The PopCult Toybox

I was eight or nine years old when I first saw the ad.

It ran in comic books, and it was for a new line of snap-together model kits from Aurora called Monster Scenes. These were a combination of figure kits and diorama scene kits that could all be fitted together to create an endless number of cool story scenes.

Among the eight initial kits were one licensed from Universal (Frankenstein), one licensed from Warren Publications (Vampirella, which was a shock to the system to see her advertised in a DC comic book) and six “original equity” creations that were created by Aurora.

But I saw this full-page ad…here it is…

Looking back, even the dialogue was hilariously inappropriate for a comic book for kids.

…and it was instant toy lust. I wanted them, but I knew it’d be damned near impossible for me to get these model kits.

My mom was a little too picky about what we, as kids, were allowed to enjoy entertainment-wise.

Now, she wasn’t a complete hardass. I was the third of four kids, and my older brother, Frank, was a first-generation Monster Kid, so she had been de-sensitized to much of the classic horror stuff that us kids found so cool. We could watch anything we wanted on Chiller on channel 13 because she couldn’t stay up late enough to tell us not to watch it. But she tried her best to protect us from the brain-rotting influence of popular culture.

At one point she was cool with us reading Casper the Friendly Ghost, but Hot Stuff, the devil boy was just a little too demonic for her tastes.

I knew that, if I really wanted to get these, I’d have to bide my time and wear her down.

Sadly, that did not happen.

This is a rare store display (minus Vampy), image swiped from Plaid Stallions.

Even at a young age, I could spot Neal Adams’ art a mile away.

Aurora’s Monster Scenes, with its inclusion of torture devices, a barely-clad Vampirella and the scantily-clad “The Victim” was too controversial for parents of the day, and the line was very quickly yanked from US distribution after compaints and protests. The only way to get them was to order them from Jim Warren’s Captain Company, who ran the ads in the back of his comic magazines, Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella, plus Famous Monsters of Filmland.

Mail-order involved way too much parental involvement for me to be able to sneak these past the folks.

So…I never got Aurora’s Monster Scenes kits. I wasn’t exactly crushed. Aurora quickly pivoted to Prehistoric Scenes, with dinosaurs, cavemen and other prehistoric critters, along with cool diorama set pieces that all fit together, so I pivoted right along with them.

It was pretty much the same play concept, the same snap-together construction, the same scale (1/13) and some of the same package artists. That line did well enough that they repeated the formula with their Planet of the Apes model kits a couple of years later.

I was happy enough with my Pterydactyl, Wooly Mammoth, Triceratops and Tar Pit. I only thought of the Monster Scenes when I’d find the ad while paging through an old comic book.

Even as kids, my brother and I thought it was a bit odd that they included scantily-clad women in a horror model kit series aimed at kids.

As an adult, I discovered that the line continued in Canada after they pulled the plug in the US. There were additional kits, including Universal’s Dracula and Jeckyl and Hyde, plus a giant insect monster. They also renamed “The Victim” to be “Doctor Deadly’s Daughter, and played down the bit where the monsters chased and captured her so she could be tortured. That was actually part of the original storyline, as seen in the ads and in the little Neal Adams produced instruction comic books.

The line as it existed in Canada

There were a few reproductions of the original models over the years, but those were done at times when I either wasn’t aware, wasn’t interested, or couldnt afford them.

A couple of years ago Atlantis Models, who acquired a lot of the old Aurora assets, put out a couple of great reissues of two long out of print Prehistoric Scenes kits, and I snapped them up and even included them in The PopCult Gift Guide.

A preview image of the next wave of reissues

It turns out that the company who helped them make those reissued kits happen, DennComm, located in Germany, was also working to recreate Aurora’s Monster Scenes kits. This time Denncom is the official manufacturer of these, with Atlantis Models handling the US distribution.

I didn’t even learn this when the news was first announced early last year. It was several months later that I discovered it when I found out that more of Prehistoric Scenes were on the way. I have since joined some of the more-in-tune Facebook groups and started following Atlantis Models on Instagram.

This time when I discovered that the Monster Scenes repros were going to happen, that initial toy lust returned after 55 years.

So I had this victim in the collection already, but I’m looking forward to accumulating more victims in the future.

Well, to be honest, I had maintained a little interest. Three or four years ago at WonderFest I picked up a reproduction of “The Victim” that was released by Moebius Models over fifteen years ago. It was affordable. The reissued Vampirella was not as affordable

But now it’d be easy enough for me to get them.

And as of a few weeks ago, I have the first four: Dr. Deadly, Frankenstein, The Pain Parlor and Gruesome Goodies. The next four are due out in the summer, and I won’t be shocked if the Canada-only sets wind up being released sometime after that.

This is not a detailed review because I’m saving these for when I have time to paint and assemble them. So they’re remaining sealed, not because I don’t plan to open them, but because I don’t want to risk losing any of the parts.

Dr. Deadly, the ringleader of the monster gang. Note that the blurb promises eight kits. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more than that.

The star of the first wave, Frankie himself (not going to Hollywood, though)

The Pain Parlor. Other figures can be strapped to the table.

Y’know, you’lre gonna need a lot of equipment for that mad scientist lab. This set also includes a sabre-tooth rabbit.

And speaking of parts…most of the figure kits have extra limbs, so you can have additional poses. When they release Vampirella in a few months, not only will she have additional limbs, but she’ll also have an alternate torso/head part, so you can build two entire figures.

Needless to say, I’m really happy and excited to finally have these, and I hope to carve some time out of my schedule at some point this year to start painting and assembling these gems.

The Monster Scenes kits are available from Atlantis Models, as well as many other online hobby retailers. I ordered mine from CultTVMan’s HobbyShop, because I’d bought from them in person at WonderFest in the past, and they had the most streamlined and convenient pre-order system.

In fact, I have the next wave on pre-order from them already, as well as the next wave of Prehistoric Scenes, which should arrive in a couple or three months. I have ordered from Atlantis Models before, and they’re also great to deal with.

If, like me, you were denied the chance to get Monster Scenes back in 1971, now’s your chance to scratch that monster itch.

The first wave of Monster Scenes reproductions from Denncomm/Atlantis is available now.