Thingmaker and More

[mike c]

I had Super Elastic Bubble Plastic for about five minutes before I realized... those bubbles looked as pretty and psychadelic as they did only because I'd spent the previous five minutes breathing in the fumes!


Mike C.

[Gasport]

Ray,
        I bought my daughter one of the more recent Thingmaker/ Creepy Crawler sets some years ago and while you will get to experience the beloved smell of cooking goop, the newer light bulb driven models seriously pale in comparison to the old school Thingmakers. I found the newer ones prone to either undercooking or overcooking. The old hot plate models are very consistent in only taking about 7-8 minutes for excellent results. The new ones take twice as long and have to be watched carefully for decent results.

[hauntedhal]

You can also download book making software from www.blurb.com. I found out about them through American Artist magazine. I'm currently working on a 60's monster memory book which will have chapters on comic books, paperbacks and of course, monster toys. It'll basically be my own personal memories of growing up and experiencing that time with lots of photos. It's taking a while because of all the photos I need to take and adjust. Is anybody interested when I'm done? Maybe this is something all the members could do if their resources are pooled together. Imagine a giant photo encyclopedia just for all of us! Now that would be a cofee table book!

[Jscareshock]

Beautiful book, Danny.  That should be in the gift store section of your house of horrors.  AND the thingmaker stuff--new goop works just as well as the old stuff but it does cook faster.  I still dabble with mine now and then.

[ChattyLMS]

I bought them for my kids, too.  They didn't like them as much as I did.  I think it must be something about watching them cook.  I missed that with the new ones.  I think however that the new molds are the same as the old molds without the the slit for taking them out of the cooker.

[Illoman]

Remember stabbing them in the back with a toothpick to see if they were done of not? We made Tarzan and Superman, and like Dan, *never* got the emblem on his chest right!

Mike

[dlhenderson]

I remember discovering the "parfait effect". Put a drop in the mould, cook it for just so long, put two drops in, etc. alternating colors. I made insanely intricate jiggly bats and bugs with that original set. Never had the Fright Factory, but I did have the individually sold skeleton mould, along with what seemed like a gallon of that glow-in-the-dark goop. Back in the 80's, at one of those drive-in theater flea markets, I found three Thingmaker sets in mint condition (old store stock). Five bucks each. They're still in the shrink wrap. Creepy Crawlers, Creeple People, and Fighting Men. I've so far resisted the temptation to tear into 'em!

[ChrisW]

Great find DL!
We still have my wife's complete "Picadoo" set, and I bought about a dozen various molds at a flea market one time. Some have been sold off over the years, so I'm not sure what's left. I'll have to dig out the box and take 'em for a spin...

[Minion]

Hey guys!
I made the book at Shutterfly.com. Very easy to use.

I heard from a Don Post employee that some of their old 800 line vinyl masks were made of "goop"

[Jscareshock]

Shutterfly.com sounds groovy.

[dadabigalow]

I remember me and my best friends spitting on the burner to see it was hot enough. You never forget the smell of the burning spit on a thing maker.

I was 9 y/o. My birthday was in a month. My sister who is 11 years older than me bought one for me and hid it under her bed. Everyday as soon as I Had the chance I would sneak up there and just stare at the Box-art for hours. The box-art was so amazing. I imagined all the terror I was going to create in my naborhood with this little beauty.     

I also remember the frustration of trying to keep the colors from bleeding into the other sections of the mold. Example:  Stitches.  Making them to thick to cook. Or to thin so that the Pupils of the eyes would pop off or the skeletons arm and legs would fall off.

Still the best Birthday present I ever received...  Thanks to all for the memory jumpstart.     

[dlhenderson]

It took me a couple of days to pull these from storage and take some decent photos. As I mentioned in a previous post, I found these at a drive-in theater flea market in the 80s. Some guy was selling stock from his uncle's store out of the back of a van.
I got these for five dollars each and never opened them. The tops slide off revealing the shrink-wrapped stryofoam interior packaging. I also got the Fighting Men set, but since it's less in the "monster vein", I didn't upload pics of that one. I can load those and more details, if anyone's interested. Enjoy!
DL

[michblk]

Very Cool DL, but I don't know how you have kept from opening it!  I'd be in there making those things!

BK

[MDG]

Very cool! I remember getting--and loving--that Creeple People set.

[poseablemonster]

Those sealed sets are great!  I haven't seen them sealed until now.  Thanks for posting those pics!