Famous for their rack toys Azrak Hamway is probably best known these days for scooping Mego on the Universal Monsters license (Mego VP Neil Kublan once cited that he recalled Universal wanted more money than Mego offered) and creating their own line of 8" Monsters that were more than obviously influenced by the look and design of the Mego World's Greatest Superheroes.
The line ran from 1974 until 1976 and Azrak Hamway changed the figures a number of times which resulted in many variations, some collectors liken the figures to snow flakes as there are often no two alike.
AHI monsters are cheap and often times quite crude but they are revered by Monster Collectors world wide and are considered one of the best in terms of embodiment of the classic Universal characters. In the late 1970's Remco/AHI would revisit the Monster license once again.
The AHI Monsters make a rare appearance in the 1974 Alden's Catalog as a two pack of figures. It was uncommon to see the Super Monsters in a Department store catalog, The Frankenstein appears to be of the jointed wrist veriety while Dracula clearly isn't.
The Super Monsters as they appeared in the 1976 AHI catalog which can be seen in it's own gallery by clicking here.
One of the best ways to get the Super Monsters was through Captain Company ads in the back of magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland. You could grab a whole set for under $15, now that might get you a naked figure, if you're lucky. The Mummy pictured in this ad is a Jiggler and I'm not sure where that Creature is from but it doesn't resemble the finished product.
  
Carded AHI Dracula on the late issue version that doesn't feature the names AHI or the Universal trademark. For almost the entire run of the series, Dracula doesn't appear on the other character packaging but on his own "Dracula Specific" card (and box in the UK) this is possibly due to likeness rights by the Lugosi family. The Wolfman pictured on the left is an earlier card that doesn't feature the Count.
 
Carded Frankenstein has jointed wrists, another figure variation
 
This carded Mummy is an earlier issue as it still features the Creature, note that the Mummy wears the same shoes that your grandfather did, The back of the card is clearly a swipe at the Aurora Monster Model Art, which I kind of enjoy.
 
This carded Frankenstein is a later issue than the one above, the card now includes Dracula (and deep sixes the Creature) and the doll no longer has a green body or a shirt. As crude as this, I am really smitten with this one it looks like a guy wearing a Frankenstein Halloween mask!
In the UK AHI produced a window box for their Dracula figure, it's not known why but the figure was marketed outside the "Official" line for a while.
  
The Creature is by far the most desirable piece in the AHI line, there are two variations, the early slim hipped version on the left (often referred to by collectors as the "Female" Creature) has rubber bedy arms and legs. It was later replaced by the hollow bodied wide waisted "Male" version shown on the right. (photo from the collection of Count Balicki)
On the right is an early version of the AHI Frankenstein, the head is made of a hard substance and the hands are facing a different direction. When you pose him, he can do that classic walk that Gelnn Strange used to so. On the left is a later version, there are many differences, from the body, to the head, even the clothing isn't the same.
Jointed wrist Frankenstein, missing his jacket sadly.
 
On the right is the jointed wrist variation of Dracula. These figures are notable for all having hairy torsos, their clothes are very prone to dry rot. and on the left, the cupped hands version. If I'm not mistaken, the cupped hands versions are the very last and some have conjectured that AHI themselves may have not even released these.
 
On the left, is a third version AHI Wolfman doll, the most noticeable difference between earlier versions is the hairy chest. (Photo courtesy of the great blog Jon's Random Acts of Geekery) On the right, is a version with a flesh coloured body, later renditions of these figures saw all characters using a common flesh coloured body.
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On the left is the jointed wrist wolfman, on the right, a late model Mummy. Originally the bodies had some colour to them, when they've all got flesh colour, it's getting late into the production.
 
Two versions of the AHI Mummy, the first having a yellow body and bloody bandages, the second has a flesh body and a "glammy" paint job on the head. The shoes were eventually dropped as the line wore on.
These are early "hard head" AHI Monsters, Dracula has a generous helping of ears here. From the collection of Heath Smith.
A group of loose Frankenstein figures show the number of variations that abound with AHI figures.Photo courtesy of Ebay Seller Megoioni.
A Dracula party Photo also courtesy of Ebay Seller Megoioni.
The Wolfman Variations, notice that some of the figures have hairy torsos. Photo also courtesy of Ebay Seller Megoioni.
Not as many Mummy variants but still quite a few, notice the early slinged arm version. Ebay Seller Megoioni.
These Monster Waterpistols are highly sought after now, one can only imagine how popular this displayer would be in today's market.
 
AHI made adorable "Bend 'ems" as evidenced by this Frankenstein, King Kong and Fay Wray
Above is a carded example of a bendy Frankenstein, the artwork is a loose interpretation of the character but very charming
 
Bendy Dracula is just too cute, Wolfman is no slouch either.
 
How adorable is this bend em Creature from the Black Lagoon? I am in love! The Mummy is the toughest in the set, hands down, be prepared to duke it out for him.
 
AHI also made sweet jigglers of the Universal Monsters, here is my precious Frankenstein. A lot of companies produced Monster Jigglers in the 1970s but AHI was the only one to have licensed Universal characters. There is no dracula in this set and they were sold loose (with a sticker on their string) or tied to cards, either way, they're tough to find in store bought condition.
 
Above are the Wolfman and Mummy Jigglers by AHI, hard to stand up for photographs!
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