Mothman Vs. Flatwoods
You may know Sun Min + David Hovarth as the creators of the Uglydolls. They’ve met with runaway success, which has been unmatched by other “designer” toy makers. They’ve also gone beyond the scope of the uglydolls and done kaiju toys, collaborations with designers, and now, even cheap ass toys.
The Mothman Vs. Flatwoods are purposefully cheap. The series is called Super Market Toys, and the idea was to pay tribute to the bags of army men, cowboys and indians and others that were found in the checkout of grocery stores from David’s childhood. Typically these toys were cheap, bagged with a header card, and included some kind of simple diorama. Each figure is about 3.5 inches tall.
But of course, this toy has a modern spin. Instead of cowboys, we now have mythical American creatures. The Mothman and the Flatwoods Monster are both rural American legends that have recently attracted the attention of toy makers, both in the US and in Japan.
The Mothman is a creature that first supposedly appeared in 1966 in Charlestown / Point Pleasant, Virginia. It is said to appear right before a serious tragedy, such as the 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge in which 47 people died. The creature is often described as “as a winged man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large moth-like wings.” You may remember the 2002 movie “The Mothman Prophecies”, which was loosely based on the events.
The Mothman figure included in this set is a chunk of hard, solid plastic with painted details. The finish is OK, but you can tell that this toy was made to look cheap. There are defects in the cast of the figure, and uneven spray apps on the back.
The Flatwoods monster is based on an extraterrestrial sighting around 1952 in Flatwoods in Braxton County, West Virginia. Supposedly this creature has a relatively human shape with large eyes, a green dress, and an inverse “Ace of Spades” shaped head. According to Wikipedia, this depiction of the Flatwoods monster gained popularity in Japan in the 1970s during the UFO craze, and is one of the very few US-based entities that is regularly depicted as a Kaiju.
The Flatwoods Monster is a bit more detailed than the Mothman, but made out of the same material. The Flatwoods monster, however, is hollow, with an opening at the bottom somewhat like a finger puppet. The molding on this figure is better, but the paint applications are still a bit rough, especially around the eyes.
Also included in the set is a plastic tree, and a plastic fence, for added play value!
Let’s be honest here, these are not great toys. But that’s the great thing here. They are meant to be cheap, to be affordable, to hearken back to a day when toys were simpler and made for kids. David and Sun are paying tribute here to toys they grew up with, and they did an awesome job, nailing gown the manufacturing style, the packaging, and even the affordable price. This set shouldn’t cost you more than $10-11 dollars, and is a great way to add some of that Uglydoll design aesthetic to your collection without paying the high prices.
Check out the awesome disclaimer on the back:
