Years and years ago, a company called Remco got their hands on the license for the Universal Monsters. They made a figure line called the Remco Mini-Monsters - 3 3/4" figure line of the big names - Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Phantom of the Opera and the Creature. As a 8-year-old, I loved them. I loved that they were the same size as my favorite G.I.Joe figures, and loved that they would glow-in-the-dark. Sadly, I only owned Frankenstein and Dracula, and I never got the Haunted House playset for Christmas like I wanted.
Cut to decades later. I've just finished my Tiki Ghosts customs, and my first experience with using glow-in-the-dark paint fresh in my mind. I'm talking to a friend about toys, and we end up discussing the Remco Monsters. And then it hits me - I could make my own Remco-style Minimates. We've already got the glow-in-the-dark Creature, and I bet he'd sure like some company.
So, armed with spare monster Minimates and a better glow-in-the-dark paint, I put together the following Minimates.
Dracula
Lord of the Vampires, Dracula stalks the Transylvanian night for blood.
Dracula's cape was repainted a brighter red to match the original figure. The red ribbon on his medal was painted white. Dracula's face and hands were painted to glow-in-the-dark, and a new face decal with an original face by me was added.
Frankenstein's Monster
From the slab in Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory comes his most famous creation.
Frankenstein had to have a lot of work done to better match his Remco counterpart. He received a brand new open jacket to better show his new cable-knit sweater, provided by water-transfer decal. A belt was added, and his face, hands and lower arms were all painted to glow-in-the-dark. A face decal was applied, and a bright red scar was added to his forehead, just like the figure.
The Wolf Man
Cursed by the light of the full moon, the Wolf Man rises to stalk again.
The Wolf Man's body was repainted to match the one-color jump suit that the Remco figure wore. New water-transfer decals were designed for his chest and belt. I cut the face out of his slip-on wolf head, then painted the head underneath with glow-in-the-dark paint and applied a face decal. Wolf Man's claw hands and feet were also painted to glow.
The Mummy
From the haunted pyramids of Egypt comes the Mummy!
While the whole body on original Remco figure glowed, I decided against doing that because I didn't want to try and repaint the bandages. Instead, I painted his head and hands to glow-in-the-dark, then added a new face decal. I did add some glow-in-the-dark paint on his arms to give the idea that his bandages were coming undone.
Bride of Frankenstein
The Bride never had a Remco figure. But she deserves one.
The Bride didn't get much of an update - just glow-in-the-dark paint for her face and her hands, with a new face decal. She also got received glow-in-the-dark highlights in her hair, and on the bandages around her lower arms.
