AURORA FANTASY BOX ART: MODEL NOT INCLUDED

I'd wager that most everyone that has ever built an Aurora plastic monster model kit wishes that the line of figures had never ended. After the core group of monsters -- Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, etc. -- the hobby company started spoofing the characters, putting them into hot rods like "Frankenstein's Flivver", "Dracula's Dragster" and "The Mummy's Chariot". Also popular among Monster Kids in the 60s were the TV shows "The Addam's Family" and "The Munsters". Aurora produced kits from these as well.

But, what would it have looked like if the kits had kept being made? What would a kit like The Wolf Man, which had already been produced, been like if it had included a second figure, a fainting Evelyn Ankers? What would a kit of EAP's "House of Usher" be like alongside "The Addam's Family House"? We'll never know ...

... Except from the mind of Mark Reynolds, an artist who has created a line of "What if?" Aurora fantasy kit boxes. Retailing for around 28 bucks, the following is a description of the upcoming "Lon Chaney, Man of a Thousand Faces" boxes from one of the distributors of the line, MONSTERS IN MOTION: 

This is a full size 13 X 7 X 2 Aurora Fantasy Box with artwork by Mark Reynolds. The image is created to appear as though Aurora had made all the kits that we as kids of the 1960's and 70's could have ever imagined.

It is printed on a single sheet that is professionally positioned and adhered to the coffin-style box lid. A box bottom is also included and the entire package is shrink-wrapped for a look that sends you back in time to the shelves of your hobby shop.

These are very well done, and I like the fact that they come as a complete box and shrink-wrapped so they appear authentic. The only thing that I could see as an improvement is to throw in a handful of scrap plastic pieces so that it sounds like there's really a kit inside. 

To put things into perspective, I've added a couple of examples from the FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND ads offering the original Aurora line of monster models that were for sale through Captain Company. I know that these pics have been done to death on the 'net, but I never get tired of the imagery. I think any Monsterologist worth his wolfbane would agree.