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Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker
by Mattel was one awsome Boy Toy. One could create genuinely cool, creepy, almost SLIMY rubbery bugs, spiders, scorpions and God knows what else. Dropping one of these things down a girls dress could cause more of a reaction than live vermin. The intense colors only added to their appeal. An aptly described GOOP was poured into molds and heated until the wiggly little Hellspawn were as solidified as they were going to get. The "heater" consisted a 110v square metal oven that got WAY too hot. Acceptable perhaps on Dad's workbench, but not where these things inevitabily ended up:on top of your dresser. The advisibility of an electric hot plate in the middle of a 10 year old boys bedroom might seem questionable. And there were of course the repeated third- degree burns and ever-present threat of catastophic property damage. But this was a price boys everywhere were willing to pay to use one of the Coolest Toys Ever. |
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This is what happened when you spilled
any of the Goop.What the hell was IN this stuff ? |
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Creepy Crawlers!
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The Twisted Tools of The Trade
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I'm happy to say that a version of this fine toy is still on the market. Still called
Creepy Crawlers, they seem to have corrected a few of the ISSUES with the vintage model. The "hot plate" is now an enclosed chamber heated only with a 60-watt bulb and actually has safetys built into it. The "goop" also seems to have changed. Less toxic perhaps? Despite these developments, the newer versions of the beloved Thingmaker might actually still be fun.I can only hope that the resulting critters are as slimy and revolting as in the good old days. |
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When I went to my Mother with my
blackened and smoking fingers she would comfort me with phrases like "It's a long way from your heart" and "You can barely see the bone". |
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The Hot Plate from Mattel !
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