MPC Pop Tops , anyone have pics.

[Hepcat]

I've been looking into these smaller MPC monsters recently and wondered if any of you thought these ones look a little off?

From the pictures the colours look way too bright. The MPC Weird Monsters were cast using the lead-based non-shiny/dull/flat plastic that was standard until later in the sixties. The plastic used back in the day also had a distinctive classic tell-tale smell.



Have you asked the seller how he knows these figures are "very old vintage"?

[Palifan]

From the pictures the colours look way too bright. The MPC Weird Monsters were cast using the lead-based non-shiny/dull/flat plastic that was standard until later in the sixties. The plastic used back in the day also had a distinctive telltale smell.



Have you asked the seller how he knows these figures are "very old vintage"?

This is what I thought about colors also Hepcat, something does seem to be off and I picked up a few the other day that seem to be the real deal to me which is why I've avoided these.

I may write to the seller about them but they do seem like an easy thing to reproduce (also those strands of plastic inside the hole in the base makes me think this is a reproduction).

Thanks for your thoughts!

Ian

[horrorhunter]

Hi all,

I've been looking into these smaller MPC monsters recently and wondered if any of you thought these ones look a little off?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=monsters&_ssn=virg_gra&hash=item3d3631605d%3Ag%3AFHAAAOSwuLZYzyrW&item=262902210653&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=monsters&_sacat=0

There's something about the plastic and color that doesn't look quite right to me but I'd love to hear your thought.

Sorry if this has already come up somewhere else in this thread.

Ian

Those are original, and cheap. If I needed them I would grab them all at that price if the guy combines shipping fairly. They look brighter because of the way they were photographed, brightly lit.

Originals commonly have excess plastic (flashing) because of the cheap manufacturing process, but the sculpts are high quality and they look fine in person.

As far as I know the molds for the 2 1/2" MPC Unbreakable Weird Monsters never showed up later like with the Pop-Tops being cranked out south-of-the-border.

MPC (Miner) did do several green ones in the '80s in both glow and non-glow but those are legit. They just don't look as good as the original ones from the '60s in the variety of colors.

Anyone have any info on what happened to the Weird Monsters (2 1/2") molds?

[Hepcat]

Those pics are of Pop-Top boots.

And, they have lost detail due to the type of glossy plastic used. The originals were made using the lead-based flat plastic that really brought out the details....

Hmmmmm. The Glow-in-the-Dark Uncle Milton reissues of the Marx Universal Monster figures have also been accused of not having the detail of the originals.

There are three possible explanations for this seeming lack of detail:

1. Detail was lost in the molds themselves over time and with use.

2. As you've suggested the glossy plastic used these days just can't be molded with the detail with which the originally used lead-based plastic could be molded.

3. The detail is all still there. It's just tougher for the eye to discern when the plastic is shinier, i.e. more reflective.

[Palifan]

Hmmmmm. The Glow-in-the-Dark Uncle Milton reissues of the Marx Universal Monster figures have also been accused of not having the detail of the originals. There are three possible explanations:

1. Detail was lost in the molds themselves over time and with use.

2. As you've suggested the glossy plastic used these days just can't be molded with the detail with which the originally used lead-based plastic could be molded.

3. The detail is all still there. It's just tougher for the eye to discern when the plastic is shinier, i.e. more reflective.

Do these reissues come in different colors or are they just glow in the dark in this purple and I'm guessing green?

Ian

[Hepcat]

To my knowledge the Pop-Tops have not been repopped in Glow-in-the-Dark plastic. Repops can be found in quite a few different shiny or neon colours though:

[horrorhunter]

I haven't seen any Pop-Top repops in glow either.

Several Mexican sellers are peddling repops on evilBay including this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MPC-Universal-Cinema-Horrors-Monsters-POP-TOP-5-Complete-Figure-Playset-Green-/122395313475?hash=item1c7f544543:g:6QUAAOSwqYBWnUqN



These look like glow green but the seller says otherwise. BTW, Good God! 500 bucks for 8 repops! You can get nice loose REAL ones for that or cheaper. He also adds "Make Offer" but Jeez. That price is plain ridiculous. Buyer beware big time. 

[Hepcat]

MPC (Miner) did do several green ones in the '80s in both glow and non-glow but those are legit. They just don't look as good as the original ones from the '60s in the variety of colors.

Yes. As part of the fabled Dragon Crest set:





And in separate little Dungeon Demons packages:

As far as I know the molds for the 2 1/2" MPC Unbreakable Weird Monsters never showed up later like with the Pop-Tops being cranked out south-of-the-border.

Anyone have any info on what happened to the Weird Monsters (2 1/2") molds?

Actually repops of the MPC Weird Monsters are available. I'm not sure whether they're from the original MPC molds or not, but The Toy Soldier Company produces good quality repops of the Weird Monsters in a neon green colour:



The Toy Soldier Company has also made a custom painted set available:

[horrorhunter]

Actually repops of the MPC Weird Monsters are available. I'm not sure whether they're from the original MPC molds or not, but The Toy Soldier Company produces good quality repops of the Weird Monsters in a neon green colour:



Here's a good picture comparing the Dragon Crest glow-in-the-dark figure on the left with the Toy Soldier Company neon green figure on the right:



The Toy Soldier Company has also made a custom painted set available:

I had heard that the Toy Soldier Company was selling those but I thought they were old stock. I just checked the website and sure enough they list them as "recasts". They must be from the original molds, so I wonder if Toy Soldier Company has/had the molds or just bought repops in quantity from another source. I'm surprised the original molds aren't in Mexico, but if they were eBay would probably be inundated with them like with Marx UniMon repops, Nutty Mad repops, and Pop-Top repops.

One important thing is that even if the original molds are currently in use I don't think the original plastic mix from the '60s (lead-based paint added) could be reproduced to attempt counterfeit vintage figures. Of course the way they bootleg down south of the border rules and restrictions wouldn't be an obstacle if they secured the molds. Maybe there just aren't enough people interested in the 2 1/2" MPC Monsters to make counterfeiting worthwhile since you can easily buy the originals for $10-$15 each on eBay. Still lots of unanswered questions.

   

[Hepcat]

I got a purple MPC unbreakable weird werewolf from a cereal box back in the day (can't recall which cereal). At least I think it was from a cereal box. It may be one of those creative memory tricks, and it may have come from the Fritos. The werewolf is aboard my Haunted Hulk hull currently, with some of his peers. I do know I collected many grey Nabisco dinos back in the day from those very Fritos boxes-o-packs. Maybe someone else can verify if the MPC monsters were ever available as cereal premiums.

So are you now largely convinced that it was a creative memory trick that had you believing you got the MPC Werewolf out of a cereal box?

[horrorhunter]

So are you now largely convinced that it was a creative memory trick that had you believing you got the MPC Werewolf out of a cereal box?

Yes, that post must be from before I got up to speed from rehashing this stuff on UMA enough to get it straight. I must have gotten the Nabisco cereal MPC Dino giveaways mixed up with the Fritos MPC Monster giveaways. UMA is great for clarifying those fuzzy memories from kidhood. 

[horrorhunter]

Actually repops of the MPC Weird Monsters are available. I'm not sure whether they're from the original MPC molds or not, but The Toy Soldier Company produces good quality repops of the Weird Monsters in a neon green colour:



Here's a good picture comparing the Dragon Crest glow-in-the-dark figure on the left with the Toy Soldier Company neon green figure on the right:



The Toy Soldier Company has also made a custom painted set available:

I'm still amazed and a little confused about these Toy Soldier Company "recasts". Some possibilities are:

1- The Toy Soldier Company has the original molds and periodically runs off some of these, which I find very unlikely.

2- TTSC had the molds and made a bunch to sell. If so, then what happened to the molds?

3- TTSC bought a bunch of repops from another source to sell over time. Again, if so, what happened to the molds?

4- TTSC lists them as "recasts" but they are really old stock they bought from an old warehouse find and misidentified them as "recasts", or someone at TTSC simply mislabeled them as "recasts" on the website and no one there cares to correct the error. Or maybe it's been in error so long that nobody there really knows it's an error any more.

Also, if the green ones from TTSC are really repops then are they the only repops floating around, or are there other repops in different colors that most people aren't aware of? From the ones I've seen listed on eBay for the last few years they all look legit (correct colors and look of the plastic). If the molds had been active in the last few years you would think that we would see MPC 2 1/2" Monsters all over eBay in several different weird colors with crazy excess plastic flashing and different looking plastic like we have with Pop-Tops, Nutty Mads, Marx Uni-Mons, and the rest of the figures those guys have been repopping down there for 3 decades.

If anyone has any info regarding any of this please post it and enlighten us.

[Hepcat]

4- TTSC lists them as "recasts" but they are really old stock they bought from an old warehouse find and misidentified them as "recasts", or someone at TTSC simply mislabeled them as "recasts" on the website and no one there cares to correct the error. Or maybe it's been in error so long that nobody there really knows it's an error any more.

Now that would be the best of all possible explanations/answers!



I've emailed the Toy Soldier Company. I'll report back with whatever answer I get.

[Hepcat]

Incidentally the Toy Soldier Company never responded to my inquiry.

[Hepcat]

I remember seeing the carded MPC Weird Monsters in a drugstore in the mid 60s. I got figures out of multi pack Fritos...a lot of them. Somehow in the mail (from the Frito MPC promotion) I got factory hand/painted figures. They are nicely done and very rare. I have collected a mint set and a few extras. There is slight variation to the paint on a couple of the figures, I remember.

The Toy Soldier Company has also made a custom painted set available:

MPC enthusiasts and monster collectors in general should be wary these days of shysters trying to pass off the Toy Soldier Company's painted figures with the painted figures Monster Bob remembers receiving through the Frito-Lay promotion back in the mid-1960's.