Thursday, October 24, 2024

31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe: The Creature from the Black Lagoon from Universal Monsters Select by Diamond Select

 

   It's Thursday again, which means it's time for another trip to the Black Lagoon! Today's review is the original 2010 release of the Creature from the Black Lagoon from Diamond Select's Universal Monsters Select line. There were two versions of the Gill-Man available in the first series of releases: A Toy 'R Us exclusive version with just a display base and this standard version which includes a different base and a figure of Kay Lawrence. I got this set for Christmas of 2010 along with the Mummy and while there isn't much articulation here, the figure certainly displays well. Let's dive in for another look at the Gill-Man after the break...






The Facts:

Height: 7 7/8ths

Articulation: Swivel ankles, swivel/ hinge shoulders, hinged elbows, and swivel wrists.

Accessories: None











The Facts:

Height: 3 3/4ths inches tall (while lounging)

Articulation: Swivel head.

Accessories: Display base

Original Retail Price: $15-$18 dollars

Year of Release: 2010


The Positives:


* Since the earlier Diamond Universal Monsters Secret figures were fairly unarticulated, build more for display than play, it's important that they look pretty solid. Diamond did a good job as, yes, this is a very solid design for the Creature from the Black Lagoon. His colors are excellent with vibrant green scales (almost a metallic green), and some excellent washes and dry brush techniques to give him a wet and swampy look. There are clearly mud stains in-between his scales and the look excellent.









* Overall I like this headsculpt. There's one issue I have (the size and shape of the dome of his head), but I'll get to that later. For now, let me say that the work on the Gill-Man's eyes, gills, and his brow are excellent, conveying quite a bit of emotion, which isn't something you can usually say about a fish person.









* Flip the Creature around and you'll be really impressed by the fins all over his back. They're quite sharp with excellent paintwork that give them that grimy appearance you'd expect from someone living in a lagoon.





* The Gill-Man's fist claws and webbed fingers are really something and have a wet appearance to them. The palms are excellent as are the joints of the finger.







* His webbed feet are also pretty impressive. Those are some long claws. Not something you regularly see on a fish, are they?








* A large base is included that looks like some sand and rocks with a bit of moss or lichen on them. There aren't any foot pegs on the base, but both figures in the set stand pretty well.








* This set comes with two figures! The second is Kay Lawrence, played by Julia Adams in the 1954 film. Kay is largely unarticulated (just a swivel head) and seems to have been included as more of an accessory than a true figure, though she does have as much articulation as the first release of the Mummy. She's a nice looking figure and a character that's only ever been released as a Minimate.




* The portrait isn't bad, either, and looks like a decent likeness to Julia Adams for a 12 year old figure. Face printing and the like just weren't common at that time. The line is a bit stylized, too, but I could see her fitting in just fine with the NECA Gill-Man if you felt inclined. 







* Here's a shot from the back to show off the sculpt. Diamond Select did a really nice job capturing Kay Lawrence in her swimsuit. She's quite curvy!


* The articulation improved in this line over time, eventually leading to a more fully articulated Gill-Man, but early on these were more like statues with limited articulation, kind of like the earliest Marvel Select figures. The Gill-Man's arms and wrists do move, allowing you to tweak him to get a good creeping forward pose.

The Negatives:

* That's about it, though. Not having any hip or head articulation is a bit of a bummer. 





* From the brow down this is an excellent sculpt of the Creature. Above the brow, however, the top of his head just looks awkward. There's something just off about it. I think the top of his head is too tall and thin.







    This isn't the most well articulated version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon to exist but I do really like it. Except for the slightly funky head shape, it's really a nice display piece. Diamond's earlier figures, even their Marvel Select stuff, were really preposed and minimally articulated, kind of like late 90's and early 2000's McFarlane Toys stuff. They usually included killer accessories, though, and including Kay Lawrence really makes for a nice setup. Add the base in with her and pose the Creature right and you've got something that reminds me of the old Aurora model kits. This was a Great and a 1/2 release that really packed in a lot of value, even if it was almost as much of a statue as an action figure.


This is the first figure of Kay Lawrence I've reviewed. 

Looking for more of the Creature from the Black Lagoon/ Gillman or other Sea Creatures inspired by him? I've reviewed plenty of other Gill-Man-like creatures including the Funko ReAction Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Creature from the Black Lagoon (Glow-in-the-Dark Costume Colors) from Super7's ReAction series, Wavecrawler from Hasbro's Kre-O line, the Imaginext Gillman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon from Monster Force, the Gill-Man from the Big Bucket of Monsters, Leonardo as the Creature from the Black Lagoon from NECA, the Sea Creature from Mezco's Tower of Fear, and the Swamp Creature from Lego Monster Fighters.

For more figures from Universal Monsters Select by Diamond Select check out the following:
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Lucy Westenra
The Mummy
Van Helsing











6 comments:

  1. This is a neat set. Always loved "The Creature" - the Kay Lawrence figure is awesome as well.

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    1. Diamond Select definitely had some cool accessories and/or extra figures in their Universal Monsters figures. Kay Lawrence was pretty neat. One of the few non monsters to ever get a figure of any kind.

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  2. I've got this one on my Creature shelf. Solid figure and great display

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    Replies
    1. I do love the diorama-like setup. Kind of like one of the old Aurora model kits.

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  3. Awesome pair. He is a great piece. In the first pic, the shadow on his eyes makes him looks quite eerie.

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  4. This was a fun set to take pictures of and it looks really nice on my display shelf.

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