Art Design: This is a five panel box with photos of Herman Munster on the front and of The Munsters TV show on the back. The Munsters ran on CBS from 1964 to 1966. Majestic Studios issued 12" figures of the cast in 2004. These figures were a Tower Records exclusive. The Herman Munster figure comes in two versions: wearing his black suit with his black lunchbox and this one, the Racer Herman.
Headsculpt: Herman Munster has two heads included. These heads are easy to pop off and pop on to the ball joint on the neck. One head has Herman smiling, while the other one has his mouth open talking. Both heads miss the mark for me because of the bizarre aquamarine color. I remember The Munsters in black and white. In my humble opinion this figure could have been better if it had been issued in black and white like the Sideshow Toys' Silver Editions of the Universal Monsters.
Articulation: The figure is ultra articulated and it is about 13" tall. It includes two sets of hands. The open waving hands reflect the gesture that Herman Munster often made on the TV show. The little closed fists have a tiny gap which can barely hold the checkered flag. The big problem that I encountered with this figure is that when I tried to take off his boots, one leg snapped off at the shin. Then while taking the pants off to fix the first leg, the other leg snapped off. The legs broke off at the point where the one inch leg extensions are connected to the feet in order to make the figure 13" tall. I was able to fix the figure with screws and glue. I did not get to take the boots off, but at least the figure is displayable. The arms on the other hand, are as easy as the head to pop on and pop off.
Outfit and Gear: Racer Herman Munster features Herman with shiny vinyl (faux leather) jacket (with a widestrap beaded black belt) , racing cap, goggles, and a checkered flag. He also includes the black pants and gray t-shirt that are included with the basic Herman Munster figure. The t-shirt's sleeves seem to be too short.
Overall: The bizarre skin tone is off-putting, but I am thinking of putting the figure in some kind of gray paint wash if I can figure out how to do it right. Like most kids of the 1960s, I watched The Munsters many times (especially on re-runs) back in the days before cable, and I do have some fond memories of Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster) and the rest of the cast. This figure does capture some of the happy feelings of frivolity which were the trademark of the show's madcap sense of humor. I am hoping that Grandpa and Eddie are a lot better than this one.
Market: This figure was a Tower Records exclusive, but they are mostly available online from e-bay and Yahoo auctions and other dealers. Kenny from the Action Heroes list reports that these figures are now available from Dollar General at $10 each. The original price of these figures was $49.99.
Grade: D
