A brief history of what inspired us: Lincoln International Toy Company

Lincoln International began as a toy manufacturer in New Zealand not long after the Second World War. The company rose in popularity while also gaining a reputation for outright copying other companies’ toys. A Hong Kong branch opened in the 1960s and became a “hired gun” toy and general merchandise company to help fund endeavours back home.

Marketed as “The Lincoln Profit Machine,” the company boasted that they could do everything from creating the concept, crafting the samples, and even finishing the packaging design for you, all in-house.

The Lincoln International Design

By the early 1970s, Lincoln International toys were merely lower-cost “Rack Toys” that were often “Knock-Offs” of other brands like Dawn, Action Jackson or the Sunshine Family. The toys, while made with fewer materials, contain a certain charm thanks to the creative choices made with them.

Lincoln International Monster Figures with the Mego Superheroes

The toy line that best embodied Lincoln as a company was the monster action figures produced from 1975 to 1976. Meant to ape the 8″ Monster action figure lines produced by Azrak-Hamway and Mego Corp that debuted in 1974, the Lincoln Monsters were meant as lower-priced alternatives.

While Lincoln liberally swiped from not only Mego and AHI for some of the style choices, they even copied hands from the Aurora Wolfman model kit.

Each monster was an explosion of colour and expression, and the box and card art was cartoonish but also captured their lurid looks. The blood-soaked Mummy has a unique star-eyed face, the Wolfman’s ghoulish grin reminiscent of a Tex Avery cartoon and the Phantom of the Opera is screaming himself an unhealthy-looking purple.

These were not officially licensed, but they perfectly captured what a child would expect a monster figure to look like: bright, colourful, and just a little creepy.

Lincoln would fold their Hong Kong operations somewhere around 1977, but you can’t keep a good monster line dead. Out of the ashes of Lincoln International came the glow-in-the-dark era of Tomland.

Staffed with former Lincoln creatives, Tomland toys not only picked up where Lincoln left off but were even more brash about boosting copyright protections and using even cheaper materials.

Their 8″ action figure output included “Creatures from Other Worlds” (aping Mego’s successful “Star Trek Aliens”), the brazen faux Bionic “Sonic Man and Woman” and the Star Wars-inspired “Star Raiders.”

Their first wave of Famous Monsters of Legend figures were bootlegs of characters that no other toy company made, such as the Fly and the Morlocks from the Time Machine.

Familiar Faces

Tomland Monsters

In 1980, Tomland brought back the Famous Monsters line in a new Glow-in-the-Dark format, adding four new characters: Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, and the Mummy. While these sculpts were new and the outfits were far cruder, the Lincoln Monsters’ inspiration was evident.

Tomland’s smaller “Mini-Monsters of Legend” featured comedic caricatures of the original Lincoln Monster lineup. Sold in dime stores and newsagents, these toy lines are now pricey, high-demand collectibles.

It was a mutual love of these two companies that set the path forward to bring the Lincoln Monsters back from the dead.

-Brian Heiler

Toy-Ventures Magazine

Here are a few videos about the classic Lincoln Monsters:

 
From the Basement of Horror Channel