MPC Pop Tops , anyone have pics.

[Hepcat]

It seems the glow in the dark MPC figures, or ones from the same molds used to produce the 2 1/2" MPC figures, have been marketed over the years in different ways.

The Toy Soldier Company evidently sells a paler green version of the MPC figures from the Playset pictured above:

The Toy Soldier Company still sells those monster sets, I bought another one this past Christmas for a gift.  I wish they sold a glow set, but all they sell is the neon green you see in the picture.

[Hepcat]

Were the 2 1/2" MPC figures marketed originally as Unbreakable Weird Monsters in carded bags or something?

Yes, apparently.

[Dr. Madd]

I Wish we still had the ones I had growing up. My brothers had the werewolf, Mummy and Zombie, I believe. I had a purple Grim Reaper.

[Hepcat]

What amazes me is how much detail there is in the  MPC 2 1/2" figures:

Some of the smaller (regular) guys in creepy yellow...

Were the 2 1/2" Unbreakable Weird Monsters always cast with a hole in the base regardless of how they were marketed? Here's one that was ostensibly a Frito Corn Chip premium with the hole clearly visible:

[Wich2]

Neo, how's the detail on those current repros, compared to the originals?

Here's my custom set from a while back:



-Craig

[Hepcat]

Wow! Did you paint those yourself? Were they MPC originals or some kind of repros under the paint?

[raycastile]

What amazes me is how much detail there is in the  MPC 2 1/2" figures:

Just for the record, it should be noted that the MPCs in the pics like the one above are from the collection of UMA member Andy Williams.

[Wich2]

Thanks, Hep.

Yeah, I painted (and repaired) those original critters myself, & made the house. (Originally intended as a gift for dear departed UMAer Linda Miller.)

-Craig

(EDIT)

[Hepcat]

(Originally intended as a gift for dear departed UMAer Linda Williams.)

What were the names of Linda Williams and Andy Williams on this board? Were they related?

[Hepcat]

1 figure was included in each bag according to http://www.i-mockery.com/blabber/2011/09/21/fritos-mini-monster-gay-blade/

Interesting as well is the recollection that the MPC figures were "originally" sold in grocery store vending machines!

Originally, people collected these little monster figures in grocery store vending machines, but some years later, the Frito-Lay company re-released them as a new set of mini-monsters.... Other than being colored differently, the Fritos mini-monsters had the exact same plastic mold.

Does anyone else remember these 2 1/2" MPC monsters in vending machines? Does anyone know what the variant colours may have been between the vending machine figures and the Frito premium figures? I've not yet received any reply from the writer of the blog with respect to the colours.

But the Frito Corn Chip premium idea was a really good one though. These figures also would have been a natural as premiums in General Mills' Count Chocula, Boo Berry and Frankenberry cereals! Does anyone remember plastic monster figurines free inside these or any other cereals?

[Wich2]

Good Lord, Linda, please forgive me Up There!

(And chalk it up to overwork on a book, and a hospitalized father...)

Dear Linda's good-old-Anglo-Saxon surname was of course MILLER, not Williams!

Fried-ly,
-Craig

[ToyMemories]

...Were the 2 1/2" Unbreakable Weird Monsters always cast with a hole in the base regardless of how they were marketed?

Yes, most of the older MPC figures (if they had a base) had a hole in them... this was so they could lock onto an accessory (ship, boat, etc.) and there were even small strips that had nubs on them so the figures could stay in place.
Later on when they created new figure designs (many in a smaller scale) they lost the "hole" idea.
As for vending machines... I never heard of anything like that (wonder where that came from?) as I'd also think they wouldn't fit in any vending capsule that I've ever seen...

[Hepcat]

As for vending machines... I never heard of anything like that (wonder where that came from?) as I'd also think they wouldn't fit in any vending capsule that I've ever seen....

At 2 1/2" they should have been able to fit in the really big capsules I've seen. The only question was whether they would have been priced at a dime or a quarter circa 1963. While a dime would seem to be about the right price, supermarket vending machines weren't generally known to be great value propositions so I'm guessing a quarter.

[raycastile]

I've never seen a vending machine capsule big enough for these.  It would have to be 3 inches tall.

Too bad MPC never experimented with rubber toys.  These would have made good jigglers.

[Neoplastic]

Neo, how's the detail on those current repros, compared to the originals?

Unfortunately, I don't have an original set so I can't say for certain.  I think they compare favorably to the photos of the originals in this thread.  It would be interesting to know where the Toy Soldier Co. gets these, or if they make them.