Recently, I was asked which was my favourite Aurora Monster. Tough question! The Frankenstein monster was not only my first Aurora Monster: it was my first model kit, AND my first figure! The Creature was beyond cool--especially with the skeletal hand and forearm, and finned tuatara-like lizard that became part of Aurora's Customizing Monster Kit (#1). The Mummy. . . arguably my all-time favourite--I had a thing for cobras at the time. . .
But in spite of having built and painted the entire long-box series (save for The Witch), I never reprised a single one save for The Wolf Man--and he was my least favourite of the venerable Aurora Monsters! Nothing like the boxart OR Larry Talbot!! In Christmas of '62 ('63?), I received two of them as presents from relatives, despite the fact that my rendition had been sitting on the dresser for quite some time. . . So by Spring of the following year, I had three Wolf Men taking centrestage on my now-crowded dresser.
FF>>. . .
Some 35 years later, we were treated to a UM revival by the now-defunct Polar Lights/Playing Mantis. First they re-released the Aurora original Wolf Man: long box, James Bama artwork. . . and the same less-than-satisfying bare-chested lycanthrope. Then in 1998, they released Randy Bowen's version of the 1941 Universal icon with Chris White boxart. This was fully licensed by Universal Studios and the Chaney Estate. What a difference!
It's taken me a while to get over the "Three Little Wolves" on my dresser, and the Bowen version came and went with nary a blip. My re-immersion into classic monsters has led me to [re]discover this kit, and recently I was fortunate to acquire one. . .
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