TOYS OF ENDEARMENT # 6

There are times when independent creativity and imagination, along with brilliant execution, bring about results that rival even that of yesterday's corporate toys. The "Hasbro" Bride Of Frankenstein board game is a prime example of this incredible kind of ingenuity! I am blessed to own one of these games and let me tell you "it doesn't get any better than this"!

What you are seeing here is NOT a real Hasbro board game from the 1960s, but what I feel to be the best contemporary independently created (fan produced) monster premium to date - hands down! You may recall that Hasbro did indeed create monster themed board games back in the 1960s with games featuring such monsters as Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolf Man, Creature, Phantom, and even Mummy - but no Bride game - until now that is.

Created in 2003 as an Old Dark Clubhouse premium, this board game was a collaborative effort between Tim Keegan and Kerry Gammill. I'm sure there were other folks involved with this project as well, but I'm not sure as to whom and to what degree, so forgive me if I'm leaving out some pertinent information here. Maybe someone out there can enlighten me? Anyways, Kerry Gammill, who is very accomplished artist, provided the stunning artwork for this game. Kerry's talents are endless; providing artwork for both Marvel and DC comics. Tim Keegan spear-headed the project in providing the necessary production values such as the printing of the game itself and the actual assembly of the game. Each game was hand-crafted by Tim. To the best of my knowledge there are less than twenty games in existence (to date).



The contents of this game are as incredible as the game cover itself. Every aspect of the original 1960 games was faithfully reproduced here. The graphics on the game's markers, the spinner, and even the instruction sheet are consistent with how the original 1960s games appeared! It's almost frightening just how close they really are to their original counterparts!



Even the neat-looking Hasbro logo of the smiling kid is accurately pictured here on the game's side panel. Please note; this game is for ages 8 - 15 yrs only! Players 30 years of age and up should seek psychiatric attention.



No matter what certain collectors may think of "fantasy toys", there's no denying that this incredible board game is more than worthy to stand among the rest! Let's play!

TOYS OF ENDEARMENT # 5

If I were to ever get addicted to prescription medicine, it would have to mean getting "hooked" on pills like these - Captain Luc's ROTONONE TABLETS!

* Concentrated!
* One tablet per lagoon!
* Make your Black Lagoon .. not so black!



The ingredients are not only 100% Rotonone, but 100% Rick Stoner! Yes, Rick is the gill-genius behind this fun and wacky monster premium. I just love the text that can be found on the back label of the bottle. Just in case the photo doesn't clearly show all the text - here it is for your enjoyment:

WARNING!

* Avoid excessive swimming when using this product.
* Women should avoid the wearing of gorgeous white swimming suits!
* Keep out of reach of young children and egotistical scientists named Mark.

A CHAPMAN AND BROWNING COMPANY. NO ... A BROWNING AND CHAPMAN COMPANY. STOP IT BOYS .. JULIE ADAMS ENTERPRISES. COPYRIGHT 1954.

CREATURE FROM THE LOST LAGOON

This rarely seen artwork of the Creature from the Black Lagoon is from a Revell-Monogram sales flyer promoting their 1994 release of the classic Aurora model kit from the 1960's. When Monogram finally released this kit, they opted to use a picture of an actual built-up instead of this cool-looking box-top illustration. I'm left wondering where this artwork is sitting today? Meanwhile, let's enjoy what might have been, what could have been, and maybe even what should have been ... right here at Castle Famous.

ARMED ROBBERY

The above picture is that of a 1974 plastic Frankenstein squirt gun made by the Azrak Hamway corporation. I'm guessing in it's day it probably sold for a mere $1.99? Some 32 years later this same squirt gun just recently sold on eBay for $432.00! And if you think that's insane - be advised that the Creature from the Black Lagoon squirt gun from this same series (pictured below) sold for a mind boggling $750.00 back in 2003! Only on eBay can this madness somehow be reconciled.



The moral of this story is simple; cheap plastic pieces of junk have monetary value intrinsic to one's childhood memories. Maybe back in 1974 mom or dad said, "absolutely not! I'm not buying you that crap"! Now 32 years later your gonna show mom or dad a thing or two by purchasing this plastic squirt gun at an inflated price of 400 times it's original sticker price! If only mom or dad had a little more compassion back then. They could have had a nice retirement fund by purchasing several cases of this kind of "crap". It certainly would have paid dividends above and beyond dad's paltry pension checks.

WITCH DR. HEAD SHRINKERS KIT

Here is a great vintage toy commercial I found while surfing the web. It's an old TV spot for the Witch Dr. Head Shrinkers Kit. The name itself is as strange as the toy.

Old black and white television commercials are so comforting to me. Why? .. I'm not sure. I guess it probably has something to do with wanting to be 10 years old again. And why would I want to be 10 years old again? Uh .. I'm not sure. Let's just enjoy this dang clip for what it is. Classic monster ephemera courtesy of YouTube. (videos here are in FLASH format, so make sure you have that enabled to see them)

BTW, does anybody out there have any other old monster toy related TV commercials? If so, I absolutely would love to see them! Please contact me if you would please!

TOYS OF ENDEARMENT # 4

If the way you walk is thorny .. then why not try and look as good as you can? This Lycanthropic Comb is guaranteed to help kill fleas and ticks! And now it is available in an all new "moon glow" color! Such is the text that can be found on this delightful Monster Bash premium from 2004.

Brought to you by Aunt Maleva. Actually, this premium was brought to you by Rick Stoner (if you were lucky enough to get one) . Thanks Rick! I use mine each morning before I go out the front door!

TOYS OF ENDEARMENT # 3

Some monster kids, like anyone else, can be snotty at times. Here's a premium just for those moments. This wonderful Castle Film Monster Tissue Box cover was created by the premium-king himself Richard Olson. Please note this is a two-sided box with different art gracing both sides of the box. Once again, the creativity is fangtastic; "Cough of Frankenstein starring Boris Hard-Koff and Phlem Strange" ... no cough syrup could control the monster! And "The Mummy's Cough starring Lon Sneezy Jr" ... the post-nasal drip from the crypt! A Monster Bash premium from 2003.

I, ZOMBIE

During the Monster Bash convention, Raymond Castile whipped out his iPod and allowed me to snoop through his mp3 catalog. There among a hundred different titles was the whacked out song "Dragula" by Rob Zombie. I had forgotten just how cool the video for this song was. It's easy to understand why this video is so cool when you understand that Rob Zombie is actually one of us - a die-hard monster kid enthusiast and film aficionado. There is however one minor difference between us - he's a millionaire and I'm not. Nonetheless, it's because of his affection for the horror genre that this video came off so effectively.

This gem was released back in 1998 and features all the necessary ingredients for a mandatory monster music video mixed with maniacal mayhem. See Rob Zombie drive the Munster Koach with goofy-looking devil passengers! See innocent children sitting alongside clowns watching atomic mushroom clouds pass by! See go-go dancers (Rob Zombie's girlfriend Sheri Moon) shake their stuff to the sounds of Dragula! This 1998 song is still the definitive monster metal song of all time! Turn it up!

(videos here are in FLASH format, so make sure you have that enabled to see them)