Haunted Plastic

 Well, the item I was waiting for came in, so here is the post that was going to be for last week! 

I don't often actually buy something new for this blog, since I have way too much stuff as it is, but sometimes in the name of "completeness" it needs to be done, so here we go...

A couple of weeks ago I talked about the re-released Pirates of the Caribbean plastic model kits, and I mentioned that MPC (the company that originally made them) had released Haunted Mansion kits as well, and that those had been re-released too! I never owned a Haunted Mansion kit as a kid, but I like the looks of them, so I went online to add one to my collection. 

I had assumed that they were released by Lindberg, the same company that bought the molds for the Pirates kits, but I was mistaken. These kits were released by Polar Lights. Also, I was surprised to find that there are only four Haunted Mansion kits- and that's all there ever were. I'm not sure if they were not as popular as the Pirates kits or what- but that might explain why the originals are more rare. 

Unlike the Pirates kits, there are a couple of scenes that were actually in the Haunted Mansion- or at least kind of close to them.  Ok, only one really, and that's the one that I got. The original was called "Play It Again, Sam," and featured the organist and (sort of) the organ from the ballroom scene. Speaking of those original kits, here they are:

As you can see, Sam is the only one that borrows heavily from the Mansion. One writer tried to make the case that "Escape From the Crypt" was a nod to the conservatory coffin, but I don't buy it. The other two aren't really close to anything in the Disney Mansions. 

By the way, Polar Lights renamed the series "Haunted Manor" and they renamed the kits:

"Play It Again, Sam"= "Play It Again, Tom"

"Escape From the Crypt"= "Escape From the Dungeon"

"Grave Robber's Reward"= "The Grave Robber's Demise"

"The Vampire's Midnight Madness"= "Flight of the Vampire"

All in all, I think Lindberg did better in renaming their kits. I mean, you change "Sam" to "Tom" and then call it a day? Who the heck is "Tom?" Is there a joke here that I'm missing? 

Anyway, on to the kit. The first thing I noticed when I got it was that this box is about 1/3 bigger than the Lindberg kits. Here's a comparison shot...

I think the original box must have been big too, since these are the original molds and there are a lot of pieces in there. Let's open it, shall we?

The cover art is nice. It looks like the ghosts on the pipes are unpainted so they can glow, as are the skulls on the organ.

The side of the box has art a lot like the top...

The bottom of the box explains the "Zap Action" (renamed "Rubber Band Action" by that crack team of clever writers)

The inside sides of the box have this scene. These guys are great on graphics, if not with words. 

Taking the top off shows you this- a heavy cardboard form protecting the parts.

Remove it and you see these. That's the base to the left, which gives you an idea of the size. 

Here are more parts. You can see the organist, the mummy, and organ pipes. 

What do you do with all this stuff? Glad you asked!

Step 22 is the most interesting to me, since it tells you how to make everything work. 

The good news is that it's a really cool model! The bad news is that I already have a huge build pile. Will I ever get to all of them??? Maybe...in the after life...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Oh, keep looking for treasure! ;-)