BUILD YOUR OWN 2-HEADED GOON!

Roaring down the Coast Highway in the spirit of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, Weird-Ohs, and the Monte monster decals is a new model kit in development by "Dirty Donny", retro Kreature Kulture graphic artist -- the two-headed monster called TWO MUCH!

Round2Models is partnering with its AMT division to produce the kit. Here is the press release from the Round2Models newsletter explaining all the details:

"The Kats at AMT team up with Dirty Donny to create a Two-Headed Monster... it's TWO MUCH!

Halloween is quite a ways off, but we wanted to "spring" one of our secret projects on you modelers, especially those who love all the cool monster kits that were available back in the golden era of modeling. The Kats at AMT have an exclusive licensing deal with one of the coolest up-and-coming custom culture artists on the scene today: "Dirty Donny" Gillies! Donny has done everything from painting crazy murals and pinstriping mod guitars and pianos for Metallica, to creating mind-blowing artwork for customized pinball machines! Donny's got a funky flair for creating artwork that harkens back to those fun times of yesteryear, where everybody was cutting grass to earn money to buy their next awesome monster model kit!

The first AMT release featuring Dirty Donny's dazzling artwork is the groovy 1/25 scale Vantasy Chevy Custom Van. It's been sellin' like hodaddy hot cakes as momentum builds at an unstoppable pace behind this talented artist. For a follow up kit, we wanted to do something really wild, crazy and fun - a kit that would capture the essence of our monster-modeling youth, while totally zoning in on the current renewed interest in low-brow art and custom culture. What would be more appropriate than an insane two-headed monster? Introducing AMT's first "Kustom Kreature!"

This krazy kit will "kick off" in 2013 and here's where it's going to knock it out of the ballpark: the sculpt. Some of the old custom monster kits made by the "other guys" back in the day looked nifty on the box art, but were sadly lacking in execution on the plastic parts. AMT 's Two Much Monster kit looks as good in plastic as it does in Donny's wild box art illustration, and we'll prove it to you! We've got a sculpt of Two Much, the first Kustom Kreature, straight from Donny's secret lab and we're going to have him (or should we say "hims") on display for you to see - at WONDERFEST! Come out and marvel in the awe of the spectacular sculpt and show us your support for this exciting new initiative in totally fun model kits! It's another way AMT is expanding its product offerings to include many different types of models.

Other differences that will set AMT 's Two Much kit apart from the rest? How about loads of optional decals with artwork all created by Dirty Donny himself to match the monster perfectly! Many different demented designs will be included so you can build a Kustom Kreature that is truly your own. How about a radical display base with extra details like tombstones and a half-buried skateboard for value-added excitement? Real chain for the monster's mace ball? Eyeball jewels in multiple optional translucent colors? This pumpkin-carrying candy masher has got it ALL!

Show AMT your support for the Dirty Donny "Two Much" monster and let's build something FUN!"

Read More → BUILD YOUR OWN 2-HEADED GOON!

PARADE OF (PLASTIC) PLEASURE

Rating very high on my personal excitement meter is the upcoming CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON plastic model kit from MOEBIUS. The two-figure kit (Creature and Kay Lawrence) is sculpted by the talented Adam Dougherty. He also worked on the Bela "Broadway Dracula" Lugosi kit on sale now.


Ain't this one a beaut, fellow monster modelers?

The Creature kit is planned to come with two sets of arms -- one set to carry Julie or the other for a solo, menacing pose.


Excellent bust -- and the Creature figure's very nice, too!

If you build model kits, I strongly suggest you advance order your Creature kit from Steve over at CULT TVman. Steve's a really nice guy and he's way into monster models, so I highly recommend you get your monster stuff from him!

Also at CULT TVman is the exclusive "Ghostly Green" Munsters House model kit coming soon. The regular kit will be the usual drab color, but Steve's will be cast in "ghostly" green. I love it! More info is HERE.

Here is a description of the kit:

"The GHOSTLY GREEN limited edition is a CultTVman Exclusive in the US. This is molded in clear transparent green, much like the old Luminators. (This is NOT a glow kit!) This will be available at the same time as the standard kit, for the same price, but there will be a limited number produced and you can only purchase this in the US from CultTVman! All new styrene plastic kit of 1313 Mockingbird Lane from Moebius Modes. This new kit is in scale with the Aurora Addams Family House and the Polar Lights Psycho House. Approximately 1:87 HO Scale. Kit will be the house only. You'll have to add the trees and stone fence yourself. Kit is expected in stock in mid-2012 Image shows actual studio set. This is not the actual model or box art."


Note: Pictures of the Creature kit prototype are copyrighted by Steve Iverson and are used with his permission. Got it?

Read More → PARADE OF (PLASTIC) PLEASURE

THINGS MADE BY TINY HANDS

In RUE MORGUE's 13th Anniversary issue (#105, October 2010), they discussed a then-recently released DVD that covered the history of the Aurora monster models. Produced by Cortlandt Hull, it soon became evident that this was to be the historical document preserving the memory of the Aurora monster model phenonmenon.

Read More → THINGS MADE BY TINY HANDS

POLAR LIGHTS: KEEPING THE AURORA LEGEND ALIVE

Model kits have nearly always been a niche market, but with the advent of high-tech entertainment such as computer games and toys, the industry found itself in lean times. Aurora figure kits, including our beloved monsters, slowed down to a halt, then disappeared -- including the well-recognized Aurora logo -- for good.

Attempts were few and far between in the ensuing years to keep the monster model kit hobby alive, but it wasn't until a company that went by the name of Polar Lights (an obvious take on the Aurora brand name) that things started really rolling along in Wolfman's Wagon again. To the delight of Monster Kids old and new alike, Polar Lights not only manufactured and marketed monster models, they re-issued some of the original Aurora monster kits!

This article, from the now-defunct MODELER'S RESOURCE (#27, April/May 1999) magazine, describes how it all happened.

Read More → POLAR LIGHTS: KEEPING THE AURORA LEGEND ALIVE

HORRA FROM AURORA: A BRIEF HISTORY

Tom Graham wrote a piece in AMAZING FIGURE MODELER #10 that perfectly encapsulates the exciting history of Aurora Plastics. The model kit industry was -- and still is -- extremely competitive. One less popular kit than a competitor's and a company might be hanging on their sprue for dear life.

Legend has it that the execs at Aurora laughed out loud when they heard the proposal for a line of figure kits showcasing the Universal monsters. Market testing made a laughing stock of them, however, and they decided to take the plunge. It was a gamble that paid off in spades. Before long, they were cranking out kits of Frankenstein's monster, The Wolf Man, The Mummy and others 24/7 just to keep up with the demand.

Read More → HORRA FROM AURORA: A BRIEF HISTORY

'TWAS THE KNIGHT BEFORE MONSTERS

It's hard to describe to someone the exact feeling that I had -- and I'm sure it's a similar feeling that a lot of other Monster Kids had --when I put together my first Aurora monster model. I have shared with you the experience racing to beat the clock to get my first-ever attempt at building a monster model (The Mummy) completed and down to Gilbert's Hobby Shop in Torrance, CA in time to enter the Aurora Monster Model Customizing Contest. Well, I got the model finished, but missed the entry date!


A full-page ad from FAMOUS MONSTERS OF
FILMLAND magazine promoting the
1965 monster model customizing contest.

A more vivid monster model-making memory of mine is not of this adventure, however -- it is during the making of my second model, The Wolf Man. In this recollection I can remember quite clearly the colors I used (light brown for his fur, gray for the rocks on the base, white for the teeth and a little red for blood on them!), how it went together (pretty easily for a 9-year old), and how it looked when it was finished (not bad, as I recall). The models are long gone but the fond memories remain.


A store promotional banner commonly seen in hobby shops across America.



The first model I ever put together on my own was not a monster model, though -- it was another type of Aurora figure kit -- The Red Knight. The knights were Aurora Plastics' first entry into the figure kit model market. As legend has it, Aurora execs weren't at all thrilled about gambling on the extent of the success of the figure kits, and when mention was made of putting famous movie monsters sprue on parts trees into the now-famous James Bama-painted Aurora long boxes, they shuddered. It took a miraculous bit of showmanship and wizardry, but a market test of prototypes shown at model sales conventions revealed that kids were fanatical with the prospect of seeing their favorite Shock Theater TV creatures come to life under their skillful little hands.

And the rest they say, is history. Advertised heavily in FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine, monster models were a huge hit. They have even enjoyed a revival by Polar Lights, Revell, and other model makers within the last dozen or so years as well.


A typical ad in FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine
selling the Aurora Plastic's line of monster models.


In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the first Aurora monster model -- Frankenstein -- and the resulting onslaught of kits to follow, MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD is devoting this week to AURORA MONSTER MODELS WEEK. Today's post takes a look at the period just before the monster models were unleashed, when heroic knights in Testor's-painted shining armor walked the landscape of our fevered imagination. The pages are from AMAZING FIGURE MODELER #14.

Read More → 'TWAS THE KNIGHT BEFORE MONSTERS

BOOBIRA IS BACK!

BOOBIRA is a resin parody of the classic Horror Hostess. She is sculted by Jim Fawkes and was originally released in 1994. This wonder of physics stands approximately 5" tall and consist of 2 solid resin plastic parts -- and I can't imagine which they may be from the photo. The kit sells for a measly $21.99.

Read More → BOOBIRA IS BACK!

THE MODEL KITS THAT SHOULD BE, BUT PROBABLY NEVER WILL BE

Coming is another line of Aurora Fantasy Box art, depicting figures that we all would have like to have seen turned into plastic models for us Monster Kids to assemble on hot summer days.

The boxes are full size 13 X 7 X 2 "reproductions" with artwork by David Herfel. The image is created to appear as though Aurora had made all the kits that we as kids of the 1960's and 70's could have ever imagined.

It is printed on a single sheet that is professionally positioned and adhered to the coffin-style box lid. A box bottom is also included and the entire package is shrink-wrapped for a look that sends you back in time to the shelves of your hobby shop.

The manufacturer warns that these are boxes only! No model kits inside! Priced at: $26.99 USD.

Read More → THE MODEL KITS THAT SHOULD BE, BUT PROBABLY NEVER WILL BE

PARADE OF (PLASTIC) PLEASURE

Is it just me or is there an unprecendent deluge of monster and other genre model kits on the market these days? I'd have to add that there seems to be more monster stuff period being unleashed on us poor, cash-strapped Monster Kids. Belive me, I'm not complaining! Capping off this special MONSTER MODEL WEEKEND edition of MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD, here are a few more plastic kits that are either on sale or due soon.

I know that not all of you are necessarily model kit enthusiasts, but admittedly I have a soft spot for these and I appreciate your allowing my indulgence. Back to the 'zines next week!

Read More → PARADE OF (PLASTIC) PLEASURE

THE DUNWICH HORRORA

Among other creative accomplishments, artist Pete Von Sholly is noted for his humorous perspective on Monster Kid culture. For instance, he has created an entire line of "HORRORA" fantasy model kit box art. Just one example of the kit that "should've been made but wasn't" is THE DUNWICH HORROR.

At least one of these ideas has been realized. Just check out the previous post here at MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD.

Thanks for sharing the art, Pete!

Read More → THE DUNWICH HORRORA

COWABUNGA! A SURFING TREE MONSTER!

There's a fellow in the Great State of Texas who seems to be channeling the spirit of 60's pop culture icon, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Now, Big Daddy Roth, in case you didn't know was the custom car maker that is largely responsible for popularizing another icon, the cartoon personage of one named "Rat Fink". The Rat Fink was seen all over the place for a while, and could easily be called the "Killroy Was Here" emblem of the 1960's generation.

Well, this fellow who patterns his pitch in the guise of his version of Big Daddy Roth runs a model kt company called TexFX. Newest in his line of retro-styled resin models is a kit designed by Pete Von Sholly -- you know -- the guy who draws funny monsters and other cool pitchurs for a living.

Riding the wave of reminiscence where once swelled the great Aurora kits such as Dracula's Dragster, Mummy's Chariot, Frankenstein's Flivver, and King Kong's Thronester (?), Von Sholly and Tex Greene have created their own version of Wacky Weird-Oh . . . Tabanga on a Surfboard!

 Check out the eBay page HERE for this and more TexFX creations!

Read More → COWABUNGA! A SURFING TREE MONSTER!

LET'S MAKE MONSTER MODELS! "MUMMY DEAREST"

It was 1964. President Kennedy had been assassinated just a few months earlier. The U.S. -- as well as the rest of the world – would soon enough be feeling the Cold War getting a little chillier. Viet Nam, on the other hand, was just starting to heat up. Atomic bomb “drop drills” were the order of the day in schools around the nation. The Surgeon General said for the first time that smoking was bad for your health. Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston in Miami. The first Ford Mustang rolled off a Detroit assembly line. The Beatles’ Love Me Do topped the U.S. charts for a whole week. And, most important of all -- to a certain 9-year old anyway -- the monster craze was just about to explode.

You see, I was hopelessly hooked. Ever since watching Bela Lugosi’s Dracula on late night TV (on a rare occasion that I was allowed to), monsters endlessly thrilled and fascinated me. My parents begrudgingly continued to let me watch “those monster movies” that played during Saturday and Sunday afternoons on network shows like L.A.’s Weird, Weird World, Science Fiction Theatre, and Chiller. My neighbor Jeff seemed to always have enough pocket change to buy the latest Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine or the newest Mad Monsters or Horror Monsters. I wasn’t allowed to buy such “trash”. As a result, I spent a lot of time at Jeff’s house!

In 1964, I was still living in the town of my birth, Torrance, California. For fun on the weekends, I’d take my allowance just down the hill to the Southwood Shopping Center, and spend my hard-earned sheckles at either Southwood Drugs on candy and baseball cards, P.B. Carroll’s Five or Dime on toys, or, best of all, models and HO cars at Gilbert’s Hobby Shop, which was across the street, just a few doors down from the oh-so heavenly Angelo Revels Bakery.
 

Now, one fine weekend day, this tow-headed Monster Kid spotted a banner poster in the window of Gilbert’s that exclaimed something to the effect of “Monster Model Customizing Contest!” I knew from the magazines that monster model kits existed, but I hadn’t summoned the nerve to ask for one yet. As a result, up until then I had only assembled models like the Aurora Knights line. Matter of fact, if I remember right, the very first model I ever put together was Aurora’s Red Knight of Vienna. Anyway, helpfully spurred on by my older sister’s own zeal for the lure of the contest, we were suddenly – and amazingly, through pleading and cajoling with our parents – allowed to spend the 98 cents on our choice of models to build. My sister chose The Wolf Man and I decided on The Mummy. Remember, now, this is the era of the original Aurora kits, and when model glue was still sold off the shelf and not from behind the counter!



Monster Model Contest Official Entry Blank

 Since I had already had a bit of experience building plastic models, the prospect of putting together my very first monster model was not as daunting as it was pure excitement. It’s really hard to describe the feeling. In the later years of the decade, I would have called it a “natural buzz”! Seriously, it was that stimulating. I mean, here I was, actually touching and holding and creating my own monster, just like I’d seen Dr. Frankenstein do on TV!


Image from Amazon.com


 I remembered it was supposed to be a customizing contest, so I racked my fevered brain for something to do with the kit. Finally, it came to me. So, this was an ancient mummy, complete with rotting bandages. Why not bandage the bandages? In other words, put fabric bandages over the plastic ones that were a part of the kit? Fortunately, there were plenty of old, white T-Shirts around to be used for rags, so I grabbed one of those and starting tearing them into small strips. In an attempt to make the bandages look old I tried dipping the strips into the jar that held the dirty mineral spirits and water mix that we used to clean our paint brushes. By the way, in our house, Testor’s was the model paint brand of choice. We avoided Pactra, the other top brand of the time. It seemed to me the only reason for this was that it might have been a nickel more per jar or something like that.
 

Image from Amazon.com

Amazingly, the glued on wrapping ended up looking just great! I also rubbed some of the dirty brush cleaning goop on the Egyptian pillar which was part of the base. A little green paint on the cobra wrapped around Kharis’ leg, some more on his head (what was I thinking, that it would look . . . customized?), and, voila! my Aurora Monsters Mummy Plastic Model Kit was completed in record time on our kitchen table . . .

. . . Only to find that we had missed the contest deadline! What disappointment befell my little Monster Kid heart I cannot completely convey in words here. Suffice to say, neither my sister nor I had been aware of the fact that the model contest deadline had been the weekend before!
 

The "one that got away"


But, hey, like any kid, I got over it in a hurry and was soon on to building my own Wolf Man, Dracula, and Frankenstein kits, forgetting all about lost opportunity and always on the look out for the next sixties pop culture fad that presented itself.

Now, years later, every one of those shops in Southwood Shopping Center that I mentioned have closed, remaining now only as memories to share for times such as this. And, what about my Mummy model and the rest, you ask? Well, I held on to every single one of them all the way through high school. But when we sold our house to travel, everything had to go. My beloved monster models were among the rest of my most prized possessions sold rather unceremoniously in a yard sale.

The rest, they say, is history. Like I told you, I was hooked and I’ve stayed hooked all these years, pretty much more on than off. Now I’ve got a blog, MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD, where I’m share these glorious times and memories with whoever wants to log on and read about them. In closing, I’d have to say that those few years in the mid-sixties were like lightning in a bottle – dazzling, special, and never to be forgotten.
 

Image from Amazon.com



Read More → LET'S MAKE MONSTER MODELS! "MUMMY DEAREST"