I’ve been collecting various action figures, Halloween decorations, and pieces of memorabilia related to science fiction, fantasy, and horror films for a number of years. But two television programs stirred an interest in doing some part-time toy hunting and selling. Last year’s program Comic Book Men on AMC, and the new series Toy Hunter on The Travel Channel, have given me a love for the hunt of possibility, that although it will take a lot of effort, at any given garage sale, flea market, thrift store, or antique store, there may be a fantastic or horrific treasure waiting for me to find it and make it available to a fan to add to her or his collection.

This weekend my wife and I went out to a local thrift store on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and to our great surprise we found something of interest in the Halloween decoration section. It was a Telco Creature from the Black Lagoon motion-ette figure. This was part of a collection of monster figures licensed in partnership with Universal Studios in 1992 and released through various outlets like Wal-Mart. Some of these figures fetch a hefty price, and they are part of a more extensive motion-ette collection of animated monsters that come in both plug-in and battery-operated forms.

This Creature from the Black Lagoon moves its arms and head when the batteries are in, and if it is turned to sound mode is shrieks like Godzilla, unfortunately not like the Creature from the classic 1950s film. Regardless, it is a great find, and part of a modern Halloween decoration line of products that I am making available through an eBay listing, and if that is unsuccessful I will list it on Amazon. You can learn more about the Telco Creature on eBay at my page listing here.

And for those interested in something a little different, I also found and listed the Alien Autopsy Game. This was produced by DaMert Company in 1997 due to the influence of things like The X-Files and the alleged video of an alien autopsy that was show on Fox. This game borrows from the old Operation game, where kids roll the dice and follow the instructions on game cards to use their probes while conducting the autopsy and carefully removing alien body parts. One body part is missing, but the rest of the game is intact, and the alien lets out a howl if game players touch the metal edges around the organs. Fans of UFO and alien mythology, as well as the paranormal, might find this game an interesting addition to their collection. You can read more about the game and see pictures from the box and game playing surface at the eBay listing here.

I am going to order a few books on monster toy and action figure collecting to add to my abilities as I continue my search. In the meantime, look for future entries on toy hunting here at TheoFantastique in the future.