Funko Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 2: Nosferatu

Company: Funko

Series: Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 2

Year: 2015

About a year ago, I reviewed the Funko POP version of Nosferatu. I won’t recount the full backstory behind the character – you can read it here if you want – but suffice to say he started life as a bootleg Dracula, and as a consequence he’s now in the public domain. You can watch the film on YouTube for free, if you've got an hour and a half to spare. And so as far as I understand, if you're really keen, you can go and make your very own Nosferatu merchandise too!  

As with his POP counterpart, he’s based on the 1922 version of the character (rather than the wonderful 1970s Werner Herzog remake). It’s recognisably the sinister Count Orlok, but it’s been run through a heavy Mystery Minis filter -- so your mileage will vary, depending on how much you like that particular aesthetic. I think the POP was a slightly better rendition, but they have captured the thick furry eyebrows nicely and general rat-like demeanour quite well.

Paint is simple, but mostly well-executed. He’s got a dirty mark on the back of his head, which isn’t a major drama. But there is a big blob of glue across one of his eyes, which looks to have occurred before the paint app had actually been applied. Presumably this is a bit of a one-off, but it’s a little bit annoying -- Nosferatu here is packed at a 1/24 ratio, so getting another one isn’t exactly easy.

So is he worth tracking down? He’s pretty fun; a good piece of merchandise for a film that’s now more than 90 years old. I’d suggest that the POP is a better investment, but the aesthetic works nicely with the other figures in the Horror Classics Mystery Minis series.   

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Funko Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 2: The Creature From The Black Lagoon

Company: Funko

Series: Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 2

Year: 2015

It's no secret that I love Creature From The Black Lagoon. It's one of my favourite movies, and Gillman one of my favourite monsters, but I'll spare you my gushing on this occasion. Today, we're here to talk about his recent conversion into Mystery Mini form.

Given that Mystery Minis are by their nature meant to be quite simplified, Gillman here has quite a detailed sculpt, with lots of little ridges and (strangely enough) gills sculpted all over his face, back and limbs. Even the palms of his hands are textured! Yet it never looks excessive, or distracts the eye. He still looks right at home with his Mystery Mini companions.

Paint isn't perfect, but it's pretty solid given the scale. He's been given some brown/grey dots over his body, which complement nicely with his dull green skin. His teeth and claws have been picked out in a colour we would have called "Bleached Bone" back in my Warhammer days, and the stomach's a nice yellowy-brown. It doesn't pop quite as much as the POP (ha!) did, but given the differing style and the fact that no one really seems to be too sure what colour the original suit was anyway, I think it works just fine.

There have been a few Gillman POPs from Funko already, which were excellent, so I had high hopes for this guy. After the slight letdown of Frankenstein's Monster I was a little concerned, but upon his arrival in the post I was extremely pleased. This is a great piece to add to the collection for Gillman fans -- now I just wish they'd extend the cast slightly. A Mystery Mini Julia Adams to accompany Gillman would be awesome!

Funko Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 2: Cthulhu (Glow version)

Company: Funko

Series: Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 2

Year: 2015

Back in October last year, I posted an article about how I ended up with a Cthulhu Mystery Mini. That article ended up being one of my most popular articles last year, for whatever reason. You may or may not recall that I mentioned that Cthulhu was quite a rare figure in the series, being packed at a 1/24 ratio -- but there was an even rarer variant...a glow in the dark one! 

That article I've linked back to above covers the details about the sculpt; I don't really need to repeat them here. The primary difference with this guy is that he's been moulded in glow-in-the-dark plastic. The only paint apps included this time around are the white for his eyes, and the grey that surrounds them. All of the spots and splotches are gone, with the plastic left bare to glow. And glow he does, lighting up the room by night.  

This Cthulhu is a good example of a variant -- he's fun, but not essential, and acts a complementary piece to the original, rather than detracting from the fun. In the past the Mystery Minis have made some really unusual (and irritating) choices in their series ratios, but with the exception of Hellraiser's Pinhead being a 1/72 figure, I think Funko did a pretty good job with this one. An enjoyable, but not essential addition to the collection.

Funko Mystery Minis: Cthulhu (Horror Classics Series 2)

Company: Funko

Series: Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 2

Year: 2015

I stumbled across Funko’s initial series of Horror Classics Mystery Minis sometime last year in a hobby store in Sydney, but they didn’t grab me for a few reasons. Firstly, they were blind-boxed, which is fine (if not ideal) when something costs $2-5, but these were about $15 each. Secondly –and I may court some controversy here – as much as I liked the style, I don’t really know that the world needs another Freddy, Jason or Michael Myers collectible.

But when series 2 got announced earlier this year, I was intrigued. While it was covering a lot of the classics like Gillman and Frankenstein’s Monster (yes, I know we have plenty of collectibles for these two as well) it moved into less-merched territory too; An American Werewolf in London, Hellraiser, The Fly and the one and only ALFRED HITCHCOCK – YEAAAAAAH!

So when I was in Melbourne last weekend, I spotted these in Minotaur and though I’d take a plunge. The box felt heavy; I suspected it might be the Werewolf, titular star of An American Werewolf in London. That would have been pretty awesome, but I think it actually went one better – this box contained the literary horror icon Cthulhu!

I’ve talked elsewhere about Cthulhu’s backstory before, so I won’t repeat myself here. What we’re looking for here is a point of differentiation – if you have the POPs, do you need this guy? Well, he’s not a miniaturised version of the POP, for one thing – he’s been rendered in a totally different style, with the most obvious difference being the dragon-like tail. I’m not particularly familiar with Mystery Minis, but I do know that most of the lines Funko has released share a very similar cutesy aesthetic to one another. I quite like it myself – it’s gives them a maquette-like appearance, as though they were preliminary designs for a kid’s cartoon or something. This is a nice bit of consistency across collections, but of course your own opinion of this particular style will vary.     

Paint is not perfect, but it’s of a slightly better standard than his POP counterpart. Green is obviously the predominant colour, but he’s also been speckled with brown dots. It’s a simple touch, but one that prevents him from looking like a boring block of single colour. As before though, his mouth tentacles are the weak point; they’re a slightly lighter shade of green and I think they would have been better to stick with the same colour as the main body.

Cthulhu is packed in a 1/24 ratio – there’s only 12 boxes in a case, so theoretically you’d find him once in every two cases. There’s also a glow version, which is 1/36. This is a little annoying given the character’s popularity – after-market buyers are likely to pay through the nose for him. But spare a thought for Pinhead fans – he’s packed at a staggeringly low 1/72 ratio!

Overall, as with the POP versions, Cthulhu is ideal for anyone who needs to add some cosmic terror to their display shelf – even if H.P. Lovecraft would have hated the cutesiness of it himself. As for Funko Mystery Minis, I could see myself picking up another one or two. I have my eye on that Gillman and that Werewolf!