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Greetings all.
Another couple old customs from my vaults. These two go way back in time and are among the earliest customs I did. I think I did these in 1999 or 2000. I was just starting to hit my stride, and get the hang of sculpting and doing my own boxes. I was starting to make the shift over from superhero customs to doing monster customs exclusively.
They are Vincent Price in "Pit and the Pendulum", and "Masque of the Red Death." Both are based on films by Roger Corman and are among the finest horror films of the 60s. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that "Masque" is among the finest films of the decade, period. I was very into these films at that time, and Vincent Price remains one of my favorite actors.
All costumes, sculpting, boxes etc done by me.
First up is Pit and the Pendulum:
I altered the torso to make him hunched
The pot of coals was made using gravel from my garden painted charcoal and orange, and the hot pokers were created from coat hanger wire.
Vincent dons this outfit in the final 15 mins of the movie when he becomes unhinged by memories of his ancestors who were Inquisitors during the middle ages.
Actually this head sculpt holds up better than I remember--I like the mustache and the lips. I think they capture him decently
This one clearly drew its inspiration from the famous resin kit by William Paquet. A lot of my early monster customs were inspired by Garage Kits. Basically what I was looking for were Garage Kits you could play with.
Next up is "Masque of the Red Death". In this most Bergman-esque of the Corman Poe films, The Red Death is merely one of several different types of plagues visiting the land. The script by Robert Towne (Oscar winner for "Chinatown") neatly weaves in another Poe tale, "Hop-Toad" into the plot.
The photography was by Nicholas Roeg, a great cinematographer, and later director of the masterpiece "Don't Look Now". He films in deep saturated tones of Pathecolor.
The Red Death has no face in the movie, until, as he explains, the time of your own death is upon you. Hence why he has the face of Vincent Price's Prince Prospero during the concluding moments.
This movie has one of the greatest of all film posters, and certainly one of the 10 best of the 1960s. I had to include it as a transparency on the front window of my box
You may notice that this figure came so early in my customizing career that I wasn't even sure what to call my "Fake" toy company. I was still calling myself "MJ Toys" and hadn't decided on a toy line name. Six months later I would re-name my company the "MAGE TOY Co." with a Mego-esque logo, and my toyline would be called (in a nod to AHI) "Official World Famous Movie Monsters". It has remained that way ever since.
I was just starting to incorporate the motif's from film posters into the box design-- hence the irregular border on the window echoing the irregular border on the poster.
Dr. Phibes WAS made. But he has been lost to posterity.
I suppose I should actually show the figure out of the box... ok:
Well that's all for now! Thanks for looking you guys!
Best,
Matt
Another couple old customs from my vaults. These two go way back in time and are among the earliest customs I did. I think I did these in 1999 or 2000. I was just starting to hit my stride, and get the hang of sculpting and doing my own boxes. I was starting to make the shift over from superhero customs to doing monster customs exclusively.
They are Vincent Price in "Pit and the Pendulum", and "Masque of the Red Death." Both are based on films by Roger Corman and are among the finest horror films of the 60s. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that "Masque" is among the finest films of the decade, period. I was very into these films at that time, and Vincent Price remains one of my favorite actors.
All costumes, sculpting, boxes etc done by me.
First up is Pit and the Pendulum:
I altered the torso to make him hunched
The pot of coals was made using gravel from my garden painted charcoal and orange, and the hot pokers were created from coat hanger wire.
Vincent dons this outfit in the final 15 mins of the movie when he becomes unhinged by memories of his ancestors who were Inquisitors during the middle ages.
Actually this head sculpt holds up better than I remember--I like the mustache and the lips. I think they capture him decently
This one clearly drew its inspiration from the famous resin kit by William Paquet. A lot of my early monster customs were inspired by Garage Kits. Basically what I was looking for were Garage Kits you could play with.
Next up is "Masque of the Red Death". In this most Bergman-esque of the Corman Poe films, The Red Death is merely one of several different types of plagues visiting the land. The script by Robert Towne (Oscar winner for "Chinatown") neatly weaves in another Poe tale, "Hop-Toad" into the plot.
The photography was by Nicholas Roeg, a great cinematographer, and later director of the masterpiece "Don't Look Now". He films in deep saturated tones of Pathecolor.
The Red Death has no face in the movie, until, as he explains, the time of your own death is upon you. Hence why he has the face of Vincent Price's Prince Prospero during the concluding moments.
This movie has one of the greatest of all film posters, and certainly one of the 10 best of the 1960s. I had to include it as a transparency on the front window of my box
You may notice that this figure came so early in my customizing career that I wasn't even sure what to call my "Fake" toy company. I was still calling myself "MJ Toys" and hadn't decided on a toy line name. Six months later I would re-name my company the "MAGE TOY Co." with a Mego-esque logo, and my toyline would be called (in a nod to AHI) "Official World Famous Movie Monsters". It has remained that way ever since.
I was just starting to incorporate the motif's from film posters into the box design-- hence the irregular border on the window echoing the irregular border on the poster.
Dr. Phibes WAS made. But he has been lost to posterity.
I suppose I should actually show the figure out of the box... ok:
Well that's all for now! Thanks for looking you guys!
Best,
Matt
Would love to see Phibes.
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