FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER, HENRY FRANKENSTEIN, ELIZABETH, & THE BRIDE
UNIVERSAL MONSTERS MINIMATES
It’s Halloween! Ooooooooooo! Scary! ….Okay, it’s out of my system. Just like last year, I thought I’d do something festive for the holiday. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s Minimates! This actually marks one year since my very first Minimate review on this site, so that’s pretty cool! Last year, I took my first look at Diamond’s Universal Monsters Minimates with the Dracula boxed set; this year I’ll be taking a look at the line’s Frankenstein set. Incidentally, while most of the Universal Monsters Minimates were based on one movie, this one’s actually based on two, since it features characters from both Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.
THE FIGURES THEMSELVES
These four were released as a set in the second series of Universal Monsters Minimates, along with the Dracula set. This is the specialty exclusive boxed set, which included Elizabeth. The other three were also available in two-packs at Toys R Us, where the Bride was packed with an exclusive angry villager.
FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER
Not quite the titular character, but generally the character most people think of when they hear the name. The Monster’s really the selling point of the set. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and he features 14 points of articulation. He’s based on the Monster’s appearance in the first film, which is a good way to go. The Monster is built on the standard Minimate body, with a non-standard head and feet, as well as sculpted add-ons for the jacket and neck. All of these pieces were new to this figure, though the neck piece and feet have seen subsequent re-use, most notably on The Munsters’ Herman. The jacket sculpt is a little soft, but not bad. The head is really well done, with superb detail work on the hair and ears. The paint on the Monster is really just limited to the areas where skin is showing, which is the hands, lower arms, neck and head. The skin tone is pretty evenly applied, and there aren’t any really issues with slop. The hairline could be a bit better, but it’s not horrible. The face is somewhat generic. It’s certainly The Monster, but it’s not a definite Karloff Monster. Still, the detail work is well applied, and he’s certainly a serviceable version of the character. The Monster included no accessories.
HENRY FRANKENSTEIN
This IS the titular character, but he tends to be somewhat forgotten. It’s of note that this is Henry Frankenstein, rather than the usual Victor Frankenstein. For whatever reason, they felt the need to change his name and shunt the “Victor” name on another character. The good doctor is 2 ½ inches in height and features 14 points of articulation, though the leg articulation is a bit hampered by the bottom of his coat. The doctor is based on his laboratory appearance, complete with the proper lab coat of the time. He’s built using the standard Minimate body, with a hair piece and piece representing the bottom of his coat. The coat is new, while the hair is a re-use from the CA:TTA “Reborn” Cap (to be fair, the piece was first shown on Henry, but there was a bit of a delay between Henry’s prototype being shown and his actual release.) Both of these pieces are pretty good, and they do a decent job translating the source material. Henry’s paint is pretty decent. Everything is cleanly applied, and the detail lines all seem pretty sharp. The face seems a little off to be honest. It has a decent enough resemblance to Colin Clive, who played Henry in the film, but it seems a bit enlarged, and the eyes seem a bit oddly spaced. Henry includes no accessories.
ELIZABETH
The set’s exclusive figure is Elizabeth, the fiancé of Dr. Henry Frankenstein. That’s kinda it. She’s not the most exciting character, but she’s sort of important, so here she is. She’s 2 ½ inches tall and she features 14 points of articulation, though most of the leg articulation has been restricted by her dress. Elizabeth is based on the usual Minimate body, with add-ons for her hair and the lower half of her dress. Both of these pieces are new to this figure, and they’re both very nicely done. The hair in particular is very nicely detailed and accurate to the source material. Paint is really where this figure excels. While she may look bland at first glance, her paint is incredibly detailed, especially on the upper part of her dress, which features some really great texture work. Like the others in the set, Elizabeth includes no accessories.
THE BRIDE
The Bride is probably the set’s second most memorable character, which is cool. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation, though the legs and waist articulation are mostly rendered motionless by her dress. She’s based on the Bride’s look following her “unveiling,” which is easily her most essential look. Like all the others in the set, the Bride is built on the standard Minimate body, with additions for her hair and dress. These are both brand new to this figure, and overall they’re pretty good. The hair is pretty much spot on to the look from the film, and it’s well textured. The dress (well, sheet…) is okay, but not perfect. It’s a little bit bulky, which doesn’t quite suit the Bride’s svelte build. That being said, it’s well sculpted and it looks pretty decent overall. The paint on the Bride is respectable. The likeness of actress Elsa Lanchester is pretty much spot on, and the wraps on her arms look really great too. I wish they continued all the way around, but I suppose that’s just a limitation of the paint apps. In a predictable move, the Bride has no accessories. An extra wrapped head would have been nice, but it’s okay.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
The Frankenstein set is actually one of my earliest Luke’s Toy Store purchases. I had gotten away from Minimates for a little while, and I had had a rough couple of weeks. I had been meaning to give Luke’s a try, so I ordered myself a care package of sorts. This was probably one of my favorites of the selection I got, and I think it’s a great set overall. While I felt some of the Dracula Minimates were a little lackluster, I don’t feel the Frankenstein set has any real short comings.
The Figure In Question 