Glass Lite Dracula from Brazil

One of my favourite monster toys of late is this tremendously quirky 1980s action figure made in  Brazil by the famous (to Star Wars collectors) Glasslite toy company.



Glasslite simply released the single 3 3/4" Dracula, no other monsters appear on the card and he's a pretty sweet figure but that's not the best part.


 

They also created this killer Dracula gift set that gives Vlad a sweet convertible Porsche and a Monster Truck! It's so wonderfully silly that I absolutely want it. .

Ideal Spider-Man Make up Kit

I have to applaud Ideal Toys for spinning the monster makeup kit concept to Superheroes and not just including Hulk and Spider-Man but the Thing as well as  being smart enough to include She-Hulk and Spider-Woman on the box.

Funstuf Monsters!

I am not sure why I don't own a Funstuf Frankenstein.

This catalog is from the UK, where they decided to pass on Dracula for some odd reason...

1980 Funstuf Catalog

Ben Cooper Star Wars

While Kenner was scrambling to make Star Wars action figures, Ben Cooper got Star Wars costumes out for 1977. 

Two weeks after Halloween, I doubt it mattered.....

Imperial Toys Godzilla Merchandise Blitz Part 1

Imperial made the 1980s more fun by laying out some truly inspired Godzilla merchandise from the insane bubble blowing bong to the more logical PVC Godzilla. 

I still have mine that I purchased 30 (sigh!) years back, it followed through every dorm room/crappy apartment and is still kicking!

Colouring Book Theatre: Horror

Horror (1982), World Publishers

        
It's weird to be doing a Colouring Book Theatre on a Friday but this October and this is one of the coolest colouring books I've ever found.

I discovered this in a shop called Planet of Stuff and bought it unopened mainly because it had Peter Cushing as Arthur Grimsdyke on the cover!

The content is just as grisly and gory.

Grab your (red) crayons  and join me after the jump

Full Colour Monster Kits!

Torn right from the pages of Famous Monsters, the Aurora Monsters of the Movies series is easily one of the "top five" monster kit series of all time.

Hong Kong Gorilla by Imperial Toys

Sure, it's a total King Kong rip off but at the same time, it's an accurate description as to where he was produced.

Get our book "Rack Toys" at our shop!

Mego Mad Monsters Love

I adore the Mego Mad Monsters, it's definitely in my top five all time Monster toy lines (which I'll speak more about this month). While Mego didn't get the Universal license, they created a really crazy series of generic Monster figures that even glow in the dark!

Here's Mego Dracula and the Mummy in their glowing form.

Here is the stunning Mego Counter Display box featuring gorgeous art by the legendary Gray Morrow.

 

I don't have all of the Mad Monsters in every one of their packaging formats but I am obsessed with Frankenstein, so i grab every single thing I see that I don't have. 

 For more on the Mego Mad Monsters, you should really visit the Mego Museum Galleries it's the best resource there is for the line.

Pressman Movie/TV "Monster Make Up"

It's October and that means the Halloween content flows like fake blood around here. 

To all of you who had this wonderful set as a kid, please let it be known I'm still a little envious of you. These kinds of items always intrigued me in the back of magazines and comics but I never put my hands on them.

Pod Stallions Episode 35: Kolchak the Night Stalker

It's October and that means you get two podcasts, both devoted to scary subjects.

Episode 35 is dedicated to that TV sensation of the 1970s, the amazing phenom that was Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Jason and Brian discuss the TV Movies, the subsequent series and all the amazing influence this show had. We also debate who would make a great Kolchak now.

Download the Show Here

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The Show Off Shirt

I should buy one of these, so the world can feast upon my paleness....

Flash Gordon Pistol by Lonestar

It should come as no surprise that this was submitted by my pal and podcast partner Jason Lenzi. According to him, this is the only toy that bears any connection to the movie.

It's pretty tenuous as the gun itself is a mix of parts from licensed products made for shows like "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons" and others.

So strange how little merchandise this movie got, (luckily it's been remedied) I know as a kid I kept hoping and waiting....

The Adventures of GI Joe (in France)

I kind dig that GI Joe's adventures continued in Europe long after the US handed him his walking papers.

More Foreign Joe

The 38 Inch Pleated Sleeve!

38 Inches? Stop tampering in God's domain, you mad men!

1977 Gabriel Toys Hal Needham: Stuntman Catalog

1977 saw Gabriel Toys try an interesting experiment in action figures.

Instead of licensing a hollywood movie, they sought to captilize on the making of a movie by creating a set based on then legendary stuntman Hal Needham. 



The unique concept had a child filming a stunt sequence in a movie and was actually one of the more inspired (and sadly forgotten)  toy concepts of the 1970s.

Check out all the action of the Hal Needham Stunt Set here.

More Gabriel Toys on PlaidStallions

   

Superb Knits with Fancy Bottoms

That's it, I'm officially changing my last name to "Fancybottom", I'd be stupid not to...

Super 7 Puffy Stickers by Imperial Toys

It's been a while since I got anything new in my quest to own all merchandise from my favourite saturday morning show,  Tarzan and the Super 7.

Lucky for me I found a sweet deal on a complete set of Imperial stickers based on all the characters! More after the jump. 

The Humble Origins of Kenner Star Wars Part 2

Just a  follow up to last week's post about the late start that Star Wars got toy wise. In the very same toy trade magazine that nonchalantly showcased the photo of Lucas meeting with Kenner execs had this impressive add from Ideal at the very front.

Ideal invaded alright, the company worked very fast to crank out a Star Wars inspired series of action figures using old molds and a brand name "S.T.A.R Team" they used in the late 60s.

The publication date on this magazine is late September (ironically my 7th birthday) that means Ideal got a toy line to market in 90 days. Pretty impressive stuff and don't think people didn't notice,in October a new full page ad appeared in the toy trades.

Scarier than Darth Vader and the Imperial Senate, Fox unleashed their lawyers. It's a battle many would lose but Ideal actually won, seeing as S.T.A.R Team existed prior to 1977. It didn't matter because once Kenner launched real Star Wars, everything else paled and the landscape was forever changed.


More Star Team

Cul-De-Sac Kings

There is no monkey business on Jefferton Court when these two are on the case.