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Monster Scenes was a series of plastic, snap-together model kits originally produced by the Aurora Products Corp. beginning in 1971. Aurora had already made a big splash in the 1960s when they introduced unique kits based on Universal Studios' classic monster characters, at a time when hobby store shelves were dominated by model military vehicles and hot rods.
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The monster-based kits were extremely popular. But by 1971, having exhausted the Universal cadre with kits based on Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, etc., Aurora pushed its luck by putting out a new series of Monster Scenes, modular dioramas of original designs that, while not directly based on any licensed horror film characters, tried to capture the same spirit.
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But some critics felt these new kits, which included The Hanging Cage, The Pendulum, and Dr. Deadly, a mad scientist who appears to be experimenting on animals, had a mean-spirited, sadistic quality, and were inappropriate toys for young children.
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The last straw was a kit called "The Victim", depicting a scantily clad female, to be used as fodder for the dungeon or torture chamber, sold separately.
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When the wholesome Nabisco company bought Aurora and found themselves picketed by angry parents, Monster Scenes were retired.
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Moebius Models has since licensed all the original Aurora monster kits and remanufactured many of them using the original molds and box art. These scans come from a 2008 dealer's catalog designed to promote the kits to retailers.
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![](//3.bp.blogspot.com/_YGVLM2i9n6o/SqBzCXaDnlI/AAAAAAAADhM/Q-_Yt4ijsew/s400/Madscientist.jpg)
![](//1.bp.blogspot.com/_YGVLM2i9n6o/SqBy16bTpiI/AAAAAAAADgk/XwMJHlOl_FI/s400/Frankenstein.jpg)
![](//1.bp.blogspot.com/_YGVLM2i9n6o/SqByucohcaI/AAAAAAAADgc/kj7CTscD8YI/s400/DrDeadlyBigPic.jpg)
Moebius seems to embrace the legacy of the Aurora Monster Scenes and even reprints a newspaper excerpt about the Nabisco protest in their catalog.
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Monster Scenes repros can be purchased on-line
here.
Moebius official website
here (no items are sold at this site, however).
3 comments:
How cool is that.
And those picketers - kinda funny. Little did they know what 2009 would look like.
That is just amazing. How cool. I had a few of those as a kid, I think they were my dads. Nice to see them back.
Cheers!
Was there a comic book that went along with the kits? I remember playing with them but I can't imagine my parents buying them for me!
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