1974 Azrak Hamway (AHI) Toy Catalog

 

October is the perfect month to unveil the newest Catalog from Azrak Hamway Internationl (AHI). Why? Because that's the year that the 70s Rack Toy Giant decided to license the Universal Monsters transforming thousands of us unsuspecting children into monster kids!  

Combine that with more Superhero stuff you can shake a stick at and you've got the makings of a happy childhood!




Visit the 1974 Azrak Hamway Toy Catalog here.


Azrak Hamway Index on PlaidStallions/AzrakHamway.com

 

Identified!

I am really excited to say that I've made a major find and it's timing couldn't be better seeing as it's a Collegeville costume that I didn't think was real. More after the jump..

Jigsaw Monsters

Although I've never owned any of these APC Monster Puzzles but I'd love to discover this display in the back of a drug store one day...

Monster Vision

 

I really like these things, as cheesy a concept as they are, they're also a little disturbing. A pair of demonic faces where your eyes are supposed to be? Genius.

 

Check out our new website for our book, Rack Toys. 

Frankenstein in Spaaaaaaaace

 

My friend Corey sent me this image the other day and it's such a goofy marriage of two things I like, that I'm surprised I hadn't seen it before.

I'm assuming Collegeville had the bright idea that NASA would send monsters into space or is it that Astronauts were coming back as monsters, I'm not sure. If you had this suit as a kid drop me a line as to what the smock looked like.

1974 Centsable Halloween Catalog

 

Centsable, the people behind Socker Boppers also did a good business in Halloween costumes, who knew? This 1974 catalog shows that while they did in fact have several decent licenses like the Hanna Barbera clan , they were not above creating some of the ballsiest knock offs of the decade nor did the seem to have and fear of Stan Lee or Universal Studios.

It's a fun trip filled with not only costumes but Halloween decorations too.

Visit the 1974 Censtable Halloween Catalog

Want to see more Halloween costumes? We've got an expansive library of titles and years to peruse.

Imperial Inflates the Monsters

 

I wasn't a kid when Imperial Toys got the Universal Monster license (and I'll touch upon this more next week) but I do have nostalgia for the line. There was a Frankenstein bop bag in the back of a KB Toys in Western NY that I visited for the majority of the late 80s and early 90s. I kept flirting with picking it up but never pulled the trigger.

 

 At one point I spent the $10 on Nirvana's "Nevermind" cassette across the mall instead. I know that sounds like a a ramble but nostalgia can be a weird, winding road sometimes.

Hot Wheels Halloween

Robert from Retro Hound sent in this vintage pic of him and his sis decked for Halloween 1972 in their Collegeville goodness. Thanks Robert!

 

 

Wolfman Flasher Faces

Behold the last Monster Rack Toy ever produced by AHI! Flasher Faces popped up five years after the  Monster merchandise bonanza of the mid seventies and while AHI was doing wonderful things with the license under their Remco brand, these flasher faces are the sole bit of cheap, dime store goodness produced during this period.

I bought the Wolfman above so I could feature it in Rack Toys, I'm cheating with the Flashlight used because this is some super LED thing from my junk drawer and not the one included, which needed a new bulb.

If anyone has the Frankenstein and would like to sell it, please drop me a line. Despite my "I only collect figural items" rule, for some reason I really like these.

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Remote Controlled Blah!

Miner (who seemed to have bought Multiple Toys) released these remote controlled inflatable figures in 1980 and what a super team up! Mickey Mouse, Dracula, The Incredible Hulk and a Shogun Warrior looking robot. It's a child's version of the league of extraordinary gentlemen!

I remember not being particularly swayed by these as a nine year old but now? I think they're awesome! Funny how that works....

Remco Monsters Prototypes

I am lucky enough to know the owner of these original factory pulls of the 9" Remco Creature from the Black Lagoon and Phantom of the Opera figures. It's also advantageous that he brought them over to my house last spring and let me photograph them.

From the collection of the line's sculptor, the difference between the test pulls and detail lost in the glow plastic is staggering. Some fun close ups after the jump:

The Creature shows a great deal of detail lost, when I first saw it I worried it wasn't the same figure but it is.

Kissing cousins.

As much as I love the Remco Monsters, the Phantoms glow plastic and paint job really spoiled a nice head sculpt.

"I can't believe we're related"

Many thanks to my buddy for allowing me to document these amazing items and hopefully in the future, we'll get to see the rest of the Remco Monster Squad...

Check out our upcoming book "Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings"

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Halloween: 1973

James didn't have any vintage Halloween photos to submit  so he sent in a video of his cool Halloween party from '73. James is dressed as Frankenstein but I also spotted a Collegeville The Spider costume, which I think I wore in '75.

Thanks James!

 For more 1973 check out the Collegeville Costume Catalog from that year:

 

Original Alien Artwork for sale

What an awesome treat I have today. I was alerted on Tuesday by a seller that they had some original Earl Norem Artwork produced for the HG Toys Alien series coming up for sale this weekend.  This is not only huge, it's wonderfully timely considering we're ten days into our Month of Halloween celebration and Promethius just arrived on DVD (please no spoilers).

 

 

Here is the Alien from the Blaster Target Set (here's a shot of the final product here) from what I'm told HG blacked out the eyes on Norem's artwork. Alien was a project that toy makers were really leery of.

 

 

 

And here we have the brilliant early artwork for what became the 250 Piece Alien Puzzle (you can see it better here). Sadly HG did not return Norem's artwork, this happens more than it should.

I cannot say anything more than I'm overjoyed that wonderful bits of toy history still surface to this day, this is going to look amazing in somebody's collection.

Both of these pieces are available on Ebay via this seller come this weekend. I am not afiliated, just spreading the word.

 

 

Prototype Creature from the Black Lagoon

I recently got a decent scan of this to ad to the Azrak Hamway Monster archive, it's the mocked up Creature from the black lagoon figure on his looks to be hand drawn card.

It's hard to say what he's constructed of, it almost looks like a converted Aurora Creature kit, either way I hope it survived and will be found some day.

if this guy looks vaguely familiar it's because you saw the same figure in Famous Monsters ads:

Creepy Creatures

These coffin shaped puzzles show that Monster Love was alive and well in '75. I don't own any of these but I've been sorely tempted at many a toy show/flea marker/antique mall.