Friday, October 29, 2010
Retro Mask Pics
With Halloween just a few days away, these pics seem appropriate! How about that Topstone Melting Man & Ghoul!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
VXX EC Zombie Mask
A package showed up at the door yesterday with a VXX EC Zombie mask! Opening up the box I was greeted by the intense eyes on this creepy corpse. I can't say enough about the killer sculpture and the retro style paint scheme. Here's a few pics of my copy:
Check out more gruesome ghouls on the VXX-FX Photostream
Monday, October 25, 2010
Early Jordu Schell Masks
Having already professed my admiration of Jordu Schell as my favorite monster and creature designer in a previous post that highlighted some of his recent work, today's post will take a glimpse of some of the earlier work.
In the mid to late 1980's Jordu's began making masks under the name of Weirdom FX and in addition, his sculpts began appearing in the Death Studios catalogs. This old black and white flier was sent out from Death Studios announcing the new Jordu/Weirdom additions to the Death Studio line up. I'm not sure exactly when this was sent out. It was likely sent as a catalog insert sometime between 1985-1989.
The Halloween Masks Pool
A cool Flickr group that showcases a variety of Halloween masks and nice photography. The pool features tons great shots of vintage vacuform masks.
Images are copyright of the photographer. If you own the photos and would not like them displayed I will remove them from the post
Images are copyright of the photographer. If you own the photos and would not like them displayed I will remove them from the post
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Bayshore Zombie Mask Ad
This classic Zombie Mask ad from The Magic Center appeared in comics before my time, but I've always been a big fan of the ad as a whole. Great typography, use of minimal color and terrific images of both the Zombie and his partner in crime Frankenstein!
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| Bayshore Zombie Mask |
Friday, October 22, 2010
2010 Trick or Treat Studios Catalog
Here's a copy of the Trick or Treat Studios catalog I snagged at Maskfest 2010 back in March. I LOVE the concept of this flier and the Shock Doctor on the back! Makers of "Masks to DIE for!", Trick or Treat features a great blend of Retro style masks and modern monsters and by the looks of things has had a great first year.
Earlier this summer I got my first Trick or Treat mask in the mail. The Ghastly Ghoul, sculpted by Justin Mabry, is hands down the best mass produced mask I have bought in the past 20 years. The mask I received looks just like the photo in the catalog with a top notch paint job and a decent thickness for a mass produced piece. Here's my copy which I added some pupils to:
This is just the first of many T'oT masks I'd like to add to the family. Shock Monster is next up and then Radioactive Zombie!
In addition to their site, you can check out the Trick or Treat Blog here!
Earlier this summer I got my first Trick or Treat mask in the mail. The Ghastly Ghoul, sculpted by Justin Mabry, is hands down the best mass produced mask I have bought in the past 20 years. The mask I received looks just like the photo in the catalog with a top notch paint job and a decent thickness for a mass produced piece. Here's my copy which I added some pupils to:
In addition to their site, you can check out the Trick or Treat Blog here!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Riverside Library Mask Display
A local library has a wonderful collection of classic monster masks on display this October. The collection belongs to Carlos Marquez and features some very rare masks., several of the which have been customized by independent artists. All together it’s one impressive display!
The masks on display include from top to bottom:
Row One - Karloff Frank by Don Post Studios, The Wolfman by Tony Pitoco, Karloff Mummy by Daniel Horne, Lugosi Dracula by Don Post Studios (custom painted by Aaron Lewis,) Creature from the Black Lagoon by Don Post Studios.
Row Two- Mr, Hyde by Tony Pitoco, Karloff Frank by Don Post (custom paint job from Ghost of Frankenstein), Phantom of the Opera by Don Post Studios, Curse of Frankenstein by Carol Hicks.
Row Three- Micheal Meyers by Justin Marby, Dr. Loomis by Le Romaire.
The Pitoco Wolfman was an outstanding piece. I’ve never seen one in person and I was very impressed. Definitely one of the best ever released by an independent artist!
The Horne Mummy is without a doubt the best Karloff mummy I ever have seen. This mask is currently in production and can still be had from Daniel. This one is already a classic and a worthy addition to any classic monster collection.
The Aaron Lewis custom paint job is top notch. Aaron took the standard calendar re-issue paint scheme and transformed it into a beautiful replica of the classic calendar photo.
Row One - Karloff Frank by Don Post Studios, The Wolfman by Tony Pitoco, Karloff Mummy by Daniel Horne, Lugosi Dracula by Don Post Studios (custom painted by Aaron Lewis,) Creature from the Black Lagoon by Don Post Studios.
Row Two- Mr, Hyde by Tony Pitoco, Karloff Frank by Don Post (custom paint job from Ghost of Frankenstein), Phantom of the Opera by Don Post Studios, Curse of Frankenstein by Carol Hicks.
Row Three- Micheal Meyers by Justin Marby, Dr. Loomis by Le Romaire.
The Aaron Lewis custom paint job is top notch. Aaron took the standard calendar re-issue paint scheme and transformed it into a beautiful replica of the classic calendar photo.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monsterpalooza 2011
Monsterpalooza 2010 dates and guests were recently announced. I just reserved my dealer table and room last week and I can't wait! The Dealer list looks amazing!! It'll be great to see a ton of old friends next spring.
Check out previous 2010 & 2009 Monsterpaloozas.
Check out previous 2010 & 2009 Monsterpaloozas.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Death Studios Monster Mask Collection
My last post featuring the 1986 & 1991 Death Studios catalogs inspired me to take some high resolution photos of my Death Studios collection for today's post.
The first frightening freak in the line-up was produced under the name "The Millennian" was sculpted by Bill Nelson in 1979. These other four fiendish fellows are from the 1986 catalog and were produced under the following names: "Invader", "Legion", "Wolf!" and "Mangler". I've only had the Invader and the Wolf! since last May, as I was lucky enough to find a collector who was willing to part with them. The Legion mask was the 2nd Death Studios mask I ever purchased back in 1992.
Here is the rest of the bunch. Top row: "Klownzilla", "Death II", "Cutter", "Bad Moon", "Nosferatu", "Mr. Hyde", "Mangler". Bottom Row: "Rawbone", "Goblin", "Legion", "Millennian", "Invader", "Corpus Delicti", "Healer" and "Wolf!".
A few memorable masks are featured here. The Klownzilla is the only Killer Clown mask from Death Studios that have in the collection. It's a massive mask that has made many an appearance in our Haunted Barn and home haunts. Bad Moon, the over sized werewolf mask sculpted by Henry Alvarez, and the accompanying hands were given to me as a Christmas gift by a particularly cool girlfriend back in 1993. I remember nearly passing out when I opened the box that Christmas morning! The Nosferatu mask, which is still in production, is a damn creepy mask! The Mr. Hyde is my first ever Death Studios mask.
Above is the Henry Alvarez sculpted Howling werewolf, produced under the name Bad Moon from Death Studios.
Pictured above is the relatively rare Death Studios mask "Rawbone". This is absolutely one of my all time favorite creature designs! Sculpted by Brett Anderson and produced for a short time in 1995, only a few copies of Rawbone actually made it out to the public as production problems with the mold made it difficult to pull good copies. I've always felt it embodied everything a good monster design needs. I feel lucky to have gotten this before it was discontinued.
The Goblin mask above is the last mask that I sculpted for Death Studios. While five of my own sculptures have produced by Jeff Death over the years, this is the only one that I actually own a copy of. It was originally produced by Jeff under the name "Wild Thang" with a different paint scheme and featured and orange-ish brown hair.
Last up is Healer, the first Jordu Schell sculpted mask I added to my mask collection. Healer is another amazing example of creature & mask design by Jordu. It is completely out of the box of traditional mask design and is quite large as the eye holes are in the nostrils! This mask remains one of my favorites out of my entire collection!
That about does it for my Death Studio pieces for now, with a little luck I'm hoping to add some more from the old 1986 catalog. And, as always, there are several masks still in production that I'd love to add to the family. From time to time I'll throw up a post with some pieces from my collection.
The first frightening freak in the line-up was produced under the name "The Millennian" was sculpted by Bill Nelson in 1979. These other four fiendish fellows are from the 1986 catalog and were produced under the following names: "Invader", "Legion", "Wolf!" and "Mangler". I've only had the Invader and the Wolf! since last May, as I was lucky enough to find a collector who was willing to part with them. The Legion mask was the 2nd Death Studios mask I ever purchased back in 1992.
Here is the rest of the bunch. Top row: "Klownzilla", "Death II", "Cutter", "Bad Moon", "Nosferatu", "Mr. Hyde", "Mangler". Bottom Row: "Rawbone", "Goblin", "Legion", "Millennian", "Invader", "Corpus Delicti", "Healer" and "Wolf!".
A few memorable masks are featured here. The Klownzilla is the only Killer Clown mask from Death Studios that have in the collection. It's a massive mask that has made many an appearance in our Haunted Barn and home haunts. Bad Moon, the over sized werewolf mask sculpted by Henry Alvarez, and the accompanying hands were given to me as a Christmas gift by a particularly cool girlfriend back in 1993. I remember nearly passing out when I opened the box that Christmas morning! The Nosferatu mask, which is still in production, is a damn creepy mask! The Mr. Hyde is my first ever Death Studios mask.
That about does it for my Death Studio pieces for now, with a little luck I'm hoping to add some more from the old 1986 catalog. And, as always, there are several masks still in production that I'd love to add to the family. From time to time I'll throw up a post with some pieces from my collection.
Friday, October 15, 2010
1989 and 1991 Death Studios Catalogs
Death Studios was without a doubt my favorite mask maker of the late 1980s and well into the 1990s. Although I wasn't aware of it at the time, my first exposure to a Death Studios was in 1989 while working at a local Jaycee's Haunted House.
I had just begun my sophomore year in high school in the fall of '89 and was presented with the opportunity to work in the same Haunted House I had attended as a guest for years. I couldn't have been a happier kid! My first night at the haunt I was to play the part the Swamp Monster in the Swamp Room. I was handed a large and amazingly detailed mask and was told by one of the supervisors that I had to be extra careful with the mask as it cost over $1000! I had never seen a mask of this quality before and I was proud to wear it that night.
Several nights later, I had the opportunity to change rooms. This time I played the part of a zombie! The guests were lead down a dark hallway and were forced to stop. They then found themselves face to face with a barrage of noise in the form of large blow horn and screaming. All off a sudden the headlights of a car would great them and I would pop out the front hood of the car wearing a mask that was above and beyond anything I had ever seen before. The supervisor again warned me to take extra special care of the mask. My supervisor was cool, he was a high school buddy of my Uncle and in between rounds of guests he would sneak me cans of beer that were kept inside the car, and he let me wear these amazing masks! My attempts to find out where these masks came from the supervisor were all in vain, he continuously told that they were from "Hollywood".
Almost two years passed until some light was shed on the mystery masks origins. Late in the summer of 1991 I was at the local comic shop checking out the September issue of Fangoria. I always loved the September and October issues because you could count on there being a few mask ads that wouldn't be present any other time of the year. Man, I had no idea what was in store for me that day. On the back cover of the issue was a full color ad of the most spectacular masks I had ever seen, from a company only one state over... Death Studios.
I bought the issue simply for this ad. What an amazing assortment of creatures and monsters! There were the Killer Clowns, in mask form, which sent my mind racing! They looked so real! There was the sinister Lord of the Pit and Gargoyle masks!! Also the Bat Demon and Twin Parasite Chest in the third row!!! The Alien Warrior, my first exposure to my now favorite creature designer Jordu Schell! And finally, the Reptile mask, the one that stole my heart!! There was never a cooler mask I thought. Ever.
This ad would become the center of my universe over the next several weeks. As I collected a few pay checks from my part-time retail gig, I spent my time struggling with the thought of which would be the first mask I would order from Death Studios. The Reptile was my clear favorite, but everyday that passed I would fall in love with a new character. The Warlock, the Upside Down Head, The Bat Demon. As the time neared when I was ready to order, my decision became clear. I would order the scariest monster of the all, the one that made my skin crawl the most, the Mr. Hyde mask!
The days past and finally the package arrived. The anticipation had built so much, and the mask didn't disappoint. In fact is was even better than I could possibly imagine! Absolutely the best mask I had ever laid my eyes on! I still have this mask today, it's one of the most sentimental treasures of my collection. I've used in in several of my own home haunts, and two haunted barns! Still to this day, it makes the occasional appearance on October evenings in my attic window!
Now, as if the mask wasn't enough, it shipped along with the Death Studios catalog which was the 1989 bi-fold and the 1991 single page (the same as the one I had from the back of the Fangoria). The 1989 catalog was a mind-blower. It featured two full pages of amazing masks that I had never seen before... except for two. Right there in my hands was the answer to the question that had weighed on my mind for two full years, my mystery masks from the haunted house! The Swamp Monster and the Zombie mask (Death Guy 2) were Death Studios masks!! And better yet, they weren't a thousand dollars, they could be had for a mere $55-65!
Over the course of the next several months these catalogs would accompany me to the breakfast table every morning. I would again dream of the next mask that would be mine. Soooo many to chose from! My favorites included the insane "Wolf!" mask, "Mangler", "Bite", "Legion", "Dead Meat", "Death Guy II", "Rip II", "Jeeves" with the crazy cool elongated head, "Celibate", and the ultra scary alien "Invader"! The next order came a few months later in the form of Legion as well as the "How-To Make Masks the Death Studio Way" VHS tape, which would literally change my path in life a few years later.
Oddly, I only ended up with one from the 1989 catalog, by the time I had built up enough cash for another order, the 1992 catalogs had arrived in the spring sending my attention in another direction altogether, but that's a discussion for another evening. I have been fortunate enough to pick up a few of the masks from these catalogs in recent years from other collectors, including "Mangler", "Wolf!", and "Invader". I even managed to score a blank of my beloved "Reptile" from the 1991 catalog, which I'm really hoping to paint it this Fall/ /Winter.
That's all for now creeps. We'll take a look at the infamous1992 Death Studios catalog sometime in the future!
I had just begun my sophomore year in high school in the fall of '89 and was presented with the opportunity to work in the same Haunted House I had attended as a guest for years. I couldn't have been a happier kid! My first night at the haunt I was to play the part the Swamp Monster in the Swamp Room. I was handed a large and amazingly detailed mask and was told by one of the supervisors that I had to be extra careful with the mask as it cost over $1000! I had never seen a mask of this quality before and I was proud to wear it that night.
Several nights later, I had the opportunity to change rooms. This time I played the part of a zombie! The guests were lead down a dark hallway and were forced to stop. They then found themselves face to face with a barrage of noise in the form of large blow horn and screaming. All off a sudden the headlights of a car would great them and I would pop out the front hood of the car wearing a mask that was above and beyond anything I had ever seen before. The supervisor again warned me to take extra special care of the mask. My supervisor was cool, he was a high school buddy of my Uncle and in between rounds of guests he would sneak me cans of beer that were kept inside the car, and he let me wear these amazing masks! My attempts to find out where these masks came from the supervisor were all in vain, he continuously told that they were from "Hollywood".
Almost two years passed until some light was shed on the mystery masks origins. Late in the summer of 1991 I was at the local comic shop checking out the September issue of Fangoria. I always loved the September and October issues because you could count on there being a few mask ads that wouldn't be present any other time of the year. Man, I had no idea what was in store for me that day. On the back cover of the issue was a full color ad of the most spectacular masks I had ever seen, from a company only one state over... Death Studios.
I bought the issue simply for this ad. What an amazing assortment of creatures and monsters! There were the Killer Clowns, in mask form, which sent my mind racing! They looked so real! There was the sinister Lord of the Pit and Gargoyle masks!! Also the Bat Demon and Twin Parasite Chest in the third row!!! The Alien Warrior, my first exposure to my now favorite creature designer Jordu Schell! And finally, the Reptile mask, the one that stole my heart!! There was never a cooler mask I thought. Ever.
This ad would become the center of my universe over the next several weeks. As I collected a few pay checks from my part-time retail gig, I spent my time struggling with the thought of which would be the first mask I would order from Death Studios. The Reptile was my clear favorite, but everyday that passed I would fall in love with a new character. The Warlock, the Upside Down Head, The Bat Demon. As the time neared when I was ready to order, my decision became clear. I would order the scariest monster of the all, the one that made my skin crawl the most, the Mr. Hyde mask!
The days past and finally the package arrived. The anticipation had built so much, and the mask didn't disappoint. In fact is was even better than I could possibly imagine! Absolutely the best mask I had ever laid my eyes on! I still have this mask today, it's one of the most sentimental treasures of my collection. I've used in in several of my own home haunts, and two haunted barns! Still to this day, it makes the occasional appearance on October evenings in my attic window!
Oddly, I only ended up with one from the 1989 catalog, by the time I had built up enough cash for another order, the 1992 catalogs had arrived in the spring sending my attention in another direction altogether, but that's a discussion for another evening. I have been fortunate enough to pick up a few of the masks from these catalogs in recent years from other collectors, including "Mangler", "Wolf!", and "Invader". I even managed to score a blank of my beloved "Reptile" from the 1991 catalog, which I'm really hoping to paint it this Fall/ /Winter.
That's all for now creeps. We'll take a look at the infamous1992 Death Studios catalog sometime in the future!
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