The Men Who Made A Monster 

"Established in 1950, Aurora Plastics Corporation was designing plastic figurines long before it unveiled its first monster. By 1955, it was a well-established manufacturer of toys and crafts, marketing several successful lines of plastic figure kits, such as "Guys and Gals of All Nations" and "Famous Fighters." But in 1956, monster mania swept the nation, thanks to Universal Pictures releasing its classic monster movies to local television stations. By the time of Aurora's first customer survey (disguised as a contest) in 1960, kit builders were howling for monsters.

Aurora's first monster model--the Frankenstein Monster--rolled off the production slab in 1961 and became an immediate success. Retailers sold the kits almost as fast as they could stock them, and the demand prompted Aurora to keep production running 24 hours a day. The company even tooled a second set of molds, turning out three kits per minute--more than 8,000 kits each day!

The success of Frankenstein led Aurora to develop and deliver a total of 13 monster kits within six years. Dracula and The Wolf Man came in 1962, while 1963 gave rise to The Mummy, The Creature, and The Phantom of the Opera. In 1964, Aurora debuted The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Jekyll as Mr. Hyde, King Kong, and Godzilla. And in a nod to femme fatales, the Salem Witch and The Bride of Frankenstein were also unveiled. In 1966, Aurora released its final classic monster kit, The Forgotten Prisoner of Castel-Maré. This unique release wasn't a movie creature but rather a collaborative effort between Aurora and Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. 

Sales From the Crypt

From the start, Aurora carefully devised how it would package and promote its monsters. Noted artist James Bama was commissioned to create the striking images on the kit boxes. For many collectors today, the kit boxes are often more desirable than the monster inside. Aurora also chose to package its monsters in "long boxes" made of rigid cardboard. These measured 13-by-5-by-2 inches and allowed Bama's full-body renditions of the creatures to be faithfully and fully reproduced.

Aurora's shrewdest move, attributed to the company's marketing director, Bill Silverstein, was to advertise exhaustively within the pages and on back covers of DC comics and Famous Monsters of Filmland. Die-hard Aurora collectors often haunt comic shops' DC and monster magazine bins for issues featuring Aurora monster ads.

Mad Machines and Monstrous Regrets

When the hot-rod craze of the '60s hit, Aurora stepped forward to mesh monster with machine. Monster Rods raced into hobby stores, featuring oddball creatures in wacky roadsters, such as Dracula's Dragster, Wolfman's Wagon, and the Mummy's Chariot. Alas, in 1969, Aurora executives determined it was time to spend more energy on nonfigure kits. Rather than produce new monsters, the company decided to reissue its existing line in a new light -- monsters that glow in the dark

Unfortunately, the box snafu was a harbinger of things to come. In 1971, Aurora introduced a new series of plastic malevolence: Monster Scenes. Consisting of four new figures (Dr. Deadly, Frankenstein, Vampirella, and the Victim) and four ominous settings (The Pain Parlor, The Hanging Cage, The Pendulum, and Gruesome Goodies), the scenes were pitched with the box slogan, "Mix 'em and Match 'em," encouraging kids to make up their own monstrous situations. Unfortunately, the other half of the box slogan read "Rated X...for Excitement." Angered parents and religious groups across the country picketed Aurora's factory. New Aurora owner Nabisco Foods promptly axed Monster Scenes and practically all the company's executive staff--just 2 weeks before Christmas 1971. 

By 1975, most kids who were once wooed by Aurora's plastic terrors were now being distracted by muscle cars and the opposite sex. Still, Aurora made a final attempt to revive its monsters, producing beautiful new sculptures of its mainstays in the Monsters of the Movies series. Collectors were treated to imaginative new poses of Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolf Man, Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and the Creature. Also released were Tokyo titans Rodan and Ghidrah. Sadly, sales were dismal, and plans for future kits were scrapped. 

Finally, in 1977, amid declining profits and rising costs of raw plastic, Nabisco closed the Aurora Productions operation, closing a truly imaginative chapter of toy history."

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