Plastic Monster Figures

One of my favorite memories is collecting these wonderful Universal Studios plastic monster figures. These or any plastic dime store figures were among my favorite possessions. I really loved these creepy figures issued by Marx toys. For years my memory has deluded me into believing they came in different neon colors. However, I now believe what I'm truly remembering are the orange color they were issued in. These figures came in other colors as well such as tan, green and blue, but my first ones were the orange collection

First ones, you ask? Oh yes, I had to have them in different colors! Next to my Aurora Monster Models, these were my favorite things to collect. Monsters, in any medium besides movies or TV, were in short supply, and worthy of gathering. I even tried painting some of them like I did my models, but being a horrible young model painter and builder, the end result was disastrous.

These plastic figures cost ten cents apiece and could be found at just about any variety store. The closest one to us was Newberry's at Eastport Plaza. They had a basement level that housed the toy section, household furnishings and pet shop. In a bin, these colorful figures were stacked with a ten-cent price stamped on the bottom of the plastic base.

I also collected the 5-inch army men along with a few plastic German soldiers for the same price.