Dime store/gumball machine rubber monsters?

[Monster Bob]

A Chlorophyll Monster jiggler based on the monster from Mad Doctor Of Blood Island (1969) sold for $525 on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Chlorophyll-Monster-of-Mad-Doctor-of-Blood-Island-Jiggler-VERY-RARE-Hong-Kong-/173592180518?nordt=true&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m43663.l44720





Sam Sherman mentioned a scarce jiggler version of the Chlorophyll Monster on his commentary track for the Image DVD of Mad Doctor Of Blood Island and this is it, evidently. I had never even seen one of these things before. It's supposed to be one of the scarcest jigglers in existence.

I wrote to Stephen Bell, the Etsy seller who makes the "Fiend Without A Fridge", "Tingler-tron", and others. In his reply he gave me a link to this eBay auction. When I checked it today it was sold on the Buy-It-Now for $525. Cool to finally see a pic of it. BTW, Stephen may be making Chlorophyll Monster jigglers later on at some point. He expressed a desire to make a jiggler of the Chlorophyll Monster pulling off it's own head as depicted by the great Gray Morrow in the poster for Beast Of Blood (1970).

I'm still trying to figure out how that is the Chlorophyll Monster. Looks nothing like him.

[horrorhunter]

Pretty cool, man.  I've seen flying skulls of all sorts, from crude golf ball-size jobbers to a huge, oily black one that one of my uncles had on his bar in the 70s. 
Yours seems to be soft rubber, but non-jiggly, and it deffo 'utilizes' the classic Imperial bat -- the texture, size, and scale is the giveaway here.

Any sort of makers marks, coo, or a date underneath those wings/belly?

This example, which appears to be yours, is purported to have been manufactured in the early-80s:

I can't find any markings on it at all, UT. The wingspan is just over 10" and it is soft rubber and non-jiggly, as you mentioned. It does look like something from the '70s or '80s to me, and the bat portion reminds me of Imperial product. Maybe Imperial made these things. I had seen them in a few eBay listings over the years and just thought they looked wild-cool so I finally grabbed one. I guess a lot of the rubber monsters are hard to nail down considering so much of this cheap stuff was made over the decades and it wasn't taken seriously enough to record until the last few years when people started collecting it. I have a lot to learn, and I guess some of it we'll never know. Thanks for helping with your input, UT.

[horrorhunter]

Here's a big fly jiggler.



It's about 4" long and really oily. I've been keeping it wrapped up in a paper towel inside a plastic bag. When I put it away I wrapped it back up so the legs would fold under it. It's a little stiff and the legs want to point upwards due to the way I had it stored.

[horrorhunter]

A herd of slurfies I just snagged via evilBay:



These things remind me of the Saturday morning cartoon version of Lovecraftian Horrors. So, I dig 'em.

[Ugly_Thing]

Here's a big fly jiggler.



It's about 4" long and really oily. I've been keeping it wrapped up in a paper towel inside a plastic bag. When I put it away I wrapped it back up so the legs would fold under it. It's a little stiff and the legs want to point upwards due to the way I had it stored.

A knockoff of the iconic Ben Cooper 'Super Fly'!  Coincidentally, I JUST had one of mine out earlier today, riding (and jiggling) on the dashboard while we went out for gyros!  Great minds, am I right??

Also, among those later Slurfies you just showed is a Kenneth knockoff!  (He's the deep red chap at the very top.)  I'm into him if you'd ever care to trade at some point...

[horrorhunter]

A knockoff of the iconic Ben Cooper 'Super Fly'!  Coincidentally, I JUST had one of mine out earlier today, riding (and jiggling) on the dashboard while we went out for gyros!  Great minds, am I right??

Also, among those later Slurfies you just showed is a Kenneth knockoff!  (He's the deep red chap at the very top.)  I'm into him if you'd ever care to trade at some point...

Thanks for the info, UT. 

Are those Slurfies in that pic all knockoffs? They're all soft rubber and hollow. I got them all really cheaply in an eBay lot. They still look pretty cool though, so I'll probably hang onto them. Are the original Slurfies all filled out, in other words not hollow? Anything else you could tell us about the Slurfies would be appreciated.

[horrorhunter]

More rubber creepies and jigglers:



Any info on the stuff in that pic, UT? Can you ID the two weird ones at the top left. The sprawling one looks like a knockoff of an Ugly to me (it's hollow). The one that stands up on a cone-like torso with pincers seems more substantial even though the torso is hollow as well. The bat glows-in-the-dark and is Imperial I assume, or maybe a knockoff of the Imperial bat if such a thing even exists.

Some of the big lizards, gators, and snakes seem to be real-deal from the '60s. They came in an eBay lot with other '60s toys like the MPC King Kong Window Box Playset and 2 Palmer Kongs.

[Ugly_Thing]

Thanks for the info, UT. 

Are those Slurfies in that pic all knockoffs? They're all soft rubber and hollow. I got them all really cheaply in an eBay lot. They still look pretty cool though, so I'll probably hang onto them. Are the original Slurfies all filled out, in other words not hollow? Anything else you could tell us about the Slurfies would be appreciated.

I'll try and share everything I know on the subject, man....buckle up!
(Deep breath/beer.)

Oh yeah, the Slurfies you've got pictured are 80s stuff.   They'll often be marked 'Hong Kong' or 'HK' right up until the mid-80s.  Unlike the Uglies in which case most mold re-usage dried up decades ago, (butchered) Slurfies are still being manufactured to this very day! 
Your examples came from a large bulk bag.  They were sold well into the 90s -- along with a half dozen or so severely deficient Ugly sculpts mixed in -- in places like party supply stores & bulk vending, under the name 'Party/Scary Monsters', or something similar. 

Regarding "soft rubber", unless you've got particular examples in-hand, it's not always easy to tactilely differentiate; a jiggler aficionado will be able to tell straight away, however.     Soft rubber & jiggly/oily rubber are two very different materials.  Due to things like current toxic material restrictions, the 'golden age' jigglers of the 60s and 70s will likely never be replicated.  The STRONG chemical odor is at once offensive and appealing, like flicking the tongue over a sore tooth.  Imperial comes close as of late with some of their more silicone-based goodies, but it's not the same. 
Some definite & reliable tells:   Detailing/paint apps.  SIZE.  Aroma.  Hong Kong.  Least amount of molding lines/flaws/flashing/etc.

Original Imperial Slurfies:



(Having a t-shirt made featuring this image.)



Later bulk bagged/giveaway/vending Slurfies:



The differences should be glaringly obvious.    Incidentally, a fine Slurfie being eyed by the right collector can command as much as ten bucks, but even most OG Imperials rarely break a fiver.  90% of the later stuff?  .25-a buck each, on average. 
(There are also HUGE versions of the main few sculpts that were manufactured as vending display card eye-catchers.  They're blandly painted but very neat.)

Regarding your current post, you're looking at a fun lot of 70s/80s buggies & lizards.  Not sure if the dangling red spider is a 60s original or a copy....it was a very popular dime store design of the day....you'd have to give him a sniff.  Maybe a couple flat-bellied late 60s fellas, as well.  I also see a couple more of the 'Party Monsters' up top -- bedraggled versions of Florence & Al!  Interestingly, that Al is painted just like Mumm-Ra the Ever Living!   

Just remember the Slurfie song while you're hunting for them:

"HEY gang, don't hurt me, it's little old me SLURFIE!  Cooler than your best friend, I'll stay with you 'til the END!
You won't see me every day, but every few years I'll come say HEY!  That's right!  There's no cure for me in sight, I won't go without a FIGHT, I'm the Slurfie, the SLURFIE!"

[horrorhunter]

Thanks, bro!

Yeah, I thought the Slurfies and the ones that came with them were probably newer cheaper knockoffs because they were so flimsy and hollow. They came in this lot:



I gave $12.30 for the lot including shipping so I'm good with it. They're new to me and I like the way they look. Ignorance is bliss sometimes in the collecting world. 

Yeah, man, I believe the big gators, snakes, and the 2 darkish green weird looking lizards are from the '60s. They came in that eBay lot containing '60s toys, and I bought enough lizards and bugs when I was a '60s Monster Kid to remember details about rubber stuff from that era to be fairly certain on those. They're solid and heavy, and of higher quality than the newer knockoff junk including the Slurfies. I still can't believe I got that lot for less than 300 bucks. Man, that thing was packed. I kept the MPC King Kong Window Box Set which is complete and legit rare (much harder to find than the MPC King Kong Jungle Set which sells for around $500 these days). Also, kept the cool lizard/gator/snake jigglers as we see. I sold the complete set of Ideal Tarzan Playset figures, the 2 extra Palmer Kongs, and the extra King Kong Jungle Set pieces for almost what I paid for the entire lot. That's eBay for you- if you know what you're looking at and allow for bad pics and faulty descriptions you can score some great deals once in awhile.

Thanks for all your help, UT. You're the Jiggler Guru as far as I'm concerned. Tipping my bottle of Sam Adams Pumpkin Ale to you, my friend. 

[Hepcat]

How have I not seen this THREAD, for that matter?!?   

It's an oldie but goodie! The SEARCH function can be used to locate long buried treasures and other delights within this board.

[Hepcat]

These things remind me of the Saturday morning cartoon version of Lovecraftian Horrors. So, I dig 'em.

A combination that's tough to beat!

[horrorhunter]

These are probably fairly recent, but seem appropriate for this thread.



I bought them from an eBay seller who I don't think had a clue what they are. I don't even remember what they called them. I call them Rubber Chompers for lack of a better name. The bottoms are marked "STL", or at least I think that's what it's supposed to be- the "S" extends over the "L" to form a "T" in a stylized logo. Also marked "COPYRIGHT" and below that "Made In China". I think they're cool looking, and they were inexpensive, so I bought them. If set on a flat surface and pushed down they take off on their wheels when let go as the mouth gradually opens. Pretty cool. Anyone know anything about them?

[Hepcat]

All I know is that they're wild cool, and a must for a kid of any age!

[horrorhunter]

My Diener Space Creatures set:

[horrorhunter]

Some current custom rubber monsters made from urethane rubber:



Fiend Without A Fridge (w/magnet), Tingler-Tron (w/vibrating motor), and bonus MPC Weird Monsters Vampire repro. Check out Stexe (Stephen Bell) on Etsy for these and more.