Lincoln International Monsters

The Lincoln Monsters can often be dismissed as "Knockoffs" which they are but they are also a charming and fun monster toy line to collect. These eight inch Mego inspired figures debuted in the mid 1970's by Lincoln International, these figures saw distribution in the United Kingdon, Europe and much of North America. Variations of the figures and their packaging exist so it implies that several runs were made. Later on the Lincoln Monsters were retooled to make up the Tomland "Famous Monsters" line sold only in Europe and is one of the hardest figure lines in the world to collect. Little is known about Lincoln International, it was started by Mr Lincoln Laidlaw as "lincoln Manfacturing" in the 1940's and the company produced it's first toys by 1948. By the sixties, it's name was now "Lincoln International" and it's catch phrase was "Boy Oh Boy, it's a Lincoln Toy". Ranges included dolls, water pistols and diecast vehicles, Lincoln expanded into countries such as the UK where they licensed top TV programs such Gerry Anderson's "Stingray" and the Daleks from "Doctor Who". Despite the cheap appearance of the Monster line, Lincoln was generally known for making quality, TV advertised toys. During the late seventies, they began to distribute the Mego Pocket Superheroes line under their banner, the company was bought out in 1984. The Lincoln Monsters make a rare appearance in the 1975 Montgomery Wards Catalog in a fist fight with the Mego World's Greatest Superheroes. At the time, it's believed the Lincoln Monsters were distributed by Galoob in America, in Canada it was a company called P.K. Douglas and sold to sub distributors such as Variety Product Sales. There are six figures officially in the Monsters series (although many would argue that Mr. Rock belongs in here as well) They are: Wolfman, Phantom of the Opera, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mummy, Dracula and of course Frankenstein. None of these characters are licensed from Universal and are just shy of infringing on their copyrights. It's interesting to note that Lincoln decided not to include their own version of the Creature, probably because either it would require a new body type or the fact that the Creature isn't a public domain character. Click on the Monster Face to visit their galleries The Big Find: During the summer of 2004, a person in the UK found approximately two cases of carded Lincoln Monsters which they sold through Ebay. For a while it was easy to obtain a set (however it was still quite expensive), the supply has long dried up and Lincoln Monsters have again become scarce. Their value has been affected by the fact that the find took many collectors out of the hunt. US cards and solid boxes remain hard to find. The original Lincoln Monster shipping box now rests in my happy little hands. I have no idea what to do with it. Back to the Plaid Stallions gallery of Rack Toys For more Monster Toys, Check out these fabulous links: . .. The Mego Museum Forum has a section devoted to toys like AHI where sellers can discuss, buy, sell and trade. It's the biggest message board for such things in the world and it's the offical message board for Plaid Stallions.