I've been posting here for a few years now so I guess it's high time I told you other fellows a little about myself. I'm a baby boomer born in 1952 and raised in London, Ontario. There were a number of defining moments in my younger days that turned me into the monster related toy enthusiast I am today:
1. The first was perhaps the You'll Die Laughing card set that Topps issued in 1959. These featured artwork by the legendary Jack Davis and are perhaps my favourite card set of all time. My association with these at the time didn't go beyond admiring the older kids' cards as I didn't yet have the disposable income to buy cards priced at five cents a pack.
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/YoullDieLaughingcards.jpg)
2. My mother used to haunt the Kresge, Woolworths, Zellers and Metropolitan stores in downtown London looking for bargains I suppose. As a youngster I was invariably in tow. I didn't mind of course as there was always the chance I could score a dish of ice cream at the restaurant counter these stores typically featured. And of course there was never a shortage of other items to occupy a young boy's interest, goldfish, little turtles, budgies and all those toys! It was on one of those trips to Kresge that I came face to face with a Great Garloo, which I immediately brought to my mother's attention. With a sticker price in the $15.99 area, there was just no chance I'd be given one though.
3. It was some time in 1961(?) that my buddy and I took in a double bill featuring the "Curse of Frankenstein" and the "Horror of Dracula" at the Capitol Theatre in downtown London. My buddy was so frightened by the events on the screen that he actually closed his eyes during the graveyard scene in the Dracula movie. I was made of sterner stuff but these movies were like none I'd seen before and left a profound mark on my impressionable young mind.
4. I energetically collected the Spook Stories card set that Leaf issued in early 1962.
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/SpookTheatrewrappers.jpg)
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Spooktheatrefront.jpg)
5. Around that time in perhaps the summer of 1962 I also succeeded in getting my mother to buy me a Hasbro Marble Maze at Woolworths. It featured pitfalls such as the Haunted Mountains, Devil's Pass, and Man Eating Plants and was the best toy I'd ever gotten to that point.
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/General%20Album%202/MarbleMaze.jpg)
6. On another trip to Kresge within a few months I came upon the Aurora monster models. Up to that point I'd just dabbled on the fringes of monster culture but those Aurora kits were so awesome that they sent me right off the deep end. Although I was most attracted to the Creature at first, it was the Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein and Frankenstein's Flivver I ended up building.
7. At some point I also became aware of the Revell line of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth Fink model kits. Rat Fink and Angel Fink would be the two I'd build. I also bought a T-shirt Iron-On Transfer of Brother Rat Fink which I successfully applied to one of my shirts which my disgusted father promptly used as a rag in the garage. I never built any of the Hawk Weird-Ohs but a buddy down the street had an assembled Francis the Foul.
8. By selling fifteen newspapers on a Saturday morning in the spring of 1963, I earned a prize beyond my wildest dreams - that being a Standard Plastics monster wallet featuring Wolfman and the Creature, albeit it was the one with the Mummy that seemed to be the most popular with the other fellows.
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/walletdz9.jpg)
9. It was in September of 1963(?) that I took in the "King Kong versus Godzilla" movie at the Odeon Theatre in downtown London. I was left awestruck.
10. I then made the biggest score of my young life on a family trip to Detroit to visit relatives in the summer of 1964. I got my father to buy me a Mad, Mad, Mad Scientist Laboratory! My two best buddies were more than eager to be my demented half-brained lab assistants and enthusiastically fetched tapwater for me while I mixed the concoctions.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3086/4562075255_671eaa206b_b.jpg)
11. Trick or treating on Halloween with my two best buddies in 1964 I was given one card in a generic wrapper. Opening it up we discovered the "Hairy Fiend" card from the Topps Mars Attacks set. We were awestruck since Mars Attacks cards had not been distributed in London and we had therefore never seen any. Without the wrapper, we failed to even figure out the name of the set.
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/item_4969_2.jpg)
12. A few months later I discovered Big Daddy Roth magazine on the newsstand and ended up getting all four issues. I dutifully did as the ad suggested and sent away to Roth Studios in California for a Rat Fink sweatshirt, which my father just as dutifully turned into yet another rag.
13. I'd also discovered the first issue of Creepy magazine on the newstand while checking to see if the new Green Lantern or Flash comic books had come in and was immediately taken by the Jack Davis artwork on the cover and the stories inside. I ended up becoming a big Warren Publications fan and remember haunting neighbourhood stores waiting for the first issue of Eerie to hit the newstands. Curiously though I never bought Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine because I thought it was for bigger kids!
The model kits I'd built as a kid had a lifelong influence on me. So did the comics and bubble gum cards I'd collected. Therefore despite the fact that my boyhood treasures all went by the wayside at some point in time, I never completely lost interest in these things. Throughout high school and university I always wished I still had my models, comics, cards and sundry toys. My first job after university was in 1977 and by 1979 I was back to collecting. Big time!
The comics and cards came first because of their availability in several shops here in Toronto. By 1981 or 1982 though I discovered that unbuilt Aurora monster and other kits could be bought. I've been collecting them ever since - the Aurora monster and other figure models, Hawk Weird-Ohs, Revell "Big Daddy" Roth Finks, AMT Star Trek vessels etc. I have well over 100 of these including most of the ones I want. For example, the only Roth kits I need are Surfite, Scuz-Fink, Boss Fink and Robbin' Hood Fink and the only Aurora monsters I need are the King Kongs, Godzillas and Mummy's Chariot. These are very tough to find. I have all the Hawk Weird-Ohs and Silly Surfers though and need only one Frantic kit.
I also collect unbuilt Aurora and Hawk plane and ship models from the sixties and some drag and stock car model kits from the seventies.
I have a very impressive collection of unbuilt slot car kits from the sixties, primarily Monogram and AMT. As you might imagine, these are particularly difficult to find. I have over forty Mint in Box slot cars.
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Halloween%202013%20%20Deuce%20Styx%20Cowboy%20Cake/DSCN3173_zpsea8058c8.jpg)
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Halloween%202013%20%20Deuce%20Styx%20Cowboy%20Cake/DSCN3174_zpsea461e53.jpg)
I currently have seventeen Mint in Box board games from the sixties including Casper, Terrytoons Hide n' Seek, Outer Limits, Shindig, Howdy Doody Adventure, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Deputy, Mighty Crusaders, Johnny Ringo, Hasbro Dracula Mystery, Superman, Spider-Man and Lost in Space.
I also have a modest collection of other toys including eight Kenner Presto or Sparkle Paint Sets, three different Hasbro Marble Mazes, some Hamilton's Invader items, a couple of dozen Mint on Card Duncan Spin Tops and a Marx Three Keys to Treasure Bagatelle:
(https://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/General%20Album%203/ThreeKeys_zps3128a502.jpg)
The "toy" I most covet though is a Mint in Box Mad, Mad, Mad Scientist Laboratory chemistry set which I had as a kid.
I've also taken up collecting NM unused kids' lunch boxes with their thermoses. I now have 22 thermoses and nineteen lunch boxes. The Steve Canyon lunchbox and thermos is the oldest of these but others include Shari Lewis, Casper, Atom Ant & Secret Squirrel, Woody Woodpecker, Famous Monsters of Filmland and Yogi Bear.
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Halloween%202013%20%20Deuce%20Styx%20Cowboy%20Cake/DSCN3166_zpscf9768ae.jpg)
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Halloween%202013%20%20Deuce%20Styx%20Cowboy%20Cake/DSCN3167_zps6fd28396.jpg)
I have a small collection of Lionel HO trains. Eventually I'd like to have a 1/29 scale garden railroad outside with Aristocraft and USA Trains equipment. I'll model a 1950s scene and mix 4-8-4 Northern steam engines with GP7 and GP9 diesels in my layout.
I haven't really gotten into Pez dispensers, Corgi or Matchbox cars, Marx Playsets, or Collegeville and Ben Cooper Halloween costumes - yet. Maybe in another ten years.
I collect comics from 1945 to 1980. My concentration is Silver Age DC such as Justice League, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Atom, Hawkman, Mystery in Space, Sea Devils, Challengers of the Unknown, Metal Men, Wonder Woman, Tales of the Unexpected, Teen Titans, Fox and the Crow etc. I'm just about solid in my main titles going back to 1962. For example, I have all the Justice Leagues going back to 1960 with the exception of issues 5, 6 and 47.
I also collect other titles such as the Fly, Jaguar, Black Cat, Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, Space Adventures, Gorgo, Herbie, Turok, Doctor Solar, Lone Ranger, Gold Key Phantom and many Atom Age Jungle and Adventure titles including Sheena, Jumbo, Space Western and Commander Battle & the Atomic Sub. I have a few Harveys such as Casper, Wendy, Spooky, Little Dot, Little Audrey and Hot Stuff and quite a few Dell Funny Animal comics.
I also have a very good collection of the car humour mags such as Drag Cartoons, Hot Rod Cartoons and CARtoons. I also collect the Warren horror mags such as Creepy and Eerie and the Skywalds. I have a collection of several dozen Mad magazines from the late fifties and early sixties as well.
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/HepcatCurioComics.jpg)
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/StxyComics2.jpg)
My collection of CFL cards and such from the fifties to 1972 is among the best in the world. I also have a very nice collection of hockey cards from 1957 to 1973. I also have hundreds of baseball cards although these I've not pursued aggressively. I have over thirty binders of sports cards, over three quarters of them from before 1973.
I also collect non-sport cards primarily from 1948 to 1972. These I find even more interesting than sport cards. Favourite sets in my collection include You'll Die Laughing, Funny Valentines, Mr. Foney's Foney Ads, Scoop, Zorro, Robin Hood, Sports Cars, Civil War News, Casper, TV Westerns, Goofy Series Postcards, Wacky Plaks, Fight the Red Menace, Batman, Space/Target Moon, Planes, Crazy Cards, Round-Up, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Monkees, Terror Tales and Spook Stories. I haven't yet found Mars Attacks and Battle sets in sufficiently high grade. These two sets would be excruciatingly expensive. All in all, I have over 35 binders of non-sport cards of which over 85% are pre-1980.
I've also accumulated the original wrappers for dozens of these sets. As you can imagine, the wrappers can be particularly tough to find. I've not been collecting the boxes to this point.
My collection of premium coins - Shirriff hockey, football, baseball, cars, warships, space etc. - from potato chips and jelly desserts is among the best in the world.
I also collect refillable soda pop bottles, 16 ounces and smaller, and 1/4 pint and 1/2 pint round painted label milk bottles from the 1920s to the 1950s. I specialize in Ontario dairies. I now have close to two hundred bottles plus several dozen Pepsi and other collectible milk glasses in a custom built kitchen pantry with glass doors to store and display the bottles.
I have a couple very nicely restored Beaver gumball machines from the sixties. As soon as I create the space in my kitchen, I intend to acquire one of the pop machines from the sixties where you pulled the bottle out toward you horizontally. I also really want one of the small metal Wishing Well thermometers which hung in many variety stores when I was a young boy.
I love music and am constantly adding to my record accumulation of over 500 LPs and 200 CDs. My favourite artists include the Rolling Stones, Doors, Animals, Who, Cream, Beatles, Jethro Tull, Kinks, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, Spirit, Ten Years After, Yardbirds, Zombies, Troggs, Box Tops, ? & the Mysterians, Butterfield Blues Band, Jeff Beck Group, Buddy Guy, Slim Harpo, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Vanilla Fudge, James Brown, Solomon Burke, Junior Walker & the All Stars, David Bowie, Blondie, B-52's, T-Rex, Prince, Meatloaf, etc.
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Arecord3.jpg)
I have a small collection of Rolling Stones 45 sleeves and concert programs.
I play my music on a Thorens TD 240 turntable with a state of the art Ortofon 2M Black moving magnet cartridge which incorporates a Shibata line stylus, a Marantz CC4001 CD player, a Marantz PM7001 70 watt per channel amplifier and a pair of Monitor Audio Silver RS8 speakers. I'm also getting a custom hardwood base with interlocking layers of sound deadening baltic birch built for a new old store stock Garrard GT-55 turntable I picked up on Ebay! It will anchor a second system in my bedroom which includes a pair of BIC Venturi 5312 speakers.
I have a small coin collection as well of primarily Canadian silver coins but I have some U.S. ones as well as the odd gold coin.
I also adore classic and muscle cars. I had a 1987 Buick Grand National but that was stolen in 1992 out of the parking lot of a banquet hall when I was attending a friend's wedding and then trashed. A project I've not been able to get around to doing due to financial limitations is restoring my candle apple red 340 powered 1973 Dodge Charger which needs an engine rebuild. I had Jesse at the Hemi Shop in London, Ontario install the engine back in 1981.
Overall though I'd characterize myself as a kid's stuff from the baby boom years collector.
cl:)
So, that's all you've got? LOL
Only kiddin'. That's one hell of a collection right there.
Only disappointment for me would be no Archie comics. They were my favorite growing up.
JP
Hepcat, GREAT STORY!!! I'm sure, like many of us here, we all parallel in many aspects with similar memories, being born in 1954, I can surely attest to those 'good old days'! Some of us were born earlier, some later, but for all of us, at one time or another, "Monsters" actually dominated us, to our childhood delight. Sometimes I wonder if there will ever be a blog of some sort as to the " psychological" lure of monsters that is sometimes mentioned in articles when the "boom" actually hit in the early 60's. For those of us who were actually there at the time was quite astounding. Now, as these years go by at a "much too fast" nature, our early memories fuel our passion for "those" days. Actually, in a way, it's sad, at least sometimes for me. My parents, along with many other relation, such as Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, were all very much alive way back then. When memories flood, their memories come with, and in a strange sort of way, it's sometimes tough to take. I guess it's the realization that we're all getting a bit older, maybe. But, on a lighter note, I'm still a monster kid, just like all of us, and those wonderful memories stay with me on both bright days and dark days. AS Forry once said--"Monsters are good for you"!!!
Quote from: skully on January 27, 2017, 02:57:04 AMHepcat, GREAT STORY!!! I'm sure, like many of us here, we all parallel in many aspects with similar memories, being born in 1954, I can surely attest to those 'good old days'! Some of us were born earlier, some later, but for all of us, at one time or another, "Monsters" actually dominated us, to our childhood delight.
Indeed! And I love reading members' collecting stories from when they were kids back in the fifties through to the eighties.
So post your own stories! Tell the rest of us how you became a deranged monster kid way back when and the demented compulsive collector you are today. I want to know! After all, I didn't start this thread to be just about me.
:)
Hep, as some of us are nearing the promised "three score and ten," and as my consciousness has been raised in this area by being executor of the estate of the late actor Arthur Anderson, an honest question:
Do you have long-term plans for all of this material?
Best,
-Craig
Ok, Hepcat. Here we go. As you can probably tell, I do my best writing in the wee hours of the morning, while tossing back a few. Earliest memory for me was actually watching "Roland"(Zacherley), on TV in 1959 which was probably a Halloween special with Dick Clark. Move forward a few short years and I remember my cousin bringing home to my Aunts house a copy of FM. # 13, and while paging through it, literally freaking out at the pictures inside(I might have been about 7 at the time), and I remember my Aunt actually scolding my cousin for bringing such a magazine home, for me to find and look through. But, I was sort of hooked by it all. I believe it was the following year that Aurora came out with the Frankenstein model kit. It was purchased for me, and, it was almost too much excitement from me, my parents could tell that I was really into building this thing, and displaying it, as I did, with the box behind my finished masterpiece, on top of my dresser. But, my younger brother Bobby was afraid of the thing, he couldn't sleep at night looking at it, and I had to put it in the top drawer. It was this same year that I aquired Rheumatic fever from having strep throat. My heart became very weak at this time, and I was confined to my house while other neighborhood kids were outside running around and having fun. Back in those days that was the usual protocol, lots of bed rest, and not too much excitement. I came through this strange period just fine, but it was during this time that "Monsters" really took hold of me. Since I was usually inside, this is where my love of model kits actually developed, I built them all, the Aurora monsters, the Aurora, Revell, AMT, Pyro, Lindberg, MPC, Monogram planes, cars, ships, figures, and everything else there was at the time which was in model kit form. Also around this time is where my love of great rock and roll music took hold listening to my transistor radio all the time, along with watching tv, and buying all the monster magazines I could get my hands on. I remember fondly the Premiers of The Addams Family and the Munsters among other shows of that period. The Outer Limits was actually my favorite. But, alas, those early days took a real toll on me, my parents used to fight a lot, argue about many things, and this is when I realized what Alcoholism was, my dad suffered from it, and believe me, my memories of this are not good. I sought the sanctuary of my Grandparents house where I stayed during my Summer vacations from school, and it was here that I could have any monster item I wanted, and it just blossomed into pure monster heaven for me. Actually, when I look back, it was probably the best "escape" there was for me, to get away from it all as a kid, nothing comes close to the joy I felt with all the movies, tv, model kits, magazines and toys there was to be had during the true monster craze of the times.
Loved reading your journey to monster fandom Hepcat, it must have been an amazing time growing up through that period (same for you Skully). I can now see where you get all your knowledge on old monster toys from and always enjoy seeing what you've posted in other topics on here.
Coming from Bristol in the UK and growing up at the start of the seventies meant I missed out on the monster craze of the 60's , although I have read up on it a fair amount over the years. For me I started out with action man (this was the name of GI Joe in the UK), and then The Six Million Dollar Man took a grip. I never had Evel Knievel although my friends did but did have a Mego Fist Fighter Spiderman and Tom Baker Deny's Fisher DR Who, both of which I played with all the time. The big thing for me was Star Wars though. It kicked off a whole Sci-Fi interest in me and I would build play sets for my figures and always take the Empire Strikes Back ones outside every time it snowed (the largest and best Hoth play set a young boy could wish for!). I used to get the Star Wars weekly comic as well as 2000AD when it arrived in my newsagents in February 1978 and still read Judge Dredd graphic novels to this day (as well as various others like Hellboy and Batman).
As I grew older my interests turned to monster movies during the mid 80's and with videos becoming available it meant I could finally start watching what was on offer out there. I can really remember some of my friends all coming into school one morning talking about the first part of a two part TV film they'd seen called Salem's Lot. It was on too late for me to see at the time but it was something I sought out when videos started arriving in the UK. Over the years I have looked out for classics that I'd heard about as well as watching all the current films from the first Nightmare on Elm Street and Fright Night through to the most recent offerings of last year and Horror has always had a special place in my heart.
I was never an amazing artist but was quite good with model kits and sculpting so became first a sculptor and prop maker on Stop Motion features and then continued as a Stop Motion animator (which is something I've specialized in for the last 20 years). I guess watching all the Ray Harryhausen re-runs that were on TV as I grew up gave me the Stop Mo bug, that and seeing the Taun Tauns and AT AT's from ESB animated by Phil Tippet, it gave me the inspiration to pursue a career in something along those lines.
I had a good collection of toys growing up but like a lot of people it all ended up being given away or thrown out. During the late 90's I decided to start getting back a few of my favorite pieces and have been building a collection every since.I have a fairly varied collection of both vintage and modern items and have everything all mixed up on display although I do have a mainly Monster section set up. Living in the US now means a lot of my old collection is in storage in the UK to be one day dusted off when I decide where to make my permanent home. It's tough not having everything around me at times as I have a large Vinyl collection of around 5000 records that I can't hear but I do have a 160 GB iPod nearly filled up with my CD collection on it and I've managed to put together a nice toy collection here over the last 5 years or so.
Well that's a concise account of my journey into this world and as a toy collector i've been a part of Star Wars forums for years now but I must admit that finding this place has really ignited my interest in Monster collecting and films again. I really did spend a lot of the 80's reading up on all I could find out about this genre and over the years my interests have been pulled into other areas but it's really nice to come back to it. This forum is like a crash course in all things Horror and I'm just glad to discover any new facts to me about the beginning of it all.
Ian
Palifin, Superb story!!!
Quote from: skully on January 29, 2017, 12:41:41 AM
Palifin, Superb story!!!
Thank you sir, yours also and it is nice to reminisce from time to time about days gone past.
Ian
Good stories, gentlemen. And often with lots of similar touchstones along the way for us Silver Age Monsterkids.
-Craig
Great reads y'all! Truly enjoyed these ;D
I believe I was predisposed to love horror/fantasy/sci-fi. I feel that some things choose us for whatever reason.
Disney's Pinocchio, dinosaurs & cartoons like Astro Boy were my first loves. Monster specific, it may have been spotting Famous Monsters (#39) for the first time at the tender age of 5. By then, the monster craze was in full swing. I couldn't look at TV or go a grocery or department store w/out seeing monsters, sci-fi & superheros, & I loved every minute of it.
Quote from: skully on January 28, 2017, 02:24:47 AMEarliest memory for me was actually watching "Roland"(Zacherley), on TV in 1959 which was probably a Halloween special with Dick Clark.
I envy you fellows who have memories of monster hosts on TV. We didn't get a TV until I was nine years old in 1961, and even then we only got one channel, CFPL in London, which had no monster host to my knowledge. The kids with cable service at home could tune into Ghoulardi's show from Cleveland but we didn't get cable until 1966 by the fall of which I was entering tenth grade.
Quote from: skully on January 28, 2017, 02:24:47 AMSince I was usually inside, this is where my love of model kits actually developed, I built them all, the Aurora monsters, the Aurora, Revell, AMT, Pyro, Lindberg, MPC, Monogram planes, cars, ships, figures, and everything else there was at the time which was in model kit form.
Did you paint the models as well? If so, what were your painting skills like? Do you still have any of the models you built as a kid?
Quote from: skully on January 28, 2017, 02:24:47 AMBut, alas, those early days took a real toll on me, my parents used to fight a lot, argue about many things, and this is when I realized what Alcoholism was, my dad suffered from it, and believe me, my memories of this are not good. I sought the sanctuary of my Grandparents house where I stayed during my Summer vacations from school, and it was here that I could have any monster item I wanted, and it just blossomed into pure monster heaven for me. Actually, when I look back, it was probably the best "escape" there was for me, to get away from it all as a kid, nothing comes close to the joy I felt with all the movies, tv, model kits, magazines and toys there was to be had during the true monster craze of the times.
I realized years ago that a major part of the reason why I still love the toys and other artifacts/collectibles from my childhood is that the bulk of the positive memories I have from my childhood are associated with those things. My home life wasn't very happy since my parents were constantly fighting. And with a funny ethnic name and the crew-cuts my father often gave me my experiences/interactions with other kids in the schoolyard weren't that pleasant either.
:-\
Hi Hepcat! Yes we were fortunate to have TV in the early days, actually, at my Grandmothers house, there was quite a collection of them throughout the years when they were bought. I loved watching Chiller Theatre on channel 6 here from Philly on s Saturday night. It's funny now, but I remember when my dad wanted to watch tv at night, and I wanted to watch another tv program(usually a monster movie-of course), at the same time, he used to get very upset, and we used to flip between the commercials to each try to watch our shows. Sometimes the outcome wasn't so good! As for painting my kits, it was the usual kid-type paint jobs that I did, with maybe a few exceptions. When I built that first Frankenstein kit, I was VERY careful with the paint job, but I also remember the Pactra small square paint bottles sometimes being too glossy, I sometimes didn't like the "sheen" from the glossy paints, and I experimented with flat colors a lot. Now, for the car kits, I always went all out with the Pactra spray paint cans, I used Candy colors a lot, and realized that an undercoating with silver or gold was amazing with these colors. I always put a lot of effort into the car kits. And yes, as I mentioned, my "escape" from many childhood "miseries" were my monsters, they helped a great deal. As mentioned in an earlier post here somewhere, the kids at school usually knew who I was when we had to dress up at Halloween, I was either Frankenstein, or a skeleton(I loved skeletons, along with skull type toys too).
Quote from: Palifan on January 28, 2017, 05:09:19 PMLoved reading your journey to monster fandom Hepcat.... I can now see where you get all your knowledge on old monster toys from and always enjoy seeing what you've posted in other topics on here.
Thank you!
Quote from: Palifan on January 28, 2017, 05:09:19 PMI was never an amazing artist but was quite good with model kits and sculpting so became first a sculptor and prop maker on Stop Motion features and then continued as a Stop Motion animator (which is something I've specialized in for the last 20 years). I guess watching all the Ray Harryhausen re-runs that were on TV as I grew up gave me the Stop Mo bug, that and seeing the Taun Tauns and AT AT's from ESB animated by Phil Tippet, it gave me the inspiration to pursue a career in something along those lines.
Very cool that you're now working and making a living in a field that developed out of a childhood interest! Very few of us can say that. Me for example I'm a stockbroker, not exactly something that ever crossed my mind as a kid.
Quote from: Palifan on January 28, 2017, 05:09:19 PM...Horror has always had a special place in my heart.
Well then the UMA is certainly the right place for you!
8)
Quote from: LundyAfterMidnight on January 30, 2017, 02:14:57 AMMonster specific, it may have been spotting Famous Monsters (#39) for the first time at the tender age of 5.
It must have been this one then:
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Comics/15-10-201145755PM.jpg)
I may have first noticed
Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine on the newsstand early in 1962 just before I turned ten. But as I mentioned previously, I thought a magazine about films had to be for bigger kids, especially at that price point of $0.35!
:o
I therefore never bought any as a kid.
:(
FM #28 is the first one I ever bought.
(http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/5a/d4/a8/5ad4a80377d004a9d6530623ef525ae8.jpg)
This is dated May 1964 so it probably hit the stands in March. I had just turned 5 when I probably picked this up from a magazine rack at a grocery store or drug store (I don't remember going to newsstands until I was older). I bought several FMs after that up through my teenage years. The early ones I bought were read until the covers fell off. I never cut mine up for scrapbooks and such like a lot of kids did but they were read so much they just fell apart.
Around 2000 I got serious about my monster mag collection and finished my FM run with mostly nice copies within about 8 years. I don't have the variants of #7 and the nearly impossible to own variant of #6 but I do have the "Ghouls Eye sticker" variant of #4 as well as the regular versions of those issues. Also have all the Ferry issues ::) and the Kim issues up to a point. I gave up on the new version over a year ago because it strayed too far for my taste.
I quit buying new monster mags over a year ago with the exception of The Creeps. I have over 3K monster mags and I'm practically out of room, Mylar bags, and acid free boxes so I called it good and just stopped. Never did technically finish the Warrens- still need the Saha book, Eerie #1, the westerns, and a couple of Screen Thrills Illustrated. I refuse to pay anywhere near what that Saha mag costs so I'll never own it unless I find it cheap from a seller who doesn't know it's value. It has nothing to do with the Horror that made Warren great so I don't miss it, in fact it's really trivial junk. The westerns, Eerie #1, and the Screen Thrills I still plan to get at some point. Those are real deal Warren goodness. I'm pretty happy with my monster mag collection the way it is. Lotsa good reading for a Monsterkid. :)
Quote from: Hepcat on January 30, 2017, 04:22:29 PM
It must have been this one then:
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Comics/15-10-201145755PM.jpg)
I may have first noticed Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine on the newsstand early in 1962 just before I turned ten. As I mentioned previously, I thought a magazine about films had to be for bigger kids, especially at that price point of $0.35!
:o
Quite right, Hep! I still recall being mesmerized by the photo of Baragon spewing lightning at it's fleeing victims. By the way, I appreciate your recollections.
Quote from: horrorhunter on January 30, 2017, 11:06:25 PMThe westerns, Eerie #1, and the Screen Thrills I still plan to get at some point. Those are real deal Warren goodness.
I agree! The westerns are particularly cool and an excellent value proposition given their scarcity. That's because a lot of Warren monster mag collectors ignore the westerns.
cl:)
Quote from: Hepcat on January 31, 2017, 09:13:19 AM
I agree! The westerns are particularly cool and an excellent value proposition given their scarcity.
cl:)
You betcha! Issues 2-4 had Jack Davis covers and 5 and 6 featured covers by Basil Gogos. ;)
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2f/19/30/2f193030fe66b31a25ff3ae94b53cdcc.jpg)
Horrorhunter, interesting. Issue # 28 was also the first issue that I bought in 1964, 10 years old at the time. My mom was with me that evening when I went to Moyers Variety store here in Reading at South 9th. St. She told me to put the magazine under my shirt so my dad wouldn't see it. She knew I "craved" monsters, and let me purchase it. But, as fate would have it, my dad found it under my shirt as we walked in, and immediately threw the mag across the floor while shouting, "so, THIS is what you're reading instead of doing your homework!!", ( I actually hated school), and the mag ripped at the spine, but I retrieved it and put it away. I'll never forget that evening, it had such an impact on me, like I did something very, very wrong. But, when you tell a kid who "lusts" for something that he can't have it, well, he usually WANTS IT MORE!! Which, was my case. Fast forward to today, I have 2 kids, (well, actually adults now), and 2 grandchildren, and,when they want to watch a horror flick, or purchase a monster type item, I encourage them to do so, and, you know what, they never tire of my stories that I tell them about how it was years ago when I was growing up, sometimes they even envy me for growing up in those times in a world that they'll obviously never know.
Quote from: skully on February 01, 2017, 01:01:28 AM
Horrorhunter, interesting. Issue # 28 was also the first issue that I bought in 1964, 10 years old at the time. My mom was with me that evening when I went to Moyers Variety store here in Reading at South 9th. St. She told me to put the magazine under my shirt so my dad wouldn't see it. She knew I "craved" monsters, and let me purchase it. But, as fate would have it, my dad found it under my shirt as we walked in, and immediately threw the mag across the floor while shouting, "so, THIS is what you're reading instead of doing your homework!!", ( I actually hated school), and the mag ripped at the spine, but I retrieved it and put it away. I'll never forget that evening, it had such an impact on me, like I did something very, very wrong. But, when you tell a kid who "lusts" for something that he can't have it, well, he usually WANTS IT MORE!! Which, was my case. Fast forward to today, I have 2 kids, (well, actually adults now), and 2 grandchildren, and,when they want to watch a horror flick, or purchase a monster type item, I encourage them to do so, and, you know what, they never tire of my stories that I tell them about how it was years ago when I was growing up, sometimes they even envy me for growing up in those times in a world that they'll obviously never know.
Thanks for sharing your memories, skully.
I was very lucky in that my parents never disapproved of my interest in monsters. I believe we grew up in the best time to be a kid. I wouldn't trade those times for anything.
Quote from: horrorhunter on January 31, 2017, 04:54:26 PMIssues 2-4 had Jack Davis covers and 5 and 6 featured covers by Basil Gogos.
This one's my favourite cover:
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_L5fa2CwoCuY/TDNLKxiDdUI/AAAAAAAAByQ/n6aqLvwYUL0/s1600/WW4.jpg)
8)
Quote from: skully on February 01, 2017, 01:01:28 AMIssue # 28 was also the first issue that I bought in 1964, 10 years old at the time. My mom was with me that evening when I went to Moyers Variety store here in Reading at South 9th. St. She told me to put the magazine under my shirt so my dad wouldn't see it. She knew I "craved" monsters, and let me purchase it. But, as fate would have it, my dad found it under my shirt as we walked in, and immediately threw the mag across the floor while shouting, "so, THIS is what you're reading instead of doing your homework!!"....
Well at least your dad took an interest in how well you were doing in your studies. I've heard of parents who didn't care.
Quote from: horrorhunter on February 01, 2017, 03:05:34 AMI was very lucky in that my parents never disapproved of my interest in monsters.
My mother seemed to understand the desires of young boys better than did my father. My father actively discouraged any interest I might have in monsters because "You know there are no such things as monsters!" He was being protective though since the campfire tales that the old women told when he was growing up in the old country left him with terrible nightmares as a kid. But he also confiscated my Brother Rat Fink T-shirt and my Rat Fink sweatshirt as soon as he saw them because he found them offensive. He was also dismissive of my comics as "monkeys".
:(
Quote from: skully on February 01, 2017, 01:01:28 AM... they never tire of my stories that I tell them about how it was years ago when I was growing up, sometimes they even envy me for growing up in those times in a world that they'll obviously never know.
Quote from: horrorhunter on February 01, 2017, 03:05:34 AMI believe we grew up in the best time to be a kid. I wouldn't trade those times for anything.
Oh I agree! We grew up in the best of times for kids. Living standards had improved to the point that there was a plethora of luxuries such as stuff for kids on store shelves, much of which could be seen in ads on this new medium "television". Moreover we baby boomers were the last of the free range kids. Within fifteen years helicopter parenting became the vogue and kids could no longer just be kids and roam their neighbourhoods freely unaccompanied by adults.
:(
Quote from: skully on February 01, 2017, 01:01:28 AMBut, when you tell a kid who "lusts" for something that he can't have it, well, he usually WANTS IT MORE!! Which, was my case. Fast forward to today, I have 2 kids, (well, actually adults now), and 2 grandchildren, and,when they want to watch a horror flick, or purchase a monster type item, I encourage them to do so....
Wait till they want a copy of
Penthouse magazine!
:laugh:
Quote from: Hepcat on February 01, 2017, 01:54:26 PM
Oh I agree! We grew up in the best of times for kids. Living standards had improved to the point that there was a plethora of luxuries such as stuff for kids on store shelves, much of which could be seen in ads on this new medium "television". Moreover we baby boomers were the last of the free range kids. Within fifteen years helicopter parenting became the vogue and kids could no longer just be kids and roam their neighbourhoods freely unaccompanied by adults.
Full agreement!
My mother was very protective but I was still allowed to bike and walk where I pleased as long as I did what was expected of me and made sure to eat. I usually chose to be at home because I
wasn't forced to be at home. It would suck to be a kid now. You can't take a pocket knife to school. You can't have a schoolyard fight without police involvement. You can't say what you mean publically because of this
politically correct fog that envelopes everyone. Wouldn't want to actually be honest and risk offending anyone, so everyone just thinks it and says it behind people's backs. Now it's about doping and arrest to try to keep kids in line. The freedoms we enjoyed as kids were gradually stripped away year by year and now here we are with everyone living a
virtual life with their heads stuck in their phones and other devices because their real life has been slowly degraded to the point the virtual is preferable. No wonder some kids get pissed off and act out in crazy ways. The tyranny of too many rules and too many nosy people trying to run other's lives have put us in the present situation. I'm glad I grew up before the busybodies figured out how to
fix everything. ::)
I know there are probably already several threads around here where we've discussed our personal genesises as Monsterkids. But anyhoo, this was my first FM:
(http://images.yuku.com.s3.amazonaws.com/image/jpeg/14015ccac6c3b724b3f79db57b6895142c092ef.jpg)
I saw it at my midwestern smalltown newstand, where Mom got her copy of the Sunday New York Daily News (because of its crime stories), and where I got some of my comics. My eyes bugged out, and I asked for it as my 11th birthday present.
(This was about the time that I was first seeing the Uni classics, on late Saturday nights by way of Toledo's INFINITY and FT. Wayne's PSYCHO CINEMA.)
I was hooked, bought the mag with paper route money pretty regularly, and even had a subscription for a year. Also bought a few back issues from Captain Company, including the great Karloff Memorial issue, which I'd just missed when it was new.
Dad was fairly ambivalent about this stuff (though he did stay up once with me for THE MUMMY). Mom (see "crime stories," above) had been a THRILLER/ONE STEP BEYOND/HITCHCOCK/TWILIGHT ZONE fan, so she was fine with the genre.
My fandom has waxed and waned over the years, tempered by other interests and real life, but obviously (as a wise man once said) - Here I Stand!
-Craig
Horrorhunter and Hepcat, you've both "hit the pervrerbial" nail on the head!! These are the very things that I was referring to as to the "psychological" aspect of loving monsters when we were kids(and, obviously still do), the times we knew back then, so much simpler. Going on bicycle rides that lasted all day during summer vacations, dating girls that actually involved real talking, either on phone, or in person instead of text now, going to dances when there were real local bands playing instead of dj's or other, and fights after school, crap, I can't even remember how many I was involved with! It's funny, when I look back, I remember my dad vividly saying, "ok kids, we're moving out of the "city", because I don't want you to get into any trouble at school or anything else. So, we moved to the outskirts, in Muhlenberg Township, back in August of 66, and wow, we got into more "trouble" than we ever did!!! But, all in all, it was the experience of living "those" times, during "those" times, when things were so different. I guess it's hard to put into words for the younger crowd today. I really don't want to sound like an "old" man, I guess because I'm still 18 "upstairs", but it's the truth.
Quote from: Wich2 on February 01, 2017, 08:01:06 PMI know there are probably already several threads around here where we've discussed our personal genesises as Monsterkids.
The problem being that those other threads are so old that they're very deeply buried. And I can't think of any effective search words to unearth them.
Quote from: Wich2 on February 01, 2017, 08:01:06 PMThis was about the time that I was first seeing the Uni classics, on late Saturday nights by way of Toledo's INFINITY and FT. Wayne's PSYCHO CINEMA.
You lived in northwestern Ohio then I presume.
???
>You lived in northwestern Ohio then I presume.<
Hep, as Ed McMahon might have said,
"You are CORRECT, sir - In your triangulation!"
Skully, I treasure my kidhood, which sounds a lot like yours. But I know from talking to younger folks, that there were treasures after our era, too! As there were before us - DANDELION WINE being a great example.
Best,
-Craig
Quote from: skully on February 01, 2017, 01:01:28 AMBut, when you tell a kid who "lusts" for something that he can't have it, well, he usually WANTS IT MORE!!
Indeed! Deny kids toy guns, and they're more likely to get real ones at first opportunity. There's been plenty of evidence for this phenomenon.
Plus there's the old "Boy who cried wolf" syndrome. What happens when you get hysterical parents with no sense of perspective telling kids sugary soda pop is "bad" for them and not letting the kids drink any? By the time the kids reach their teens, their parents have lost all credibility with the kids. So the parents then tell the kids to avoid drugs because they're "bad" for them? "Yeah sure, mom. Aren't you the one who also told me Pepsi-Cola and Bazooka bubble gum were bad for me?"
::)
Quote from: horrorhunter on February 01, 2017, 04:31:14 PMIt would suck to be a kid now. You can't take a pocket knife to school.... The freedoms we enjoyed as kids were gradually stripped away year by year and now here we are with everyone living a virtual life with their heads stuck in their phones and other devices because their real life has been slowly degraded to the point the virtual is preferable.
Great point! Of course virtual reality is preferable to the degraded/constrained limits within which kids have to exist these days. No playing in the streets with the other kids, no unsupervised ball games in the park, no biking around the neighbourhood within a mile or two radius, no jack knives and no guns! :o
I was much more into sci-fi than cowboys as a kid, but I still coveted a nice cap gun and holster set and now I absolutely positively have to add a good vintage one to my toy collection! Something like this one:
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/General%20Album%203/General%20Album%203001/Cap%20Gun_zpstg99pgzr.jpg)
So I can shoot off rolls of caps like kids did all the time back in the day!
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/General%20Album%203/General%20Album%203001/caps_zpssf4ygel1.jpg)
And we had firecrackers too!
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/General%20Album%203/General%20Album%203001/Black%20Cat%20Firecrackers_zpsoorybufx.jpg)
Whole packs of little bombs for a nickel or a dime! What could be better for a red-blooded kid? (I've always loved the smell of firecrackers/caps/gunpowder.)
Quote from: horrorhunter on February 01, 2017, 04:31:14 PMNo wonder some kids get pissed off and act out in crazy ways. The tyranny of too many rules and too many nosy people trying to run other's lives have put us in the present situation. I'm glad I grew up before the busybodies figured out how to fix everything.
So very true!
cl:)
Well then Wich2, horrorhunter, and hepcat, we all share similar memories, as I'm sure many others in this group do too. I remember watching the movie "Stand by me", with the kids walking the railroad tracks. When we moved out of the city to Muhlenberg, it was a great mid-sized development called Cherokee Ranch, most all were cape cod style homes, built in the late 40's. Almost every household had kids. Behind the development were 3 sets of railroad tracks, and we walked them frequently. Although we never found any "dead bodies", like in the movie, it brought back memories of walking those tracks. We had a huge playground for us at the top of the hill behind the development, which was right next door to the Reading drive-in. How cool was that! Every movie that ever came out from late 66 (although our family frequently went to this drive-in while we were still living in the city) up until the late 70's we saw there. There was a whole slew of us from the development that would run down the hill, usually on a Friday or Saturday night, there was a couple of fence planks missing in the back, and we would all pile into the lot and sit in the back, on the ground, usually with blankets, putting those clunky car speakers on the ground next to us, and just having a great time. As for dandelion wine, Wich2, we had something called Tiger Rose, it was sold by the gallon which was bought back then in very "eye-brow" raising ways by us. That, along with a large tub of buttered pop-corn from the concession stand in the drive-in, well, lets just say that we had some "interesting" times in that drive-in. Sometimes I had to wander to another speaker stand to actually watch the movie playing instead of being with the gang of us. I loved watching the monster and horror flicks like this on that enormous screen. Yes, looking back, drive-ins, gigantic 5 cent candy bars, swimming pools (or swimming in creeks), going to the old time Reading Fair(when it used to be good), all the cool cars of the times, bicycles, gum cards, and yes, all the toys and magazines, opening up all those boxes of cereal to reach in for the prize, cracker jack, these were the best of times, we just didn't realize it until much, much later!!
Skull, I recall tasting my Grandma's dandelion wine... but I meant Ray Bradbury's DANDELION WINE.
Proof that wonderful eras for childhood didn't begin with ours! Every kid gets a chance - even today's.
-Craig
Wich2, you are correct, the children of today will also one day look back at "their" times being the best of times (I hope).
In all fairness I suppose every generation thinks their growing up was at the best time because when we are formed as persons we love that which formed us. I still prefer to think that Monsterboomers had it best, but I am extremely prejudiced in that regard you know. ;) ;D
Monster memories begin with the movies and the toys. Those Marx monsters were durable and available... and I remember my oldest brother's Famous Monsters magazine with the back inside cover shot of the Monster glowering at Frankenstein's bride to be... that scared me. He kept it "hidden" from our mom in his bottom drawer. It was scary and naughty.
The next year on Halloween Creature Feature showed the original movie FRANKENSTEIN (1931). It was a Saturday afternoon (1970)... I had a store bought Frankenstein costume. I remember leaping around the house and watching FRANKENSTEIN... I don't think it's a mishmash, but who knows? I was so young...
A few years later I bought a lot of what we called gulla gullas... jigglers. I later learned some were AHI some were Ben Cooper. I was fascinated by monster models. Our cousins gave us a cyclops model from "Lost in Space" which we thought was cool... I remember Aurora transitioning from long box to square box.
I had to own a Marx Battery Operated Frankenstein... then I did for a long time. It's nice to know that that awesomely cool toy in The Munsters really existed!!!
A few years after I stumbled across my first Frankenbucket that I still own. That's when I started looking more seriously for Monsters.
My parents raised 2 sons - my older brother, who watched a lot of sports, and me - who ignored sports and watched horror, sci-fi and western movies along with The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, The Munsters & the Adams Family.
My Dad appreciated discussing and watching sports with my older brother.
I enjoyed my own world, watching mostly monster movies and reading books about haunted houses and monsters and loved Halloween every year - which I could enjoy with other kids back then. Over time I met more people into the shows I enjoyed the most and so I had enough friends to relate to.
Building the classic Frankenstein model as my first model kit in the 60's was a really big deal. I repainted it a few times, adding a bit more detail each time. Eventually I would develop a preference for liking the extreme detailed painting far beyond sanding parts to fit perfectly and gluing parts together. To this day I'm amazed how perfectly sculpted that Frankenstein head was for a small model - given the limited tech avail back then.
The Famous Monsters of Filmland mag was treasured for many years. I love it right down to the funky retro adds and editorial pieces.
To All who have so far posted in this interesting subject, these are such great memories that we share, it's actually fun to remember these times, and try to write about them so everybody gets a glimpse, and as mentioned earlier, sometimes sad too. It's certainly not everybody who have memories like we do, I believe we were the "lucky" ones, but that's just my opinion. But , I have to agree with horrorhunter, I am prejudiced for the earlier times. There is no right or wrong here, we are all equal with our own memories, but damn, its tough to beat the 60's!!
Brother Hep! Mind blowing collection! And being 61 I'm right there with you in the era. My steps to monsterdom were very very similar. You guys have said it all so perfect. I will try to put together a story of my first stimuli. Great work! I'm glad I dropped in.
Thanks for bringing this thread to my attention, Hepcat...was a good excuse for me to check in and see what's going on. Haven't been online as much as i used to mainly due to caring for my 93 year old mom with dementia, here in my home. A full time gig in the truest sense of the term! Really enjoyed you [and everyone else] walking us thru what inspired you to follow this very similar path we all chose. I only wish my memories were as crystal clear and precise as yours. One thing i had totally forgotten about was that Hasbro Marble Maze toy...I had it as a kid, too and enjoyed it very much! I had a big plywood toy box that slid under my bed like a big drawer, full of all my favorite toys...just had to clear a space with your hands and you could plunk yourself down in the middle with everything at arms reach...Paradise!!
My earliest monster memory would have to be finding the Aurora long box Frankenstein kit at a local store. I must have been maybe 5 years old. I wanted my brother who was 10 years older than me [he passed away 2 years ago] to help me build it, but i guess he was busy, so i attempted it on my own. I learned 2 things from the experience; First, model glue melts polystyrene plastic. I found this fun fact out when i used about a quarter tube to attach Franky's head to the torso. [wanted to be sure it wouldn't fall off!] When i checked on it the next day, his head had sunken deep in his chest and he was looking at his feet. Secondly; You can't pour turpentine into a plastic medicine bottle to soak your paint brush in afterwards...that, too was an unrecognizable blob with a paint brush stuck in it by the next day. I was upset that my first attempt was such a failure, but luckily, they only cost a buck and the second time my brother assisted me, did a much better paint job & I still have & cherish it to this day.
Both my mom and dad had no problem with me liking monster stuff. Rarely did they say no to a toy request. The big stuff, like Great Garloo, King Zor, Ideal Haunted House Game, etc, were reserved for more special occasions like Birthdays and Xmas. But they were always okay with little stuff like Marx Monsters, [My buddy ,Doug and i used to sit in a puddle that formed after a heavy rain on my street and play with them...we'd grind their heads into the asphalt til gone to simulate battles, then go off to Grants and buy another for 19 cents!] Monster Print Putty, Kooky Spooky ghosts, Monster models, etc. It was my brother who introduced me to my childhood hero and later in life, good friend, John Zacherle on TV. He plopped me down in front of it one day and said ; ''Watch this, it's cool." He was right. Again, i must have been about 5...It was the creation sequence from The Bride of Frankenstein. I remember when they peeled the bandage off her eyes to that loud burst of music and running out of the room! I came back, though and witnessed like many kids did back then, how Zach would masterfully take the edge off scary scenes like this with his one of a kind wit, warmth and sense of humor...We were always safe in his company. God, how i miss him.
Well, Svengoolie is showing Godzilla in a little while and i've gotta check on my mom before she goes to bed...thanks again for the heads up, Hep...hopefully i'll be back again sooner than later.
Good ta "see" ya, Mike!
Let me know when you're gonna be in town. That quick "Hi" at Zach's memorial was nice, but would love to b.s. over coffee - my treat!
God bless you and your Mum.
-Craig
Gasport, I watched Godzilla, for probably the 100th. time!!
Quote from: Wich2 on February 04, 2017, 10:56:47 PM
Good ta "see" ya, Mike!
Let me know when you're gonna be in town. That quick "Hi" at Zach's memorial was nice, but would love to b.s. over coffee - my treat!
God bless you and your Mum.
-Craig
Yes Craig, I couldn't believe how fast that place cleared out! By the time i got past a couple of people i had never met before, both you and David Colton [who i shook hands with quickly, as i did w/you] were gone. Really upsetting!
Quote from: Gasport on February 04, 2017, 09:37:20 PMMy earliest monster memory would have to be finding the Aurora long box Frankenstein kit at a local store. I must have been maybe 5 years old. I wanted my brother who was 10 years older than me [he passed away 2 years ago] to help me build it, but i guess he was busy, so i attempted it on my own. I learned 2 things from the experience; First, model glue melts polystyrene plastic. I found this fun fact out when i used about a quarter tube to attach Franky's head to the torso. [wanted to be sure it wouldn't fall off!] When i checked on it the next day, his head had sunken deep in his chest and he was looking at his feet. Secondly; You can't pour turpentine into a plastic medicine bottle to soak your paint brush in afterwards...that, too was an unrecognizable blob with a paint brush stuck in it by the next day. I was upset that my first attempt was such a failure....
:o :laugh:
Quote from: Gasport on February 04, 2017, 09:37:20 PM...but luckily, they only cost a buck and the second time my brother assisted me, did a much better paint job & I still have & cherish it to this day.
Did you build any other monster kits? Did you get good at painting them?
Quote from: Gasport on February 04, 2017, 09:37:20 PMBoth my mom and dad had no problem with me liking monster stuff. Rarely did they say no to a toy request. The big stuff, like Great Garloo, King Zor, Ideal Haunted House Game, etc, were reserved for more special occasions like Birthdays and Xmas. But they were always okay with little stuff like Marx Monsters, Monster Print Putty, Kooky Spooky ghosts, Monster models, etc.
Wow! Great Garloo, King Zor, Ideal Haunted House Game, lucky you!
8)
I am a military brat and even though I am from California my road to being a monster kid started in Texas. I was a kid in 1st grade and just transferred there. I made 3 fast friends. One day one of my friends asked me if I wanted a Mummy model for free. He had a spare. I didn't know what the Mummy model was but the price was right so I took it. I picked it up on the way home from school and I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. It wasn't painted but built. I took it home and kept looking at it. My father was not impressed. I then discovered there were more Aurora monster models available. On the base PX they were 33 cents and downtown they were 99 cents. The base did not have them all but there was a hobby shop in town that had them. I would earn my allowance and wrangle a ride down to the hobby shop. My brother built them for me (one of the only few things he has done for me) we didn't paint them but they were still cool. As I got older I started building my own models and I also discovered Famous Monsters of Filmland. Back in that time frame you could walk into any store and find something of the Universal Monsters. As we went from base to base every 3 years and traveling around the world the only familiar thing I found was the monsters were there in some way shape or form. I had been collecting stuff way back then but a lot of it get lost in the moves. I am surprised I was able to hold on to my original Aurora monster models. I have a few other things that I managed to hold onto like the Creature poster sold in Famous Monsters which hangs in my Universal room and a Son Of Frankenstein black light poster I won at a fair. I just kept collecting as time went on. When I got married we had a spare room (nowhere near the size of my room now) I used for my collection. When my son was born I packed it away and put it in storage. He needed a room. I still kept collecting but I would basically get it and look at it and put it in a box. I couldn't do too many models because there was no room to put them. Then we had a daughter and we outgrew the apartment. I built a house and designed it so my new room would be in the basement and I was hammering on the workers to make sure the basement would be dry. 8 years later I was able to start construction on it. It was great to start unpacking things and by that time I discovered EBay. Being a hopeless collector it was a good outlet to get some of my lost stuff back. I always like the thrill of the hunt for Universal monster goodies. I found a place in Salem Mass. which sometime I will make the hour and a half trip with the hopes of getting something new or rare. I still do the models which keeps a steady flow of collectables coming in. I will never stop collecting. Then when the kids got married and moved out, I needed more room so I added to the room and that is getting full. 17 years ago I started my website and it caught on and is still running. It is in need of some repair. I had health problems and 3 operations last year. My webhost updated their software without warning so I have to redo my clips and some of my sound clips. My computer needs some work I haven't had time to repair it but hope to soon because some of my programs I need for the site don't work. That plus time makes it a little overwhelming. I do have 1/4 of it done. Hope I wasn't too long winded. This road to becoming a monster loving kid and monster toy enthusiast took 60 years to travel. It a road I never regret taking.
Quote from: Universal Steve on February 06, 2017, 11:36:45 PMMy father was not impressed.
Many weren't in those days.
Quote from: Universal Steve on February 06, 2017, 11:36:45 PMI then discovered there were more Aurora monster models available. On the base PX they were 33 cents and downtown they were 99 cents.
Wow! 33 cents!
Quote from: Universal Steve on February 06, 2017, 11:36:45 PMI found a place in Salem Mass. which sometime I will make the hour and a half trip with the hopes of getting something new or rare.
What kind of place is this? A hobby shop or a vintage toy store?
Quote from: Universal Steve on February 06, 2017, 11:36:45 PMI still do the models which keeps a steady flow of collectables coming in.
Do you paint them now?
???
Great memoir, Steve!
Quote from: Hepcat on February 07, 2017, 10:02:36 AM
Many weren't in those days.
What kind of place is this? A hobby shop or a vintage toy store?
It is a place called Harrison's Comics and Collectables. I have gotten quite a few good things there.
Do you paint them now?
I am always working on a model. I just finished Robin which I will post pics soon and now I am starting the Earthen Dead Dracula. I have quite a stack ahead of me and I am always adding to it. Painting is my way of relaxing
???
My interest in Horror goes back to probably the the local Drug store, where you could buy Aurora Model Kits and toys like "The Haunted Hulk". There was also the Vine American party store, where every Halloween they had paper Halloween decorations like the Hallmark Haunted House I played with as a kid.
(http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss267/Baronscrypt666/Haunted%20Mansion/c16fe53ba7835978944e011a59e9a2aa_zpswlyggoze.jpg)
This isn't the actual one, but one somebody posted here on the UMA recently. I also had a Munsters lunchbox growing up, and
Monster themed Hot rod kits. On TV you had "The Munsters" The Addams Family", there was "Shrimpentstein" as well as "Milton The Monster". I've never lost my interest in Monster Culture, and I love that UMA is here to learn that I'm not alone in this.
I'm not sure what was the first monster toy I bought, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was the Aurora Frankenstein.
Funny story. After I got all the Aurora monster models, I was convinced for some reason the Harryhausen Cyclops was next.
I proceeded to go into Woolworth's every Saturday for the next year asking when the Cyclops was coming out. It got to a point where this woman would hide from me, knowing full well I'd be showing up every Saturday. LOL
JP
Did she ever succeed in getting you to buy a different model kit?
???
I grew up in Everett Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. Everett is 1/3 residence, 1/3 cemetery, and 1/3 industry. I was lucky in monstering because I had an older brother who was ten years my senior who was obsessively into acting and monster movies in particular. I remember my mother would buy the TV Guide every week and my brother would go through it and highlight all the monster movies in red ink. In Boston we had a whole bunch of hosts and shows that would show monster movies throughout the 60's and even into the '70's. The first movies I remember of watching were KING KONG and FRANKENSTEIN. I've seen those two more times than I've seen any other movies. My brother bought every issue of Famous Monsters starting with issue #2. Somehow he missed the first issue. I read every one of them. He also had most of the Aurora models. The first monster item I ever bought myself was the Aurora Creature model. While shopping with my mother in Malden, which was the next town over we discovered a great hobby shop that had Aurora models. Every week thereafter my father would drive me to the hobby shop and I would run in and get another Aurora monster model. I collected all of them this way. I would get home and lay down some newspaper on the kitchen table and start breaking the pieces off the sprues and gluing them together. I wasn't so good at painting them back then. My brothers models were painted much better and I still, to this day have some of his original models that he painted way back in the '60's. He gave them to me when I was really young along with some of his other monster items like his Frankenstein speaker head, an SPP wallet, and his FM's. All of which I cherished then and still have now. Those are the first items in my collection and they're what made me start collecting.
Quote from: Monolith on February 11, 2017, 02:17:03 PMEvery week thereafter my father would drive me to the hobby shop and I would run in and get another Aurora monster model.
Lucky you!
Quote from: Monolith on February 11, 2017, 02:17:03 PMMy brothers models were painted much better and I still, to this day have some of his original models that he painted way back in the '60's. He gave them to me when I was really young along with some of his other monster items like his Frankenstein speaker head, an SPP wallet, and his FM's. All of which I cherished then and still have now.
Is your brother glad that you kept the kits he assembled or is he indifferent? Does he still appreciate or even collect monster toys and memorabilia?
???
Oh yes, my brother is very glad to see the kits he painted so long ago. He's still a big fan of monster movies, he's posted here at the UMA under the name The Holding Coat.
How I became a Monster loving Kid of all things Monsters, Horror and everything aesthetically Creepy.
My story begins at age four, circa 1969, New York. I would say I attribute my love of Monsters and Horror from the influence of my Mother and Grandmother. As far as I can recollect, the first time I was exposed to a Monster image, was from seeing Chiller Theatre. That was it! I was hooked!
See the opening credits from Chiller Theatre. The six-fingered hand ascending from the bloody ground. That Chiller Theatre image really grabbed me, at least I thought
it did.
Chiller Theatre, popcorn, Mom, Grandma and a four year old sitting in front of a television in the dark. How awesome is that, I ask. Rhetorical. It was awesome! Monsters right in front of my face, scaring me, but still I watched every image on that television screen.
My Mom and Grandma would purposely try to scare me, by hiding, making scary faces or weird body gestures. Well, that worked a couple times. Until I grew a tolerance to their
chicanery. It was all in fun. Those days were truly fun times.
Great Monster memories.
As I became older, I wanted to see more Monsters and anything Horror related. I think I was about six when I received my first Monster toy. It was a Dracula figure, and if I
recall, I am pretty sure it was an A.H.I., Dracula. Or maybe, a Lincoln Dracula. Nevertheless, it was a cool Dracula toy.
That Dracula toy was the start of my obsession for Monster toys.
Mom supplied me with Creepy, Eerie, Monster and Super Hero comic books. We went to any and every Horror film we could possibly watch. From Drive-ins to double features.
One particular film my Mom and I watched was, The Amityville Horror-1979. Holy crap! I got scared watching THAT film. So much so, I ran up the aisle of the theatre.
My Mom laughed, after the movie was finish. I did stay and eventually watch the entire film. Plus, begged her to watch it again.
That same year, I went to the Drive-in with friends to see Dawn of the Dead. Wow! Now that film really affected me, and left an indelible impression. The images from Dawn of the Dead were quite disturbing, for a thirteen year old. I am still surprised that the Drive-in management let me in.
Seeing Dawn of the Dead for the first time at a young age definitely influences my love for gore. Again, I was hooked.
I wanted and craved, Gore! Soon after, Fangoria magazine hit magazine shelves. I began to collect Horror and Monster magazines, posters, masks and Tshirts.
My love for Monsters and Horror has never ended. It is a part of me, a lifestyle. Some understand and some do not- GET IT. What's there to GET?!
Quote from: marsattacks666 on April 27, 2017, 04:05:14 PMMy story begins at age four, circa 1969, New York. I would say I attribute my love of Monsters and Horror from the influence of my Mother and Grandmother.
Chiller Theatre, popcorn, Mom, Grandma and a four year old sitting in front of a television in the dark. How awesome is that, I ask.
My Mom and Grandma would purposely try to scare me, by hiding, making scary faces or weird body gestures. Well, that worked a couple times. Until I grew a tolerance to their chicanery.
Mom supplied me with Creepy, Eerie, Monster and Super Hero comic books. We went to any and every Horror film we could possibly watch. From Drive-ins to double features. One particular film my Mom and I watched was, The Amityville Horror-1979. Holy crap! I got scared watching THAT film. So much so, I ran up the aisle of the theatre.
My Mom laughed, after the movie was finish. I did stay and eventually watch the entire film. Plus, begged her to watch it again.
Oh man! Your grandmother and mother were unbelievably cool!
8)
Incidentally, was it home made/popped popcorn?
(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/151091309371_/Nostalgia-Home-8-Cup-Retro-Hot-Oil-Popcorn.jpg)
???
I would guess Jiffy Pop.
(http://www.retroland.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/jiffy_pop_650x300_a01_10110.jpg)
I've never seen the package above and my family often burnt some of the popcorn. By accident.
Quote from: Hepcat on April 28, 2017, 10:14:59 AM
Oh man! Your grandmother and mother were unbelievably cool!
8)
Incidentally, was it home made/popped popcorn?
(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/151091309371_/Nostalgia-Home-8-Cup-Retro-Hot-Oil-Popcorn.jpg)
???
Hepcat, indeed it was. It may have been Orville Redenbacher's.
Hey guys, thought I'd write a bit, I currently have my 10 year old grand-daughter sleeping over night at my house here in the city, she's having the time of her life here, she's so excited with all these monsters here in my house, she's really having fun, I'm telling her when I was her age (10), I would watch monster movies till dawn. She's currently watching an episode of "Goosebumps", soon to be followed with "Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein"!!! So much fun. Makes me think back to those good old days.
Quote from: skully on May 05, 2017, 11:54:43 PM...I currently have my 10 year old grand-daughter sleeping over night at my house here in the city, she's having the time of her life here, she's so excited with all these monsters here in my house, she's really having fun....
Well then this is your big chance to unsexually stereotype your grand-daughter! Take her down to the hobby shop immediately and get her one of the Aurora monster, Revell "Big Daddy" Roth fink or Hawk Weird-Oh kits! They've all been reissued. Let her choose the one she wants (and if she wants a warplane, warship or muscle car instead/as well that's fine too). And get her some paints as well. Then work on building it with her helping her every step of the way so that she's delighted with the finished product and thus encouraged to build more!
And if she's enthralled by the model train sets or slot-car sets at the hobby shop, so much the better! Get her (and yourself) one of those as well. And maybe a Dr. Dreadful Lab too!
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/g434/Balticprince/Doctor_Dreadful_10.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
Mad scientist would be a great career aspiration for a young girl. Maybe she'll be the one to discover a cure for cancer when she grows up!
:)
Hi Hep! She was, for a while, into "Monster High" dolls, and she really likes the entire "goosebumps" series, as well as watching monster flicks (as long as they're not too scary), believe it or not, one of her favorites was the Elvira hosted "Crawling Hand"!! She likes to play in my "painting" room, where I have my original art, in years to come she will realize actually what these pieces are. Her younger sister will probably follow in her footsteps.
"Monster High" dolls are still dolls, i.e. girlie stuff. Take them down to the hobby shop so that they can follow in the footsteps of Melodee Ann Nicholls from this thread:
http://www.universalmonsterarmy.com/forum/index.php?topic=29876.0 (http://www.universalmonsterarmy.com/forum/index.php?topic=29876.0)
;)
Hey Hep!! Thanks for that link, actually, that set "wasn't" complete, a complete set was found in, I believe, in Chicago or somewhere, at a toy show, which included in the shipping box, I believe 2 early issues of Famous Monsters magazine, which were actually missing from this particular set. I actually remember, in grade school, girls building the Aurora Monster model kits, so cool. I also remember, in the back part of our school playground, all the kids, gathered around, to look at the "then" new orange boarder "horror monster" gum cards, again, so cool. One of my favorite past-times were shooting "mibs (marbles), I had thousands of them back then.
What a collection Hep!! Goodness! You are blessed to be in a position to pursue this love like you have. More power to you.
The genesis of my own "Monster Kid-Dom" was fueled by watching "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstien" at my grandma's house on Sundays after church.
Furthering the movement were my excursions at a young age to Terry's barbershop---where, after my trim, my dad would have us stop in to Steve's soda shop a few doors down to visit a cousin who worked there as a soda jerk. We'd sit at the counter and get cheeseburgers and fries and root beer floats. After eating lunch, I was permitted to peruse the stands that were chock full of comics and magazines and pick one. I then was allowed to pick one candy. What a way to desensitize me to getting a haircut! I started out getting Superhero comics, but moved to getting Monster comics. My favorite was Werewolf By Night. I then discovered Famous Monsters of Filmland. I would get one and the neighborhood kids would sit around me on the front porch and we'd flip through it together. The candy choices? I'd usually walk out with a pack of Wax Bottles or a Marathon Bar or Sugar Babies.
Quote from: skully on May 06, 2017, 11:38:08 PMOne of my favorite past-times were shooting "mibs (marbles), I had thousands of them back then.
One of the very few things I still have from my early years are my marbles. They survived in an old steel cookie jar. For proper display I transferred them into a hexagonal goldfish bowl and placed them on top of the kitchen pantry about five years ago.
8)
Quote from: Sean on October 29, 2017, 12:28:10 PM...after my trim, my dad would have us stop in to Steve's soda shop a few doors down to visit a cousin who worked there as a soda jerk. We'd sit at the counter and get cheeseburgers and fries and root beer floats. After eating lunch, I was permitted to peruse the stands that were chock full of comics and magazines and pick one. I then was allowed to pick one candy. What a way to desensitize me to getting a haircut! I started out getting Superhero comics, but moved to getting Monster comics. My favorite was Werewolf By Night. I then discovered Famous Monsters of Filmland. I would get one and the neighborhood kids would sit around me on the front porch and we'd flip through it together. The candy choices? I'd usually walk out with a pack of Wax Bottles or a Marathon Bar or Sugar Babies.
Oh man! Where was Steve's soda shop? Is it still in business?
???
Quote from: Hepcat on October 29, 2017, 09:58:24 PM
Oh man! Where was Steve's soda shop? Is it still in business?
???
Steve's was in Sayreville, NJ. Sadly it no longer exists. I wish I could go back. I'd be there tomorrow. 8)
Same here, my one of many stops used to be Margies, located at 10th and Spruce. My school (grade school), was right across the street, and while walking home, I'd always stop and get a great soda fountain cherry coke, I always watched so that they put in enough syrup, then the fizz water would go in, and they'd stir it with a long spoon. Sometimes I would just sit at the marble counter and drink it, and spend maybe a nickle for some penny candy. Yes, I'd go back tomorrow too!
Quote from: Sean on October 29, 2017, 11:56:15 PMSteve's was in Sayreville, NJ. Sadly it no longer exists.
Very sad.
:(
Quote from: Sean on October 29, 2017, 11:56:15 PMI wish I could go back. I'd be there tomorrow.
Quote from: skully on October 30, 2017, 12:13:18 AMSame here, my one of many stops used to be Margies, located at 10th and Spruce. My school (grade school), was right across the street, and while walking home, I'd always stop and get a great soda fountain cherry coke, I always watched so that they put in enough syrup, then the fizz water would go in, and they'd stir it with a long spoon. Sometimes I would just sit at the marble counter and drink it, and spend maybe a nickle for some penny candy. Yes, I'd go back tomorrow too!
I'd join you fellows! We could all go together.
Evidently there was an old-fashioned soda fountain in Cairncross the Chemists' pharmacy at Dundas St. and Clarence in downtown London, Ontario up until 1979 when the building was demolished. I didn't realize that it was even there though since there was nothing about the exterior of the store to lure me in as a youngster. The wares in Birr's Nuthouse (later Nut and Candy Land) right next door always drew my eye instead. Model kits, comics, bubblegum cards, potato chips, soda pop, etc. were available in several other stores in the immediate vicinity and I don't think I ever ventured inside Cairncross until late in the afternoon one Christmas Eve in 1977 or 1978 to buy some bubble bath or a perfumed powder puff for my sister.
Here's a photo of that Cairncross pharmacy from early in the twentieth century:
(http://images.ourontario.ca/Partners/LonPL/LonPL002416867f.jpg)
Just another instance of not knowing what you've got till it's gone. The Whistle Stop Drive-In was another such place until it was destroyed by a gas leak explosion(?) sometime in the mid-1980's. It was a fabulous diner with foot long hot dogs that prompted train crews to stop just three blocks from the downtown London CNR station for a quick bite whenever they were on schedule. Meanwhile I dropped in to sample the offerings no more than once or twice despite the fact that it was less than half a mile from my house! Arrrggghhh!!!
>:(
Hey Hep, I'm with you on that one. Can you imagine, going back to those days, and seeing everything as it was, don't know if I could actually take it, I'd probably just fall over! There is, however, a place that still exists from my past, Schell's, on 5th. St. highway in Muhlenberg, about 15 miles outside of Reading. We moved to Muhlenberg township when I was 12, 1966. It was (and still is) a great walk-in, drive-in food "hangout" place for us, and it still almost looks the same! We would always ride our bikes there, and just chow down the tasty great food, they had the best barbecue sandwiches, great big burgers, and all the other good stuff. When we got older, we would all go there at night as a hangout and just goof around with our cars and girlfriends, no one ever bothered us, and they had a miniature golf course on the property too, it's still there! So many memories of this place, good, bad, naughty and nice, I could write a whole page here about it. almost like American Graffiti !!!
Wow, too cool! Here it is:
Schell's (http://www.schellsminiaturegolf.com/?_rdr)
(https://cdn.websites.hibu.com/fb818866fa124fe3afc9407fd627af8f/import/base/Satellite_650966428.png)
8)
Damn Hep!! GREAT!!!
Quote from: Hepcat on October 30, 2017, 10:36:39 AMEvidently there was an old-fashioned soda fountain in Cairncross the Chemists' pharmacy at Dundas St. and Clarence in downtown London, Ontario up until 1979 when the building was demolished.
So it seems that by the late 1940's Cairncross the Chemists had expanded to a chain of six(!) stores in London with the newest in the Hotel London billing itself as London's first "New Look" drug store!
https://www.facebook.com/vintagelondon/photos/pb.256233541169617.-2207520000.1475184476./967154970077467/?type=3 (https://www.facebook.com/vintagelondon/photos/pb.256233541169617.-2207520000.1475184476./967154970077467/?type=3)
And that large, "ultra modern" location had a soda fountain too! Thing is though that as a kid/young fellow I never had reason to pass through the doors of the Hotel London which was demolished in 1972. Therefore I wasn't even aware of the existence of that Cairncross store in the Hotel London and can't even tell you whether it lasted until 1972. Oh well....
:-\
Quote from: Hepcat on October 30, 2017, 09:51:57 AM
Very sad.
:(
(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9a/fe/17/9afe17f76e69aacb29581e0a538ef720--fast-food-places-soda-fountain.jpg)
The counter and swivel stools looked like this. Deep in the back were pinball machines. On the right side wall were many wooden newstand-type magazine racks loaded with comic books and the lastest Famous Monsters issue. It was a world of wonder.
And pinball machines too! Absolutely perfect!
8)
I would kill to have a place like that around here!! Beautiful!!
Quote from: Hepcat on November 01, 2017, 10:18:03 PM
And pinball machines too! Absolutely perfect!
8)
The door was always open. You just walked in. The old vintage pin ball machines with the clicking analog score counters and bells. Burger. Fries. Root Beer Float. Pinball. Famous Monsters of Filmland Issue. Bottle Caps Candy.
Quote from: Scatter on November 02, 2017, 04:29:26 PM
I would kill to have a place like that around here!! Beautiful!!
Gary, we would have rode our bikes there and made our allowances disappear together! ;D
QuoteGary, we would have rode our bikes there and made our allowances disappear together!
Hey! Let me in on that fun too! We'd all ride our bikes down there!
Quote from: bigbud on November 03, 2017, 10:35:56 PM
Hey! Let me in on that fun too! We'd all ride our bikes down there!
You're definitely in, Bud. Me, you, Gary and Hep. The 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse... going for burgers, pinball, Werewolf By Night comics and Marathon Bars. 8)
Got me a cool 1952 Columbian one-speed bike in the garage with space ship saddlebags on it! Away we go!
Quote from: Sean on October 29, 2017, 12:28:10 PM...Steve's soda shop a few doors down to visit a cousin who worked there as a soda jerk. We'd sit at the counter and get cheeseburgers and fries and root beer floats. After eating lunch, I was permitted to peruse the stands that were chock full of comics and magazines and pick one. I then was allowed to pick one candy.... The candy choices? I'd usually walk out with a pack of Wax Bottles or a Marathon Bar or Sugar Babies.
Did Steve's also sell baseball and other bubble gum trading ards? Did you ever collect any?
Quote from: Sean on November 03, 2017, 10:57:47 PMYou're definitely in, Bud. Me, you, Gary and Hep. The 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse... going for burgers, pinball, Werewolf By Night comics and Marathon Bars.
So burgers, hot dogs, fries, milkshakes, ice cream sundaes, potato chips, Dubble Bubble gum, pinball,
Creepy and
Mad magazines.... Just give me a chance to put some air in the tires of my bike and get a couple of jolly roger flags to attach to the rear fender!
8)
Quote from: Sean on November 03, 2017, 10:57:47 PM
You're definitely in, Bud. Me, you, Gary and Hep. The 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse... going for burgers, pinball, Werewolf By Night comics and Marathon Bars. 8)
Ahhhhhhh......if only, my friends
Quote from: Hepcat on November 04, 2017, 10:15:21 AM
Did Steve's also sell baseball and other bubble gum trading ards? Did you ever collect any?
So burgers, hot dogs, fries, milkshakes, ice cream sundaes, potato chips, Dubble Bubble gum, pinball, Creepy and Mad magazines.... Just give me a chance to put some air in the tires of my bike and get a couple of jolly roger flags to attach to the rear fender!
8)
Hep, I recall the wax packs of baseball and football cards. I bought plenty of packs, but I wasn't an organized collector. I also got Star Wars wax packs there. I kept them all in a Giant cardboard popcorn bucket that had Universal's big 5 monsters on it. Cinema 9 was at the end of the strip mall that Steve's was and Terry's barbershop was. $0.99 Matinees there. Saw Godzilla VS Megalon there. Steve had Mad and Cracked magazines as well.
There was a classic New York style candy store on Richmond Street in downtown London, Ontario directly across the street from St. Peter's School where I was obligated by my parents to attend extracurricular Lithuanian language classes between 4:00 and 5:30 Saturday afternoons. Davis Variety was its name. It had the obligatory lunch counter which the fellow worked himself. I was never drawn to get anything at the lunch counter though (not that I would have had the money anyway of course). Unlike the lunch counters at the downtown Metropolitan, Kresge and Woolworths stores, it was pretty spartan and dingy and just didn't appeal to me. Mr. Davis himself was almost a comic book caricature of the old guy working a hot grill and his lunch counter never seemed to have any customers on Saturday afternoons. He probably got the bulk of his business frying up breakfast and lunch for the teachers at St. Peter's. And of course everybody smoked and read newspapers in those days including the teachers and the respective bishops, priests and staff at the adjacent St. Peter's Basilica and St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral.
The Davis Variety had most everything else to tempt a young boy with a quarter or two in his pocket though. It was one of the very few stores I knew that stocked Black Cat Bubble Gum which was licorice flavoured and was somehow chewier than Bazooka or even Dubble Bubble. I remember happily chewing on Black Cat and blowing black bubbles for hours!
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/ABlackCatgum.jpg)
I also very clearly remember buying Topps Civil War News cards at Davis Variety:
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/e9340735-c1a4-4891-8edc-be844a58e6fb_zpsz3kecx83.jpg)
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/CivilWarNewscards.jpg)
Plus of course baseball cards such as these from 1963:
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/General%20Album%202/29-07-201245506PM.jpg)
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/General%20Album%202/29-07-201245524PM.jpg)
The wooden magazine rack was located on the other side of the store from the lunch counter and was thus well situated to sneak a peak at the titty mags. There would of course have been something wrong with any young boy who wouldn't peruse pictures of bare naked women given a chance. In fact, I'm sure that the priests from St. Peter's and St. Paul's, if not the bishops themselves, would have been taking the occasional peak as well.
It was at the Davis Variety's magazine rack though where I first encountered Green Lantern #26, 28 and 29 and the excitement I felt seeing those issues for the first time is still seared in my mind to this very day. In fact, I'm sure those comics are the reason why I still remember Davis' so vividly.
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Comics/GreenLantern26.jpg)
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Comics/14-06-2012114624PM.jpg)
(http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Comics/21-06-2012114247PM.jpg)
While St. Peter's and St. Paul's cathedrals are still there, 1979 was the last year for St. Peter's School and the Davis Variety has also been gone for decades. I have a vague recollection of getting a chocolate milkshake that really wasn't very good at Davis' but sadly I never got to sample a cheeseburger. Like I say, you never know what you've got till it's gone.
:(
Quote from: Hepcat on November 06, 2017, 03:06:07 PM
There was a classic New York style candy store on Richmond Street in downtown London, Ontario directly across the street from St. Peter's School where I was obligated by my parents to attend extracurricular Lithuanian language classes between 4:00 and 5:30 Saturday afternoons. Davis Variety was its name. It had the obligatory lunch counter which the fellow worked himself. I was never drawn to get anything at the lunch counter though (not that I would have had the money anyway of course). Unlike the lunch counters at the downtown Metropolitan, Kresge and Woolworths stores, it was pretty spartan and dingy and just didn't appeal to me. Mr. Davis himself was almost a comic book caricature of the old guy working a hot grill and his lunch counter never seemed to have any customers on Saturday afternoons. He probably got the bulk of his business frying up breakfast and lunch for the teachers at St. Peter's. And of course everybody smoked and read newspapers in those days including the teachers and the respective bishops, priests and staff at the adjacent St. Peter's Basilica and St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral.
The Davis Variety had most everything else to tempt a young boy with a quarter or two in his pocket though. It was one of the very few stores I knew that stocked Black Cat Bubble Gum which was licorice flavoured and was somehow chewier than Bazooka or even Dubble Bubble. I remember happily chewing on Black Cat and blowing black bubbles for hours!
Great story, Hep. I felt like I was there.
Whoa! You just pulled that Marble Maze game from my subconscious! My big brother must've had it because I now remember being terrified by those silhouettes on Devil's Pass!
The Marble Maze was one of those items I could never find prior to the days of the internet. Since the advent of Ebay though I've seen plenty of listings.
:)
Hey, these are fantastic stories. Lots of great material. :)
Quote from: Wolfman on January 26, 2017, 04:39:51 PMThat's one hell of a collection right there.
Only disappointment for me would be no Archie comics. They were my favorite growing up.
While I don't have any old comics devoted to Archie, Jughead, Veronica, Betty and friends specifically, I do have a number of very cool Archie Radio Publications comics. Here are scans of some of my favourites:
1(https://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Comics/Fly1.jpg)
2(https://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Comics/Fly2.jpg)
12 Bethlehem copy(https://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Comics/06-08-201182826PM.jpg)
The above was the first
Fly comic I ever read. It was at the Lamont & Perkins drugstore on the corner near my house and it left a very powerful mark on my impressionable nine year old mind!
1 Northland copy(https://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g434/Balticprince/Comics/31-05-201174146PM.jpg)
8)
Quote from: jamesh1018 on November 06, 2017, 10:39:04 PMWhoa! You just pulled that Marble Maze game from my subconscious! My big brother must've had it because I now remember being terrified by those silhouettes on Devil's Pass!
Hasbro subsequently released several variants of that initial Monster Maze game including Dick Tracy, Batman and Star Trek ones:
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/g434/Balticprince/Marble_Maze.jpg)
:)
Any more stories?
???