Here's some Uni-Monsters you don't see very much. They were made in France in 2004. My brother gave these to me back then.
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8837/18256027456_980c3c5218_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/tPdUW5)Tiny French Porcelain Universal Monsters (2004) (https://flic.kr/p/tPdUW5) by donald deveau (https://www.flickr.com/photos/124856366(*at*)N04/), on Flickr
Quote from: Monolith on December 09, 2017, 01:51:14 AM
Here's some Uni-Monsters you don't see very much....
They are Epiphany Cake figures. They would be baked inside a cake as prizes to be discovered, hopefully without breaking any teeth or premature swallowing - they are only about 1ΒΌ" tall.
It is for a Catholic celebration before Lent, I think and originally contained just one figure such as a tiny baby Jesus or some other properly religious figure. Modern cakes use multiple figures and feature popular icons such as movie/cartoon characters. I was told these are big with the French-speaking Catholics in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Here is another Universal Monsters set that was made around the same time:
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4526/27152936029_1bbe62ac90_b.jpg)
This set replaces the Metaluna Mutant with the Phantom of the Opera.
I haven't seen Universal Monsters Epiphany figure sets other than these two. Neither shows up on eBay very often these days. Consider them rare - or
very scarce.
I wish I could get the two Creatures, but it's extremely unlikely to see individuals and the Creatures go for crazy prices when you do.
Monsters For Sale- Thanks for that photo. I didn't know that there were two different sets. Kind of strange that they would do most of the same monsters but new sculpts in different poses and just substitute a Metaluna Mutant for the Phantom Of The Opera. When my brother gave them to me they were packaged in a padded envelope with French postmarks and writing on it, which I still have, so, he ordered them directly from France at the time.
Mike- I remember seeing a Creature on e-bay a couple of years ago and it sold for a ton of money. It was like $300 or $800 or something. I don't remember the exact amount but it was a LOT for such a tiny figure.
Here's a closer look at my Creature...
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7777/17659838144_f650c53876_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/sUxhC1)Tiny French Porcelain Creature (2004) (https://flic.kr/p/sUxhC1) by donald deveau (https://www.flickr.com/photos/124856366(*at*)N04/), on Flickr
And on the back of the little plaque there is a Karloff monster...
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8756/18094304970_aaacf18915_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/tyW3tm)Tiny French Porcelain Universal Monsters Title Piece (2004) (https://flic.kr/p/tyW3tm) by donald deveau (https://www.flickr.com/photos/124856366(*at*)N04/), on Flickr
Man, hundreds of dollars for ONE figure?
I bought both sets at least 10 years ago - probably a couple years after they were produced. I think I paid $30 for one set and $50 for the other. (I would have been embarrassed to tell anyone I spent that much on the more expensive set at the time.)
I sold off all but the two Frankensteins and the two Universal Logos. I put them in little groupings of non-Frank items. Each group was dedicated to a single monster - all Dracula, all Creature, etc. It was how I got rid of a number of complete sets I was compelled to buy just to get at the Frank I wanted.
My single monster groups were very popular. I didn't get hundreds of dollars for the little guys, but I did get back more than I paid for the sets - making my Frankenstein individuals free.
I was always glad to find Frankenstein groups from other collectors who were doing the same thing.
These are all really cool to see. Really cool and really weird.
Never knew of them.
I wouldn't know that was the Phantom if it hadn't said so. He looks like Cesare from Dr. Caligari with a cape.
I'm still looking for this set. I have the other one.
BK
Quote from: Monolith on December 09, 2017, 01:51:14 AM
Here's some Uni-Monsters you don't see very much. They were made in France in 2004. My brother gave these to me back then.
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8837/18256027456_980c3c5218_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/tPdUW5)Tiny French Porcelain Universal Monsters (2004) (https://flic.kr/p/tPdUW5) by donald deveau (https://www.flickr.com/photos/124856366(*at*)N04/), on Flickr
I did what I think was a pretty thorough bunch of searches for these figures on eBay. None of the monster figures are for sale.
But, I did find both of the Logo pieces available as "Buy-It-Now" listings:
https://tinyurl.com/ycphxj5p
https://tinyurl.com/ydafdvj2
Just in case anyone would be interested.
Quote from: Monolith on December 09, 2017, 12:58:17 PM
Mike- I remember seeing a Creature on e-bay a couple of years ago and it sold for a ton of money.
That's the one that Kreaturekid had. I remember it was multi hundreds, but I don't remember how multi.
Quote from: YoungestMonsterKid on December 09, 2017, 01:28:44 PM
These are all really cool to see. Really cool and really weird.
Never knew of them.
I wouldn't know that was the Phantom if it hadn't said so. He looks like Cesare from Dr. Caligari with a cape.
He reminded me of Mr. Hyde.
Quote from: Monsters For Sale on December 09, 2017, 02:46:11 PM
But, I did find both of the Logo pieces available as "Buy-It-Now" listings:
Wow! $1.89 ea.! And it looks like this guy specializes in these things. I'm gonna watch his store!
Here's a set on eBay for a couple hundred dollars. (More than I'm willing to pay!)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/162774328558 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/162774328558)
They're great, but why is Dracula the size of Eddie Munster?
Quote from: Sean on December 10, 2017, 10:32:43 PM
They're great, but why is Dracula the size of Eddie Munster?
Most character sets are calculated to take the same weight of raw material. It's how they average out their cost/profit ratio for each unit. Dracula uses a lot of his porcelain to make his wide-spread cape - means his body needs to be smaller.
I hate that manufacturers do that. That is why when you get Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird premiums in kids' meals they are not in scale. Manufacturer uses the same amount of plastic in both.
Quote from: Monsters For Sale on December 10, 2017, 10:41:38 PM
Most character sets are calculated to take the same weight of raw material. It's how they average out their cost/profit ratio for each unit. Dracula uses a lot of his porcelain to make his wide-spread cape - means his body needs to be smaller.
I hate that manufacturers do that. That is why when you get Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird premiums in kids' meals they are not in scale. Manufacturer uses the same amount of plastic in both.
The people making these decisions need a beating. Dracula looks ridiculous.
Quote from: Sean on December 10, 2017, 11:39:29 PM
The people making these decisions need a beating. Dracula looks ridiculous.
Well, they do kinda' all look ridiculous. The positive thing about them is more just that they come in a cake.