Showing posts sorted by date for query Collegeville. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query Collegeville. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Sunday, October 06, 2019

The Shadow Halloween Poncho

I'm giving the reigns to my pal Matt today, for years, Matt has stepped in during the month of October and given us a peek at some of the more amazing things in this collection, so i leave you in gifted hands-Brain




This is a continuation of the previous post I had done in which I showed the multiple variations of Halloween costumes released by Collegeville for The Shadow!


This version I have here may be my favorite of the lot. It is the Shadow poncho costume.



Here is a shot of him in the box. Although the box does not mention that it is a poncho on the outside, it does say "one size fits all" which is consistent. It also mentions that it has "reflective spots". I wonder if they are still included in the box?




As I open up the box, it becomes clear that this costume has never been removed. It is still sealed inside the bag.



The mask is still the same children's mask, intended for a smaller head, in which the red scarf is molded into the actual sculpture of the mask-- this is in contrast to the adult size masks in which the scarf was a separate piece of either rayon or vinyl.



I have carefully unfolded the poncho here so you can see the marvelous artwork. This red, black, and gold coloring is just so striking, and perfect for this character.

Look at the fury in that angry shadow face.

The artwork for this poncho is obviously taken from the famous coloring book, and was featured on multiple items of the Shadow in the 1970s, including the bagatelle game, and the box art for some of the smaller vehicles.

Poncho costumes were a good option for kids who unfortunately had to experience the letdown of a rainy Halloween night.



Oh, and look! The reflective circular stickers are still here.

Happy Halloween. Expect some more Shadow Merchandise in this blog soon 😊

More Shadow Fun! (Also by Matt)





Friday, March 22, 2019

Black Hole Masks!


These wonderful masks from Italy are from my friend John's collection, they're exactly like the Ben Cooper/Collegeville designs but there was never a smock to go with it.


Honestly, I am just awash in envy about that Humanoid mask, I have a weird affliction for the brain dead zombies of Dr. Reinhart and always will. I really want to thank John for sharing these amazing artifacts.

Friday, October 26, 2018

1986 Collegeville Halloween Costume Catalog


Collegeville was one of the leading Halloween costume manufacturers of the late twentieth century. 

 This extensive 1968 catalog really demonstrates the powerhouse licenses they were rocking in the 60s, including Labyrinth, The Transformers and the Go-Bots, WWF Wrasslers, Wuzzles, Rainbow Bright and the Peanuts, it's a good group and some solid 1980s nostalgia.

1986 Collegeville Halloween Costume Catalog



ben cooper catalog


Monday, October 30, 2017

Vintage Halloween Pics Round up


At the beginning of October I put out the call for your vintage Halloween costume photos and brother, did you respond with your wood paneled goodness like this photo from Jason above.

To be honest, putting them all together became a daunting task, however, that's a good problem to have. An incredible vintage costume explosion awaits after the jump.

Friday, October 20, 2017

1968 Collegville Costumes Catalog


It's Halloween season and that means a shiny new costume catalog from one of my favourite companies in the entire world, Collegeville!

This year we go waaaaay back to 1968 and check out what was hot for kid's costumes that year. Leading the charge is Doctor Doolittle but in his wake are such familiar characters such as Tarzan, The Phantom, Doctor Solar, Major Matt Mason, Flipper and a nobody named Mr Spock.


Monday, October 16, 2017

Collegeville's TV assortment


I love this assortment from 1969, the majority of these characters would end up on costumes for decades. Promotion for these was done on TV spots but not in the usual manner but through participation with the myriad of local kid's shows that peppered the landscape at the time. 

Here are a couple of photos:


We need to bring back cartoon show hosts...




Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Collegeville Mask-o-rama

I honestly don't ever remember seeing a display like this as a kid and I'd like to think I'd remember it. 

Friday, October 21, 2016

Monster Squad Dracula Costumes



No better time than Halloween than to discuss costumes and my love of the 1976 Monster Squad Television series.

Collegeville had the license to the series and while they didn't make a Frank Costume, they sure went to town with Dracula.

Below are all the variations I've found thus far of his store bought costumes. Above is the standard kid version and the one most commonly found.

It's refreshing to see a suit like this and not just a picture of the character.



This is an "Adult" cape and mask set. It's a bit threadbare but I guess if in a pinch, an adult would wear this.





And this is my latest find, the Monster Squad Poncho and mask combo. Collegeville sold this right up until 1979, two years after the show left the air waves.

Want more Monster Squad goodies, check out our gallery. If you have something I don't, PLEASE contact me!


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Headquarters for Collegeville Costumes


One of the prize pieces from my pal Matt's collection is this awesome vintage vacuform sign and I totally understand why. What a trigger of happy memories this thing is, having this over your desk can only bring happy memories.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Atari Halloween


For some reason I didn't add this page to the 1983 Collegeville Catalog when i did it and it only took me 7 years to figure that out. I can't imagine the conversations when the designers were told tha they had to develop a costume for Asteroids but in the end, I can't say I could do better...

BTW i was true blood atari fan, I got in fist fights with Intellivision kids, I still hate George Plimpton...

Friday, October 10, 2014

Pod Stallions 22: Store Bought Costumes


As the title suggests, episode 22 delves into the wonderful world of Halloween costumes but none of that "Home made with your mom's love" kinda junk, this talks about the good old "smock and mask" stuff you got at places like Woolco or Kresge's.

In what is probably our most visual episode, Jason and Brian go through the many catalogs on Plaidstallions from companies such as Collegeville, Ben Cooper and Kusan.

From deep discussions about Grizzly Adams, The Village People, Hee-Haw, Tattoo from Fantasy Island and of course, Flash Gordon. This one doesn't leave many 70s stones unturned. 
Look for cameos by your favourite Star Wars characters Yada, Darth Vadar and Baba Fett.




Show Links:

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Hairy, Scary Monsters from Collegeville


1982 saw the Universal monsters depart Ben Cooper and move over to Collegeville for a glorious rebranding. The monster were all given weaves, gorgeous new packaging and Collegeville even added the Metaluna Mutant to the mix.

This Friday's Pod Stallions is all about Store Bought Costumes of yore, hope you'll check it out.

For more on the Collegeville Universal Monsters, check out the 1983 Collegeville Catalog here.






Friday, October 03, 2014

1974 Kusan Halloween Catalog



Kusan may not be as well known as Ben Cooper or Collegeville for Halloween  and they certainly didn't get the "A" licenses but they sure knew how to create some innovative and highly creative costumes.



From ideas like combining a kazoo into a Halloween mask to




Licensing teen heartthrobs like David Cassidy,  this is not just a fun trip but it's also one of the prettiest and well designed toy catalogs I've ever seen.



 
  ben cooper catalog

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Costume Spotlight: The Shadow

Collegeville Shadow Costumes 

 I gotta say, I've got nice friends. This month is always a bit of a stretch to come up with a whole month of Halloween updates. Enter my pal Matt, Shadow collector extraordinaire (check out some of his cool collection here) .

While I knew Collegeville made a Shadow costume, I had no idea how many. I'll let Matt take over here and explain the differences after the jump.

Friday, October 25, 2013

PodStallions Episode 10: Glows in the Dark (Monster Toys)




Our second October episode, Jason and Brain try to cram in as many monster toys as they can into an hour and a half. 

Aurora model kits, Marvel comics, action figures by Tomland, Remco and Lincoln International get discussed as does Cracked magazine, Power Records, the number of times we rented "LifeForce" on VHS (I've never seen the end)

As usual, the topic tends to veer off into a disscussion first experiences with theatre jumping (with first movie nudity) and Lee Marvin fishing, it may look like those pieces fit together but they do, they do.....




Show Links:

Friday, October 18, 2013

1981 Ben Cooper Costume Catalog


Halloween around here wouldn't be the same without the store bought goodness that is Ben Cooper. If you were a child of the 70s or 80s, then you certainly knew their product.



Cooper held some of the great licenses in 1981 including the Disney characters, both the DC and Marvel comics Superheroes, Clash of the Titans and of course, Star Wars. The only thing they were missing were the Universal Monsters (who had jumped ship to rival Collegeville).




In addition the store bought costumes, Cooper had a mountain of other fun Halloween related items like rubber masks, fake blood, rubber bats and bugs and tons of Jigglers to suck your wallet dry like a vacuum baby!

For more Superhero and Monster related items, Check out these fabulous links:
AHI monsters . 1980 remco.Maxx FX Catalog. 1982 don post mask Catalog

Friday, October 04, 2013

1980 Franco Mask Catalog


Franco was a novelty distribution company known for adult gags, practical jokes and magic tricks (you can see their 1975 magic trick catalog on this very site). Their line of masks for 1980, though not licensed with seem familiar with anyone who thumbed through the pages of horror magazines during the time or perhaps made their own short films (pretty sure my friends used more than one of these).

The 1980 Franco Mask Catalog will bring you back to a time when your local Kresge store smelled like cheap latex. What a good smell that was.

More Masks:

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