As most horror movie fans will tell you, there are very few horror movies that are as iconic as the original Universal Studios Monster movies. These are the movies that really started it all, introducing the world to the creatures that would haunt our nightmares for generations like Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. These stories have been retold and remade time and time again, but few of these retellings will ever hold a candle to the original films that introduced us all to these monstrosities. The crew at Diamond Select Toys recently released their all new wave of figures based on these legendary horror icons with the latest series of their Universal Monsters Select figures! The latest wave of figures includes The Creature from ‘The Creature From The Black Lagoon, Frankenstein’s Monster from ‘Son of Frankenstein’. and Diamond Select’s first ever original character design for this line that has never been seen in a Universal Studios monsters film, Van Helsing!
Today we’re taking a look at DST’s Universal Monsters Select ‘Creature From The Black Lagoon’ figure! This Creature truly is a thing of beauty! He comes packaged in the standard ‘Select’ figure packaging, with a larger sized cardboard and plastic blister pack. This ‘Creature’ figure is made in 7” scale and features 16 points of articulation in total. This isn’t the first time that DST has tackled this iconic Universal Studios Monster, but it’s certainly the superior take on the character. The previous release was from very early in the line when there was less articulation on these figures, so this new rendition is likely to be a very welcome addition to the ‘Universal Monsters Select‘ collection.
All of the standard articulation you’d expect from any ‘Select’ figure from DST is present, all while keeping the figures sculpt fully in tact. One thing that’s really nice about this figure is that there is no trade off whatsoever between a good sculpt and decent articulation. He has a full range of movement to him all while keeping the phenomenal sculpt by designer Jean St. Jean fully in tact.
The sculpt on this ‘Creature’ figure is wonderful, perfectly encapsulating this classic monster from the silver screen into a 7” scale plastic figure. The head sculpt is a dead ringer for the original ‘Creature’ design! The resemblance is uncanny! I also personally really enjoy a lot scale work detailing done on the upper body, and feel it adds a lot of much needed depth to a figure design like this. The sculpt here hides a lot of the articulated joints really well, and it’s this coordination between sculpt and articulation that truly makes this one of the best figures this series has ever seen.
‘The Creature’ comes packaged with a really nice ‘lagoon-floor’ display stand that features some rocks, human skeletal remains, plants, and a few fish you would expect to see at the bottom of the ‘Black Lagoon’! The base has two foot-pegs for you to stand the figure on for the intended standing position for display, but he easily fits just about anywhere on the stand just fine. He also balances really well for a nice ‘swimming’ effect if you only mount one foot to the display stand and have the other loose, giving it a range of movement.
Overall, this figure is great! This new version of the Gillman ‘Creature From The Black Lagoon’ is a wonderful addition to the Universal Monsters Select series, and is definitely worth picking up to replace the older version in your collection. If you’re at all a fan of the classic Universal Monsters films, or generally a fan of the ‘Gillman’ creature, then this figure is for you! Be sure to keep an eye for him and the rest of this series, in stores now! Check back here later for reviews of the ‘Son of Frankenstein’ and ‘Van Helsing’ figures!
