Today we take a virtual tour of Tomy’s Mighty Men and Monster Maker toy from 1979. I had one in the 1980s as a young Martian.
A complete kit has 6 body plates, 6 leg plates, and 6 head plates. (One head panel is missing from the kit in my photos here: the Frankenstein’s Monster head.) Some of the reverse sides have textures instead of body parts. You use them to add scales and rocky textures and so on.
When new, the Mighty Men and Monster Maker came with a set of colored pencils – now gone. Although you can see a whole black crayon in the pictures, I used it up making monster thank you notes before selling the kit on eBay.
Below, you will find complete scans of the plates (except the missing head) and many details of the box, apparatus, and basic rubbings. Enjoy!
Mars Will Send No More 
Awesome!!! Besides all the obvious win, thanks soooo much for sharing the plate photos! Now I can make a free digital version of this using MIT’s Scratch app, where I am known as Locomule btw.
Anyway, thanks again and hey, you wouldn’t happen to have the plates from a Little Van Goes would you?!?!? 🙂
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Very cool. We hoped our scans would either help recreate this toy after the apocalypse, or provide some digital fun until then. Come back and tell us when you have your version created! And sorry, these are the only plates we have from any of the rubbing toys like this 🙂
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If anyone is interested… to get sharp, non-smudgy rubbings, try using a Japanese ink stick as a rubbing crayon. They are meant to be used wet to create ink for brush painting, but in my unsuccessful search for hard rubbing crayons, I found that when used dry, these work well. I sanded one small end of the stick to ruff it up and make it even, then gripped it like a pencil while rubbing. Using the small end of the stick allows for more precise rubbing and helps avoid banging into the frame or getting crayon smudges on non-raised areas. The ink sticks can be ordered online or purchased at Hobby Lobby for $7.99 (use a coupon and save 40%). The stick is so hard and so long that it will last a long, long time. It takes some practice rubs to get the right pressure and motion, but once you get a feel for it, you will be happy with the sharp results. Of course, you must color your monsters (or Fashion Plates) art with dry media or the ink will smear.
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Great idea! Thanks for dropping by with this suggestion.
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Just found mine….all 18 plates. My kids (2 and 5) are gonna love this
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Awesome! Have fun!
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