bash is over and I'm already counting down the days on the calendar until next year's party. It always seems like the fastest three days of the year! As always, it was great to see some old friends and meet many new ones, along with checking out what other vendors had to sell. Sideshow graciously has provided free sets of the upcoming Series Five action figures to people who were lucky enough to win the trivia contests that were run in the film room. A special thanks goes out to Diane Kahale from Sideshow for providing the prizes!

Sideshow recently announced that they will be releasing some more limited edition classic Universal Monster figures including Bela Lugosi as Gypsy Bela from The Wolf Man, Larry Talbot in human form and Karloff as The Monster from Bride Of Frankenstein. While they have recently released photos of the Fritz, Talbot and Murder Lengendre dolls, we are still breathlessly awaiting the release of some photos for The Frankenstein series, which include Chaney, Lugosi and Glenn Strange as the Monster. I'm sure that it won't be much longer before they announce a Karloff as Son Of Frankenstein 12-inch doll to round out the collection. The most popular of the Frankenstein figures as far as Pre-Orders go has been the Glenn Strange figure. Some people have expressed disappointment with the likeness of Dwight Frye as the Fritz figure from Frankenstein.

Also on the not totally thrilled with list is the Larry Talbot figure which comes dressed in what I've seen referred to as a Seventies pimp outfit complete with hat and cane. The anticipation grows for the latest releases due from Sideshow at the end of July, which are the 12-inch dolls of The Phantom Of The Opera, London After Midnight and the Vampyre (Nosferatu). Sideshow is running a bit behind their originally announced release dates, but in the toy and model business I've come to realize that no one ever hits their originally announced date. The general rule of thumb that I now use is to add two months to the preliminary date. Sideshow will also be releasing their Young Frankenstein line of 12-inch dolls earlier in July. Demand for these items just doesn't seem to be very high, but that may change once they are released.

Jumping on the limited edition bandwagon, Mezco Toyz will be releasing a "Deluxe Collectors Editon" version of The Golem. The 10-inch Golem figure comes with an 18-inch base that is a doorway. This list price for this figure is in the $30 range and is being limited to a run of 4,000. This is one case where I think the "limited run" tag is basically meaningless because I doubt that they could sell more than that amount anyway. Sideshow ran the boxed set of Silver Screen Series One in a limited edition of 5000 pieces and there are still plenty of those easily available. Mezco is also releasing an exclusive bride and groom set of Living Dead Dolls. Named "Died and Doom", this pair is available only at Tower Records.

This summer's blockbuster film looks to be Tim Burton's Planet Of The Apes which will be released on July 27th. Hasbro has the license for the action figures for the movie tie-in but I'm not overly impressed with the figures that they have coming out. The photos of the prototypes that I have seen just aren't up to par, but that may change when the actual figures hit the street. The General Attar figure looks great but the Leo Davidson (Wahlberg), Daena, chimp Ari and Limbo just look dreadful. Hasbro will also be releasing 12-inch figures and have announced an electronic 12-inch Ultra Atar that lists for about $35.

Polar Lights has recently released a snap together kit of the famous Mystery Machine van from the cartoon Scooby Doo, Where Are You? The kit was designed with kids in mind and is a skill level one kit, which snaps together and requires no paint or glue. It comes with a sticker sheet to make it look like the cartoon van. It also comes with Scooby and Shaggy figures. More experienced modelers will want to get a bit more creative with it. This kit is a WalMart exclusive.

(From June 2001)

Sideshow In The Spotlight

Well, Sideshow again is in the spotlight this week, another good news/bad news scenario. Unlike last month, I'll start off with the bad news (ya gotta mix things up sometimes). Those death bells you hear tolling are for what may be the eventual end of the 8-inch action figure line. Sideshow has decided to stop further production of Series One, Two, Three and Four. The Frankenstein figure from Series One is completely sold out at Sideshow, as well as Metaluna Mutant from Series Three and the Son Of Frankenstein figure from Series Four. Sideshow is offering extremely limited editions of the Silver Screen Series Three and Series Four figures, at a whopping $60 pricetag for each set of three figures. These runs are limited to only 1500 sets, so it won't be long before these figures will be history as well.

On the good news side of things, Sideshow is offering what should be the last of the Series One lines, this time in a glow in the dark edition. I haven't seen any pictures of these yet, but I'm not really hoping for much new here. The recently released translucent Creature From The Black Lagoon figures haven't exactly been the hottest of the action figure lineup, but I suspect that is mainly because it really hides the best features of the original sculpt by Oluf W. Hartvigson, which were only accented by the wonderful paint jobs on both the regular Series One and Silver Screen figures. If you don't already have the Series One figures and you can't find all three, I would suggest getting the Silver Screen Edition while you still can. The Glow In The Dark versions may be of much more interest to kids.

More importantly, Sideshow has recently released more information about the Dwight Frye Fritz figure from the original Frankenstein film. The price on this figure is actually a bit lower than originally anticipated. Sideshow is offering this doll at $40, up a bit from their regular $29.99 price for dolls, but still not as high as the $50 or $55 pricetag that many of us feared. Again, some online retailers are offering this doll at a lower price than Sideshow, but you can expect this doll to eventually become scarce. Both The Phantom Of The Opera and Vampyre (Nosferatu) dolls are sold out at Sideshow's website, but still available in dwindling numbers at various online dealers, though even some of them have reported being out of stock just from pre-orders. The Fritz doll comes with a highly detailed cloth outfit, a brain with jar (label says NORMAL BRAIN), short walking stick and stone textured foot base. I realize that one reason that Sideshow is heading full steam ahead on the doll front is because they can use interchangeable parts for the dolls but my hope here is that they use a different set of parts for the Fritz doll. Having Fritz the hunchbacked dwarf being as tall as the Frankenstein monster certainly wouldn't be a good thing. Along with a higher pricetag comes higher expectations. The Fritz doll is limited to a run of 3,500 pieces and is now scheduled to be released in September. The release dates of the Frankenstein series (Chaney, Lugosi and Strange) have now been pushed back to October.

Barbie and Ken Munster

Mattel is following up the success of the Addams Family Barbie and Ken Doll Gift Set with their version of the Munsters. Barbie is dressed as Lily Munster, complete with Lily's raven black hair with the silver streak. She wears a light pink funeral gown that is an authentic reproduction of the original, even down to the wing-like cut outs at the arms and black tie at the waist. Finishing off her ensemble is the black bat necklace and black nails.

Ken is dressed as Herman Munster in another authentic reproduction of Herman's brown suit, charcoal sweater, and oversized gray boots. He has the Frankenstein-type flat head with the neck bolts, but to me, just doesn't look all that good. The sculpt of the face just doesn't look like Fred Gwynne. I realize that it isn't supposed to, but I do wish it were a little bit closer to resembling him than it does. Again, this Barbie and Ken set will have a hefty price tag in the $60-75 price range. This gift set is due out in September. 

Fly On The Wall

A company called Majestic Studios had announced that they were coming out with a Return Of The Fly 12-inch doll. The doll features the part fly/part human figure, with the fly head, hand and foot on a human body. It features a fully articulated body, cloth costume, real matted hair and translucent eyes. It also has a movie logo display base with spilled beaker and comes in a full color collector's box that features the original movie poster. As an added bonus, you get a small human headed fly accessory. Though not up to Sideshow's standards, it certainly isn't a bad item to add to your collection.

The price on this should be in the $25 range, but apparently the Majestic Studios website is not available and I have seen that it is on the cancelled list of Diamond Comics. That may just mean a delay in shipping. Hopefully the doll has not been cancelled. The last shipping date I saw on this was July, but if you know your monster toys, you know that original ship dates almost never are realized.

After much inner debate, I've decided to list this collectible item in this month's column. I try very hard not to promote my own website through these pages; anyone is more than welcome to click on the link below but I just feel that it would be a tad unethical for me to use this column for blatant self promotion. That being said, I am going to break that self-imposed rule this time because I feel I would be remiss not to mention this item.

Recently at Monster-Mania I've started my own lines of merchandise and at this year's Monster Bash, we will be unveiling a Wolf Man Cane Replica. This cane is based on the sculpt of the actual movie prop. The cane head is made of a durable resin compound and the shaft is a highly polished wood. Overall it is approximately a full 36 inches long. The head features the snarling wolf at the front and has the wolf inside the pentagram in the back, just like the one in the classic Universal film. Anyone interested can visit the Web page for this item.

Let's Bash Again Like We Did Last Summer

This is one of my favorite times of year because I get to hit my favorite of all horror conventions, the Monster Bash in Pittsburgh. For those of you that I've had the pleasure of meeting, I look forward to seeing you again this year. If this is your first Bash, please stop by the Monster-Mania tables and say hello to myself and my son, Dave who has been a tremendous help to me and is now a classic horror convert after attending his first Bash last year. If you haven't been to a Bash yet, you really owe it to yourself to attend one. You'll find the best group of people in a real family-oriented event and you'll find some of the best, most unusual, forgotten and brand new collectibles that you've ever seen. This year's Bash has a Lugosi theme and I can guarantee you that you'll find Lugosi and Dracula collectibles here that you've never seen before! (Trust me, I have inside information) 

(From May 2001)

Sideshow’s Big Decision

In case by now you haven’t heard the biggest news for the monster movie collector, let me break it to you this way:  we have good news and we have bad news.  Which do you want first? 

I thought so.  But we’re going to give you the good news first anyway.  Sideshow has announced the pending release of a number of 12-inch dolls that will surely pique the interest of the Universal Monster collector.  After the Summer release of the 12-inch Phantom Of The Opera, Vampyr (Nosferatu), Dracula and London After Midnight dolls, there will be 6 new dolls scheduled for release in September of this year.  The dolls include a Frankenstein series that will include Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi and Glenn Strange versions of the monster.  Finally there will be a Glenn Strange Frankenstein for those of us who grew up with that version of the monster as showcased in Uncle Forry’s Famous Monsters Of Filmland magazine (ok, so sue me Ray).

In addition to that, there will be a Lon Chaney Jr. as Lawrence Talbot in human form, a Dwight Frye as Doctor Frankenstein’s accomplice Fritz and also Bela Lugosi as Murder Legendre from the film White Zombie.  All in all, just fantastic news for the Universal Monsters collector.  So, what’s the bad news you may ask.

Okay, here’s the bad news:  these new 12-inch dolls will list for at least double the price of the original 12-inch dolls and Sideshow is limiting the runs on these lines from anywhere to 2000 to 5000 pieces.  Sideshow will soon be changing their name from Sideshow Toys to Sideshow Collectibles in an effort to shift their perception to a being a collectible rather than a toy manufacturer.  They are also pulling out of the mass market (Toys R Us) and going mainly with comic book shops, collectibles stores and online dealers.

Just what does this all mean to you?  Well, now the newly announced dolls will cost you somewhere from $45 to $55 and they quite possibly will become very hard to find, as many dealers and also Sideshow themselves are sold out of some of them, just from pre-orders alone.  Already Sideshow is sold out of the Phantom Of The Opera doll and also the Vampyr (Nosferatu) doll.  Some online dealers are taking Pre-orders on those and are close to selling out before their actual release.   Of course, these dolls are still at the lower suggested retail price of $30 (cheaper through online dealers).  It remains to be seen how well the higher priced dolls will sell, but from my own experience, the Frankenstein dolls are being reserved at a pretty brisk pace.  My suggestion for you if you definitely have to have one of these dolls is to pre-order now and save yourself the scrambling and potential price gouging that may take place once the dolls actually hit the street.  These limited edition runs have all the markings of the Cabbage Patch doll craze, at least for the horror collector.  I can see these monsters going on Ebay for absurd prices.  I would expect however that Sideshow will later come out with Silver Screen editions of these same dolls at a later date.

As you can imagine there are some pretty hard feelings from many of the collectors regarding the limited runs and higher prices.  One key factor is that the general consensus is most people prefer the 8-inch action figure over the 12-inch dolls for numerous reasons.  Many of us baby boomers now have children of our own and it was really a thrill for us to hand our sons and daughters a Lon Chaney Jr. Wolf Man action figure to play with, while we squirreled one aside for ourselves, in mint condition.  The collector in us wanted to keep our figures in perfect condition in an unopened package, while the kid in us couldn’t wait to tear open the package and start playing… I mean couldn’t wait for our children to start playing with the figures.  Now, at $45-$55 a shot, that is much less likely to happen.  Because of this, there is definitely now some ill will on the part of many people toward the new Sideshow direction.  While no one faulted Flatt World for coming out with a $60 list price Bela Lugosi Dracula doll, many people are angry at Sideshow for their change of direction.  Suddenly charging double the price for what is essentially the same quality doll just because it is now limited does not sit well with many fans and collectors.   My suggestion to Sideshow would be to have the best of both worlds.  I suggest that they continue full force with the 8-inch action figure lines while adding the higher priced collectible 12-inch dolls to their lineup.  That way they please both their original customers while still expanding into the collectibles area that they want to be in.  Right now it’s a bit of a hard sell expecting people to abruptly change their perception of the dolls that they’ve been collecting for the last few years.  Sideshow, which had been lauded by the classic monster collectors for their affordable and high quality action figure lines are now beginning to be viewed as a greedy company that either doesn’t care about the customers that helped them achieve success or even worse, is taking advantage of the loyalty of those customers to the classic films and characters they love so much.  It remains to be seen what the final outcome will be, but it will definitely become a very interesting story.

Speaking of those action figures, Sideshow has announced that they will be releasing glow in the dark versions of Series One, probably around August.  They will also be releasing Silver Screen editions of Series 3 and 4.   The regular version of Series 3 is no longer being made.  Still no definite word on the continuation of the 8-icn action figure line, though Sideshow does admit that they have received much feedback from customers concerning the feared cancellation of any further series.  Apparently they do read their mail.

Hot New Collectibles

(From April 2001)

Toy Fair 2001 Part 2 

      Picking up where we left off last issue, we’ll continue with more of the Sideshow Toys offerings for this coming year.  Sideshow has obtained the license for YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and is coming out with three of the figures from this popular Mel Brook’s spoof of the Universal Frankenstein films.  Sideshow will be releasing 12-inch dolls of The Frankenstein Monster (Peter Boyle), Dr. Frankenstein (“pronounced Franken-schteen” Gene Wilder) and his assistant Eyegore (Marty Feldman).   The figures will be done along the lines of the Silver Screen action figures paint theme and come with a crateful of accessories.

With the Monster you get a broken mug, soupbowl, flower, shackles, and interchangeable hand with burning thumb.  The good “docktor” comes with scapel, stethescope, doctor’s mask, magnifying goggles, and the book “How I Did It”.  Eyegore comes with brain, brain display case, ram’s horn trumpet, and walking stick.  The likenesses of the dolls are very accurate but I just can’t help feeling that Sideshow is shooting themselves in the foot a bit by releasing these as 12-inch dolls rather than as action figures.  At a pricetag of around $25, I have to wonder just how many people will be willing to shell out $75 for the three figures compared to the amount of people who would pay approximately $40 for a set of the same characters as action figures.  Just a personal opinion, but I’ll be following the success of this Young Frankenstein doll line with a close eye.

While Sideshow hasn’t exactly come out and proclaimed that there will be no further additions to the action figure lineup, it seems pretty clear that they are heading into the 12-inch doll direction pretty heavily.  With no further action figure series on schedule after Series Five (release date is now pushed back to August), it remains to be seen if the success of the 12-inch dolls means the end for the action figures.  Many monster collectors are very pleased with the action figure lineup and would like to see other figures such as a Glenn Strange Frankenstein, Christopher Lee Dracula and Peter Cushing Doctor Frankenstein. 

Living Dead Dolls

Mezco Toyz (formerly half of the Aztec Toyz partnership) is releasing what they term its First Exhumed Series of five 10-inch dolls.  These dolls are a twisted take on the Cabbage Patch doll craze from the early 80’s.  Each doll is fully poseable and has rooted hair.  The dolls come with a death certificate, are boxed in a collectible coffin, and comes with various accessories.

Damien is the schoolboy doll that comes with a slingshot and three books (reminds me of Angus Young of AC/DC).  The Eggzorcist is an evil girl bunny, Sin is dressed in a red devil outfit complete with pitchfork, Posey was buried alive and comes in funeral shroud, and Sadie is a Morticia-like doll that packs a butcher knife in her pocket book.  The tagline for this line of toys is “We’ve passed away, now it’s time to play!”  While I don’t expect these dolls to take the collector’s world by storm, I do think that they look very good and I do think that they’ll find their market. 

Silent Screamers Series 2

     Mezco Toyz will also be continuing the Silent Screamer lineup, forging ahead with Series Two.  The second series is scheduled to include a Dr. Jekyll & Mister Hyde figure, Edison’s Frankenstein, and Maria from Metropolis.  The one figure that I’m personally waiting for is the forthcoming Golem figure, which is larger than the Silent Screamers figures and will be offered separately.  The success of the first line of Silent Screamers was short-lived, seemingly everyone who wanted them bought them shortly after their release and sales then dropped off sharply, as compared to the sales of the Sideshow figures.  Personally I think the “updated” look that they are given is a bit of a disappointment for the classic horror collector, who prefers to purchase a more true-to-the-original item. 

Vampirella’s Back

     And in more ways than one!   Moore Action Collectibles has released a new series of Vampirella action figures in three versions.  The first version is the Julie Strain figure.  The second is a Vampirella with Blue Moon figure and lastly is the Harvest Moon figure.

In one of the most unusual variants I’ve ever seen, one of the Blue Moon figures comes packaged with the figure facing backwards.   This “mooning” figure is packed only one per case.  Quite cheeky! 

Creature Feature Series

     Stan Winston, a Hollywood SPX veteran, will be releasing his line of Creature Feature action figures in the fall.   These figures are based on an upcoming series of films including Earth Vs. The Spider, The Day The World Ended, Teenage Caveman, How To Make A Monster, and War Of The Colossal Beast.  The figures are a bit extreme, kind of like a MacFarlane Toys meets The Fly.   Nothing to write home about, but not terrible either.  I’ll take a pass on this line.  

(From March 2001)

Toy Fair 2001

This looks to be a very interesting year for the horror movie memorabilia collector, judging by this year’s Toy Fair. There is a lot to report, so let’s jump right into the forthcoming offerings by Sideshow Toys.

Sideshow Series 5

By now you probably already know that Series Five of the 8-inch action figures has the long-anticipated Bela Lugosi as Dracula figure. Fans of the Universal Monsters have waited a long time to see a version of Dracula that truly resembled the Hungarian actor. Originally first targeted for Series 3, then expected for Series 4 but removed almost at the last minute to be replaced by the Henry Hull Werewolf Of London, the Transylvanian Count finally made it into the Sideshow lineup, much to every Universal Monster fan’s delight. This time, the Dracula figure actually looks like Bela and Lugosiphiles finally have something to celebrate. Not only does Series 5 have a Lugosi Dracula, there is also a Bela as Igor from Son Of Frankenstein figure along with a Lon Chaney as The Phantom Of The Opera in the Masque Of The Red Death costume. The prototypes of the Lugosi figures are still awaiting final approval. Series 5 looks to be the best series since the initial set and hopefully Sideshow will continue this action figure line. Currently Sideshow has not officially declared this series to be the last, but it is quite clear that they intend to move more into the 12-inch doll market (more on that below). Because most of the doll parts are interchangeable, it’s quite a bit easier for Sideshow to just sculpt the head and hands (and sometimes feet) for a doll, rather than an entire brand new sculpt for the entire body of an action figure. The slated release date for Series 5 is tentatively scheduled for the beginning of August. Sideshow is raising their dealer prices for these figures by $3 per box, so some dealers may slightly increase their prices, while others will just continue to sell them at their regular price.

Sideshow is continuing to release the Series 3 and 4 figures in Silver Screen Editions. These releases will be in blister card form only, as Sideshow is no longer producing the boxed sets as they did with the first series. Personally, I really enjoyed the boxed limited edition set of Series One and wish that they would come out with the rest of the Silver Screen series in the boxed sets, but so far there are no plans for that. Apparently they are keeping the large toy stores in mind with the figures carded individually, but I feel there is a collector’s market for the boxed sets as well. My feeling is that a true collector would prefer a boxed set that displays all three figures of each individual set. Silver Screen Series 3 is slated for an early May release with Silver Screen Series 4 scheduled for Sept. first. These figures are also scheduled to cost $3 more per case to the dealers.

A Real Doll

The 12-inch Wolf Man doll has recently been released and is selling very well. Sideshow has continued the same packaging style, with the movie poster on the front flap and themed accessories such as a tree trunk and a trap with moving parts. The next scheduled 12-inch doll is the Lon Chaney as The Phantom Of The Opera doll, which looks quite authentic. The head sculpt totally captures the horrible visage that the silent screen star created with his own makeup. The release date for the Phantom doll is May first.

The next scheduled doll is a personal favorite of mine. As we predicted back in our August column, Sideshow would be making three vampire figures this year and this is the first, Lon Chaney from London After Midnight. The head and hands sculpt for this doll is amazing, capturing everything from the razor sharp pointed teeth to the long claw-like fingernails. I just can’t wait to add this one to my collection! A lantern will be one of the themed accessories for this one. The target release date for this doll is July first.

The second vampire doll to be released by Sideshow will be what they call "The Vampyre" but don’t let the name fool you. This is a perfectly accurate sculpt of the Max Schreck Nosferatu from the classic silent film. Aztec/Mezco officially owns the license to the name "Nosferatu" with their Silent Screamers line, but unlike the Aztec version, this sculpt actually looks exactly like the silent film character. Aztec modernized their version of the Silent Screamers and interest in that line faded. The third and most anticipated doll will of course be the Bela Lugosi Dracula. No word on the release date of that is yet available, but I would suspect that they would want to release it in time for the Halloween season. Keep in mind that delays in production could push this product back to the Holiday season, but I suspect that you will definitely see this become available this year.

A new license for Sideshow will be the Young Frankenstein line, with 12-inch dolls of the Gene Wilder as Dr. Frederick von Frankenstein, Peter Boyle as the Monster and Marty Feldman as Eyegor. This line will be launched in early June.

As expected, the second in the line of 24-inch Pozer dolls will be the Wolf Man figure. Personally I like my monsters to look like the actors that portrayed them, but I hold a special place in my heart for the Wolf Man. As a kid I would have told you that the Wolf Man would have taken that lumbering Frankenstein monster in two out of three falls any day if not for that darn damn exploding. I realize the Pozers are based on the Little Big Head line, which is essentially a caricature of the regular monsters, but I just want my Wolf Man to look like the Lon Chaney version. I’m sure, however, that this figure will definitely be a hit with the kids.

Movie Maniacs

McFarlane Toys has the Movie Maniacs Series Four in the works, complete with an Evil Ash figure, the second Bruce Campbell figure based on the Evil Dead film series. Other figures scheduled for this series are The Blair Witch, Candyman, T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenager from The Terminator), T-1000 from Terminator 2, a Jaws diorama with the shark attacking the ship and eating Quint, and Jason from the forthcoming Jason X film. McFarlane is also continuing the 18-inch Movie Maniacs line with an Ash figure from Evil Dead and a Leatherface figure from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

McFarlane has also teamed up with horror writer Clive Barker to bring us the Tortured Souls: Animae Damnatae lineup based on the cenebite characters from Barker’s HellRaiser film series. These six figures are definitely NOT for young kids. McFarlane is promoting them as "what may be the most visually daring and disturbing line of action figures in McFarlane Toy history." With accessories such as skinned faces stretched over metal hooks, I couldn’t agree more. Definitely not for the squeamish but if you’re a Hellraiser fan, these figures are sure to appeal to you.

Rounding out the McFarlane Toys offerings is a series of diorama’s based on Swiss artist H. R. Giger. Not much details are available on this line yet, other than the information that the first of these is a stand alone statue based on Giger’s famous Li II portrait.  (All pictures on this page are courtesy of Spawn.Com.

(Frokm February 2001)

Toy Fair 2001 Coming

The annual Toy Fair takes place this month, on Feb. 11^th to the 15th in The Big Apple where the various toy companies make the big unveiling of their new lines of merchandise for the forthcoming year. For toy dealers and collectors such as myself, this is as close to sneaking a peak at Christmas presents under the tree as it gets. The hardest part is maintaining a calm, businesslike composure as you’re being escorted into the equivalent of the back door of Santa’s workshop. Unlike last year, this year Sideshow holds two locations, one in the Jacob Javitz Center that is open to all Toy Fair participants. Along with this, Sideshow will be at a second location, which is only available to dealers and vendors through a special appointment. Last year Sideshow gave away bronze colored of four of the Series Two Little Big Heads to those lucky enough to gain a private appointment. This year’s giveaway will be bronze versions of the other four figures in this series, namely The Red Death Phantom, Son Of Frankenstein, Ardath Bey and the Mole Man.

Last year Sideshow surprised us with the beautiful 12-inch Frankenstein doll, a Universal Monsters license that they had picked up which Hasbro-Kenner let expire. They also surprised us with the Pozer Frankenstein, a large 24-inch poseable Little Big Head. I guess that makes it a Big Little Big Head. This year’s display should feature the proto-type of the much-anticipated Bela Lugosi Dracula action figure. Initial word has it that the Lugosi Ygor figure will not be available for the show, but Sideshow may surprise everyone with this late entry. An educated guess has me expecting to see a 24-inch Pozer Wolf Man doll. Also on hand should be the translucent Creature From The Black Lagoon action figure, along with blister packs of the Silver Screen Series Three and Four figures. Sideshow has promised me that I’ll be pleased with other Universal Monsters offerings, but one can only guess what they might be. I’m sure there will be a third 12-inch doll released this year, quite possibly The Mummy or perhaps The Phantom Of The Opera. The second in that line, the 12-inch Wolf Man promises to ship early this month. Sideshow isn’t releasing details until the Toy fair but I’ve been told to expect other monster-related collectibles. Sideshow is venturing into other licenses, such as The Lord Of The Rings, Monkey Bone and Monty Python, but I’m still hopeful that they continue with their Universal Monster lineup. Without a doubt, they are making the best monster collectibles of the last thirty years.

Also at the upcoming Toy Fair will be the unveiling of the new line of licensed figures made by Hasbro for the upcoming Tim Burton Planet Of The Apes film. Hasbro plans to ship the figures just prior to the July 2001 release of the film. The company Applause will also release plush (stuffed animals) from the film. 

The First Annual Zombie Awards

Well, the year 2000 is officially over and the Y2K bug scare is but a distant memory (except for all that dehydrated food in my cupboard), but I just couldn’t let the year go by without giving out my First Annual Zombie Awards for the year’s Best and Worst horror movie collectibles. Although the Zombies haven’t gotten quite as much press coverage as say, the Academy Awards, Grammys, or even the MTV Awards, I’m still absolutely convinced that you’re just dying to know my picks for last year’s offerings. Without further adieu here are the Winners (and Losers)…

Best Action Figure (over 8 inches):   Sideshow’s 12-inch Frankenstein. Great sculpt, terrific packaging, fantastic accessories (Abnormal brain, daisies and shackles)

Best Action Figure (under 8 inches): McFarlane’s Ash figure. Perhaps the most anticipated figure of the McFarlane line. This Bruce Campbell likeness captures all the fun of the Evil Dead films and comes complete with a chainsaw.

Unsung Hero Award (Most Overlooked Figure):   A tie:  Hasbro-Kenner Creature From The Black Lagoon 12-inch doll and Hasbro-Kenner Son Of Dracula 12-inch doll. Although Hasbro-Kenner let their license for the 12-inch Universal Monsters dolls die, they sure did go out in style. Both of these figures came in a plastic cylindrical tube with rotating base. Both figures actually looked very good, the manufacturers finally got the clothes to fit the dolls and you just have to give them credit for releasing a Lon Chaney Jr. Son Of Dracula doll. Hasbro-Kenner went out with style with these two figures.

Worst Action Figure: Figure’s Toy Company’s Lugosi licensed Dracula figures. For a while there it seemed unfathomable why the Lugosi Estates would fight so strongly for Bela’s image only to license action figures that resembled Martin Landau more than they did Bela (see 1998’s Exclusive Premeire’s Dracula). This item was of interest only to the die hard Lugosi fanatic. This line came in a regular glow in the dark and exclusive blue edition. One looked as bad as the next. Thankfully Sideshow now has the Lugosi contract.

Best Re-issue Model Kit: Polar Lights Guilotine kit--This was a tough choice considering the release of the Salem Witch, the Frightning Fourpack, and The Bell Ringer of Notre Dame, but a working guillotine kit won out by a head (sorry, I couldn’t resist myself).

Best Original Model Kit:  Polar Lights Phantom Of The Opera diorama kit. Great likeness, kit comes complete with an organ. Polar Lights hot streak with original kits continues. Rumor has it that they plan to release an original Creature From The Black Lagoon kit this year.

Best Movie Poster Reprint: The reprint of the European re-release of 1931’s Frankenstein. Breath-taking artwork!

Best News Of The Year:  3-way tie:

1.  Lugosi Estates and Universal bury the hatchet and agree on licensing terms;

2.  Sideshow Toys announce that they will not only make a Bela Lugosi Dracula action figure but also a Lugosi Ygor action figure;

3.  Sara Karloff settles with Universal, thus bringing the Big Three (Karloff, Lugosi, and Chaney) back under the Universal umbrella, where the fans have wanted them all along.

(From January 2001

Well, the new year is upon us already and it seems like it will be a banner year for monster collectors like ourselves. Most companies are holding back some info until the annual Toy Fair in New York, but some early releases for 2001 are already on the charts.

The hottest of this year’s early items will surely be the Sideshow’s 12-inch Wolf Man doll. Sideshow hit the jackpot with the 12-inch Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster doll last year. Just to refresh your memory, Hasbro-Kenner had the Universal 12-inch doll license and released a Frankenstein, Wolf Man, Mummy boxed set in conjunction with the debut of the monster stamps from the US Post Office. Hasbro-Kenner continued the line with Bride Of Frankenstein, Invisible Man, and The Phantom Of The Opera dolls among others. These dolls were initially received well, but it soon became apparent that they lacked somewhat in quality and interest in them declined sharply. Hasbro-Kenner packaged the last three dolls in this line (Creature From The Black Lagoon, Son Of Dracula and The Mummy’s Tomb Mummy) in clear plastic cylindrical tubes with revolving bases, but by this point there was very little interest from toy vendors in carrying this line. Hasbro-Kenner failed to renew their license agreement for the 12-inch dolls and let the line expire.

That’s where Sideshow comes in. Sideshow picked up the expired license and immediately set to work on the 12-inch Frankenstein doll. Not hampered by the hideous lime green and purple design colors that Universal had thrust upon anyone who picked up a Universal Monsters license, Sideshow designed a fantastic looking box featuring the movie poster from the original film. But the proof of the pudding was in the doll. This doll looked like Boris Karloff! His clothes actually fit, which is one of the major flaws of most clothed doll lines. Many companies just fail to get the clothing right, resulting in a doll that looks like a young child wearing his father’s clothes (the Exclusive Premiere Dracula doll immediately comes to mind).

The sculpt of the monster was great and the doll had full articulation. On the inside panel of the swinging gate box are details about the film and the actor who portrayed the monster. Now Sideshow plans to do it all again with the February release of the 12-inch Wolf Man doll. For fans of the Universal Monster’s lycanthrope, this item is a definite must-have. Sideshow is using the same theme for the packaging as they did with the Frankenstein doll and the sculpt of the monster looks absolutely dead-on.

Also scheduled for a February release is a transparent 8-inch Creature From The Black Lagoon action figure. This is essentially the same figure that was released first in full color, then again in the Silver Screen motif. The transparent Little Big Head Creature was very popular and Sideshow is hoping that the 8-inch version will do just as well.

Sideshow is promising some surprises for monster fans at the upcoming Toy Fair. One can only suspect that some of the surprises will involve the newly signed agreement with the Lugosi Estates, as well as the rumored involvement with the upcoming Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. Considering that Christopher Lee is in this Trilogy, keep your fingers crossed that it may open the door to other things…

Screamers silenced?

As you may or may not know, Aztech Toyz, the company that brought us the Silent Screamers line, has officially gone out of business. However, this does not necessarily mean the end of the Silent Screamers line. Aztech Toyz was a joint effort of Brooklyn-based design studio Art Asylum and the Mez apparel company, operated by Mike "Mez" Markowitz. Markowitz intends to now release figures under the Mezco Toyz banner. The first toys to hit the streets from Mezco will be the second edition of Silent Screamers. This series will contain a second Nosferatu figure, this one reenacts his death by sunlight from the end of the silent classic. The second figure will be a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jekyll will fit into the large articulated shell of Hyde, similar to the Caligari figure from the first line. The third figure features Maria the Robot from the Fritz Lang 1927 classic Metropolis. The last figure of the series is the Frankenstein monster from Thomas Edison’s 1910 Frankenstein film. Mezco will then release what they term "deluxe" Silent Screamers about six to eight weeks later. The first deluxe figure is a 12-inch Golem with an 18-inch base and a 7-inch Captain Nemo with a base of the Nautilus vessel being attacked by a giant squid from the film 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Mezco also is planning releases of a Popeye line of figures as well as a line called "Scary Tales" that will release in May. This features really hyped up versions of fairy tales figures, such as a "hot, B-52 bomber type" of Little Red Riding Hood and a "pimpy" Mad Hatter who presents a pie with Alice’s face stretched over it as the crust. Not exactly something you’ll be giving the kiddies as birthday presents. Later in the year Mezco is threatening to release its Cryptozoology line, which is based on mythical monsters such as the Loch Ness Monster, the Jersey Devil (my personal fave, as he was reportedly killed just around the corner from me), and something called Mothman.

Ray’s figures in the Hause

Fans of the work of Ray Harryhausen should be quite pleased when they see the cold cast statues offered by X-Plus USA. The 12-inch series features fantastic likenesses of Ymir from 20 Million Miles To Earth, Talos from Jason And The Argonauts and Cyclops from The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad as well as the recently released Kali from The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad.

These pre-painted statues look absolutely fantastic though they do come with a bit of an expensive price tag. The statues run from a range of $79 for the Talos up to $99 for the Kali. If you are and avid Harryhausen fan and have some money to burn, I highly recommend this series. X-Plus also offers 4 inch "chess pieces" in sets of 5 for $55. You can visit their website at www.xplususa.com

Upcoming Polar Lights Releases

That horrible sound that you hear is me dancing all around the house. Finally Polar Lights has decided to release one of my favorite Aurora model kits, namely The Forgotten Prisoner Of Castle-Mare!

Originally released in 1966 in conjunction with Forry’s Famous Monsters Of Filmland, this kit was quite popular before the demise of Aurora. You can look for this kit to be released with the original longbox artwork sometime in March. Polar Lights is also releasing an original kit, The Forbidden Planet C-570 spaceship. It is a 1:72 styrene kit with very detailed interior and exterior. Considering their track record with original releases, this should be a good one.

(From December 2000)

Now that Halloween and Thanksgiving has whizzed by, it’s time to turn our attention to the Gift Buying Holiday Season. While there is nothing really new that has been released in the last month, we’ll try to help you out with your choice of gift giving. This month we’ll recap the best of this year’s offerings that are still available for yourself or the monster collector in your life.

With that, there’s no better place to start that the most recent offerings by Sideshow. Series Four is selling very well and seems to be quite popular with the monster collector. By now you know that Series Four contains The Werewolf Of London, Mole Man and Son of Frankenstein monster. Unfortunately, Sideshow is currently out of stock on Series Two figures and doesn’t expect to be back in stock until the end of December, after Christmas.

The 24-inch Pozer doll has done better than I had anticipated. This 2 foot high poseable Little Big Head is selling very well, though the anticipated "Santa" Pozer has not materialized. Sideshow’s 12-inch Frankenstein doll is head and bolts above anything that Hasbro was able to offer in the 12-inch line. The next 12-incher coming from Sideshow will be The Wolfman, which is scheduled to ship in February.

Sideshow is promising an announcement of a lot of new monster related items, though they are being very tight-lipped at the moment. I do know that they plan to release a Translucent Creature From The Black Lagoon 8 inch figure sometime in February. I would suspect that this will have much early interest, as the translucent Creature Little Big Head had. Of the 8-inch figures, The Creature has proven by far to be the most popular.

For the Little Big Head fan, you couldn’t do any better than to pick up the Silver Screen Edition of the entire set of all 15 figures, which includes the Hunchback Of Notre Dame. The full color Hunchback was only available in the FAO Schwartz set, which retailed for about $60. For as little as $45, you can get the entire group in the popular Silver Screen style.

Model builders and collectors will be happy with the Polar Lights re-issues of King Kong, Godzilla, Rhodan, and King Ghidorah. These were originally released by everyone’s favorite model company, Aurora.

The are now available with the original box art from the Sixties. Another great item if you can find it is the monster four pack offered by Toys R Us. This set contains Frankenstein, The Wolfman, Dracula and the Creature. They come in one large box, which also features the original Aurora artwork.

Also quite popular with the modern horror fan is the Michael Myers Halloween model kit which is an original Polar Lights offering.

Hopefully these items will help add a smile to the face of the monster collector in your life.

Have a very happy and healthy Holiday Season!

(From November 2000)

Well, my favorite holiday is now over and the countdown to Halloween 2001 begins. What a fantastic Halloween season Sideshow brought us! Just this past month we have seen the release of the new Sideshow product which includes the great looking 12 inch Frankenstein doll, Silver Screen Edition Little Big Heads Set, Series Four of the action figures as well as the large Pozer Frankenstein doll. Polar Lights Frightening Fourpack boxed kit of four original Aurora longbox monsters hit Toys R Us and if you were lucky enough to find it, you got a great deal: $40 for the set of Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman and Creature. Limited to a run of only 5000, get yours now if you intend to pick it up.

As can be expected, the flood of monster related items hit the streets last month but there are still a few gems that will be released between now and Christmas. For November, you can expect to see a flood of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas collectibles as the live action Jim Carrey movie hits the big screen. Along with movie tie-in merchandise, you will also be able to find a number of Classic Grinch items.

Also this month should be the release of the second in the Pozers line of monsters by Sideshow, the Santa Frankenstein. This large 24 inch fully poseable Frankie comes decked out in a Santa outfit, complete with fur trim and hat. What monster fan’s Xmas decorating would be complete without this item?

The folks who brought you the Lego-like Blair Witch figures are at it again, this time with a Planet Of The Apes theme. Medicom Toy of Japan has released these figures under their Kubrick line. They plan a release of eight sets. The first three of these sets are already on the market. These sets are designated by letters. Set A contains Cornelius, Zira and Doctor Zauis and the statue of the lawgiver. Set B consists of General Ursis, 2 different ape soldiers and a horse. Set C contains Taylor, Nova, a horse and the top half of the Statue of Liberty. The figures are approximately 2.5 inches tall and seem to be well received. Future sets will include General Urko, a jail carriage, Caesar, General Aldo, three ape astronauts and the spaceship Icarus. Not exactly my cup of tea, but popular nonetheless.

On an odd note, a company called Stereoscape has agreed in principle to acquire Marx Toys. Stereoscape, based in NJ, sells high-end audio and video equipment but has recently been expanding into other fields. Just what this means to toy collectors remains to be seen, but here’s hoping that they delve deeper into the Marx classic lineup of toys. Keep in mind that great monster figure set that was later picked up by Uncle Milton toys. It would be great to see another re-issue of that line.

(From Octoberr 2000)

Sorry for the late posting this month, I promise to do better in the future. Anyway, I just couldn’t miss my favorite month of the year and there’s lots of stuff going on of interest to monster fans so I’ll dive right into it for you.

First off, there was the big announcement from Sideshow Toys regarding the Lugosi license. Sideshow has indeed decided to go forward for what they tell us is one last series in the 8-inch action figures due to the recent signing agreement with the Lugosi Estates. The good news is that not only will Series 5 contain a Bela Lugosi as Dracula figure, but also a Bela Lugosi as Ygor from the movie, The Son Of Frankenstein! Lugosi fans should be thrilled with that selection, as his role as Ygor is certainly a fan favorite. Rounding out the Series 5 lineup is Lon Chaney, Sr. as the Phantom of the Opera--Mask of the Red Death.  This series is tentatively scheduled for a June 2001 release. I expect that this will be the most popular of the entire line. Sideshow has warned us that there will be a slight increase in price in this series, due to an increase in production costs. They do not anticipate the increase to be anything substantial.

Adding to Lugosiphiles’ pleasure is the announcement by Sideshow of a 12-inch Lugosi as Dracula doll, due out in the fall of 2001. The much-anticipated Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster 12-inch doll is doing extremely well in Pre-Orders and the sample that I saw at the Toy Fair earlier this year was absolutely fantastic. The Frankenstein doll should be released sometime this fall. Also this fall expect the very nicely done Silver Screen Edition of the Little Big Heads featuring all 15 figures from both sets along with the rare Hunchback Of Notre Dame figure. The full color Hunchback figure had previously only been available in the expensive FAO Schwartz set.

As I mentioned in an earlier column, Sideshow is branching into making other licensed action figures from upcoming films. They have signed a license for the upcoming Monkey Bones movie starring Brendan Fraser. Keep in mind that The Lord Of The Rings trilogy will soon be hitting the screen and that Sideshow is looking to become a major player in the movie action figure field. Wouldn’t it be ironic for Sideshow to put out a Christopher Lee action figure that wasn’t his famous role as the Transylvanian Count but rather as Saruman the White from the Tolkien film? Also of note is the fact that there will be Star Wars figures of Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin and Christopher Lee as Count Dooku in Episode Two yet still no Lee or Cushing Hammer figure!

Polar Lights has finally agreed to issue some of the Sci Fi Monster kits to dealers other than Toys R’ Us, so expect to see the likes of Godzilla, Rodan, King Ghidorah and King Kong at a local dealer near you. These kits are re-issues of the famous Aurora kits from the 60’s and through a special agreement with Cinemodel, Polar Lights is releasing these under the Aurora logo. Though most of these kits were available at TRU about a month or so ago, most stores have little to no stock on them and many people have found it just about impossible to find them there. With other dealers who have a special interest in this line, availability should no longer be a problem. You can look for these kits at your favorite dealer in perhaps a few weeks or so.

Trick or Treat

The Polar Lights Michael Myers Halloween diorama kit is out and doing nicely. This kit features The Shape descending porch steps with a jack-o-lantern and the clown mask that he wore as a child. The kit is very nicely done and is another entry in Polar Lights original line which also includes the Bates Mansion from Psycho, a Wolfman kit and The Phantom Of The Opera diorama kit. These Polar Lights original kits truly carry on in the Aurora tradition.

Also of interest to fans of John Carpenter’s Halloween movie is the release of the water globes that were originally only available with the Limited Edition Anchor Bay 20^th Anniversary video package that was released in 1998. These globes are about 3 inches high and feature Michael Myers with raised knife behind Laurie Strobe who is sitting before on a sofa. Shake up the globe and blood flows through the water. Considering the popularity of the Creature water globe released by Hamilton Gifts, I expect this Halloween globe will find it’s market. You can find this reasonably priced at under $10 through some dealers. Don’t wait on this item if it interests you, once it’s gone, there will be no more to be had.

If you missed out on your chance to pick up the Polar Light re-issues of the Aurora long-box kits of Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, and the Mummy, Toys R Us is going to give you one last chance. After nagging Polar Lights to death, I was told that they are going to release a package set of all 4 figures exclusively (don’t get me started!) to Toys R Us. The four kit package retails in the $36 price range. Hopefully someday Polar Lights will decide to allow private dealers to handle these kits as well, but for now I wanted to pass on the heads up to those of you who have been trying to find these kits.

Well, that’s about it from here. Just want to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and safe Halloween. This is a very special, magical time of year for many of us. Enjoy!

(From September 2000)

Things are beginning to pick up now that August has just gone by and we begin to head toward my favorite time of year, Halloween season! The Silent Screamers figures have recently just arrived and I have to say, they really are quite impressive. Originally I was a bit thrown off by the exaggerated style of the figures, but I’m really starting to warm up to them. These figures have some really great features and accessories that truly add to their value. My favorite feature is the "photo-sensitive" skin on the vampire Graf Orlok. The vampire’s skin actually turns black when exposed to sunlight! The Cesare figure comes with a female "bendy" figure and a twisted lampost. The bases of the related figures interlock, forming a diorama. The Series One figures come in two color styles: sepia tone and muted colors. Overall, this is a very good debut for Aztech Toyz. Series Two promises to feature The Golem, Thomas Edison’s Frankenstein Monster, Maria from the Fritz Lang classic Metropolis and a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde figure that transforms. The scheduled release date is early 2001.

Sideshow has finally released the Silver Screen Series Two figures to independent dealers. Previously only available at Toys R’ Us, these figures come individually carded on a great looking stone motif blister card. Sideshow plans to release a boxed set of the Series Two figures possibly in mid to late 2001 but that is not guaranteed. Considering the vast popularity of the Silver Screen Series One boxed set, you can pretty much count of future boxed sets in this line.

Earlier last month Sideshow announced that they are making available a limited edition large Little Big Head statue (I resisted the inclination to call it a big Little Big Head just to avoid confusion). Anyone who was lucky enough to have an appointment this past January at the Toy Fair got to see the 4-foot tall Frankenstein Little Big Head statue outside the Sideshow room. Now for the mere sum of just $1,000 you can be one of the 250 people who will own this limited edition item. Interested parties can order these directly from Sideshow.

Moore Creations has announced another of their great looking snow globes that will interest monster fans. A beautifully sculpted Vampirella Snow Globe will be available at a price of $139.95. Sculpted by Susumu Sugita, this globe will be limited to a run of 3,000 pieces. Moore adds the snowglobe to their lineup of Vampirella items that also features the recently released action figures and also a statue which was also sculpted by Sugita.

Creature Features

As promised last month, we are going to take a dive in the murky Black Lagoon and see just what Creature Collectibles we can come up with. The popularity of The Creature From The Black Lagoon just seems to keep growing. With the recent release of the film as part of Universal’s Classic Monster Series on DVD, I expect this popularity will only continue.

While the most recent Creature collectibles are quite popular with fans, many of the most sought after Creature items are no longer being made. Surging in popularity is the water globe made by Hamilton Gifts back in 1990. Once available very cheaply at closeout prices, this item now commands a $30-50 price among collectors. A Limited Edition autographed version of the globe that was available for the FX Expo ’95 in Florida commands a heftier pricetag in the $40-60 price range.

Another of the most sought-after Creature collectibles is the plastic "Soaky" bottle from the Sixties. Those of us who were kids in the Sixties most assuredly had one of the Universal Monsters bath bubble bottle with removable head. The most popular of these seems to be The Creature, who is molded holding a red fish in one of his hands. Prices on this generally depend upon the condition, but you can expect to pay somewhere in the $70-90 price range for one in good condition.

More recently, in 1992 Telco Creations, Inc. released a series of battery operated motionettes, featuring the Universal Monsters. Again, the Creature figure seems to have the best longevity and interest among collectors. This 17-inch figure has flashing eyes, movable arms, a turning head and makes a "monster sound". Generally you can find this item going for approximately $40, while supplies last. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this item become scarce on short notice, but there are still some available presently.

Having a Monster Pool Party? A company called Primal Light has just the thing. They released a 12-foot long Creature From The Black Lagoon String Light Set with 10 Creature heads that cover a set of party lights. These, too, have been discontinued but supply is still fairly abundant. These sets usually go for about $20.

Portal released a fantastic reprint of the movie one sheet which they have since discontinued. This poster measured 24" x 38" and was very colorful, printed on thick stock poster paper. Once quite abundant, this poster is almost impossible to find anymore. Rumors swirl that Universal plans to release the Classic Monsters posters themselves but that remains to be seen. The less popular horizontal poster became available for a limited time last year, but that too has dried up for the most part.

Ben "The Reel Gill-man" Chapman currently tours the country selling autographed stills from the film and one item that he includes with the photos is a copy of his contract with Universal for his part of the Creature in the film. While the underwater sequences were performed by Riccou Browning, Ben played the monster on land, although he was not credited in the film. Ben hits a lot of the major monster and horror conventions and is an incredibly entertaining speaker and someone who truly enjoys his fans. You can visit Ben’s website here.  You can read an interview with him here.

Of course, most recently Sideshow developed the transparent Creature Little Big Head for the 1999 World Toy and Collectible Expo as well as releasing the 8-inch Series Two figure (the most popular of that specific series). Sideshow did not expect the demand for the regular Little Big Head to be so huge, and packed only one figure per case, making it fairly difficult to find it in the major retail outlets. Even though it has been more than fifty years since the release of the first Creature film, the Gill-Man still lives on in the hearts of monster fans everywhere.

(From August 2000)

There’s not a whole lot of news this month that I haven’t already told you about but there is one major announcement that will interest all Universal Monster collectors.

The big news in the horror movie collectibles field this month was the joint announcement by Bela Lugosi Jr. and Universal Studio’s consumer products division that finally an agreement has been reached to jointly develop merchandise based on Bela’s unforgettable performance as Dracula, as well as some of his other classic film roles. This bodes extremely well for all you Sideshow Toys collectors. Hopefully Sideshow will revise their plan to end their 8-inch action figure line and develop at least one more series featuring everyone’s favorite Count and even more hopefully, a Bela Lugosi Ygor figure. You can be sure that they will add the Bela Lugosi Dracula to the new line of 12-inch dolls. Readers of this column know that Sideshow has been working very hard behind the scenes to bring the Lugosi and Universal camps together and although at the deadline time of this article I don’t have any specifics, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to find that they were a very involved factor in the re-unification of the two parties.

One can only guess what the agreement will mean as far as merchandise, but you can bet that Sideshow will be working quickly to take advantage of the situation. Considering some of the less than stellar attempts at Bela Lugosi Dracula figures (Exclusive Premier and Figures Toy Company come to mind), Sideshow has the opportunity to make the definitive Lugosi Dracula collectable. Unconfirmed rumors abound of a 3 figure vampire set. An educated guess would say that set would be Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Lon Chaney from London After Midnight and quite possibly Christopher Lee as Dracula as well (see, maybe those emails you sent to Sideshow really worked). Again this is just speculation, but . . .

In the mail this week I received the pictures of Sideshow’s Series 4, featuring Karloff as the monster from Son Of Frankenstein, The Mole Man and finally a pic of Henry Hull as the Werewolf Of London. Gotta give those Englishmen credit, even their werewolves look quite dapper. The Werewolf Of London looks quite good, ready to step out on the town. Series Four promises to be available in September. I’ve also received a picture of the 15 piece Silver Screen Little Big Head Set with the Hunchback figure. The Silver Screen editions have done very well for Sideshow and I expect that they will continue issuing the various series in this format. Hopefully they will also continue with the boxed sets, as most collectors seem to prefer those to the blister cards.

Polar Lights will be releasing a John Carpenter’s Halloween model just in time for the season. This diorama kit is done in the Aurora style, featuring "The Shape" complete with knife and jack-o-lantern descending porch steps. This kit should be a big hit during the Halloween season and looks very good. The MSRP is $21.99.

A company called Vital Toys is releasing a Rocky Horror Picture Show set of figures featuring Dr. Frank N Furter, Riff Raff and Columbia. The figures look very nicely done and a second set is already in da verks. This company also makes something called the Rocky Horror Picture Show Survival Kit which comes with fake toast, fake hot dog, a glow stick, squirt gun toilet paper and newspaper. This kit retails for $24.99 (a bit pricey considering you could pick up the real items at a local convenience store for about seven bucks).

Scheduled to ship this month is the Aztech line of Silent Screamers. You should also be able to start finding the Sideshow Toys Series 2 Silver Screen figures at various online stores, as they are no longer Toys R Us exclusives. September promises to be a big month, as the toy companies will release their new lines for the Halloween buying season.

(From July 2000)

The Latest From Sideshow Toys

Hold on to your hats, folks. It looks as though the people at Sideshow Toys are about to blow you away yet again. Here is a rundown of what appears to be the next offerings in their Classic Monster lineup.

First off, you can start looking for those Silver Screen Series Two figures at your friendly collectibles dealer, as Sideshow will be making these figures available to all dealers starting sometime in July. Until now they have been exclusive only to Toys 'R Us (TRU). I have yet to find a Silver Screen Creature From The Black lagoon available on my infrequent visits to TRU so I’m sure monster collectors will be glad to find that all the figures will be regularly available soon. Unlike Silver Screen Series One, Series Two will not be available in a box set as of yet. These come individually packaged in newly designed blister cards that feature a very creative stone motif. Sideshow may release a boxed edition of this set at a later date.

Tentatively scheduled to ship in August is a Silver Screen edition of a 15 piece Little Big Head set. This set is done in the black and white silver screen style that was so popular in the eight-inch versions. The really good news here is that Sideshow will be offering for the first time the Hunchback of Notre Dame figure that had previously only been available in the exclusive FAO Scwartz boxed set of LBH’s Series One. This new 15-piece set includes the eight figures from Series One and the six figures from Series Two along with the Hunchback figure. If you haven’t already seen the Hunchback Little Big Head, I can tell you that the likeness of Chaney as the Bell Ringer is quite good.

The big news from Sideshow (other than their attempts at brokering a Lugosi /Universal agreement) is the debut of the upcoming 12-inch Frankenstein doll. This is scheduled for a Sept/Oct 2000 release, just in time for Halloween. As I described in a previous column, this 12-inch figure is head, shoulders and bolts above the attempts at dolls made by Kenner/Hasbro a few years ago. Sideshow had a display of the box and figure for this new 12-inch line and the likeness is truly incredible. The figure comes with 32 points of articulation and the packaging is truly superb. No longer hampered by the lime green and violet theme colors of the previous Universal Monsters items, this box features a swinging cover that has the original movie poster from the Frankenstein film. The inside of this cover has some detailed history of the film and the figure is seen behind a clear plastic sheet that is made to resemble the castle doorway. The back of the box features a black and white still of Karloff as the monster. Frankenstein’s Monster will be the first in the line, due to be followed up by either Karloff as the Mummy or Lon Chaney Jr.’s the Wolfman. Look for these dolls to be in the $29.99 price range.

The even bigger news outta the offices of Sideshow is the scheduled Sept/Oct 2000 release of the two 20 inch Little Big Head style Frankenstein dolls. These dolls come in two versions: Frankenstein and Santa Frankenstein.

These two figures feature rotocast parts and a plush body with an armature that allows poseability. Expect these figures to be in the $39.99 price range.

Series Four of the eight inch figures is scheduled for a Fall 2000 release as well. As I mentioned last issue, it’s quite possible that this will be the last of the eight-inch figures but I don’t believe any "etched-in-stone" decision has been made by Sideshow.

Fortunately for the classic monster collector, Sideshow continues to expand its horizons and go into areas that are quite unique. Not willing to be pigeonholed as just a monster action figure manufacturer, Sideshow is strongly moving into the large doll market with licenses outside the Classic Monster world. Already acquired licenses include Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Spinal Tap, Monty Python And The Holy Grail and the forthcoming Brendan Fraser film Monkeybones. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that Sideshow continues with the Classic Monsters in some form or another. Personally I still hold out hope that they will continue with the 8-inch action figures, especially if they are able to land the agreement between Universal and the Lugosi Estates. For that endeavor alone, they deserve the respect and thanks of all classic monster fans and collectors worldwide. I would love to see the 12 inch doll line continue, with a Lugosi Dracula and Mask Of The Red Death Phantom, but I also would like to see these figures come out in the 8-inch versions as well. If an agreement could finally be reached for Lugosi figures, who wouldn’t want to see the Lugosi Ygor complete with broken neck and horn? Done by Sideshow’s terrific group of sculptors, such figures would immediately become collector’s items. If anything, Sideshow has proven that if you market a quality Classic Monster item at a fair price, the market will more than support you. In my opinion, the Sideshow items being produced today will be the most highly regarded and sought after monster collectibles of the future. Nothing that has ever graced the back pages of Uncle Forry’s Famous Monsters Of Filmland (gee, it’s great to be able to say that again) can compare to the quality of the Sideshow lineup.

Silent Screamers Series 2

Aztech Toyz, bolstered by the interest in the Silent Screamers Series One which isn’t even out yet, has already announced the lineup for Series Two. These figures will include a Golem, Thomas Edison’s Frankenstein Monster, Maria from the Fritz Lang classic Metropolis and a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde figure that transforms. The scheduled release date is early 2001. Seiries One is scheduled for a Summer 2000 release.

Blair Witch Figures

No, I’m not pulling your leg. Medicom Toy company from Japan has unleashed upon the world four figures from the most over-hyped movie of the decade. The figures look terrible, similar to the people that come in Lego sets. Mike, Josh and Heather are all here, along with a hugely oversized bundle of sticks that became known as the Blair Witch symbol. No word so far on whether or not playing with these toys has given anyone motion sickness.

Barbie Meets Morticia

Mattel is joining the creepy and kooky fray with the release of their Addams Family set of Barbie and Ken dolls in their Barbie 2000 line. Barbie looks great in the long black dress with the octopus-like bottom but Ken just needs a bit of work as Gomez. He sports the purple pinstriped suit that John Astin made so famous but his face looks a bit too much like Douglas Fairbanks Jr. for my taste. I’m a big Addams Family fan (at least regarding the original television series and Charles Addams cartoons) but I’m afraid I’m just going to have to pass on this offering.

Damn, Dirty Apes

Yup, those loveable little monkeys from the future are back. No, I’m not talking about the forthcoming Tim Burton remake of Planet Of The Apes, but the old Aurora models of Cornelius, Doctor Zira, Zaius and General Ursus. Polar Lights will be releasing the first two in the series, Cornelius and General Ursus in July, with the other two set to follow in October. Polar Lights has made an exclusive deal with Cinemodels, Inc. for the use of the old Aurora label. Monster model enthusiasts will be glad to hear that Polar Lights will also be re-issuing Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Rodan and King Kong kits later this summer. You can look for Rodan in June, Godzilla in July and Ghidorah in August.

(From June 2000)

Can’t afford the $180,000 it takes to own the original Frankenstein movie poster? Well, I’ve got good news, the movie poster reprint business is alive and well. Originally movie posters were printed strictly for advertising until approximately the Eighties, so they were printed in numbers only needed to supply the various theatres around the world that presented the films. Since the Eighties, movie poster collecting became quite popular, prompting the huge increase in the amount of posters for new films currently printed. If by chance you have an old poster from one of your favorite horror films stashed away somewhere, it might not hurt to take it out and have it appraised. The market value of original movie posters has risen quite steeply in just the last few years, even for films that were released in the 60’s and 70’s.

If you aren’t lucky enough to have that original Frankenstein poster, you might be interested in obtaining a reprint. Reprints are made to cater to the people such as myself who really enjoyed a particular movie and who wants the poster for sentimental reasons rather than speculative ones. The value of reprint posters hasn’t really risen, though there have been a few exceptions, as the companies that issue the reprints don’t often keep them on the market too long. It wasn’t all that long ago that I could find posters such as the 1931 Dracula half sheet or Creature From The Black Lagoon poster offered by Portal in just about any poster store. Sadly, Portal has ceased production on these posters and they’ve become a bit hard to find, especially at their original list price of $25.

Sadly there aren’t many of the classic horror film posters available in reprint but currently there are a few reprint posters available to the classic horror fan. There is a beautiful reprint of the international poster, featuring the face of Boris Karloff in the foreground with the windmill in the background. This is an Italian issue on glossy paper and is really quite nice. There’s also a quite nice Italian reprint poster of The Mummy, which is also printed on glossy paper. Universal has kept their posters under wraps lately, with the exception of the posters that were given away with movie purchases during the Halloween season this past year at Hollywood Video. Personally, I’d love to see reprints of Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man and The Wolf Man. Rumors abound that Universal will be making some of their classic horror movie posters available to customers directly from them, totally shutting out all other movie poster dealers, but hopefully that may change. Either way, I do hope these posters will become available soon.

Reprint Cards

One alternative to the full size poster reprints is something called Reprint Cards. These have been popping up all over places like Ebay listed as movie posters, but in reality they are either 11" x 14" vertical or 11" x 14" horizontal reprint cards that usually come in a thick clear acrylic sheet that is itself suitable for hanging. You can get these cards in a number of titles and they usually feature the movie poster art and also some of the lobby cards from the film. The quality of the cards is very nice and the list of available cards grows every day. One of the great features of these cards is the size. Because they are so much smaller than the full size posters, should you decide to frame them, they take up much less space on the wall yet they are large enough to look great in a matted frame. Considering framing costs, you can probably frame about 3 reprint cards for the price of one large quality poster frame.

The first wave of the summer Sideshow products are out, namely the Silver Screen Edition figures, Little Big Heads Series 2 and the Little Big Heads Wrestlers. The boxed Silver Screen Series One Set is selling very well and limited to a run of only 5000, so if you want to pick these up, I strongly suggest you do so while you still can. Series Three is expected to ship out in June. Pre-orders for these have gone very well.

Series Four is expected to ship in September. This set features Karloff as the monster from Son Of Frankenstein (complete with the inspector’s arm), a Mole Man figure and Henry Hull as the Werewolf Of London, which filled the spot vacated by the Lugosi Dracula figure. Bela Lugosi, Jr., is rumored to have begun to negotiate again with Sideshow but the sad news is that Series Four will be the last of the action figures line. The good news is that Sideshow will be focusing their endeavors on the 12-inch doll line that they plan to inaugurate with the Boris Karloff Frankenstein's Monster doll that debuted at this year’s Toy Fair. Should the Lugosi negotiations bear fruit, look for a 12-inch Bela Lugosi as Dracula doll. Considering the Lugosi Estates' track record of making deals with Universal, I’m not holding my breath on this one. Future monsters that you can assume to find in Sideshow’s doll lineup will be the same figures in the first two action figures lineup.

Personally, I feel that Sideshow is abandoning the action figure line too quickly. I’ve tried to stress upon them the value of extending the line of action figures to include some of the Hammer Horror stars such as Christopher Lee as Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster as well as Peter Cushing as Van Helsing and Doctor Frankenstein, but I’m not convinced that they see the potential sales of these figures. If you agree with me, feel free to drop Sideshow a pleasant email expressing your opinion. The people at Sideshow are perhaps the friendliest of all companies that I deal with and it is one company that truly values the opinions of their customers. 

HOT ITEMS: It seems that the Silent Screamers put out by Aztech Toyz are gaining in advance popularity. As more information is released, it seems that there are some additional features regarding the figures that should raise interest. The Graf Orlak the Undead figure comes with a rat infested base and photosensitvie "skin" that turns black when exposed to sunlight! The Cesare the Sleepwalker figure comes with a knife, floor base with a lampost, and also a bridge and railing. I’m definitely moving these up to my "Recommended Buy" list.

(From May 2000)

Toy Fair 2000 Revisited

As you may remember two columns back, I went over all the Hot new items being offered by Sideshow Toys that had debuted at this year’s Toy Fair. While Sideshow is one of the primary players for those of us who collect horror movie items, this year’s Toy Fair showed that they aren’t the only ones in the field. In this month’s column, I’ll give you a peak at some of the other horror collectibles that will be on the market this year.

McFarlane Toys is definitely a major player in the horror action figure field. Founded by comic book artist Todd McFarlane, this company originally dipped into the horror movie pool with Movie Maniacs Series One, which featured along with three others, Jason Vorhees of Friday The 13th fame, Freddy Kruger from the Nightmare On Elm Street films, Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Of particular interest were "Bloody" versions of these three figures, which were extremely difficult to find and quite naturally made them highly sought after among collectors.

The good news is that McFarlane Toys has just recently released a subset of these three "bloody" figures. These three figures may not be available in many stores due to their ultra bloody appearance but you can locate them at online collectible stores such as my own.

Movie Maniacs Series Two appeared last year, featuring Norman Bates as "Mother," The Crow, Michael Myers, Chucky and others. Later this year McFarlane is promising to release Movie Maniacs Series Three featuring what I’m betting will be the horror collectible action figure of the year, Ash from the Evil Dead films.

I fear that McFarlane will originally package only one of these figures per case of twelve, making them harder to find initially, as they did with the Norman Bates figure. The rest of the Series Three figures are not yet etched in stone, but early plans are for them to include Snake (Escape From New York) Plissken, The Fly (the remake not the original Vincent Price film), The Thing (again the remake) and Edward Scissorhands. McFarlane has just recently signed a deal to do a figure based on the Regan character in The Exorcist although the early reports on this figure is that it will not bear Linda Blair’s likeness. This figure may bump out either the "Snake" Plissken or Edward Scissorhands figure or it may be included in a new line of action figures called "Movie Classics", according to McFarlane.

Also of interest from McFarlane Toys will be the 18 inch figures of Michael Myers (Halloween) and Freddy Kruger. McFarlane is reportedly working on adding voice chips to the figures and also motion sensors that would cause the figures to make a movement, such as stabbing, etc. when you walk by them. Can’t imagine that would give kids nightmares at all. Last but not least will be a King Kong figure that comes with an off-scale Faye Wray figure.

Twice In A Blue Moon

Full Moon, the company that brought those cute lil’ puppets to the big screen is also coming out with new product this year. Going back to the well yet again, Full Moon Toys plans to release the original eight figures, this time with a slightly different paint job and differently colored accessories. This is good news if you’ve wanted to collect the original figures and haven’t wanted to pay the high price that they command. If you already have those original eight, there really is no reason to pick this set up other than to be a completist. Full Moon is advertising them as fulfilling requests from people who have the original limited edition figures but who have wanted some figures to remove from the packaging. These figures should become available in May.

Full Moon is also promising a very original idea, the Andre Toulon's Puppet Master Steamer Trunk that can be found featured on the Puppet Master video box. Although designs are still under wraps, Full Moon is promising that the steamer trunk will be able to open up to display the original eight figures. There is no word on the price yet but the item should be available by Summer 2000. I love this idea and hope that Sideshow and possibly McFarlane go in this direction for displays as well. The castle wall display that Sideshow featured their eight-inch Series figures on at the Toy Fair was great looking.

Jumping on the Little Big Head bandwagon, Full Moon has developed a line of figures called Tiny Terrors which feature smaller versions of everyone’s favorite little puppets. Rounding out the Full Moon Puppet Master figures are 12-inch versions of the Blade and Tunneler figures. These retail for $19.95.

New Kid On The Block

A new entry in the field of horror movie action figures is offered by newly formed Aztech Toyz. The Silent Screamers line of figures is due out in summer 2000. These figures pay tribute to two German expressionistic classics of the silent screen era. Series One features four figures, two each from the silent films Nosferatu and The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari. The Nosferatu figures are Graf Orlok the Undead, and Knock Renfield the Madman. From The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari comes Dr. Calagari the Hypnotist, and Cesare the Sleepwalker.

I was really excited when I first heard about this line but I must say that I was a slight bit disappointed when I saw pictures of the figures. Aztech Toyz says that the figures have been "tweaked to give them the look of the classic films with an updated stylized design." All in all, I’d prefer an action figure that was true to the original look of the characters of the films. The packaging artwork is done by Alex Ross, a very well-regarded comic book artist who is famous for his painted work on Marvels and Kingdom Come. While I don’t put these figures on my highly recommended list, I do appreciate the attempt to popularize these two great silent films and will probably add these figures to my personal collection. Recommended for discriminating tastes. 

(From April 2000)

"Exclusive" Should Be A Four-Letter Word

I’m not sure exactly where it started but whoever came up with the brilliant idea of making certain collectibles "exclusive" should be drawn and quartered, boiled in oil, or forced to watch hours and hours of last year’s version of The Haunting on an endless loop tape. Unfortunately, "Exclusives" are here to stay and something that the horror movie collector is forced to deal with if he or she is someone who likes to have the entire line of a specific series, whether it be action figure, model, or poster.

Some exclusives I can almost understand. Last year at the 1999 World Toy & Collectible Expo, Sideshow Toys debuted their Little Big Heads (LBH) lineup by featuring a Translucent Creature From The Black Lagoon, which was limited to a run of only 2500. The Creature was definitely the most popular of the Little Big Head series, and because they were packed only one per case of 24 figures, they became very hard to get. The Phantom, Bride and Invisible Man LBH came only one per case but they did not achieve the collectibility that the Creature figure did. Luckily, Sideshow made the Translucent Creature available to their dealers and if you were a collector and looked around enough, you could find a number of places that sold them. Currently Sideshow has produced another limited run LBH, a blue and green tinted Frankenstein figure that can be lit up with a flashlight underneath (don’t use fire, you KNOW how he feels about that). Again, this Limited Edition figure can be found at various dealers.

Not willing to leave well enough alone, Sideshow Toys went on to produce two "exclusives" for FAO Schwartz. The first exclusive is a boxed set of the three Series One figures (Frankenstein, Wolfman Mummy) that retails for $50. This comes with really nice packaging, supposedly the packaging that Sideshow had wanted to use for the Series one regular line but they could not, as they were bound by Universal to use the really bland green and purple design that had previously been used for the larger Hasbro dolls. Really no big deal on this exclusive, people who didn’t want to spend the extra money for the nicer packaging could still get the exact same three figures at various dealers around the country. In February of this year, this FAO Exclusive began showing up at other dealers but don’t expect to see much of a lower price on them.

The second "FAO Schwartz Exclusive" was different. This featured a set of NINE Little Big Heads, with the extra figure being a very nice looking Lon Chaney as The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. This set retails for $60, but unlike the first exclusive, you couldn’t buy all nine figures independent of this set. If you wanted the Hunchback LBH, you had to pay the $60 price and the only place you could find it was at Fao Schwartz. Finally, in February of this year that did change and you can now find other dealers selling this set at a slightly lower price. You still won’t be able to buy the Hunchback figure separately, but there will be some competition on pricing at least. I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere down the line there is a translucent or other type of limited edition of this figure, but that is speculation on my part.

Another company that came out with "Exclusives" late last year was Polar Lights models. After the success of re-releasing the famous James Bama art on the longbox Creature From The Black Lagoon model, Polar Lights decided to re-issue the other models in that run, namely Frankenstein, Dracula (featuring great Bela Lugosi art), The Wolfman and The Mummy. However, instead of offering these to all dealers as they had done with the Creature model and their other model kits, Polar Lights released these four kits exclusively through Toy R’ Us, who, prior to that point, had not really shown much support for Polar Lights lineup at all. Obviously this ticked off dealers such as myself who had carrying most of their model line, only to be shut out of what might be the four most requested models they offered. To make matters worse for the dealers, Polar Lights had cut a deal with Toys R’ Us offering them a deep discount, to the degree that Toys was able to sell these exclusives for almost the wholesale price that the other dealers had been buying the Creature model for. If you were a collector who lived near Toys R’ Us and was in the store while the models were in stock you got a really good deal. If not, you were totally shut out of the opportunity to complete your collection that had started with the Creature re-release unless you went to Ebay or dealers who had raided Toys and were now selling the models at higher prices. All in all, not a good situation for either their loyal dealers or the collectors. Hopefully these models will eventually become more available to everyone.

Bela, Bela, Bela

For the longest time, mostly due to the lawsuit that Bela Lugosi Jr. brought against Universal for the battle over the rights to his father’s likeness as the Transylvanian Count, there were no Lugosi as Dracula collectibles available anywhere. Universal, in an effort to avoid paying anything to the Lugosi Estates decided to produce generic versions of the Classic Monsters. Though this new look had the flavor of Dracula, there was something missing.

Finally in 1998 Bela Jr. decided to begin licensing his father’s image as Dracula independent of Universal. Listed below are some of the Lugosi collectibles that hit the market and an evaluation of each. I’ll go in order of their appearance on the retailer’s shelves.

Exclusive Premier Bela Lugosi As Dracula Figure

The first of the list is this six inch figure that was produced by Exclusive Premiere, a company that had made its name in the market by producing nine inch Hollywood Stars figures. The Dracula figure came on a very nicely designed blister pack, featuring stills from the Universal film. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from here. The figure itself is now notorious in the toy collecting field for one notable error. If you look closely at Bela’s left hand, you will notice that he is wearing a watch! Exclusive’s explanation of this was that they interchange doll parts and in this case they used some of the parts from their Grandpa Munster figures. Still, a tremendous oversight on their part!

Another problem with this figure was that the features resembled Martin Landau much more than Bela himself! Had someone erroneously sculpted the figure based on Landau’s portrayal of Bela in Ed Wood? It certainly seemed so. The irony here is that after battling years for his father’s likeness, the first collectible to be fully licensed by the Lugosi Estate looked less like Bela than some of the generic Universal figures. Another problem with the figure was the clothing. The shirt and tie seem too large for the figure yet the sleeves are too short. The dolls sold slowly at first but seemed to gain a new life after being clearanced out at the large toy chains. Now the figure is tough to find and is commanding considerably more than it’s original selling price of $10-$15.

Figures Toy Company

The second collectible licensed by the Lugosi Estates was worse than the first one. Three versions of this figure are available. The regular figure comes complete with tophat and walking cane. The second style is a glow in the dark figure and lastly there is a totally blue figure, which was offered only as a mail-in exclusive. The packaging for these figures was absolutely terrible, being a small box with just the words "Bela Lugosi as Dracula" written in bloody lettering. Worst of all, the figure did not resemble Lugosi very much at all, being totally undistinguishable from a Universal generic Dracula. However, a Lugosi fan is a Lugosi fan and I honestly expect this toy to have a complete resurgence as soon as production on it has ceased. If you’re a Lugosi fan, these figures are priced right (in the $12 range per item), so I would strongly recommend buying them now if you think that you will wind up getting them sooner or later. Some dealers such as myself are offering the set of three figures at a slightly discounted rate.

Flatt World

After a much delayed initial promise date (Dec. 98), Flatt World finally released their Bela Lugosi as Dracula figure in the late summer of 1999. Definitely the best of the Lugosi licensed figures, this one actually looked like Bela Lugosi. The head of the figure is modeled after a Bela Lugosi life mask and the eight inch figure comes with other accessories such as a coffin with hinged lid, vampire bat, and candle holder. Even more importantly, this figure is packaged so that it may be removed without causing any damage to the box, which ends the age-old question, "Should I open the package?" This figure received the "Best Packaging" award of ToyFare magazine because of this feature and also the colorful design.

Now for the bad news: the MSRP on this item is on the high end at $59.99. For all its note-worthy features, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed when I saw it in person. It just looks too small for the hefty pricetag. Personally I would have liked to have either seen a larger figure or a lower price, somewhere in the $40 range. Definitely the best of the Lugosi figures out there, but also the highest priced by far. A definite must-have for the avid Lugosi collector, however.

Janus Model Company

The latest of the Lugosi licensed collectibles is offered by the Janus model company. Janus has two different Lugosi treats, the first of which is a 1/6^th scale Vinyl Model Kit that has an incredible likeness of Bela Lugosi. I love everything about this kit. Bela looks regal with his long flowing cape behind him as he outstretches his hand in the famous spider-like pose. The face looks just like Bela and was sculpted by Englishman Mike Hill. The model comes complete with Dracula’s ring, bearing the family crest worn on his left hand. This vinyl kit retails for $69.95 and of course needs to be built and painted. Certainly another must-have for the Lugosi collector.

The second collectible offered by Janus is a Deluxe resin version, similar to the vinyl kit. In addition to the Lugosi figure, the resin kit also features a great looking background and base, "the shattered remnants of a diamond-paned gothic window." This kit is designed to stand alone or can be merged with a companion model kit, "Dracula’s Bride", which depicts a corpse sitting up in a coffin before a pillar and arch of Dracula’s castle. Each resin kits comes with a signed and numbered Certificate of Authenticity. If you want the resin kits, get your charge cards out. The Dracula resin kit goes for $250 and Dracula’s Bride sells for $220.

Hot New Collectibles

Polar Lights is re-issuing another of the great Aurora 60’s kits, this time, The Salem Witch. This kit retails for $18.99 and should be out in May. This model will be in great demand as the original version was a much sought after kit.

(From March 2000)

Toy Fair 2000

Well, I’ve just returned from the annual Toy Fair held in New York City and I have to tell you, I was quite impressed. Fans of the Universal Monsters will certainly not be disappointed in the forthcoming year.

Once again, Sideshow Toys was the talk of the Toy Fair. Squirreled away in a private suite not at the Jacob Javitts location with a fantastic looking three-foot-high Frankenstein Little Big Head replica at the entrance door, Greg Anzalone and Steve Skolnick were on hand to show their 2000 lineup to dealers by appointment only.

Prior to the show some of the news of their line had previously leaked out, namely the figures listed for Series Three of the eight-inch figures and the list of figures featured in the second series of Little Big Heads. There were, however, quite a few surprises.

As you well know if you read last month’s column, Series Three will feature Lon Chaney as the Hunchback of Notre Dame, complete with crown and scepter. Seeing this figure in person was quite a treat. The paint job is phenomenal, as is the likeness of the French bell ringer. I suspect this will be the "hot" figure of this set.

The second figure is Claude Rains as the Invisible Man, which comes with interchangeable heads, much like last year’s Phantom Of The Opera and Bride Of Frankenstein figures. The first head is wrapped in bandages and the second is a transparent "invisible" head. The third figure in this series is The Mutant Of Metaluna from the classic sci-fi film This Island Earth. Universal has given Sideshow just a bit more freedom with the packaging, allowing them to use the original font type from each movie and also allowing them to use a picture of the character from the film. Sideshow is still tied into the lime green and light purple color scheme, but the new packaging is quite an improvement.

Two-thirds of Series Four was also on hand. Lugosi fans will be bitterly disappointed to learn that the Lugosi Dracula figure has been dropped from the lineup, due to the inability of the Lugosi Estates and Universal to come to terms. Seems that a deal had been all but reached but was squelched at the last minute by a change of heart on the Lugosi end. It’s possible that they will try again for Series Five but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

The Dracula figure has been replaced by the Werewolf of London. Only the packaging was available for the Toy Fair due to the late change. The other two figures in Series Four will be a Mole Man figure, which looked great, and Boris Karloff as Frankenstein from Son Of Frankenstein, complete with the constable’s arm. Again the likeness of the Karloff Frankenstein is quite good and true to the third film’s depiction with the different makeup from the original film that launched the series.

Little Big Heads Series Two was on hand and looked great, my favorite being The Phantom of the Opera in the Masque of the Red Death costume. The other figures in this set consist of Son Of Frankenstein monster, Mole Man, Creature Walks Among Us, The Mutant Of Metaluna, and Im Ho Tep figures. This set of six will come evenly distributed in the case pack so there won’t be any difficulty finding some of the figures as there was with the first series (only one Creature, Phantom, Bride and Invisible Man per case). Believe me, this makes a dealer’s day!

Also on hand was a boxed translucent set of the Series One LBH’s, featuring the rare Hunchback Of Notre Dame figure. Personally I still prefer the full color FAO Schwartz set which is now becoming available to dealers but the popularity of the Exclusive translucent Creature and the newer Exclusive blue translucent Frankenstein certainly cannot be ignored. This translucent set of 9 figures will probably sell in the neighborhood of $40, much cheaper than their FAO counterparts, which retailed for $60.

Continuing with a line of Little Big Heads geared more for children, Sideshow debuted their Little Big Heads Wrestlers. While I was not a fan of last year’s Shredder’s series (which featured the Classic Monsters on skateboards), I do like the wrestlers. This set includes Big Frankie, Mad Mummy, Dangerous Drac, Crazy Creature, Freaky Phantom and my favorite, Weird Wolfie. Weird Wolfie comes with pentagram knee pads and a red racing stripe down the center of his head. I usually prefer my monsters done as authentic as possible but Sideshow convinced me with this fun set. I can almost picture a Saturday morning cartoon based on these figures.

Silver Screen Edition

The one set of items that I had heard about but did not think much of originally was the Silver Screen Editions of the Series One eight inch figures. Prior to the Toy Fair I was told that they were the original figures done with a different paint job, to make them appear as they looked in the original black and white films. No big deal, I thought, just the same figures with a different, less colorful paint job. Then I saw them in person. Wow!!!!! You may think it wouldn’t make all that much difference and that if you owned the first series with the full color paint job you wouldn’t want this set but let me tell you, you’re wrong. No photo can do this series justice and although I know collectors love to leave their collectibles in mint condition in the package, these figures scream to be let out of the package! The paint job has a silver-ish shimmer to it that make the figures actually look as though they stepped right off the screen! Toys ‘R Us will be coming out with the very nicely designed blister packs of the three figures from Series One (Frankenstein, Wolfman, Mummy).

After their initial shipment, Sideshow should be making these blister packed figures available to all their dealers. The Silver Screen Edition of Series Two will follow sometime thereafter. The even better news is that Sideshow has also developed a nicely packaged boxed set of the first three figures and will make those available to all their dealers. This boxed set is reminiscent of the FAO Schwartz exclusive boxed set of the initial version of the full color Series One figures. I really can’t recommend the Silver Screen Edition line highly enough. I went to the Toy Fair not expecting much from this line at all and now I just can’t wait to add it to my own personal collection! Sideshow is shooting for a March release on these figures.

Surprise, Surprise

Sideshow also pulled off a number of surprises at the Toy Fair. Previously, Hasbro had the license for the eleven-inch Universal Monster dolls. Personally I was never a big fan of their line; I found the dolls too cumbersome and unimaginative. The worst of which was the Mummy doll, which instead of being made of plastic molded to look like bandages, Hasbro just put a doll in a pull-on costume with a bandages motif (reminiscent of a Captain Action costume). As soon as Sideshow discovered that Hasbro had dropped the license, they jumped in their grave and went to work on a twelve-inch Boris Karloff as Frankenstein figure that looks amazing. Even the packaging is fantastic! The box sports a swinging box cover that features the original movie poster from the Frankenstein film. The inside of this cover has some detailed history of the film and the figure is seen behind a clear plastic sheet that is made to resemble the castle doorway. The figure comes with 32 points of articulation and a cloth outfit. The back of the box features a black and white still of Karloff as the monster.

The second surprise was the debut of not one but two eighteen-inch Frankenstein figures. Each figure is done in the style of the Little Big Heads. The figures come as Frankenstein and Santa Frankenstein. These two figures feature rotocast parts with a plush body with an armature that allows poseability. I suspect the Santa Frankenstein will be very popular.

Sideshow has also picked up the licenses of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and is promising some Monty Python And The Holy Grail figures (wonder if they’ll have cow-launching catapults). All in all, the future looks quite bright for Universal Monster collectors for the coming year. Greg told me that the lawsuit by Sara Karloff against Universal should not affect the products listed here.

Hot New Collectibles

There has been a change regarding The Hunchback Of Notre Dame model by Polar Lights that I recommended last month. Apparently Disney owns the rights to the title "Hunchback Of Notre Dame" (don’t ask me how they can own the name of a novel written by Victor Hugo) so Polar Lights has had to change the name of the model to "The Bell Ringer Of Notre Dame." As you may already know, the original model has the original title written on the base of the model, so Polar Lights has had to not only change the title on the box of the model kit, but also recast the base to reflect the name change. This has no doubt resulted in a slight delay in the original announced ship date of late January. Late March at the earliest is my best guess.

Polar Lights is also promising the re-release of one of my favorite Aurora kits, The Guillotine, with a March promise date. Due to the delay of the Hunchback/Bell Ringer kit, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find the guillotine kit delayed for a month or so. Remember, model kits and toys hardly ever come out on their originally scheduled release dates. This fun kit has an actually working guillotine, which beheads the bound victim. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price for this kit is $18.99 and many dealers such as myself are already reporting great Pre-Order sales. If you collect the Polar Lights Aurora re-issues, you certainly don’t want to pass this one up.

In case you didn’t already take the hint, I highly recommend Sideshow’s Silver Screen Editon of Series One 8-inch Universal Monsters.

(From February 2000)

Believe me, I know the story. When you were a kid, someone who was really perceptive and who knew a good thing when they saw it gave you a copy of Uncle Forry’s Famous Monsters Of Filmland and from that point on you were hooked. That’s when your collection started. Probably beginning with the great Aurora models of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and The Wolfman, with that really colorful Bama artwork on the box cover, your collection started. You added The Forgotten Prisoner, the "banned" Monster Scenes series and maybe even the Guillotine model that actually beheaded the poor bound victim. But somewhere along the line, your collection disappeared. Maybe your mom finally got her hands on those "dust collectors" of yours when you headed off to college or got married and out they went.

Now it’s thirty years later but those models and toys still hold a special place in your heart. You’ve considered trying to rebuild your collection but the prices that those "dust collectors" now command is astronomical. If mom only knew just how much money those $1.98 models were now worth, she would have wrapped them up in plastic and hidden them away for you.

Well, good news, your second chance at owning that collection is here. Don’t blow it this time. The Universal Monsters are being revived yet again and in a very big way. Like a lightning bolt from the heavens, new life is being breathed into our famous friends yet again and a lot of people and companies are jumping on the bandwagon. In this column I’ll try to keep you up to date with the latest collectibles of special interest to people like us while also giving you a bit of insight into the world of collecting from the dealer’s standpoint.

"It’s alive! It’s alive!"

Yes, it IS alive and doing quite well, thank you. Two companies have really pioneered the Classic Monster toy revival. The first is Polar Lights, a division of Playing Mantis. Polar Lights have acquired the rights to many of the original Aurora model molds and re-released some of these kits, complete with the original box art that graced the pages of that issue of Famous Monsters that you were given. In some cases, Polar Lights has even improved some of the flaws of the original kits, namely the Bride Of Frankenstein kit. So far Polar Lights has re-released the entire Lost In Space model line, the glow in the dark Addams Family House, The Creature Of The Black Lagoon, and a number of others. In the last few months they re-released Frankenstein, The Mummy, Dracula and The Wolfman but did so only exclusively through Toys R’ Us. I could go off on a rant about why I hate exclusive deals like this, especially because it hurts not only the dealers who have supported the manufacturer through their early times but mainly because it really hurts the true collector. How many people have time to stand in line before your local (if you even have one near you) Toys R’ Us opens just so you can get the models you want before the dealers buy them all up on you? Once the dealers get a hold of them, you can usually expect to pay almost twice the price that dealer did. After all, he has to make money too; it’s his business. I’ll have more to say on exclusive deals in next month’s column.

Polar Lights has even issued a few brand new kits, most notably a great looking Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolfman kit licensed by the Chaney Estates and also the Bates Mansion complete with a figure of "Mother" to sit in the window. Both of these original kits look really fantastic and are easy to assemble.

Sideshow Toys is the other company that has helped in the resurrection of our favorite monster friends. Initially, they came out with what is now termed Universal Monsters Series One, featuring very, very nicely done eight inch figures of Frankenstein’s Monster, The Wolfman and The Mummy, originally sculpted by Oluf W. Hartvigson. The best thing about this line is that they feature the likenesses of the actors that made the monsters famous, rather than the generic monsters that Universal tried to push on people in the aftermath of the Lugosi lawsuit. Each figure came with some well thought out accessories, such as Lawrence Talbot’s silver wolf head cane or hieroglyph tablet and scroll of life. Sideshow also released a series of eight Little Big Heads that were very popular. Unfortunately, Sideshow dipped into the "exclusive" game a bit, their most popular exclusive being a boxed set of nine Little Big Heads that were available only through FAO Schwartz. The ninth figure was a great looking Hunchback Of Notre Dame featuring Lon Chaney’s great rendition of everyone’s favorite little bell ringer. Fortunately that "Exclusive" set will be offered by a number of other dealers like myself who have patiently waited for their chance to offer this set to their customers at a price lower than the FAO Schwartz’s $60 price tag.

Sideshow followed up Series One with the inevitable sequel, Series Two. The second series featured Lon Chaney as The Phantom Of The Opera who came complete with two heads, one masked and the other unmasked; the Bride of Frankenstein who also came with two heads, one wrapped in gauze and the other unwrapped with that famous electrified hair; and the most popular of this series, The Creature From The Black Lagoon. Sideshow is planning the release of Series Three later this year after the Toy Fair . Series Three consists of The Invisible Man, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Monitor of Metaluna from the sci-fi classic This Island Earth. This series should be available around April or May of this year.

Series Four may have the figure you are waiting for. Tentatively scheduled for Halloween 2000 is a Bela Lugosi as Dracula figure (if all legalities can be worked out), a figure of The Mole People, and Son Of Frankenstein. The Lugosi Dracula had originally been planned for Series Three it has been pushed back in hopes that an agreement can be worked out between Bela Lugosi Jr. and Universal Studios.

The second set of Little Big Heads will also be available around April or May of this year. This set will include the following figures: Son of Frankenstein, a Mole People figure, The Phantom in his Mask of Red Death costume, The Creature Walks Among Us design and Karloff’s Im-Ho-Tep as well as the Mutant of Metaluna.

A new offering by Sideshow will be the line of Little Big Head Monster Wrestlers. This set is along the same lines as the shredder LBH’s that came out last year. Each figure is a Pro Wrestling version of our favorite monsters. This set will include Big Frankie, Dangerous Drac, Crazy Creature, Mad Mummy, Freaky Phantom, and my favorite, Weird Wolfie, complete with a red stripe down the center of his wolf’s mane.

Sideshow is also releasing a new Glow-In-The-Dark version of the first Little Big Heads set, as well as a Limited Edition Translucent Frankenstein LBH, similar to the translucent Creature figure that they released at the 1999 World Toy & Collectible Expo.

Why go around the world in 80 days when you can take 160?

One of the early lessons that I learned when I began Monster-Mania last year is that you can never, ever, EVER believe the company when they give you a scheduled release date for a new item. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking action figure, model kit, water globe, or statue. These things never come out on time. You’ve heard about the "slow boat to China?" If you think the boat going over to China is slow, the boat coming back from China with your much anticipated collectible on it is ten times as slow. When it finally does arrive in port, anywhere between one month to six months late, the port authorities find the captain dead, lashed to the wheel; the crew gone; a lunatic in the cargo hold mumbling something about "nice juicy spiders"; and worst of all, half of the collectibles shipment is missing.

Sometimes it gets even worse than this. Late last year, MacFarlane Toys released their Movie Maniacs Series Two, which featured Michael Myers, Pumpkinhead, Chucky, Norman Bates, The Crow, and Ghost Face from Scream. Besides being drastically late, and supposedly only receiving half of the cases that they had originally ordered, MacFarlane shipped out the cases to vendors even though they were aware that the Chucky figure was not included in any of the boxes, an apparent oversight on the part of the Oriental manufacturers. Now to some people this might not mean that much, but to completists like myself, if you ordered a set of all six figures, you expect to receive a set of all six figures. Because the amount of cases expected by MacFarlane was cut in half, the big vendors such as Toys R’ US and Spencers received their ordered case amount at the expense of independent dealers such as myself who had placed smaller orders but in some instances, ahead of the orders that were filled for the larger toy companies. Add in the expense of needing to make two shipments to customers who had ordered a complete set of all six figures, and you begin to understand the dealer’s frustration.

Hot New Collectibles

This month’s section will feature three hot new collectibles guaranteed to look great on your shelves. The first is the re-release of The Hunchback Of Notre Dame Model, originally released by Aurora in the sixties. This is one kit that I have been anticipating for a long, long time. While the Frankenstein, Mummy, et all models had been re-released a few different times, one being the Luminators Kits by Monogram some years back, the Hunchback model had never been re-issued. You may remember that originally there was some confusion about the box art, as Aurora had inadvertently released an Anthony Quinn Hunchback on the box rather than Lon Chaney. That error was later corrected and both versions of that kit have been considered to be highly valuable by collectors of the original kits. Well, now Polar Lights has decided to re-release this great looking kit which features the Chaney Hunchback tied to the revolving dais which actually works. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) on this plastic kit is only $18.99, which is a bit surprising considering the complexity of the model involved. Pre-Orders for this item have gone really well and Polar Lights is expecting to ship this out in late January.

The second collectible is also a model kit put out by Polar Lights (I told you they were one of the pioneers in this field). This kit is a brand new, never before released Phantom Of The Opera model, which is also licensed by the Chaney Estates, promises to be out in early Feb. This kit is a built in 1/8^th scale and is a diorama of 40 pieces. Depicting the unmasking scene from the classic 1925 film, the kit includes the Phantom figure, mask, base, pipe organ, quill pen and music stand. Considering Polar Lights batting record so far with their original kits, I see no reason why this one would be a disappointment. The MSRP on this kit is $25.

The third item of interest is the terrific looking and loads of fun Robby The Robot 10-inch Remote Control Toy from the classic sci-fi film Forbidden Planet. This Robby comes with all the bells and whistles, quite literally. It has remote control sound, lights and motion. The wired remote control unit activates some cool movie sounds such as Robby’s voice saying "That is correct", "Can I be of service?" and "I am monitored to respond to the name Robby." The remote control unit also activates lights within Robby’s head and forward motion. Robby even comes with a gripping hand in which he can hold his disintegrator ray gun. The box is also very nicely done, featuring the movie poster from Forbidden Planet. All in all, this would make a really great addition to anyone’s collection. MSRP is $29.99.

(Dave Hagan is a collecting expert and runs Monster Mania collectibles on-line.  He won't tell us what treasures his mother threw away, however.  He's also a native Philadephian living in New Jersey, and a proud Monster Bash staff member.  Dave worked in the retail toy business for nine years, and formerly ran Spooky Films, which showcased classic horror films in Philadelphia and New Jersey.  His late father introduced him to Universal monsters and Hammer horror, and he's an avid fan of both.  He's published articles for such magazines as Cult Movies and Scary Monsters, and has completed his first horror novel.)

Check back each month for more tips and news from the world of monster models and toys...and don't let Mom throw these treasures out this time!  If you'd like to contact Dave personally, just click here.

Articles copyright Dave Hagan.  Views expressed are those of the author.

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