I haven't seen much discussion about the good old AHI monsters lately. They were the toys that inspired me to collect monsters, and they were my favorite toys from childhood. I collected them pretty heavily in the early and mid 1990s. At my peak, I had around 22 carded figures. Now I'm down to just 10. There are only five characters in the set. But there are so many variations, you could collect 50 of them and no two would be alike.
Even after the Sideshow and Diamond figures, the AHIs are still my favorite Universal Monster toys. They capture the spirit of staying up late Saturday night to watch a monster movie on your local independent TV station. They look like they came from the same planet as Forry Ackerman and Famous Monsters. Even though they were made 30 years after the original films, they seem contemporaneous. They are the original Universal Monsters action figures. Not models, not robots, not statues, but action figures. The first time these characters could come alive in your hands, flex their arms, twist their necks, kick their legs, fight each other without breaking.
Here are some photos of my carded AHIs.
Mummy (version A)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3775/32461034223_891f99518d_b.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/776/33120104222_cb43be2958_b.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2949/33275949865_8622180099_b.jpg)
Wolf Man (version A)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3765/32432737094_157762a508_b.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3705/33147812801_81d7519039_b.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3716/33275833935_6570dd8cd2_b.jpg)
Dracula (version A)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/713/32892788950_bd6581f472_b.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3812/32892782970_2c6626fc2f_b.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/742/32461024153_ef6ab6eb5b_b.jpg)
Frankenstein (version A)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/623/33234525496_5eee9e79c3_b.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3864/32892794170_e845bc6d84_b.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3794/32461029073_bffdfe814f_b.jpg)
Creature (version A)
Unlike the others pictured here, which are all on original cards, this Creature is on a repro card.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3670/32461014873_7be3a9f02a_b.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2867/32461018903_087563562a_b.jpg)
This is a complete set of all five "version B" AHI monsters on original sealed cards.
Mummy (version B)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/700/32432885144_c70ae1f95b_b.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3940/32432879484_0cd6e86230_b.jpg)
Wolf Man (version B)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2893/32461224733_9697f41343_b.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3905/32892965770_7cc84ef640_b.jpg)
Dracula (version B)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2851/32432889514_ec142bac85_b.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3813/33120276752_f3129bb37d_b.jpg)
Frankenstein (version B)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/681/32461216923_d7881892a6_b.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3756/32432876344_24a2cfe63c_b.jpg)
Creature (version B)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3933/32461203263_86d38bda86_b.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3789/33275986895_7d568faee8_b.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2897/32461209063_82cf92eeec_b.jpg)
Great thread and fantastic collection you have! Out of interest did these ones come in a box also (I'm pretty sure they did but would be good to know if they did and if you ever owned any).
Really love these figures and only own a loose Frankenstein so very impressive to see them all together. Oh and out of interest what's the difference between the A and B set?
Ian
Figure-wise, much cheaper that the Mego "Official" figs that they ripped off - but great fun, by way of the Aurora sculpts and garish colors.
My Frankenstein, tweaked a bit to look The Monster from SON, was the villain in an animated Super 8 film with the Superheroes.
-Craig
The only one that has surfaced in a box is Dracula.
Let's see everyone's AHI collections!
Ray and his Ahi monsters were directly responsible for me becoming a monster collector close to 20 years ago.
So I will definitely be contributing to this thread. Gotta take some pics though-- hang on
Matt
Quote from: raycastile on March 06, 2017, 12:35:57 AM
The only one that has surfaced in a box is Dracula.
Weren't there foreign ones that were in boxes, or am I confusing them with something else?
Why do you call the "male" Creature "version B"? Didn't the "male" come out first?
Surprised to see the Walt Disney World price sticker/on that Dracula. I didn't thin they sold any merch at the a
Parks that was not their own intellectual property or licensed. Wonder what the story is there,
Quote from: Mike Scott on March 06, 2017, 01:34:50 AM
Why do you call the "male" Creature "version B"? Didn't the "male" come out first?
Nobody really knows. But people have reasoned that the more detailed and complex versions with riveted joints came first. The female Creature belongs to that set.
Quote from: Mike Scott on March 06, 2017, 01:32:11 AM
Weren't there foreign ones that were in boxes, or am I confusing them with something else?
You're thinking of the boxed Lincoln monsters. The boxed AHI Dracula was a European release. Maybe the same company put out all the AHIs in boxes, but Dracula is the only one that has been found.
Quote from: mjaycox on March 06, 2017, 01:30:46 AM
Ray and his Ahi monsters were directly responsible for me becoming a monster collector close to 20 years ago.
So I will definitely be contributing to this thread. Gotta take some pics though-- hang on
Matt
I'm glad my efforts bore fruit! I'm looking forward to your photos.
Quote from: raycastile on March 06, 2017, 12:15:29 PM
Nobody really knows. But people have reasoned that the more detailed and complex versions with riveted joints came first. The female Creature belongs to that set.
I don't know why, but I always assumed the MALE came out first. Gender bias, I guess? ;)
Quote from: raycastile on March 06, 2017, 12:19:33 PM
You're thinking of the boxed Lincoln monsters. The boxed AHI Dracula was a European release. Maybe the same company put out all the AHIs in boxes, but Dracula is the only one that has been found.
I think I was mashing both of those together.
QuoteWhy do you call the "male" Creature "version B"? Didn't the "male" come out first?
QuoteNobody really knows. But people have reasoned that the more detailed and complex versions with riveted joints came first. The female Creature belongs to that set.
Doesn't the artwork on the rear of the card give you a clue? Didn't the initial release have bigger artwork that covered most of the back, while the later releases have heavily cropped artwork with the pink border?
Quote from: BRICK on March 06, 2017, 08:45:33 PM
Doesn't the artwork on the rear of the card give you a clue? Didn't the initial release have bigger artwork that covered most of the back, while the later releases have heavily cropped artwork with the pink border?
Looking at the pictures on the back between the A and B cards I'd say you're right about the male Creature being an A. It would be strange to have the uncropped picture on the B Creature card art looking at the other B's but it would be good to hear from anyone else who owns these or perhaps raycastile knows for sure.
Ian
Great thread. I sold some AHIS last year. Now I am down to only two.
The UMA used to do a traveling museum exhibit. We called it the UMA Display, and the overall project was the UMA Toy Tour. We took it to Monster Bash in Pittsburgh in 2006 and 2007. For that display, we made large posters of the backs of the AHI cards. Somehow, those posters never made it back from that show. I don't know what happened to them. Here is the best picture I have of them. To judge the scale, look at the Creature poster on the right. See the door knob? That gives you an idea of how big they were.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1379/678569814_a3796c9a54_o.jpg)
Some AHI pictures from that 2007 Monster Bash exhibit. On a 2007 computer, these photos looked great! Today, they look tiny and low-res. Time marches on.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1018/678580004_ea7bb62258_o.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1282/678579494_5fd5049169_o.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1390/677723417_68000a7b2c_o.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1031/677719887_8128d2e5e1_o.jpg)
This is a genuine carded female AHI Creature. I've owned two carded female Creatures over the years. Now I only have the one on the repro card pictured earlier in this thread. But the one in the photo below was the second one I owned, and it is on a real card.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1085/677723075_2cc5852236_o.jpg)
Last summer, I inventoried my AHI jigglers and sold a few.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/740/33162661692_8a932943e0_h.jpg)
Quote from: raycastile on March 08, 2017, 01:38:00 AM
To judge the scale, look at the Creature poster on the right. See the door knob? That gives you an idea of how big they were.
Oh, man! I wish I had that poster! :)
Does anybody have an original they could scan for me? Maybe I can get one made.
Quote from: Mike Scott on March 08, 2017, 11:43:32 AM
Oh, man! I wish I had that poster! :)
Does anybody have an original they could scan for me? Maybe I can get one made.
If you get the file, I would be willing to buy a poster, and I'd bet several others here would as well.
Quote from: darkmonkeygod on March 08, 2017, 12:41:29 PM
If you get the file, I would be willing to buy a poster, and I'd bet several others here would as well.
I'll be sure to let you know! :)
(https://i.imgflip.com/1r7auh.jpg)
this guy just surfaced with a BIN / OBO and then quickly vanished.
i had never seen an AHI frank with this head sculpt before.
does anyone have any info on this guy?
I'm baffled by the fact people want these in their collection. They look like they belong in a dollar bin in stores like Dollar General. To each his own I guess.
JP
Quote from: Wolfman on June 20, 2017, 10:47:35 AM
I'm baffled by the fact people want these in their collection. They look like they belong in a dollar bin in stores like Dollar General.
DUCK!!
Dear JP-
#1. They were First.
#2. They were Uni.
Best,
-CW
Quote from: Wich2 on June 22, 2017, 09:44:28 AM
Dear JP-
#1. They were First.
#2. They were Uni.
Best,
-CW
Huh?
JP
Quote from: Wolfman on June 22, 2017, 12:11:33 PM
Huh?
JP
His reaction to your statement - "I'm baffled by the fact people want these in their collection." (First Universal monster action figures.)
Quote from: Wolfman on June 22, 2017, 12:11:33 PM
Huh?
JP
(One more time!)Dear JP-
Reasons folks like the AHI's:
#1. They were Very First Licensed Action Figures...
#2. ...of the Universal (design/look) Monsters..
Best,
-CW
Quote from: Mike Scott on June 22, 2017, 12:51:13 PM
His reaction to your statement - "I'm baffled by the fact people want these in their collection." (First Universal monster action figures.)
Oh, okay. I didn't know what he meant by first. Uni is obvious. Not an action figure collector, so didn't know what he was referencing. If these had come out when I was 8, it could have been a battle royale for sure. LOL They do look cheap, but I guess what's most important (as it should be) are the memories they bring back from your childhood. Once I got back into the hobby as an older person, I care more about my monsters looking as they're supposed to. That's where companies like Sideshow, Horizon and Billiken raised the bar. Bottom line is, if people like these enough to collect them, it's fine by me. Plenty of room in monsterdom for a little bit of everything.
JP
Quote from: Count Zero on June 20, 2017, 09:48:02 AM
(https://i.imgflip.com/1r7auh.jpg)
this guy just surfaced with a BIN / OBO and then quickly vanished.
i had never seen an AHI frank with this head sculpt before.
does anyone have any info on this guy?
I think that figure is referred to as the "oriental" or "Asian" Frankenstein. I had one of those with a hard head and flat palms-down hands. I think he also had a naugahyde type of outfit...
Boy I love these-- I think the A version of the Mummy is my favorite. Definitely had Frankenstein, Wolfman and Dracula as a kid. Played with them to death.
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/fd/e0/cb/fde0cba49699d73fa677af69c8ad752d.jpg)
I was looking for my own pix when I found this... oh well, "it's just stuff".
The Creature seems to typically be thought of as the "female" first, and the 'improvement' "male" following, but apparently who knows? I know that the Franks are found in many variations, green, hairy, brown and flesh-toned, paint applied or not, and Drac, too, but the first issue Wolfman, Mummy, and any Creature are sought after.
I wish I had the foresight back in the day to buy these. They were all over the place, but at the time they were just dolls to my more "sophisticated" model making.
There were assuredly, intentionally cheap!
I got mine at the cut-rate TG&Y store - and they were just thrown in the wire basket down at floor level in the toy section.