Re-Halloween 2025: Creature from the Black Lagoon from Toony Terrors by NECA

 

   The Creature from the Black Lagoon got a lot of love during 31 Days of Toy Terror this year, didn't he? Well, I've got one more Gill Man review for you as part of the Re-Halloween festivities and it's the Creature from the Black Lagoon Toony Terror figure from NECA. I really like NECA's Toony Terrors and while I don't pick up every release, I'm certainly grabbing all of the Universal Monsters and classic horror characters they put out. The Creature looks incredible hear! I think NECA has largely done an impressive of translating all of the horror characters they've tackled into a classic "Saturday morning cartoon" aesthetic but there are some that just standout and the Gill Man is one of those. He looks like he just stepped out of his own animated series! Imagine a funky 1970s or 1980s cartoon where the Creature and the other Universal Monsters solve crimes from Castle Frankenstein, probably with a couple of kids and a talking pet. Yeah, now you're in the right frame of mind. Imagine the PSAs at the end of each episode where the Creature shows up to talk to kids about the hazards of diving into shallow water, swimming alone, and not throwing plastic into the ocean. I want to live in that timeline! Let's check out the Toony Terrors Creature from the Black Lagoon after the break...

Re-Halloween 2025: Assortment #1 from Dr. Malgam's Body Bags by ToadFrog

 

   Guess what? Here at Action Figure Barbecue Halloween hasn't ended! In fact, I still have seven days of spooky reviews lined up for you and they're not just the leftover candy that no one wants. No, this is quality stuff! Join me today as we check out another figure in Dr. Malgam's Body Bags, a line that was launched through Kickstarter in 2024. Today I'm checking out Assortment #1 of the line which features the head for the Vampire along with a bunch of other assorted body parts. Now, I am aware that the toe tag on my body bag says Assortment #2. I really didn't think I mixed these up or around at all, but it seems like Assortment #1 and Assortment #2 got mixed up somehow. I don't have any missing parts between the two sets, so maybe I goofed or maybe something just got mislabeled. Anyways, this is either #1 or #2. Rather than sell these as complete figures that you swap (i.e. a Werewolf, a Vampire, etc.) ToadFrog is shipping these pre-mixed up, meaning you'll have to purchase multiple sets to get a full figure (the parts for which aren't all available yet). It's a mix and match gimmick, so it does make some sense, though I think I would have preferred being able to buy full characters with an extra included part. Let's check out this set that's dominated by the Vampire's head after the break...

Attack of the 6 3/8th inches 31 Days of Toy Terror: Richard "Crystal Ball" King from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   Happy Halloween! We've made through another 31 Days of Toy Terror and I've got something special lined up: Richard "Crystal Ball" King from Hasbro's G.I. Joe: Classified Series. So, you're probably asking "Why a G.I. Joe on Halloween?" 

   Allow me to explain. First, look at this guy: Crystal Ball is really freaking creepy. He's creepy on his own, sure, but Hasbro really went and made Crystal Ball even more frightening with a variety of extra parts that are either conjured by Crystal Ball or a result of some sort of arcane science. Second, Crystal Ball is a character created by horror master Stephen King and his son, Owen King, back in the 1980s when Owen was nine years old. Crystal Ball was name dropped in Stephen King's 1987 novel The Tommyknockers Owen King's name and hometown was used for the G.I. Joe character Sneak Peak. Heck, his new file name, Richard King, is a blend of Stephen King's name and his pseudonym Richard Bachman. Crystal Ball has always been an odd character as he is the seventh son of a seventh son, a hypnotist, and something of a mind reader, delving into the supernatural side of the G.I. Joe property that hasn't always been the most popular. The vintage figure was also inspired by the appearance of Vincent Price, so there's a lot of horror star power here. Over the years, I think many fans have come around to the odder characters, enjoying that fact that Cobra Commander certainly find and hires some unusual talent. For the Classified Series Hasbro went all out for this Walmart exclusive figure, taking the vintage figure and just massively improving and updating him with new concepts. Ready for an updated take on Crystal Ball? If all signs point to yes then join me after the break...

The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror: Assortment #2 from Dr. Malgam's Body Bags by ToadFrog

 

   Halloween is almost here so let's take a look at something pretty spooky and new: Assortment #2 of body parts from Dr. Malgam's Body Bags! Dr. Malgam's Body Bags was launched as a Kickstarter project on May 1 of 2024 and funded within 8 hours. With a cool product of swappable monster parts solid in fabric body bags, a well implemented campaign, and some good stretch goals, the campaign ended with $62,565 dollars. While the past year has been a rather topsy-turvy time for manufacturing and launching a business, ToadFrog kept backers well updated and delivered the quality goods early this fall. Mine arrived right at the end of September. I've been wanting to do a couple video reviews of these as something fun and different so I just jumped in and did one earlier this week while looking at Assortment #3. The general idea of these figures is that each set is sold in a fabric body bag that includes a variety of parts for different monsters. You can build a random monster from a hodgepodge of the parts but you'll need multiple sets to create a full monster. Oddly enough few of the monsters have all of their parts available, though ToadFrog has hinted that the future needed parts will be part of a possible series 2. I'm looking at assortment #1 which contains the Frankenstein (monster) head and a variety of other random parts. Huh. Now, oddly enough, when I look at the campaign page and other folks' pictures, this seems to actually be Assortment #1. Huh. I wonder if mine just got mislabeled? So, this is likely Assortment #2 but my Body Bag says #2. Well, these are meant to be swapped but I haven't done any real swapping yet. So this review might just be a confused mess. Anyways, let's unzip this body bag and join me after the break...

The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror: Dr. Beargrave from Deddy Bears Minifigures by Innov8 Creative Academy

 

   Halloween is almost here and we've got another visit from the Deddy Bears! I've reviewed a couple of these fun little guys and this time I'm looking at another Series 2 mini: Dr. Beargrave! He's a great companion for the Frankenbear figure, wouldn't you agree? While he's not based on any particular pre-existing character, Dr. Beargrave is obviously inspired by Victor Frankenstein from Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein and all of the mad scientists who have come after him. These are some nifty little terrifying bears and while I like collecting them, I do have to keep them away from Zoey as she'd probably try to eat them. You know how much she loves bears! These aren't blind boxed, so you know what figure you're buying. I've been finding these at Five Below and seem to restock them quite frequently. I haven't noticed any figures being particularly hard to find but Dr. Beargrave is listed as 1:24, so presumably he's rarer than most others. Let's step inside Dr. Beargrave's laboratory and see what's cooking...

The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror: Creature from the Black Lagoon from Tiny Nightmares by Just Play

 

   Last year I didn't feel like Phantom, the Creature or the Bride got enough love so they've been showing up more frequently on this year's countdown. I reviewed the Bride of Frankenstein from this series of smaller horror figures last week so this week I'm checking out the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the other classic Universal Monster in the set. A few months ago I saw these Target (and recently Walmart) sold in little blind boxes. Tiny Nightmares from Just Play offers the Bride of Frankenstein, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Michael Myers, Pennywise, Chucky and Tiffany, M3GAN, and the Nun. They seemed a bit pricy at around $8 to $11 dollars and I was really only interested in the Universal Monsters, Michael Myers, and maybe M3GAN, so I passed. In September I was at Five Below and stumbled upon these little guys again, though now for $5 bucks. Instead of being sold in boxes, Five Below's offerings come in foil bags with fewer figures (Michael Myers, Tiffany, and Pennywise are absent) with a different set of cheat codes. To find the Creature from the Black Lagoon in the bagged set you'll look for a code "E" on the bag (it's the last letter in a series of numbers); for the boxed set you'll look for "F" for the Creature. So far as I am aware, the blind bagged and blind boxed figures are supposedly the same figures, just with an adjustment to the assortment and codes. I'm glad that Just Play added this as I probably wouldn't have purchased them without knowing who I was grabbing. Ready to swim with the creature again? Then join me after the break...

Halloween 2025 Horror Toy Haul from Toy Federation in Greer, SC and More...