Toy-Ventures: Remco Universal Monsters

[@edhill4486]

One of my happiest memories as a kid was walking into our towns then newly opened Dollar General store back in 1981, and seeing a shelf full of these for $2.00 a piece!!! My Mom knew I loved monsters, so she kindly scooped up Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy for me. (I didn't even have to beg!) She even got another Dracula for my cousin Eric. Unfortunately, We could never find a Wolfman. I remember my cousin folding over the box flap for his Dracula to create a makeshift coffin for him to rest in. Good times.

[@BrickMantooth]

that sounds like a really amazing memory, I wish I had found these at discount as a kid.

[@carlsalvato8530]

Really close to my fondest memory.I had seen the commercial for these and my mom took me to toys r us after school.I remember the girl at the register looking at Frankenstein and said"yuck".

[@RaymondCastile]

I can tell you something about Robert Quarry and his reaction to the Remco box. My friend Joe Moe was friends with Quarry and part of a group of fans that helped take care of him in his final years. Joe had seen the Remco box art posters that I had made for the UMA toy display at Wonderfest and Monster Bash. I took high resolution photos of the box art and Photoshopped out the text, turning them into posters that could be printed in jumbo size. Joe wanted to give Robert the Dracula poster as a gift. So I made another copy of the Remco Dracula poster and sent it to Joe. He presented it to Robert, literally on his death bed. Robert knew what it was and was very tickled to receive it. Joe said it was a nice little surprise that gave him a measure of joy in his final days.

[@BrickMantooth]

Oh, thanks for sharing that Ray. I met Robert Quarry once, chit-chatted with him and Robert Clarke briefly, and then on the drive home remembered the Remco thing. It's bugged me ever since.

[@bio1656]

I remember these figures . WOW !!

[@BrickMantooth]

they're so fun

[@bio1656]

@@BrickMantooth I like watching your channel brings back so many memories .

[@JustinTyme33]

The mini monsters hold a special place in my heart as the last toys I ever asked for as a child.

[@toytripperv8488]

Long live the classic monsters!!!

[@BrickMantooth]

100% agree

[@megomego-likemaven4650]

As a GenX kid, these hold a special place in my heart, as do the 3 & 3/4" Remco Mini Monsters. My Mom was a big fan of the 1930s through 1970s horror movies so she and I would watch Creature Double Feature every weekend, as well as any other times when the old monster movies would air. Such great memories.

[@MPLSprintmaking]

Oh how I wanted this when I was a kid.

[@MuseionArt]

I had the Energized Spider-Man back then. Good grief, I thought I'd imagined that thing. Your channel has resurfaced so many forgotten 70s memories for me. 😄

[@BrickMantooth]

I'm so happy to hear that.

[@DarkmanPoe]

I had that one and the Batman one, too.

[@chadsillustration]

Happy Halloween! Great videos! I loved the store love saves the day in Greenwich village! A store that is long gone and will be forever missed!

[@BrickMantooth]

I sincerely miss it.

[@mick_c_horror_and_pop_culture]

Thank you for this awesome REMCO Monsters' video. I dig the appearance of the MEGO Mad Monster Frankenstein 🎃

[@BrickMantooth]

heh, my Frankenstein is sealed so I needed a stunt double.

[@mick_c_horror_and_pop_culture]

@@BrickMantooth Awesomeness. I have two. Unfortunately no box.

[@mattledbetter859]

Great video, as always. Now you've got me eyeballing the older stuff. Haha. I'm starting to understand the fascination.

[@BrickMantooth]

More of an obsession but yeah, thanks for watching.

[@Yochillmanchill]

I can understand Ken’s upsetting about the sculpts. Those originals are wonderful

[@BrickMantooth]

Yeah I'm glad I was allowed to share them with the world.

[@TheWeirdKidShow]

Props for mentioning Kenneth Strickfaden. He needs the recognition he deserves.

[@BrickMantooth]

agree

[@AC-gb7do]

Yet another set I’d love to own.

[@icanliveforever1243]

I've waited a long time for this.

[@deanpidone1922]

Can't get enough monster toys! Need more monster toys. Send more monster toys. Thanks for the video.

[@BrickMantooth]

More to come!

[@camcordernonsense5264]

That box artwork is great.

[@brianartillery]

A friend of mine had the Wolfman. I swapped it for some slot cars or something. The face sculpt looked more like Bela Lugosi's brilliant 'Ygor' character, from the later Frankenstein movies, than Lon Chaney Jr's Wolfman. Lovely figure, all the same. Alas, like my comics, other figures, like Cyborg, Muton, Fighting Furies, etc. and Airfix kits that were in the loft, it vanished when my parents had the house re-plumbed, and a floor fitted in the loft.

[@johnsheppard3078]

Great memories! 👍🏼👍🏼

[@BrickMantooth]

glad to hear!

[@xenofett7008]

I had the first 4 monsters from the 8 inch line and the Monsterizer. The Phantom and Creature 8 inch figures I never saw in stores. I didn't even know they existed until the late 90s. I also had all the Mini Monsters that came out in 1981.

[@dannycruz5446]

I got Dracula at a boy scouts swap meet-i loved the smaller monsters and wanted the larger ones too-but once in hand, wasnt very impressed with his arms so ended up trading it for a Diaclone Camera later in the day.

[@BrickMantooth]

Interesting story, pretty much what happened in the 1980s.

[@TheWeirdKidShow]

I remeber getting to go to Kay B toys back in the day and they had the Remco stuff on clearence. I manages to score a 9" Frank, Mummy and, the Monsterizor for the 9" figures. Since then, I have been on a mission to get that monsterizor again without having to take out a 2nd mortgage.

[@Mike-l2m]

Me and my brother had that spider man awesome memories 😊

[@richardwatts4660]

Oh I would've loved to had any of these Remco Universal Monsters after seeing this video! Fabulous! I've always had a fondness for glow-in-the-dark toys, particularly from the late Seventies / early Eighties. Btw I love the Monsterizer; so cool!

[@BrickMantooth]

Yeah I admit "Glow in the dark" makes me consider a toy way more than it probably should.

[@GeekingPoetic]

Man, I adored the Remco Monsters. Both the larger ones featured here and the Mini Monsters were some of my favorite toys (and still are). I was a big Remco fan as a kid, I absolutely loved my Energized Spidey and while they might've missed the mark for many others I thought I McDonaldland figures were great. Awesome video Brian, thanks for all the great Halloween-y content this past month!

[@Floyds_Toys]

Happy Halloween. Only ever had the 9 inch Dracula but unfortunately the dog got a hold of him (plastic vampires are no match for a Beagle). I still have him with a hole in his head and missing a boot with a chewed foot. I would of killed for that Creach as a kid but didn't know about the second wave until I was an adult, had all six mini monsters, though.

[@michaelharrington75]

3:17 The Frankenstein monter figure was moving his mouth!

[@richardmark9161]

Love Saves The Day moved out of the Village, to somewhere in Pennsylvania I believe, just a few years before the tragedy where that building was destroyed because of a gas explosion. It was an absolute horrible tragedy. The lot was vacant for many years had been a memorial to the people who died there. A new building has recently been erected at the site.

[@BrickMantooth]

Yeah I was horrified by that explosion, that block was always the first place i went to in NYC. Is LSD still in business?

[@richardmark9161]

@@BrickMantooth Last I heard, just prior to the tragedy they had moved to somewhere in Pennsylvania. As I recall, the space in the Village was taken over by a vintage clothing store. Did you ever get a chance to eat at the sushi place that was right next door? They were amazing. They had $1 sushi specials and even made Spam Sushi for a dollar a piece. They also had the best deep-fried green tea ice cream. That sushi place and LSD made for great Saturday afternoons.

[@BrickMantooth]

@@richardmark9161 I found them, they're still in business! I don't eat fish (allergic) but my friend raved about that place. He was supposed to be there that night IIRC.

[@richardmark9161]

@@BrickMantooth I just googled. Looks like LSD is in New Hope PA. The pictures look just like the original store's layout.

[@richardmark9161]

@@BrickMantooth You could've had the Spam Sushi :D

[@hallking7441]

Love these!

[@stevenkuykendoll1884]

Very cool figures. I have never seen them before but will be looking at shows in the future. On a different subject have you or any of your subscribers heard the dates for the 2021 Mego Meet?

[@BrickMantooth]

It hasn't been formally announced but hopefully soon. i co-run Megomeet.

[@dennissmith5807]

I had Spider Man and the 4 monsters. Good times.

[@BrickMantooth]

they must have been fun toys for a kid, I wish I had them back in the day.

[@RileyZilla1001]

Didn't Taco Bell do a line of Universal monsters in the 90s? I fondly remember a Creature of the Black Lagoon figure.

[@carlosescobar6973]

Oh My Gosh 😍

[@thelasvegaskid]

I think I’ll have to look into a remco monster figure. Thanks

[@rickytoddbotelho9555]

I had all these too.😅❤🎃

[@BrickMantooth]

lucky!

[@loganjorgensen]

I would have been all over this if I was born a little sooner heh. Very cool and a nice playset, funny since modern glow plastics need a lot of charging so such a toy design still has relevance. ;)

[@BanthaPooDoo64]

Back in 1980 l was 16 yrs old,and seen these bad boys and l bought them from a Dollar General store don’t remember the cost but l had a small job and l grabbed up all 4 figures ,l still hav mine w repro boxes no patch or rings but in the last few yrs l added the creature and the Phantom

[@camcordernonsense5264]

How did those creepy McRon toys fail? I like those.

[@BrickMantooth]

Everyone I've talked to at Remco has said, total failure.

[@Chapwiththewings5roundsrapid]

The Dracula art work strikes me as very Christopher Lee

[@BrickMantooth]

Quarry and Lee do have similar features now that you mention it.

[@LannieLord]

3:12 Read up on the sad ending of Robert Quarry elsewhere . I love the 2 Count Yorga (YIKES to all the scenes with the creepy vampire brides!) movies and AIP was considering a Dr. Phibes meets Count Yorga movie at one point. WTF ? indeed. If you love 1970s horror , the count Yorga movies fit right in between Phibes and Blacula .

[@deopersad2915]

They where awesome, I had Dracula my brother still has his Frankenstein, I want to get all 4 , new remake one's

[@alexnejako777]

i had Frankensteins monster, dracula the phantom of the opera and the creature 3 3/4. they weren't durable and the Creature lost his feet . the phantom of the opera survived and I sold him in 92 without his cape . very nice sculpts.

[@alexnejako777]

it was also the year when all the kids would check out the books about each monster from the library. orange cover, black and white interior photos

[@jamesschulziii9098]

I still want to acquire these wonderful figures. I suppose I should look into doing so. Oh and if I hadn't said so in another comment, I absolutely love the intro and music for this video. I was wondering, what is this music?

[@johngeraci3887]

Hi, sorry to bother u when is the new wave of Mego figures coming? Thank You John

[@ryanbarker5217]

there's a company called american plastic equipment that would buy old toy molds, then store them to sell or lease. the way i understand it, they had/have molds from remco/AHI. so, theorectically anyone can remake this stuff -- if they have the mold for it, lol. anyway, i take it these remco figures aren't the same ones AHI made in the early 70's?

[@popculturevegan]

🖤🖤🖤

[@williamgottlieb8723]

Hang in there, Dracula fans. You just have to wait until August 16, 2026 when Bela Lugosi will have been dead for 70 years. That means his image becomes public domain and I hope the next day the store shelves are flooded with authentic looking 1931 Dracula products!

[@LannieLord]

In BIZARRO - WORLD The Creature is the LEAST valuable monster to collect. You can get a vintage AHI Creature for $35.00 any day of the week on Bizarro-Bay. The Hunchback is the most valuable $$$$$$ . It's impossible to find any Hunchback vintage figures! Also in Bizarro World ; The MEGO Green Arrow is WORTHLESS mint in box with all the accesories: But LOOSE and missing everything but his body stocking is worth $1,500.00 ! Also in BW: The Teen Titans were PEG WARMERS . Up until 1992 you could still buy them at Toys R Them in their world. Especially Wonder Girl. They used to shrink-wrap bundle her up with Grandma Walton to move her the heck out. The Waltons is SO popular in Bizarro World that they have "Walton Fest" conventions every year. It's hilarious to see Bizarro World people cos-playing in those old fashioned poverty farm clothes .

[@Mike-l2m]

Me and my brother had that spider man awesome memories 😊