HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM STRANGE LABORATORIES!
As a kid, I was OBSESSED with monsters, aliens, and ghosts-- pretty much anything and everything that could be classified as occult or supernatural was researched, read, and retold, all throughout elementary school. During this time, I discovered a line of classic Universal horror characters in the same scale as my beloved GI Joe and Star Wars figures. I'd seen a Frankenstein first, then a Dracula. In the days before The Internet, I was never able to track down the name of the line.
Fast-forward 10 years. McFarlane Toys-- my favorite company at the time-- began putting out playsets in the 4" scale loosely based on classic Universal horror. This time, I didn't miss my chance. They're treasured parts of my toy collection, and I still use them as backgrounds to this day.
While I have a soft spot in my heart for all of the sets, my favorite from the first series (and the first set I bought from the line) was Frankenstein's Monster. Packed with detail and crammed with accessories, it's one of the coolest toys of all time.
Here, my original creation Dr. Clockwork stands in for Dr. Frankenstein. The original McFarlane Dr. Frankenstein is kinda cheesy, in that very mid-90s "grim & gritty" style. While I loved the concept of a cyborg doctor who experimented on himself, the ponytail and goatee had to go. Dr. Frankenstein builds monsters... he's not fronting a 90s alternarock band.
While there were literally thousands of ways I could've approached the piece, I ended up creating a straight-up homage to McFarlane's bad-ass original. Part of its appeal was that head sculpt, so I opted to keep it and put it on a new, super-articulated body (from an Absorbing Man). The crooked line of stitches across the abdomen was another detail I always loved about the McF original, so I lifted them and Frank's "Undead Mint" color palette.
It's a mint you don't want to eat, kids.
The Monster's neck bolts are made from real screws, provided by a GI Joe. They were one of the final additions to the piece, at the suggestion of a friend who stopped by The Lab. He said that it wouldn't be Frankenstein's Monster without them, and I agreed.
CREATURE FEATURE WILL RETURN FOR HALLOWEEN 2014, WITH MORE TRICKS AND TREATS... UNTIL THEN, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
