There's something that's emotionally very satisfying - and sinful - about tearing open a vintage-style figure's packaging. It's not like preparing an ortolan, but popping open Frankenstein's Monster certainly did delight me.
The 4-inch tall monster is on the upper register of what's appropriate for an old Kenner figure, meaning he's tall and skinny and green just like you might want. There are no accessories and the hands don't seem like they were designed to hold any - and this is totally appropriate. If you really scrutinize the old Kenner Star Wars line, very few figures have two hands designed to grip a weapon - usually one can hold a gun, and the other is just kind of there. A Stormtrooper's left hand could never hold a blaster, Darth Vader's left hand was totally worthless, and Anakin Skywalker had two totally useless hands. The Monster's hands are both open and in a gripping pose, and it's more of a monstrous grabby thing than a user of tools. I like it - it's stiff, it's creepy, it's cool.
His neck joint rides just under the base of the skull, with pretty decent head deco. The eyes are very Kenner-ish - a dot with a line above it to give the eye some depth - plus some grey clips and a red scar. The black, flat head of hair is present as are the obligatory neck bolts.
I like the arms and legs, although the boots seem that they could have benefitted from some exaggeration to make them feel heavier, if that makes sense. The jacket and shirt also seem a little too modern, but that's probably just because of the neck on the shirt. The jacket feels like it fits too well - usually it's a little bulky, or worn, or in some way distressed. Here, it looks almost like it came out of some night club. Given the "wrong" nature of many of the older Kenner figures, I suppose it's up to you if you prefer to view this as a conscious design choice or just an iffy decision. I think there's more than a little right in being wrong here, so I'm going to give it my stamp of oddball approval. It turned out nicely.
The figure is pretty problem-free. Nothing sticks, nothing twists funny, it just works and the joints can move freely. It's a fun, weird little figure and it feels appropriately Karloff-y. The costume really makes the part - as (an actor playing) Bela Lugosi once said, "You think it takes talent to play Frankenstein?! NO! It's just make-up and grunting! GRRR! GRRR! GRRR!" Thankfully, the figure has make-up and I can supply the grunting.
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