Monster Theater PVC Figures (Originally aired on Cool Stuff: - www.SciFi.com) Hip designer of lithographs, T-shirts, cartoons and toys based on circular caricatures of some of these historic monsters, dkiller panda has produced a set of six of the most famous or infamous monsters in our collective consciousness.
Packaged as two three-packs in stark black-and-white boxes are six stark black-and-white figures, each a bit larger than the PVC Smurfs that pervaded the culture in the 1980s (and are now making a comeback in the new millennium.) Each is just under 3 inches high and has a ping-pong-sized ball for a head and a body not much larger. On tap in these two sets are figures named "Nosfe" (after Max Schreck's vampire, Count Olaf, in the classic silent film Nosferatu), London (after Lon Chaney's vampiric character in the lost silent classic London After Midnight), "The Invisible" (after Claude Rains's titular character in The Invisible Man), Mummy (after Boris Karloff's Imhotep in The Mummy), "The Bride" (after Elsa Lanchester's Bride of Frankenstein) and Franky (after Boris Karloff's monster in Frankenstein).
No attempt is made, of course, to model these figures on the actors they're based on pen drawings of the characters themselves, resembling nothing more than cleaner versions of Tim Burton's cartoonish creations. Each unit is a solid figure of molded PVC with no articulation, except for the Invisible Man, who is partially translucent. Each figure is a clever re-envisioning of its classic monster namesake.
Nosfe is very nice. His spherical white head has a circular mouth of black with two long snake fangs. Inset balls for eyes are white, for that empty expression of undeath.
Molded in surprising detail is the multibuckled jacket of Count Orlaf, complete with piped trim. His white hands have point-sharp claws for fingers. He is finished with pointy-toed shoes.
Very creepy. London is also quite well done. Based on a lesser-known figure, he wears the top hat of the film's villain.
A shock of hair protrudes from the hat, and the eyes are also spherical, but with tiny black pupils. With a wide, sprawling mouth of shark teeth, this figure is the most Burtonesque character in the group. His grasping white hands have black fingernails, and he's wrapped in a black traveling coat.
My own personal favorite is The Invisible, mostly because he has a clear, translucent sphere for a head and clear hands. The clear plastic is painted black to realize the hat, the large dark glasses, the cigar he holds in one hand and the suit. The translucent plastic has a blue tint that's quite nice to behold.
The Mummy is molded almost entirely in white and wrapped haphazardly with bands of cloth partially covering his mouth, which gapes to reveal uneven, jagged teeth. His eyes are black, inset into his white head. Taped-up hands are held out in a seeking position, and his feet are splayed in a stance of action.
Another stark vision of horror. The Bride includes the iconic black tower of hair sported by Elsa Lanchester in the classic Bride of Frankenstein, complete with the lightning-bolt shock of white hair down each side. Her face has a black, circular scar with white stitches, interrupted by a black, open mouth.
Rather than a white gown, however, this Bride is wearing black. I've saved the strangest for last. Franky is the only figure without a ping-pong ball for a head.
Rather, his head is rather squarish. Looking more like a garish SpongeBob SquarePants, Franky also sports starkly curved scars on his face, with white stitches. The familiar neck bolts protrude oddly from his temples, next to the flat piece of hair atop his head.
His eyes are completely askew, with one being down by a cheek and the other near his hairline. He also has mangled teeth in an open black mouth. dkiller panda has plans to offer more (and more recent) monsters.
I think this may be one of the coolest collectible lines of figures to hit shelves since the Smurfs themselves.
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