CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON

Last weekend was the Retro Toy Fair in my city, and while i saw many 80s toys i wanted to get, i saved my money for only one piece that i tough never to get; the Creature From the Black Lagoon from Diamond Select Toys. I was able to get a pretty good deal for him considering he was inside his blister and in good condition , i saw this guy getting pretty creazy prices online.

This is my second Diamond Select figure and the first was - of course - the Creature From the Black Lagoon Ver.2 soo now i have two Gillman by the same brand tough both are incrediblly different from each other.

This was the first version of the monster from Diamond Select tough he is the same size than the second version and thats the only similarity between the two since this guy here is really inferior. The sculpt is nice and sharp and detailed with a great scally looking skin, but the anatomy is really REALLY wrong. This Gillman have a huge head and a pretty thin arms and legs to the point he almost looks like a “kid” version of the monster.

The paint is odd as well. He have a shiny and metailic green color that looks pretty cool but dosnt looks natural at all and the yellow belly dosnt help at all.  I mean, i know the movie is black and white but i am puzzled how could they fail soo big in both the painting an anatomy. And also he is not really well articulated either, he can only move his shoulders, elbows and wrists soo theres not a lot poses to choose from.

His base is really simplistic tough is well made and have a natural sandy textures. But theres nothing more too look at here, just sand and theres no pegs for the Gillman foot.

Here is where things got better, the accesoryes, since this guy have pretty much the best (if not one of the best) accesory for any toy: a complete and  independent new figure.

His accesory is the beautifull and sexy Kay Lawrence interpretated by Julie Adams. To be honest, i got this figure only for her. She is a statue with no articulations at all eccept on her head, but the pose she is on is really spot on. The anatomy on her sculpt is terrific, from her fingernails to the muscles of her arms and legs, the details are impresive and the pain is clean and vibrant.

If she looks or not like Julie Adams depend on the point of view, but she is really beautifull considering her size and prince. The definition of her face is amazing and the detail on her bath suit is impresive too. How did Diamond manage to do a beautifull figure like this and package it with a Gillman that looks soo bad is soo bizarre.

Once all elements come together - monster, girl and base - the display gets sense and a pretty haunting and retro beauty that i really do love.

For display porpuse this figure is really brillant, tough the second version of this same Gillman is superior in every sence (base included) but the Kay figure is not only way too atractive for any Universal Monsters fan, but also workfor collectos of the glamurous pin-up girls from the 40s-50s and can be displayed on any desk of shelf beautifully.

And slowlly and steadlly i am getting drown on Gillman figures…