Universal Monster Army

Collecting Monsters => Vintage Monster Toys => Topic started by: mjaycox on February 10, 2008, 06:42:55 PM

Title: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: mjaycox on February 10, 2008, 06:42:55 PM
Check out what I won on Ebay! Straight from the "Decade of the Glow" comes this item I have never seen pictured before. It is a dimestore  monster toy based on the short-
lived Hanna-Barbera cartoon called the "Amazing Chan." which ran in 1972

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2263/2255680421_e2bd1cde70.jpg?v=0)

It is triply collectible for me because not only is it monsters, but it is also Charlie Chan, whose collectibles are rare, and it is Hanna Barbera.


I have never seen this before. Has anyone else? Anyone have one in their collection?
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: poseablemonster on February 10, 2008, 07:28:58 PM
I've never seen that, it's really cool!  I love the monster graphics on those target pieces.  GREAT score!
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: The Phantom Creep on February 10, 2008, 08:27:01 PM
Ok, now I know it went to a good home! I was going to go kinda heavy on this just cause it's so weird, I and others I've talked to have never seen this before. Then I decided to hold off on it and hope that a fellow monster collector would get it, so I'm happy to see it show up here. So does anybody else know anything about this? Such a strange item...
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: The Drunken Severed Head on February 10, 2008, 08:35:21 PM
I remember "Charlie Chan and the Amazing Chen Clan" cartoon (as I believe it was called). It's run overlapped "Scooby-Do", which was popular, and also concerned mystery investigators who encountered (seeming) monsters. So the Universal monsters being part of this toy doesn't surprise me.

Cool toy-- thanks for sharing the photo!
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: Monster Bob on February 10, 2008, 08:42:40 PM

These were a grocery store pegboard toy- these were sold at a now defunct independent grocer I worked at in high school, at about the same time as the little Remco monsters were around. I forget the company, but there were several Amazing Chan pegboard toys similar to this(puzzles, jewelry,etc.), like the company bought a license and went crazy making Chan toys. Similar to the way they made toys for a lot of 70s TV shows & cartoons (Brady Bunch, Starsky & Hutch, Dukes, BJ & Bear, etc.).

Notice the Frankenstein graphic is stolen from the B&W Don Post ad from FM?
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: The Phantom Creep on February 10, 2008, 09:17:47 PM
I'm guessing the answer is no, but Bob do you know if any of the other Chan stuff featured monsters?
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: Monster Bob on February 10, 2008, 09:19:23 PM


Not that I remember, but I do recall there being several Chan items at the time.
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: mjaycox on February 10, 2008, 10:23:51 PM
Thanks Bob! You are a fount of information, as always.

Matt

Quote from: Monster Bob on February 10, 2008, 08:42:40 PM
These were a grocery store pegboard toy- these were sold at a now defunct independent grocer I worked at in high school, at about the same time as the little Remco monsters were around. I forget the company, but there were several Amazing Chan pegboard toys similar to this(puzzles, jewelry,etc.), like the company bought a license and went crazy making Chan toys. Similar to the way they made toys for a lot of 70s TV shows & cartoons (Brady Bunch, Starsky & Hutch, Dukes, BJ & Bear, etc.).

Notice the Frankenstein graphic is stolen from the B&W Don Post ad from FM?
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: gracebuster on February 10, 2008, 10:36:27 PM
A bastard child of Monsterdom, this toy!
LOVE it.
Glad you got it.
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: raycastile on February 11, 2008, 12:51:48 AM
Congratulations, Matt!  At first I thought the folks at MAGE were up to their usual tricks...

That is the epitome of 70s junk-aisle treasure.
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: fmofmpls on February 11, 2008, 09:22:11 AM
I love this kind of stuff. Raymond's description says it best - "junk-aisle treasure". That's exactly what it is. Great odd ball score! Glad to see it in the good Doctor's hands.
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: darkmonkeygod on February 12, 2008, 03:44:27 PM
Shawn pointed that out to me on eBay (I'm sitting in his monster room now, so it's kinda hard to focus on the computer but this is the first opportunity in a while I've had).

Glad you got it Matt, it is another kooky-cool item. Give you any ideas about Mage toys releasing a monster dart game?

Bob, I'm constantly enlightened about one of my favorite subjects by your knowledge.  Thanks again for sharing the knowledge and expertise.
Title: Re: A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MONSTER ITEM?
Post by: Toy Ranch on February 12, 2008, 04:36:23 PM
That's really cool.  I was watching it and thinking about bidding too, but decided it just didn't fit in my collection.  Glad you got it, Matt.  Congrats!  A very weird and cool monster toy indeed.