I only infrequently collect model kits, but this one is worth writing about.
It’s commonly known among kit collectors that there are major choices to be made when accumulating the rarer Aurora monster models. For instance, do you want to send your teenage kid to dental school or buy the “Castle Creatures” Witch kit? Do you want to take your wife on that month-long tour of Europe, staying exclusively at four-star hotels, dining only on gourmet food, or do you want to buy the legendary Gigantic Frankenstein kit?
All exaggeration aside, until now, the 20 tall Gigantic Frankenstein’s name not only referred to its status as Aurora’s largest monster kit by far, but to the unholy prices that this mere plastic toy fetched. Originally released in 1964, its sales were lousy because its asking price was five times higher than that of the hugely popular 1/8th scale Aurora kits.
Like Aurora’s Monsters in Hot Rods series, the Gigantic Frankenstein presented an unthreatening, un-frightening, comical version of the classic movie monsters. This might also explain why the kit didn’t sell well– the 10-year-old boys who snapped the monster kits up might have hankered for creepiness, not goofiness, from the classic Universal monsters. It might have seemed almost undignified to present them like that. But it was the kids’ loss, except when it came to their allowances. Since the 1980s, the “Big Frankie” has remained as scarce as Blackbeard’s treasure and about as valuable.
But Frank Winspur and his Moebius mob have scored big again, making it reasonably affordable for a kit-builder to actually BUILD essentially identical replicas of the kits that they love at prices that won’t leave them subsisting on Top Ramen for days.
As if this near-perfect replica of the Aurora original wasn’t enough, Moebius has also faithfully reproduced James Bama’s extraordinary cover painting of Glenn Strange as the Monster. It remains one of the most beloved and archetypal pieces of popular monster art of the ’60s, rivaling even Basil Gogos’ classic Famous Monsters of Filmland covers.
The kit’s basic design is peculiar– he has an oversized, cartoonish linebacker’s build, dangling, apelike arms, and huge feet to firmly support his bulk. But meanwhile, the Monster’s face– a decent caricature of Boris Karloff– looks amazingly sad for such a seemingly light-hearted kit. Its outstanding feature is its network of wrinkles, which, along with the Creature’s desolate expression, give it a weary, grizzled look. Unlike its body, the Monster’s face looks about as cute and light-hearted as a hard-living country singer on a bender. That’s not a complaint– it’s praise. Oddly enough, this seemingly whimsical kit perversely captured the agony and pathos of Boris Karloff’s performance better than any of Aurora’s numerous kits of the Monster.
This expressive sculpture’s wrinkles are one of the most fun parts of preparing the kit and the same goes for his hands’ numerous creases. Layer upon layer of washes along with some brighter highlights make the face come alive. And simply antiquing the hands made its extensive details leap out. As big as the kit is, you spend ages detailing it.
Assembling this surprisingly light kit was probably the simplest part. It requires almost no manipulation of small parts of any kind (including the button on Frankie’s coat) and, were this a snap-together kit, a five-year-old kid could probably put it together with little difficulty. His arms are movable and can easily jut out in THE iconic, immediately recognizable Frankenstein’s monster pose. The rock and chain that came with the original kit are also, naturally, included.
As usual, Moebius has produced a first-rate reproduction that won’t disappoint anyone. A glow-in-the-dark version is also available.
