# Creepy Vintage Toys



## boo who? (Feb 28, 2005)

*The Ghost Rock thread got me thinking....

Probably all of us here had a love of Halloween themed toys as children. I still have my 1964 Mattel Creepy Crawler Thingmaker. I sold all of my Aurora Monster Models... or at least what was left of them a few years ago. I also had some sort of hangman game that featured glow-in-the-dark skeletons.

What about you?

Did you have spooky-themed toys as a kid? Still have any? Collect them now?*


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## Rumsfield (Dec 8, 2011)

As a kid I had a "Shrunken head" kit that had Vincent Price on the box. You carved an apple per instructions and the kit had eyes, hair and other stuff to give it details before it shrunk up. 

Aurora Monster kits ? Nope , but I am making up for lost time now. I bought several remakes of the kits.
Just finished up Frankenstein , first time I saw this kit was at a friends house when I was 10 years old - 39 years later I now have one !





Working on Dracula right now.


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## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

I assembled then painted "The Creature" From the Black Lagoon kit. I painted his scales to look very glossy and colorful, I gave it to the JCs President since he told me this had been his favorite monster as a kid.
He reacted to this gift.. just like a kid! All excited! Happy! Quite something for a lawyer!
It graced his desk for I believe, quite a time.
I accidently ended up in Florida where those "Creature" movies were filmed. There are actual gators swimming in those waters! I suddenly had instant respect for that guy in that cumbersome "rubber" suit back in the 1950's.


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## DaveintheGrave (Feb 12, 2004)

I still have my "Strange Change Machine" that I got for Christmas sometime in the mid-60's. It has these little plastic cubes that you would put in the heating chamber and they would unfold into monsters, well really mostly dinosaurs. They would harden when taken out of the heat chamber.
Then when you were done playing with them, you would heat them up again and put the creatures into a compression chamber (kind of like a miniature version of a car crusher at a junkyard) then turn a crank to smash them back into a cube shape.
Like I said, it was mostly dinosaurs, but it also included a robot and a Mummy (can't quite figure that one out).
It still works, as far as I know.


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## boo who? (Feb 28, 2005)

Wow Rumsfield, you did a much better job than did my big brother. The Auroras were his and not many were intact by the time I got my hands on them.

I also have the whole Disney LP collection. Naturally, the one I listened to again and again was _The Legend of Sleepy Hollow._


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## "i got a rock!" (Apr 20, 2013)

I was the proud owner of a first generation version of the Incredible Edibles sold by Mattel in the 1960s,
The Incredible Edible set was similar to the Creepy Crawler toy, in that it used molds to form different shapes,creepy spiders, centipedes, fly's and other creepy stuff and a heating element to cook it, but it used an edible liquid called Gobble De-Goop, that when heated, turned into what I can best describe as the consistency of a Gummy Bear. The taste was indescribable, not too bad, but not great either. If they had sold these at the candy store, they would definitely not have been my first choice. Also had Addams family the thing bank and a board game called which witch, loved that game, and of course Sea Monkeys, I couldn’t wait to teach them tricks like the ad in the comic book said lol.
I’m sure my friends and family are saying to themselves–now that explains a lot.


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## boo who? (Feb 28, 2005)

"i got a rock!" - I totally forgot that I had "The Thing" coin bank as well! Don't know what ever happened to it, but thanks for reminding me they existed.


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

Pretty cool. This thread is an education for us young'uns 

Most of my horror-themed toys are from the early 1990s onward, which, I guess, _could_ be considered 'vintage' anymore. I have a reissue of the Aurora 'Phantom of the Opera' model, though I have yet to actually build it, despite the kit being in my possession for over a decade now Also, I own a couple of Pressman board games, _Escape From Frankenstein_ and _Revenge of Dracula_, that both feature toys of the title monsters (Frankie is somewhat posable and gets assembled during gameplay, while Drac is a black figurine) [photos posted of each are from the Web]. Last year, I managed to pick up the final figure that I needed to complete a set of Burger King's rendition of the Universal Monsters, Dracula; all four are actually nicely done for being basically 'Crappy Meal' premiums. I am going to stop, but if anyone wants to hear me ramble some more, just let me know and I will oblige you


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## Rumsfield (Dec 8, 2011)

I had "sea monkeys" also 
As a kid I never really read the comic books being circulated around the classroom - I studied the adds of all the wonderful things you could buy advertised in them. Yes I ordered the 7' tall ghost and Frankenstein among other things. (I loved magic tricks)

Garth - I would be more then happy to hear your "ramblings" as for me this stuff is a real time machine as I get younger every time I see or read about this stuff.
And it is a good time for you to build that "Phantom kit"


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## lizzyborden (Sep 17, 2009)

I have "pieces" of what I believe may be original aurora models. I know I have Frankenstein and Dracula and one or the other is missing the base. The other seems like it might have been a swamp man or something like that. I found them in a old house that some friends were tearing down and saved them from the trash. Now I'll have to dig them out and see.


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

Okay then, more rambling If anyone remembers the little rubber figures called 'Monster in My Pocket', I still have a bunch of those. The British actually have a more recent line of them (official site: http://monster.inmypocket.com/), which I have never seen anywhere in the States.

_Boglins_ are always good for a laugh, with the amusing things that can be done with them, and I like that they are both creepy and comical at once. I've got this character, Sponk:









Additionally, I own both series of the _McFarlane Monsters_ playsets, which are pretty close to _G.I. Joe_ scale and could make for some fun scenes with the military versus monsters Like most of McFarlane's figures, unfortunately, the quality is subpar and some had to have their arms glued back into place or their heads, which were _meant_ to turn, reattached


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## Saki.Girl (Aug 22, 2012)

found this last year for 1.00


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## boo who? (Feb 28, 2005)

That finger munching game looks so cool!

Lizzie- Those Aurora parts are still good sellers. I had no problem selling parts and incomplete models.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I had the Remco Universal Monster figures as a kid, which I have started buying back now as an adult. lol 

I also remember the, I can't think of the official name, Monster Maker art set. You could change 3 different panels to create different monsters.


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

Saki.Girl said:


> found this last year for 1.00


That game looks hilarious, Saki. I think that is what a friend was telling me about recently. Does he have felt marker tip fangs? If so, that is it. Great buy, either way.



Shadowbat said:


> I had the Remco Universal Monster figures as a kid, which I have started buying back now as an adult. lol


I had the small, glow versions of quite a few of the monsters, although I wound up selling them the other year due to being strapped for cash (a fact that has not changed).


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## Hallomarine (Aug 21, 2010)

OK Rumsfield - I musta tried a hundred times to order that 7' tall Frankenstein. What did you get when it came? I'm dying to know!
HM


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

Hallomarine said:


> OK Rumsfield - I musta tried a hundred times to order that 7' tall Frankenstein. What did you get when it came? I'm dying to know!


Was it an inflatable that could be ordered from some brand of popsicles during either the later '80s or early '90s? I kind of remember a Frankenstein something like that, but I never was able to get it. I am curious now, too.


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## Rumsfield (Dec 8, 2011)

Hallomarine said:


> OK Rumsfield - I musta tried a hundred times to order that 7' tall Frankenstein. What did you get when it came? I'm dying to know!
> HM


 Frank was 6' tall and he was a poster



And the ghost was a white balloon, A large piece of white plastic, a roll of fine monofilament fishing line - The instruction recommended a coat hanger to make the shoulders.

Was I disappointed - maybe at first as I expected a huge crate in the mail. But I had a blast with that ghost and the scary record. Frank graced my walls for 6 years - my Senior year it just crumbled apart .


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

Ouija board. That is all.


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## DaveintheGrave (Feb 12, 2004)

Rumsfield said:


> Frank was 6' tall and he was a poster
> 
> And the ghost was a white balloon, A large piece of white plastic, a roll of fine monofilament fishing line - The instruction recommended a coat hanger to make the shoulders.
> .


Oh gee, I forgot about those Frankenstein posters. I ordered one too and I think I ordered another one at the same time. Maybe the Mummy or Wolfman??
Yes, mine was a poster printed on plastic and it came with two little glow-in-the-dark dots you could stick over his eyes. WOW !

I also ordered the "Remote Control Flying Ghost" from Johnson-Smith company. It was a balloon with "happy" ghost face on it with a white plastic bag you put over it. The remote control was a small spool of fishing string. I think the instructions even showed an option of how you could fill the balloon with helium and hide in hole to make it "float". Yea, right......

On a side note, I always wanted to order the "Two-man Submarine" from the comic book ad for $6.95. It claimed to shoot "real torpedoes".
I remember finding out many years ago that it was made of cardboard. LOL


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

Rumsfield said:


> Was I disappointed - maybe at first as I expected a huge crate in the mail. But I had a blast with that ghost and the scary record. Frank graced my walls for 6 years - my Senior year it just crumbled apart .


The _real_ Frankenstein showing up at each person's house would not have been too cost-effective, I would think It's cool that you still enjoyed the items. 



DaveintheGrave said:


> On a side note, I always wanted to order the "Two-man Submarine" from the comic book ad for $6.95. It claimed to shoot "real torpedoes".
> I remember finding out many years ago that it was made of cardboard. LOL


Talk about false advertising


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## Rumsfield (Dec 8, 2011)

DaveintheGrave said:


> On a side note, I always wanted to order the "Two-man Submarine" from the comic book ad for $6.95. It claimed to shoot "real torpedoes".
> I remember finding out many years ago that it was made of cardboard. LOL


That reminds me of an "adventure" as a kid growing up attempting to build a submarine out of an old above the ground fuel tank. It took us days to hacksaw those legs off - boy was my Dad mad about that.


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## GhostTown (Jul 6, 2011)

Rumsfield said:


> That reminds me of an "adventure" as a kid growing up attempting to build a submarine out of an old above the ground fuel tank. It took us days to hacksaw those legs off - boy was my Dad mad about that.


LOLOL... sounds like something I would have done.


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

GhostTown said:


> LOLOL... sounds like something I would have done.


You, Rumsfield, and myself together would have been trouble (and probably still would be) At the start of elementary school, I was a kleptomaniac who would bring home toys that the teacher had in the room, which my mom would force me to return when she found out Plus, one of my first words began with an 'f', and it was not 'father'; imagine playing with _G.I. joe_ figures and having them call each other that... lol.


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## DarkManDustin (Jun 30, 2011)

I had Creepy Crawlers, Incredible Edibles GROSSeries Maker, Monster Face Rattle Me Bones, various Goosebumps toys. We had some kind of haunted house game, in which you have a pinball. You guide it thru different areas. You have stairs that move, making the ball go up them. The ball, "climbs," the vertical play area. There are things, pictured on the vertical play area, that can harm you, making you start over. The objective is to get to the top.


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## ChrisW (Sep 19, 2006)

I invite everyone to check out www.universalmonsterarmy.com . Casual and hard core collectors of all things Universal Monster, but there is much enthusiasm for any monster or Halloween related toys. There are also areas on the forum that deal with toys non-monster.
And yep, I've got a slew of monster and Halloween-related toys, games, model kits, etc. In fact, my obsession with the Aurora figure kits led to my freelance assignments for Polar Lights and other hobby kit companies. I've mentioned before, my avatar is the first piece I did for Polar Lights of Lon Chaney as the Wolf Man


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## Rumsfield (Dec 8, 2011)

Garthgoyle said:


> You, Rumsfield, and myself together would have been trouble (and probably still would be)


I take that as a compliment  - I was always referred to as an Instigator in my school years , along with Inattentive in Class, doesn't take studies seriously ect ect..


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

DarkManDustin said:


> We had some kind of haunted house game, in which you have a pinball. You guide it thru different areas. You have stairs that move, making the ball go up them. The ball, "climbs," the vertical play area. There are things, pictured on the vertical play area, that can harm you, making you start over. The objective is to get to the top.


I never owned it, but I think I remember that. I always wanted either an _Addams Family_ or _Creature From the Black Lagoon_ pinball machine. One of my mom's friends knew some wealthy people and I got to go to their house/mansion once many years ago; of course, _they_ owned the Addams version 



Rumsfield said:


> I take that as a compliment  - I was always referred to as an Instigator in my school years , along with Inattentive in Class, doesn't take studies seriously ect ect..


Haha. Despite hating school, I basically did good, since immersing myself in books and studying generally helped me to forget about everything else, even if only for a little while. There, I was too worried about being suspended to retaliate, but _catechism_ is where I managed to get into trouble


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