1960 Topstone Catalog

A very big thanks goes out to the Creeping Dead over at Monster Mayhem for sharing this 1960 Topstone catalog. Enjoy creeps....

1950 Ben Cooper Mask Ad

Monster Masks... Great for Scaring Babies!

1976-77 Franco American Catalog

This Franco's catalog is stuffed full of mid-70's monster mask goodness. Don Post, Be Something Studios, Topstone, Travelers, and Cesar are all represented here, as well as a few others. They range from the ultra deluxe Don Post 1000 line to the thin and flimsy dime store variety. Good stuff in here creeps!

1000 Line Don Post Masks

These Don Post 1000 Line masks were offered up in the 1976-77 Franco American Novelties catalog. The rest of the catalog scans coming this week...

Freaky Mutant

More Maskfest '14 Photos

Here are just a few of the shots from Caleb Oglesby's Maskfest '14 Facebook album...

Cavity Colors Season of the Witch

One good Halloween III post deserves to be followed up by another. Cavity Colors recently launched a new collection of H3 inspired goodness. Check it...

Trick or Treat Halloween III Masks Arrived!

I've been waiting and wondering when the Trick or Treat Studios Halloween III Season of the Witch masks would show up since I pre-ordered them earlier this Summer. They arrived this past Saturday and the wait was more than worth while. I'm thrilled to death to add these to the collection...

While attending Maskfest, I heard that there were complaints about these pieces from die hard fans of the Halloween series. While it's impossible to please everyone, I think some serious perspective is needed here. Consider the quality of these pieces compared to those that were released just a few years back from the company that produced these masks originally. There really is no comparison between them whatsoever. I can't thank Chris and Justin from ToT enough for making these masks a reality... thank you kindly gentlemens!!!

Forry's Frank

The Don Post Studios Karloff Frank mask that appears on the cover of An Evening With Boris Karloff and His Friends record album also shows up in a number of other photos of Forry in various rooms of the Ackermansion(s). This particular copy of the mask is a foamed master with a beautiful finish. While I can't say for sure, it is very likely that Verne Langdon gave this copy of the mask to Forry. I asked Lee Lambert, author of the Illustrated History of Don Post Studios, who had this to say...

"I know for sure that the mask is one of the polyfoam masters. Verne produced the record and the dialog was written by FJA. My guess, based upon the act that Verne used a master instead of a production mask, is that he saw the mask as a key piece of the album cover. Given that, if he didn’t paint it himself, I imagine he certainly would have overseen its finishing very closely. Given that Verne & Forry had known each other for years and Forry’s involvement with the record, I would assume Verne gave it to him."

The following photos were gathered from Monster Bob Morris' Your Props page...

Random Sunday Morning Mask Pic: Skeleton

Maskfest '14 Recap

It's hard to believe that Maskfest '14 has come and gone. Personally, it's my very favorite weekend of the calendar year, and these past few days only helped to strengthen this sentiment. The room full of rubber masks alone is simply stunning, however, the people really make the weekend what it is. Hanging with the friends, family, fellow collectors, and fellow artists is what really makes Maskfest the over-the-top can't-miss-event of the year.

I have little in the way of photos to share. After all, it is very difficult to take pictures with a beer in one hand and a mask or two in the other. It's also all too easy to get lost in endless conversation during the show hours. All of these things take priority over picture taking for me. I'll definitely be on the look out for the influx of Maskfest photos that have likely already started popping up online.

Here's a brief recap of what I did manage to capture... This life-size green ghoul was there to greet us as we began to unload the truck and setup the table. The smell of a room full of rubber masks immediately let us know that Maskfest was underway, even though the doors wouldn't officially open for a few more hours...

Even before setup was complete, my first priority was to secure a copy of Lee Lambert's Illustrated History of Don Post Studios. Apparently, this was everyone else's priority too, as the 50 copies that Lee had at the show were sold out within 20 minutes of the early-access pre-show. I have only made it through the first three chapters, but I'll post a review of the book soon...

...Our Devil's Workshop display went up quickly and the fun began...

Here's a quick shot of my cousin Matthew "Hamm-ing" it up behind the table. This was Matt's second Maskfest, he fits right in with the rest of the weirdos at this show and was a huge help this year...

Here's a glimpse of a few of the Maskfest exclusives we had including a 1-off orange Terror Tomb Zombie, a 1-off Glow-in-the-Dark Ghoul, and 1-off Green Creature...

I busted out the old Devil's Workshop "Dead Head" mold made back in 1997, to make this greenish ghoul...

I made two purchases from Justin Mabry on the first day, both of the one-eyed zombie variety...

By the time the show was over, my Mabry scores included a Frank, and a Rob Zombie Mask from Trick or Treat Studios...

The Rob Zombie mask fits like a glove and is super creepy when worn. I'll be answering the door with this one on this Halloween. This is me posing behind our table...

Before the show would wrap up on day 2, I had purchased a Raging Zombie Studios Critter, and then backed it up with a second Raging Zombie piece on Sunday, the gorgeous green "Slimey Steve" melting man bust...

In addition to the show, a lot of really weird shit happened in the after hours along the way...

The three days were long, and we only procured about 4 hours or less of sleep each night, but the time flew right by. Before I knew it the truck was loaded and we were heading home...