The Haunted World of Mold-A-Rama

[Hepcat]

It is typical of the Standing Frankensteins.  The tend to get vertical cracks - especially in the base and lower legs.  I always thought stress lines were formed when the plastic was pushed into the mold through the two holes in the base.  Maybe exposure to sunshine weakens them over the years, too.

Never noticed it in other castings.

Interesting! So it's not the case of there being a deficiency in the plastic compound employed. There's actually a flaw in the design of the Frankenstein sculpt or mold.

[Hepcat]

So I posted a photo of my Mold-A-Rama Frankenstein in the "Blow molded junk" thread, and thought Mold-A-Rama deserved it's own thread, since there are a handful of them that are of definite interest to monster fiends.

Most of us remember Mold-A-Rama machines at local zoos, museums and theme parks offering various animal and historical statues, but some movie monster creeps and beasts were creeping within' the mix as well.

Frankenstein

King Kong

Jaws

Frankenstein bank

Bat

Skull

Robot

And here is the company that currently owns and operates the machines....

http://www.replicationdevices.com/about_us.html

I like the Jack-O-Lantern and the Bat the best!

[Monsters For Sale]

Hey, look!

Jeff Dunham has a Mold-A-Rama machine.

This guy has every toy he has ever loved - even big stuff like this.

       https://youtu.be/UbjmiwCgOs8

_____________________________________________________

If you wanted to watch the rest of his work on the new character:

          https://youtu.be/4xWLIaDyMG0

[Mike Scott]

The man's in show biz and doesn't know how cameras work!

[Sleepyhollowstudios]

There's currently a Frankenstein Mold-A-Rama machine at Universal Studios Florida in their Halloween Horror Nights tribute store. I made one this afternoon. I've never seen a Mold-A-Rama in the wild before, so it was pretty cool watching it do it's thing.

It says Frankenstein in debossed letters on the front of the base, and Universal Studios in embossed letters on the back of the base. Pretty nifty little collectible. Could this possibly be one of the same molds previously used at Universal Studios Hollywood?

-Andy

[Monsters For Sale]

There's currently a Frankenstein Mold-A-Rama machine at Universal Studios Florida in their Halloween Horror Nights tribute store  ....  ...  Could this possibly be one of the same molds previously used at Universal Studios Hollywood?  -Andy 

Sure is.  They've put an old mold back in service - and at the 2nd best place for it.  (1st best would have been the Hollywood studio.)

Sure makes the collector price of the vintage Green Franks shaky.  These new Franks have plastic that has not spent 40-50 years drying out and are a lot stronger.  Some of the old ones are really fragile.

[Sleepyhollowstudios]

Cool! Good to know. Neat little piece of history!

-Andy

[ravenloft]

Sure is.  They've put an old mold back in service - and at the 2nd best place for it.  (1st best would have been the Hollywood studio.)

Sure makes the collector price of the vintage Green Franks shaky.  These new Franks have plastic that has not spent 40-50 years drying out and are a lot stronger.  Some of the old ones are really fragile.

Any word on colors available? You might be able to expand your collection. Sorry about the value of the originals.
I for one hope some enterprising chap resells theirs on Ebay, I simply cannot afford a plane ticket, park pass, hotel, and exposure to Covid-19 by the droves of careless Floridians and worldwide tourists...but I could afford a new mold o rama frank even at triple the park price I would suspect.

Edit. looks like light green and dark green standing Frankensteins at least. I bought two just now. Plus the skull and devil and frankenstein bust bank plus an orange pumpkin which I doubt is a vintage mold but still very cool.

[Hepcat]

looks like light green and dark green standing Frankensteins at least. I bought two just now. Plus the skull and devil and frankenstein bust bank plus an orange pumpkin which I doubt is a vintage mold but still very cool.

Are you saying that more than just a Frankenstein figure is available from the new old Mold-A-Rama machine at Universal Studios Florida?

[ravenloft]

Are you saying that more than just a Frankenstein figure is available from the new old Mold-A-Rama machine at Universal Studios Florida?

The Frankenstein head bank, devil, and skull that are the vintage molds are available from a Chicago area zoo,
The standing frankenstein and a pumpkin that is similar but not the same as vintage (evil instead of smiley) is available at Universal.

[eviljim]

Going to Universal next week! I've already have told the wife to be prepared for the "I want another one!"

[Monsters For Sale]

Has anyone noted in-person variations in the green color that was being issued this year?

I haven't seen any difference that couldn't be accounted for by different cameras, monitors or lighting.  Apparent colors can vary greatly under natural light or with the addition of flash lighting.

Too bad they didn't come up with some sort of branding (for the bottom) that would indicate source and year of issue.

[ravenloft]

Has anyone noted in-person variations in the green color that was being issued this year?

I haven't seen any difference that couldn't be accounted for by different cameras, monitors or lighting.  Apparent colors can vary greatly under natural light or with the addition of flash lighting.

Too bad they didn't come up with some sort of branding (for the bottom) that would indicate source and year of issue.

Just got my three in the mail (one for my twin brother) from Ebay today.
I actually bought the third because it looked to me like a different shade of green.
I was right, I now have one olive green version and two christmas pine green versions. 
There is yet another listing that looks lime green, looks different much lighter and brighter color than the two colors I have.
No date markings of any kind on the bottom or anywhere else and the Universal studios letters on the back are slightly partially obscured (not imprinted completely) on all three, while the front Frankenstein is clearly legible.
I assume all three are from this year as this is the first we have heard of it. The pumpkin is also from Universal Studios Florida Horror Nights, while the red skull is from the Brookfield Zoo.

[Monsters For Sale]

Yeah, the indistinct lettering on the back seems to be on all of this year's Standing Frankensteins.

[ravenloft]

I also paid three times their worth with shipping considering they sell for 6 bucks at the park. I just checked the listings and they are already even more expensive online going for 24-30 now. Still better than a plane and park ticket and hotel price I suppose.
Are you going to get one or do you only collect the vintage color variations?