Toys 2 Remember

Brand New Universal Monsters Figures by Diamond Select Toys

As I was looking at my internet options of where and how to purchase more of the Sideshow Toys Universal Monsters figures featured in my last post, I kept coming across these quite similar looking Universal Monsters Figures by Diamond Select Toys. Many of them look amazing! Some have been around for a couple years, but for this year's Halloween season, they just released three brand new figures

As usual, my favorite Universal Monster figure, pictured here on the left, is the new Universal Monsters Creature from the Black Lagoon Figure

This is how the website describes this figure:

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water! Diamond Select Toys revisits the Black Lagoon with this all-new figure depicting the world-famous Creature, first seen in 1954's Creature from the Black Lagoon . This 7-inch scale action figure features a new sculpt with over 16 points of articulation, and can strike a wide variety of poses on his deluxe display base, which features a skeleton and an undersea rock formation. The Creature and his base come packaged in Select-style display packaging, with spine artwork.
Sculpted by Jean St. Jean!"

The next newly released Monster figure is this Universal Monsters Son of Frankenstein Diamond Select Figure

This one is a little more like the previous Diamond Select figures because it comes with extra items - cool looking laboratory equipment. That is part of what makes these figures remind me of the Sideshow Universal Monster figures.

Once again, lets take a look at the Diamond Select description of this figure:

"The monster returns! Diamond Select Toys revisits Frankenstein's Monster with this exciting figure depicting the monster in his outfit from 1939's Son of Frankenstein. This 7-inch scale action figure features an all-new sculpt with all-new articulation, and can strike multiple poses on his deluxe display base, featuring equipment from Dr. Frankenstein's lab. The Monster and his base come packaged in Select-style display packaging, with spine artwork.
Sculpted by Jean St. Jean!"

  

Another brand new Universal Monsters release is the Van Helsing Diamond Select Figure.

This one is a little more complicated since it also features the female vampire that he is hunting in this scene.

Diamond Select describes it like this:

"Monsters beware! Diamond Select Toys is unleashing a fearsome foe upon every monster action figure in your collection, and it's none other than famous monster-hunter Van Helsing! Based on an original design, this 7-inch action figure comes armed to the teeth with stakes, axes and a crossbow, making him more than a match for any and all supernatural creatures. Van Helsing includes a deluxe cemetery base, featuring a female vampire rising from the grave, and comes packaged in Select-style display packaging, with spine artwork.

Sculpted by Jean St. Jean!"

Now that we've seen the three new releases, let's look at some of the previous Universal Monster figures that Diamond Select offers. After all, they are all new to me! Very exciting!

Let's start with the other figures that come with extra cool props from the movies. For each one, I'll show their picture and link followed by their description.

Universal Monsters Diamond Select: The Mummy Action Figure, A dusty terror from a bygone era!

Imhotep, at your service! Dig deep into the sands of antiquity and you, too, will discover Imhotep the Mummy! Sculpted by legendary monster-sculptor Jean St Jean, with the added artistry of Select regular Rudy Garcia (who, like a craftsman of old, sculpted the Mummy's detailed sarcophagus accessory), this is a dusty terror from a bygone era. This Select version includes an exclusive paint scheme, as well as the detailed accessory. The fans have already spoken, hailing this line as the most detailed and accurate depictions of the classic Universal Monsters ever, and this 7-inch tall rendering of the infamous Mummy is proof positive!

Universal Monsters Select Frankenstein Action Figure

One misunderstood giant. Frankenstein! Mary Shelley's monster is brought to life! Specialty market limited edition. Action figure comes with a detailed lab-table accessory! The monsters are back again! The award-winning Universal Monsters Select line expands its roster of iconic screen legends with perhaps the most sympathetic creature of them all: Frankenstein's Monster. Sculpted by legendary monster sculptor Gabriel Marquez, this 7-inch tall Frankenstein Action Figure comes with the lab table upon which the monster was given life and from which he rose for the first time. Bring Mary Shelley's monster to life in your home! The fans have already spoken, hailing this line as the most detailed and accurate depiction of the classic Universal Monsters ever, and this 7-inch interpretation of Frankenstein's Monster is proof-positive of Diamond Select's dedication to bringing these iconic monsters to collectors. The specialty market version includes an exclusive paint scheme, as well as a detailed accessory not available to the mass market!

Universal Monsters Select Dracula Action Figure

Dracula wants to suck your blood! Count Dracula with a wolf companion at his side. This movie-monster action figure is sculpted by legend Gabriel Marquez! Features a hillside gravesite base. Comes with a detailed accessory not available in the mass market! The monsters are back! What better way to expand this award-winning Specialty Market Exclusive action figure line than with the most iconic monster of them all, Count Dracula? This awesome line debuted last year with the legendary Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Mummy. What other monster could possibly match such legendary movie-monster royalty? Dracula, of course! Sculpted by legendary monster sculptor Gabriel Marquez, and featuring a hillside gravesite base, this 7-inch tall depiction of the infamous Count Dracula is ready to spread terror with a fearsome companion at his side. The Select version includes an exclusive paint scheme, as well as a detailed wolf accessory not available to the mass market! The fans have already spoken, hailing this line as the most detailed and accurate depictions of the classic Universal Monsters ever, and this Count Dracula Action Figure is proof-positive of Diamond Select's dedication to bringing these iconic monsters to collectors.

Universal Monsters Select Jekyll and Hyde Action Figure

Two are better than one - just ask Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. From the 1953 movie Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this fine figure can transform from Jekyll to Hyde and back again! Sculpted in a 7-inch scale and fully articulated, it features an authorized likeness of Boris Karloff as Dr. Jekyll and includes an interchangeable head of Mr. Hyde, as well as alternate hands, a hat, a cape, and a chemistry set display base that is exclusive to this figure! This Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Universal Monsters Select Action Figure comes in display-ready collector packaging, with side panel. We told you two was better than one.

Universal Monsters Select Hunchback of Notre Dame Figure

Your favorite freak! The Universal Monsters Select line continues with a classic Lon Chaney character - The Hunchback of Notre Dame! From the 1923 film of the same name, this figure is sculpted in 7-inch scale, fully articulated, and features Chaney's authorized likeness. This Select edition figure includes Quasimodo's exclusive King of Fools crown and robes, as well as an exclusive gargoyle display base found only in this version! The Hunchback of Notre Dame Select Action Figure comes in display-ready collector packaging, with side panel.

Diamond Select Toys makes several other Universal Monsters Select Figures like the Phantom of the Opera Action Figure, The Mole People, Mole Man Action Figure, the Universal Monsters Select: Metaluna Mutant Action Figure and others that I haven't been able to share here. More to look into later perhaps. But I have one more to share with you. As you probably know by now, My absolute favorite Universal Monster is:

Universal Monsters Select Creature from Black Lagoon Figure

Here's Gill-Man, applying lotion to those hard-to-reach areas! Figure of The Creature and his swimsuited human crush, the film’s alluring Femme Fatale. Give the last of the great Universal Monsters a home! Sculpted by Rudy Garcia with a base by Jean St. Jean. Universal Monsters Select debuts with the renowned last of the great Universal Monsters, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Sculpted by Rudy Garcia with a base by Jean St. Jean, this 7-inch scale depiction of the infamous Gill-Man shows the legend in perhaps its most screen-accurate detail ever! Perfect for display, the Select version includes an exclusive paint scheme, as well as a detailed base featuring a full figure of The Creature's swimsuited human crush!

That's right, The Creature from the Black Lagoon has been my favorite Universal Monster character ever since I used to play with a rubber creature figure in the bathtub as a small child.

So what is your favorite Universal Monster?

You should find him or her as a Diamond Select Monster Figure, or a Sideshow Monster Figure and add it to your collection!

Happy Halloween!

-Marc

The Office is More Fun and Creative with Toys Around!

I am fortunate enough to work at a small creative company that allows us to decorate our office space how we want, and several of us decorate with TOYS!

My office displays mostly Legos and antique toys, and in the next office there are many Simpsons figures. Down the hall is the Queen of Pez where hundreds of Pez Dispensers are lined up on shelves and on the top of her desk. Upstairs we have a cubicle adorned with Star Wars everything! Lastly we have the office that I want to share with you today....

Fun at the Office - Monster Toy Edition!

This is the office of a good friend of mine named Joe who I have worked with for over 20 years now. Joe was the one who inspired me to collect some newer monster toys. A few of the vintage monster toys in his office were actually mine as a kid that I gave to him to add to his collection. Check out more pics of Joe's awesome office:

I so love this office. As you can probably tell, a great majority of the cool toys in here are Sideshow Toys Universal Monsters. There are a couple of the 12 inch monster figures and lots of the Little Big Head Universal Monsters. But my favorite ones (and Joe's too) are the 8" Universal Monsters figures that were made by Sideshow Toys around the year 2000 or so. These are excellent sculpts by renown artists like Mat Falls and Oluf W. Hartvigson that have created so many classic figures and statues for Sideshow and others. Possibly I can write more about them in a future post.

As for these 8 inch Sideshow collectors figures, they were created as a limited edition series. That is a slight problem for people like me that were late to the party. They can sometimes be hard to find on the market now. When you can find them, prices are inconsistent. Here is my absolute favorite Sideshow Toys Universal Monsters figure, the first one that I had to have:

The Sideshow Toys Universal Monsters Creature from the Black Lagoon figure

If you clicked on the link, you saw how much it costs to buy this figure now. That may be the highest priced figure of the collection. At least I have some others to still get that are much more affordable. The next two I want in my collection are:

The Sideshow 1941 Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolfman figure and the Sideshow 1932 Boris Karloff as the Mummy figure

Of course, the most famous Universal Monsters are Frankenstein and Dracula. The Sideshow Toys Universal Monster Figure line boasts remarkable likenesses of the 1931 Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster and the 1931 Bella Lugosi as Dracula:

The 8 inch Sideshow Bella Lugosi Dracula figure is so popular that I couldn't even find a link to share with you. All I could find was the 12" Bela Lugosi as Dracula Sideshow figure. Maybe the 8" Dracula will become more available after the Halloween season.

Let's take a look at the rest of this office's 8 inch Universal Monsters figures:

We have the Lon Chaney Sr. figures; The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Also pictured above is
the very cool Elsa Lanchester 1935 Bride of Frankenstein figure.

Below we have the Sideshow Claude Rains - The Invisible Man figure, the Sideshow Henry Hull Werewolf of London figure,
and the Sideshow Boris Karloff Son of Frankenstein figure.

Lastly, below on the left side we have the Bela Lugosi as Ygor in The Son of Frankenstien and
The Mask of the Red Death Phantom of the Opera Lon Chaney Sr. figure.

on the right we have a couple of my favorites. I'm glad that Sideshow even made figures from the lesser known movies like these. We have Metaluna Mutant from the movie This Island Earth and The Mole Man from the movie The Mole People.

All of these Sideshow Universal Monsters figures, as you can see in the pictures, come with a great stand and nameplate and various props from the character's respective films. These figures are so well done, it's no wonder Joe choose them to be the foundation of his very cool monster toy collection in his monster themed office.

Needless to say, Joe's office decor stands high above any other during the Halloween season. Doesn't it just make you want to re-watch some of those fantastic old Universal Monster movie classics?