There is nothing sexier than a hot hot model 4 4

[batman_fan]

On 2/4/2022 at 9:51 AM, Jayman said:

These are great! I had them all back in the day. Last one I remember getting was that huge red T-Rex with the glow in the dark teeth! 

I had almost all of them. Just needed the woolly mammoth. Trying to buy them back now. I got the T-Rex from a small toy store in Osgood, IN that was going out of business for almost nothing. 

[Jayman]

On 2/4/2022 at 11:54 AM, batman_fan said:

I had almost all of them. Just needed the woolly mammoth. Trying to buy them back now. I got the T-Rex from a small toy store in Osgood, IN that was going out of business for almost nothing. 

Had the wooly mammoth too with those long curly tusks! My GI Joes used to fight with it!  I think my favorite was the La Brea Tar Pit with the half rhino. Loved the cave and how all the kits fit together as a landscape puzzle!

[batman_fan]

On 2/4/2022 at 10:10 AM, Jayman said:

Had the wooly mammoth too with those long curly tusks! My GI Joes used to fight with it!  I think my favorite was the La Brea Tar Pit with the half rhino. Loved the cave and how all the kits fit together as a landscape puzzle!

Definitely a very cool set to come out with. Cave bear rocked as well

[batman_fan]

Hopefully I am able to close the deal on these two.

[Domo Arigato]

On 12/20/2021 at 10:20 AM, astrometric said:

On 12/20/2021 at 10:07 AM, batman_fan said:

On 12/20/2021 at 8:27 AM, astrometric said:

Great topic and thread! I am very thankful for my interest in monsters/models during the 70s or I would have never discovered this little gadget (spent an unlimited amount of hours building these)

Was it plaster of Paris and you ended up with a hollow statue?

I want to say that the resultant monsters from the molds were solid thus the muck wouldn't last you too long. We ended up making our own muck with mixed results. 

I got one of these Monster Machines as a kid and loved it.  Still have it stored away.  

The monsters you made with it were definitely hollow......and I do believe it was a plaster of Paris type of material you used to make them.

1. You would first mix up the material into a soupy mix. 
2. You would then turn the handle on the Monster Machine until the "mold holding bracket" was level (parallel) with your table. 
3. You then placed one half of the chosen monster mold into the Machine and filled it with the soupy muck you had mixed up. 
4. Next, you would place the second half of the monster mold on top of the first half, and lock it in place with the "mold holding bracket". 
5. Finally, you would slowly and continuously crank the handle of the Monster Machine (like the kid on the front of the box is doing) for several minutes.  This process would rotate and twist the mold at the same time, allowing the soupy muck to continuously coat the entire inside of the mold as it hardened up and eventually created a hollow stature you could paint.

It was actually a very cool toy for a kid and I loved it.  It could be a bit messy, and some of the muck would often seep out of the gap in the mold as you twisted the handle (which was normal) and you could simply break these thin pieces off and sand the rough edges down when you took it out of the mold.  You would just want to be careful to not let too much leak out, or your statue would either come out incomplete.....or the walls of it might be too thin and it would be very fragile in places.

Such an awesome toy, though........and unlike the cool Thingmaker "Fright Factory" toy we also had.......it didn't require a 390 degree open-faced hot plate.......ahhhh, the scars memories. 

 

[toro]

I was buying a lot of those when ebay first started.  Just the 60s versions as that is what I grew up on.  Robin/Superboy and Superman were always the easiest to get.  I have a Wonder Woman that is missing part of her lasso.  Bummer.  Loved those growing up. 

[70s80sTimeMachine]

On 2/12/2022 at 8:34 PM, batman_fan said:

Hopefully I am able to close the deal on these two.

That CAPS kit is absolutely insane. Spidie obviously. To be able to get these still sealed is a true time machine experience. 

[batman_fan]

On 2/14/2022 at 9:00 AM, 70s80sTimeMachine said:

That CAPS kit is absolutely insane. Spidie obviously. To be able to get these still sealed is a true time machine experience. 

Thanks, they showed up on EBay and I impatiently watched my bid come closer and closer to failing but they held up.  Hopefully have them in hand next week.  55 kits left on my “want list”

[70s80sTimeMachine]

On 2/14/2022 at 11:46 AM, batman_fan said:

Thanks, they showed up on EBay and I impatiently watched my bid come closer and closer to failing but they held up.  Hopefully have them in hand next week.  55 kits left on my “want list”

Do you have a long box Wolf Man or Dracula? Any unicorns on your list or is this a more liquid market with opportunities? There some 70s vintage sealed Star Wars items on my list that if I'm lucky pop up once every 3-5 years and it's always a very violent bidding battle. 

[batman_fan]

On 2/14/2022 at 10:42 AM, 70s80sTimeMachine said:

Do you have a long box Wolf Man or Dracula? Any unicorns on your list or is this a more liquid market with opportunities? There some 70s vintage sealed Star Wars items on my list that if I'm lucky pop up once every 3-5 years and it's always a very violent bidding battle. 

In general I would say with enough money and a couple of years you can build up a complete collection.  Toughest monster kits are the frightening lightenings in the long box.  Also if you collect all the variants it could get tough (year of the kit).  The Frog kit is tough to find but two showed up on eBay recently (still sealed went for just over $2k).  The Forgotten Prisoner in the long box it real tough to find.  The Cyclops/Chariot Lost in Space is tight to find still sealed but shows up (at least 2.5k maybe higher).  Seems like the tougher kits show up every year or two.

For square box monster kits I finished the run (12 total).

Long box I have the Witch, Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein, Mummy, and Phantom of the Opera.

[70s80sTimeMachine]

On 2/14/2022 at 3:28 PM, batman_fan said:

In general I would say with enough money and a couple of years you can build up a complete collection.  Toughest monster kits are the frightening lightenings in the long box.  Also if you collect all the variants it could get tough (year of the kit).  The Frog kit is tough to find but two showed up on eBay recently (still sealed went for just over $2k).  The Forgotten Prisoner in the long box it real tough to find.  The Cyclops/Chariot Lost in Space is tight to find still sealed but shows up (at least 2.5k maybe higher).  Seems like the tougher kits show up every year or two.

For square box monster kits I finished the run (12 total).

Long box I have the Witch, Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein, Mummy, and Phantom of the Opera.

Your now complete square box collection looks stellar! I would say this; even though your list appears to be still lengthy, definitely take it all in and enjoy as you move forward on this quest. I think sometimes the thrill of the hunt can be more exciting than actually completing a run. This happened to me recently with G1 Transformers. I was almost a little sad when there was no more need for my endless search quests or pings/messages from other collectors with alerts.

I'm super glad to have stumbled on this thread. I just pulled one of my old toy chests and I don't know perhaps my memory just got blurred out by late 70s Star Wars and Supes movies along with arcades/Atari 2600 etc. but I completely forgot that monsters related content pretty much was everything I enjoyed very early on before my super hero mania was ignited. From books, toys, comics, movies, the Thing, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, Wolf Man, etc. Although the only TV show related item I could recall was this weekly cliffhanger type series that had a Dracula story arc.

But nostalgia is so potent in this manner. You could be somewhere at a comic or toy show or searching online and stumble upon something you completely haven't thought about in decades and then bam, all those memories come flooding back. There is definitely a big challenge to keep your nostalgia pursuits balanced with also living for the present moment as well. 

 

[William-James88]

On 10/9/2021 at 12:39 PM, batman_fan said:

I should start by saying I buy complete kits still sealed.

I finally finished my Aurora Batman set.  I started buying back in the late 1980s but really only started to focus on completing in the last five years.

Aurora monster square boxes was my jam as a young kid.  I had all of them except the witch and King Kong.  Now I just need the Forgotten Prisoner

Just starting the long box monster kits.

I know of these models from the ads in old comics but I wonder, are they expensive to buy these days?

Edited February 15, 2022 by William-James88

[batman_fan]

On 2/14/2022 at 9:06 PM, William-James88 said:

I know of these models from the ads in old comics but I wonder, are they expensive to buy these days?

Prices are pretty varied

Robin ~$150 to $200

Batman ~$350 to $500

Penguin ~$950 to $2000

Batmobile ~$800 to $1200

Batplane ~$250 to $400

Batcycle ~$400 to $650

Batboat ~$500 to $800

 

[William-James88]

On 2/14/2022 at 11:43 PM, batman_fan said:

Prices are pretty varied

Robin ~$150 to $200

Batman ~$350 to $500

Penguin ~$950 to $2000

Batmobile ~$800 to $1200

Batplane ~$250 to $400

Batcycle ~$400 to $650

Batboat ~$500 to $800

 

Pretty pricey. But super cool

[batman_fan]

On 2/14/2022 at 9:43 PM, batman_fan said:

Prices are pretty varied

Robin ~$150 to $200

Batman ~$350 to $500

Penguin ~$950 to $2000

Batmobile ~$800 to $1200

Batplane ~$250 to $400

Batcycle ~$400 to $650

Batboat ~$500 to $800

 

Hakes just actioned off all of these, final prices

Robin - $259.60

Batman - $778.80 (highest I have ever see this model sell for)

Penguin - $1947.00 on the high side but in range

Batmobile - $2551.87 (1st issue), $519.20 (2nd issue)

Batplane - $193.25

Batcycle - $584.10

Batboat - $519.20

I will have a big update, I scored 7 models I do not have (I was tempted to go after a few of the Batman kits to have 2 of every one of them)

 

[Hepcat]

On 10/9/2021 at 12:32 PM, batman_fan said:

I collect models....

 

So do I. Here are three pictures of my main model kit cabinet from about 2015. (If I can get this damn website to show the pictures that is. It hates to show pictures I'm copying and pasting which is my favourite technique since it's quick and easy.)

https://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Halloween 2013 Deuce Styx Cowboy Cake/DSCN3173_zpsea8058c8.jpg

https://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Halloween 2013 Deuce Styx Cowboy Cake/DSCN3174_zpsea461e53.jpg

https://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Hepcatlookingattshirt-2.jpg

Edited March 25, 2022 by Hepcat

[Hepcat]

This is now the single most difficult forum on which I post for posting pictures. The way it resists copying and pasting is maddening. Here anyway is the cabinet in which I display the model kits that won't fit in the cabinet above:

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Halloween 2013 Deuce Styx Cowboy Cake/DSCN3169_zps8efbfe83.jpg

 

[batman_fan]

On 3/23/2022 at 6:22 PM, Hepcat said:

So do I. Here are three pictures of my main model kit cabinet from about 2015. (If I can get this damn website to show the pictures that is. It hates to show pictures I'm copying and pasting which is my favourite technique since it's quick and easy.)

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Halloween 2013 Deuce Styx Cowboy Cake/DSCN3173_zpsea8058c8.jpg

https://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Halloween 2013 Deuce Styx Cowboy Cake/DSCN3174_zpsea461e53.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Hepcatlookingattshirt-2.jpg

Sadly I can’t see your pictures but I want to say I have seen them before on another website called Universal Monster Army.  Great stuff !

[Hepcat]

Can't see them at all? What happens when you click on the links?

Here, let me post one by (time intensive) brute force:

Edited March 22 by Hepcat

[Hepcat]

So I got one posted. For whatever reason the other is refusing uploading to My Pictures on my hard drive which I evidently must now use on this board to upload pictures. Meanwhile all my pictures are in Photobucket (where the Search function has stopped working for me) and posted on UMA and multiple other forums. Uploading from these other forums to this forum is proving an adventure - but not a pleasant one.

What's maddening is that I'm pretty skilled at working within the logic of various forums and getting what I want done but new road blocks keep cropping up. Things should get easier and not more difficult with practice over time. Bloody hell!

 

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by Hepcat