Another great series from Aurora. I was hooked on this series of kits way back in the day the first time I saw this ad in a comic.
I was only able to get a couple of the kits before they vanished from the shelves. Some years later I discovered (I was not plugged into all things worldly back then) that parent groups had protested the very existence of the kits and Aurora had pulled them from the shelves. I still do not know what is so horrible about the kits. They each came with a little comic printed on the back of the instruction sheet. Examples below:
We just want you to love us? Yep, sounds pretty horrible to me. I am sorry, but I fail to see how anyone could take this line of model kits so seriously and so over the top. Virtually all the kids were watching monster movies in the afternoon and on the late show. This was just a combination of model building and action figures. Models you play could play with rather than just display.
But I digress. From what I understand, they packed up all the product and shipped it off to Canada to be sold. Apparently, Canadian parents were not as scared Little Johnny might build a Pendulum or a Hanging Cage in the back yard and begin torturing the neighbors. The Giant Insect and Dracula were even released in Canada and had never been released in the US, although Dracula, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde would later appear as Monsters of the Movies. If you want to know the whole story behind Monster Scenes, the best book on the subject is available right here at http://www.monsterscenes.net/dencomm_online_cart.htm
Decades later, Dencomm and Moebius to the rescue! This partnership resulted in the US re-release of the entire Monster Scenes line and now I have a complete collection and some spares. Plus new stuff!
The first model in the series was Doctor Deadly. He is the mad scientist responsible for all the rest of the madness. Fun kit to build and you can really go nuts with the modifications you can do with him.
Box:
My built up:
Prehistoric Scenes
I would be remiss if I did not give a nod to Prehistoric Scenes. This series of models was all about cave men and dinosaurs. I have a couple of these, but no one has reproduced (that I am aware of) the kits I find most interesting in the series. I find the Cro-Magnon Man, Cro-Magnon Woman, Neanderthal Man and The Cave to be very interesting, but I do not own any of them. They do not interest me enough to pay for originals and, like I said, they have not been re-issued of which I am aware. For those interested, all the information you could ever want regarding the Prehistoric Scenes can be found here: http://www.tylisaari.com/prehistoricscenes/ps.html
Johnny West Corner
Custom Lone Ranger Bank Robber
I didn't give this guy a name because he is wearing a mask so we don't know who he is. I know it was a disguise for Butch that came with a sombrero like Lobo's, but he can't really be Butch on my shelf because there is a Butch about four figures down from him :) I really like this guy. I took some liberties with the outfit and about the only items he doesn't have are a detonator and a safe. The detonator would be easy enough. From the look of the photos I have seen, I could just make one from a GI Joe detonator. The safe...well...did I mention I am not a sculptor? That piece may take a while because I am going to have to run into a loose one with some accessory group. When I made his money I made enough for the Gambler to have a fist full too.
No comments:
Post a Comment