The Mole People

Review by NekroDave

This toy is based on the character from the 1956 movie "The Mole People", starring John Agar. I feel great shame in admitting now that I haven't actually seen this one yet. I'm told it's actually better than you might think and judging by this toy, it sure seems to have a neat monster to support it.

Apparently, this character is just called "Mole Man" and he is a humanoid mutant forced to work as a slave underground. His appearance is striking with the big colorful eyes set into an otherwise dark brown countenance. Long dark claws extend from the hands and the skin is covered with many small bumps. The rest of the body is covered in clothing, but a large hump can be seen protruding from the top of the back. The overall effect is quite impressive.

As with all the figures in this line, Mole Man comes with a base with an engraved nameplate. Several mushrooms rise from the base and it also comes with a sack full of loose mushrooms, that presumably he was gathering.

I like the look of the base, but at least on my specimen, the peg that is supposed to fit into his foot doesn't seem big enough to hold him steady and with the rough terrain beneath his feet, the toy is prone to falling over.

There are 10 points of articulation on this one (knees, hips, wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck and waist) and a fantastic paint job. The eyes really look great with not a spec of overspray.

Mole Man was sold in the fourth series of 8" Universal Monster and was also sold in a black and white version. Though I haven't seen the movie, this is still one of my favorite figures in this line.