Post an Image of a Favourite Monster or Sci-Fi Collectible!

[Hepcat]

I bought several Marx Nutty Mads and UniMons when I was a kid in the '60s and they were always loose bin items. Marx must have abandoned the packaging for those figures early on because I never saw any of it. In some instances it could have been that the retailers threw the packaging away so they could sell the figures for a bit more individually.

That packaging is so rare now that MIP examples could sell for hundreds of dollars. Back in the '60s it was just junk....

And I believe that a bagged set of Marx Universal Monster figures is even tougher to find!

[Hepcat]

Exactly what I've been saying for a L O N G time now, these very "treasures" of today were nothing but new junky items back then, we NEVER would have known that these things would be worth what they are today, they were meant to be played with, then discarded. Those of us who are "lucky" enough to have purchased these very items back in the day can now ,sometimes, only shake our heads when we see some of the prices realized....

And that of course is the Catch-22 situation. It had to be considered junk back in the day or else the destruction factor would not have kicked in to make these items so scarce and highly prized today.

That's also why the "instant collectibles" that are produced to be prized and cherished from the get-go hardly ever maintain their "value". Nobody throws them out. Therefore when the surge of demand generated by the hype upon release fades, so do the prices fetched since the supply hasn't dwindled,

[Hepcat]

When General Mills launched Count Chocula and Franken Berry cereals in March 1971, many observers guessed that they'd turn out to be another here-today-gone-tomorrow kids' fad.



Well I'm glad to say that they're still on super market shelves! Here are a few older Count Chocula boxes:

[skully]

Hep, so true.  There just isn't enough speaker heads, boxed or loose, MPC carded figures, Haunted Hulks, Horrorscopes, Hasbro paint sets, SPP plaques, ,etc. to keep us all happy. However, there are a few really scarce items from later years too. As an example, just try to find a carded "Yuk Head" , it's tough to do.  Empty gum card boxes are really tough too,depending on the subject.

[marsattacks666]

When General Mills launched Count Chocula and Franken Berry cereals in March 1971, many observers guessed that they'd turn out to be another here-today-gone-tomorrow kids' fad.



Well I'm glad to say that they're still on super market shelves! Here are a few older Count Chocula boxes:

Is General Mills/Target still releasing the cereals seasonally? During Fall?

[Hepcat]

Count Chocula is available all year round in most supermarkets here in Canada. I was also under the impression that both Count Chocula and Franken Berry could be found most everywhere in the States at any time of year. Boo-Berry though might just be seasonal. And Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy only rear their gaudy heads every few years during special promotions.

Perhaps one of our many American members could weigh in on the subject/question.

[horrorhunter]

Is General Mills/Target still releasing the cereals seasonally? During Fall?

I buy Frankenberry, Count Chocula, and Booberry, every October at Target. Our nearest Walmart didn't have them last year, but I believe CVS did. I've been saving those folded boxes for years. 

I haven't seen Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy in our neckathewoods for 3 or 4 years. We live in the Southeast. I know it's seasonal for the main 3, but it may be regional as well? 

[Hepcat]

Another wild monstery type of cereal was Freakies which was launched by Ralston Purina in 1972:



The enclosed Freakies premiums were absolutely outta sight!



And the Freakies Cars subsequently released were even wilder!



Though I never even knew about Freakies cereal let alone the premium figures at the time, I have to admit that these Freakies are right up there with the very best cereal premiums of all time! 'Nuff said.

[horrorhunter]

The Freakie Magnet is a magazine for cereal collectors: http://www.lavasurfer.com/freakies/fm-zines.html

I have #11 which contains an article on Nabisco dinosaur premiums.

[Hepcat]

Hmmmmm, interesting! Maybe I should subscribe.

[Hepcat]

Here are good shots of my Capitol "Big Daddy" Roth LPs:





And check out this wild cool custom build-up based on the cover illustration from the Hot Rod Hootenanny LP:



I mean talk about stoke!

[Hepcat]

There were eight variations of the SPP monster wallets. There were four different character combinations:



Wolf Man - Creature
Mummy - Dracula
Phantom - Frankenstein
Frankenstein - Dracula

Each combination was available with either a magic slate or a mirror with the words "LOOK A MONSTER" printed on the surrounding plastic:

[Mike Scott]

Each combination was available with either a magic slate or a mirror with the words "LOOK A MONSTER" printed on the surrounding plastic:

So, only the magic slate version had the cards and the mirror version had a coin pocket.

[horrorhunter]

The cards are some of coolest parts of those wallets. 

Was the other version a glass mirror?    Wow, fall on your butt and suddenly you have a wallet full of glass shards...if you get lucky and they stay in the wallet. 

[Hepcat]

So, only the magic slate version had the cards and the mirror version had a coin pocket.

No. Both versions had both a change purse and the cards. The change purse is buried under the cards in the top picture above while the plastic accordion card holder and cards are (for whatever reason) simply missing in the bottom picture.

The plastic card holder is attached underneath the change purse in the magic slate variant of the wallet but is attached underneath the mirror in the other version of the wallet.

Was the other version a glass mirror? 

Yes, you bet! Glass indeed.