Metaluna Mutant

[marsattacks666]

Me I've always sympathized with both the Creature and the Metaluna Mutant.

 

Could be the pants. Generation X'ers and Millennials turn up their nose at pants made by traditional manufacturers such as Levis, Lees, Wrangler and GWG regardless of how spiffy they are. Youngsters these days demand higher-priced apparel made by fashion designers such as Calvin Klein or Guess. Traditional name brands won't do.

 

........

[MonsterBaker666]

The pants do look silly.  Even as a kid I thought they looked stupid.  It looks better in the film than in stills.  But the pants were due to budgetary reasons.  From the waist up he's very scary looking and very well designed.

[Hepcat]

I think the reason one is more known is that the Creature was in 3 films, and the "star" attraction in all of them.

This though resulted in the Creature being part of the original six Aurora monster model kits and one of the six monsters featured in the SPP monster wallets plus the Hasbro board games and paint/drawing sets. These toys were very influential determining factors for baby boomers (including myself) even if they hadn't seen any of the Universal flicks.

 

[MonsterBaker666]

Very true.

Always a bit surprising that The Phantom was included in the Aurora monster model line.  He was only in 1 film and a silent film and a silent film at that.  The Hunchback was in a fairly new film at the time, so I can see him being included, tho, he's not a monster at all.  Maybe influenced from Forry Ackerman and Famous Monster mag promoting Chaney and his "monster" films.  The Marx figures also had the Hunchback and The Phantom. 

Still pretty cool that later on down the line aurora thought that perhaps a Metaluna mutant figure might sell.  Even if kids weren't too familiar with the film, perhaps they'd think the design was pretty scary and worthy of putting the kit on their shelves. 

[Monsters For Sale]

...The Hunchback was in a fairly new film at the time, so I can see him being included, tho, he's not a monster at all. ... 

I never thought Quasimodo was any more a monster than Lenny from Of Mice and Men.

[MonsterBaker666]

Maybe they figured, "One hunchback is just like another."  I'd say most people, if asked to identify "Igor", would point to a photo of Fritz before a picture or Ygor, or Daniel from House Of Frankenstein for that matter.  At least Quasimodo has a title - THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. 

[Hepcat]

Still pretty cool that later on down the line aurora thought that perhaps a Metaluna mutant figure might sell.  Even if kids weren't too familiar with the film, perhaps they'd think the design was pretty scary and worthy of putting the kit on their shelves.

My guess too! The Metaluna Mutant might very well have been the first Aurora monster model kit I bought had it been issued in 1963 with the other six that had been released to that point.

 

[MonsterBaker666]

Many years ago there was a really nice Metaluna Mutant garage kit released in which the artist did away with the pants and gave him alien looking legs.  If you do a google search for Metaluna Mutant Garage Kit you'll find some photos of it.  Pretty nice looking. 

[Monsters For Sale]

Many years ago there was a really nice Metaluna Mutant garage kit released in which the artist did away with the pants and gave him alien looking legs.  If you do a google search for Metaluna Mutant Garage Kit you'll find some photos of it.  Pretty nice looking.

Tony McVey sculpted this 12" resin Mutant model.



They may still be available:  https://tinyurl.com/2b6p86bp

[MonsterBaker666]

That's the one.  Very nice.  Wish I had one. 

[Monsters For Sale]

I made up my own reason for the Mutant's pants.

The Mutants were hung like a horse and easily excitable.  It was inconvenient having a servant who, every time he turned around in a room, knocked lamps and small statuary off of tables.

[Rockshasa]

This works because they tossed the pants.

I don't know, even when I was a little boy, the goofy man-in-a-rubbery-monster-costume-thing never scared me, although it could still be fun to watch. And so many of those flicks had terrible acting as well (Roger Corman movies come to mind...albeit the Poe films). I always said to myself, "That looks so fake". I can remember we'd laugh at stuff like this when we had sleep-overs and stayed up late to watch Ghost Host Theater. I guess I just had high standards for monsters, LOL. I needed more realistic looking monsters...not rubbery-looking ones. Stuff like the vampire in The Night Stalker, or the zombie in The Norliss Tapes was the stuff of nightmares when I was a kid (born in 1963). Kids nowadays would probably laugh at that now. Time changes everything.

[MonsterBaker666]

Just got my Atlantis Models kit.  Very nice. 

One think that is interesting.   No mention at all about this being from the film This Island Earth, nor that it has anything to do with Universal Studios, just like the Super 7 action figure. 

Guess Universal doesn't own the rights to it for some weird reason, and I would imagine the design is in the public domain or someone's copyright would be listed.

[Rockshasa]

No mention at all about this being from the film This Island Earth, nor that it has anything to do with Universal Studios, just like the Super 7 action figure. 
Guess Universal doesn't own the rights to it for some weird reason, and I would imagine the design is in the public domain or someone's copyright would be listed.

Legalities!
I just read the other day there is a turmoil going on with Disney over Mickey Mouse being public domain now.

[Monsters For Sale]

Legalities!
I just read the other day there is a turmoil going on with Disney over Mickey Mouse being public domain now.

I don't see how that works.

Mickey as he looked in Steamboat Willie, maybe...  But later incarnations of Mickey where he looks very differently should have a more recent copyright date.  At least, that's the way I think.