Taking a shark bite out of my monster collection

Previously on the blog I mentioned how I had started collecting some monster truck toys decades after I stopped. I discovered that not only did they look good sitting on my desk, but they actually photographed fairly well. My pride and joy were the Bigfoot trucks that I had. The oldest was the one from the Matchbox Super Charger series from 1986. This was the one that I could never find on the store shelves. Thankfully an inexpensive one popped up on eBay so I had to pick it up. The newer one from the Hot Wheels Monster Truck line circa 2025 looked great as well. The one with the 10-foot tires from Greenlight models was stunning. It had a highly detailed interior where you could make out the console, glove compartment, and even cup holders! These three were the clearest example of how far toys had evolved in 40 years. I could look at them every day, and never get tired of how cool they were.

I made a conscious decision to clear more room on my desk for more toys, specifically my trucks. I then got the idea of photographing them for the blog. Many 1/64 scale model car collectors had scale garages, parking lots, and even light up gas stations that they displayed their favorite cars on. I didn’t have that much space, or money. Also if I wanted to display monster trucks they might seem out of place next to a scale building. I then got an idea based on the color of my desk. The hardwood was very light in tone, almost like dirt, or sand. So I wondered if I could find a desk mat that looked like a beach, complete with crashing waves. There were a few options, but found one that I think worked best. As soon as I laid down the mat I knew that I was going to have fun with it. I stated previously that I was a fan of storytelling with monster truck designs. I specifically mentioned that the Wreckreation monster camping truck was probably my favorite of the past decade. However that truck wouldn’t make much sense in the middle of the surf. I needed to find other trucks that worked better for the pics.

I found three that were absolutely perfect. Hot Wheels made two of them, the Surf Bus, and the Great Bite shark-bodied truck. Spinmaster / Monster Jam had created the Big Kahuna. Despite my distaste for Feld Motorsports I wasn’t going to lie about how great the design behind the Big Kahuna truck was. The rusty square-body truck with surfboards in the bed definitely told a story. In fact I think it worked better than the more traditional Woodie body that the latter Big Kahuna used. It had a good color scheme, a classic monster truck shape. There wasn’t much they could have added or taken away from its look. The surf bus was self-explanatory. It was the type of bus that would have been used by surfers to visit destinations up and down the coast. The Great Bite however was definitely something else entirely.

I mentioned previously how I didn’t care for monster trucks with silly 3D bodies. This was something that the Monster Jam tour pushed in the late ‘90s when they were booming in popularity. The trucks shaped like dogs, ponies, skulls, and sharks I thought were doing a disservice to the sport. Granted there were a few 3D body trucks in the early ‘90s including Snake Bite which was designed by the Bigfoot Team. To put it in perspective maybe three out of the dozens of trucks competing professionally had non-traditional bodies. The majority of the ones with animal-type bodies appeared almost 20 years after the birth of the culture, so I felt that they weren’t carrying on the tradition. I had no idea who thought this was a great idea, but I was sure that they hadn’t followed the history of the sport. I could just imagine that a corporate boardroom put together truck bodies based on a marketing survey. They asked kids what they liked. The responses were things like ponies, dinosaurs, and monsters. So the people at Feld ran with it. It would be easy for them to market these trucks, make tee shirts, and toys out of them with little regard for the sport itself.

Of the animal bodies the shark was one of the most popular ones in the past decade. This was overlooking Monster Mutt (2003), and El Toro Loco (2001) of course. The Megalodon truck was announced in 2016, and debuted in 2017. It became a hit with audiences, and opened the floodgates for more outlandish animal bodies. The thing was that Hot Wheels had actually created the body style much earlier. Great Bite appeared as a toy way back in 2003, and its sister Shark Wreak in 2010. So once again Monster Jam was cashing in on ideas that they didn’t even come up with. With that said I didn’t care much for the body shape. It wasn’t really telling a story as much as it was just a gimmick. The designers at Hot Wheels went back to the drawing board and came up with something infinitely better.

The new Great Bite body released in 2025. It was another master class in storytelling from the people at Mattel. Instead of creating a generic shark-shaped body the designers Kevin Cao, and Kurina Alim went full Hot Wheels mode into it. For almost 60 years the toy series was known for coming up with all sorts of fun, and wild cars. In this case Alim, and Cao asked themselves what would it look like if a great white shark mutated into a monster truck? They incorporated elements of a shark, but also a shark cage, manta ray, and enormous V8 motor into the body itself. Every angle was dynamic, all of the body lines flowed into each other organically. It was flesh, and machine made into one. It was a radical look that could never be confused with the older shark bodies. It spoke to me when it came out, and I certainly knew why. When I was a kid Hot Wheels launched a line of cars shaped after animals, bugs, monsters, and robots. They called them the Speed Demons.

The Speed Demons were bolder than anything I had seen in the late ‘70s when I got my first toy cars. The line included such memorable names as Vampyra, Cargoyle, Turboa, Ratmobile, and Rodzilla. I’m sure you could imagine what inspired them. Of all the cars released there was one that I thought was the best of all. The Sharkruiser was an absolute beast in both look, and performance. It didn’t have any flashy graphics, or bright stickers to dress it up. Instead it was a flat gray body with chrome teeth, and an enormous engine. It was an apex predator hunting for other fast cars on the road. I took it to school, and my friends agreed that it was the coolest Hot Wheel they had ever seen. I kept that car in my pocket wherever I went. I always had something to play with when my family was traveling. It was one of the few cars that I didn’t give to my cousins when I got older.

The Sharkruiser certainly looked great on my desk. It made me think about getting a small playset to put on the desk as well. I remembered that Mattel released a few shark-themed tracks. For some reason sharks and cars just seemed to go together. I had no idea how many had come out until I started searching for them. There must have been nine or ten released in the past 30 years. Then there were tracks themed around snakes, spiders, dinosaurs, volcanoes, slime pits, and more. The majority of the playsets were too big to display, but there might be one that could fit onto my beach mat. If, and when I decided to get one then it would be a topic for another blog.

I’d like to know your thoughts. Did you have any classic toys that you held onto? Did you get any re-releases of a favorite figure, or car? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Bookmark This Page; Women in fighting games

I love to write about fighting games, and fighting game characters. If you want a collection of articles about women in fighting games then Bookmark This Page.

The return of Rainbow Mika, did Capcom cross the line in Street Fighter V?

Laura, the new leading lady of Street Fighter V or more fanservice?

Odd Girl Out, a look at alternate female fighting game characters...

The legend of Blue Mary, or girls in fighting games, part 1…

The legend of Blue Mary, or girls in fighting games, part 2…

The legend of Blue Mary, or girls in fighting games, part 3…

Why is Street Fighter playing with Dolls?

Meet Street Fighter V's Menat, an old soul in a young body?

The rise of Falke, or how military design works in fighting games...

The Chun-Li template, don't follow it too closely! A 1UP classic...

A look at Marisa, the Street Fighter 6 gladiator...

A look at Lili, the new native Mexican fighter in Street Fighter 6

Juri in Street Fighter 6, how her design got better with time

Manon in Street Fighter 6, representing a style over 200 years in the making

Cammy gets an entirely new look for Street Fighter 6, let's see how

Let's talk about A.K.I., the Dragon Lady of Street Fighter 6

Meet Kimberly, is she the Urban ninja of Street Fighter 6?

Chun-Li's new look in Street Fighter 6. Is it a step backwards?

Style Wars, looking at Kimberly in Street Fighter 6, and Isla from King of Fighters XIV.

The Street Fighter 6 pre-order trailer, a look at Manon, the graceful judo practitioner

The Street Fighter 6 pre-order trailer, a look at Marisa, the modern gladiator

Lili gets a makeover, just in time for Street Fighter 6!

Do you have a favorite female character in a fighting game. Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Bookmark This Page; The Giant Monster Series

I love kaiju, I love daikaiju, I love giant monsters of all sorts. If you want to see how giant monsters made their way into gaming then Bookmark This Page.

The Giant Monster Series, part 1…

The Giant Monster Series, part 2…

The Giant Monster Series, part 3…

The Giant Monster Series, part 4…

The Giant Monster Series, part 5…

The Giant Monster Series, part 6…

The Giant Monster Series, part 7…

The Giant Monster Series, part 8…

The Giant Monster Series, part 9…

The Giant Monster Series, part 10…

The Giant Monster Series, part 11…

The Giant Monster Series, part 12…

The Giant Monster Series, part 13…

The Giant Monster Series, part 14…

The Giant Monster Series, part 15…

The Giant Monster Series, part 16…

The Giant Monster Series, part 17…

The Giant Monster Series, part 18…

The Giant Monster Series, part 19…

The Giant Monster Series, part 20…

The Giant Monster Series, Final Part

Manifesting a press kit, or how much I love War of the Monsters…

Did you have a favorite monster movie? Did you have a favorite daikaiju? Mines was Rodan. Let me know yours in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Undead hot rod culture, a match made in hell

I spent the last few weeks doing a deep dive on my obsession with monster trucks. How I became a fan, what toys I collected, a history of the organizers, and more. I had something left to say about the design behind the Bone Shaker. I said that it was essentially Mattel’s counter to the Grave Digger. I argued that the reason why the Bone Shaker was an instant hit with the community was because it called back to the roots of hot rod culture. It had a body similar to the classic Ford Model T, A-Frame, and B-Frame cars with the styling of modern rat rods, and the fantastic elements of a chrome skull, and skeleton hand headlights at the front.

Americans had been car crazy ever since the introduction of the automobile. In the early 1900’s cars were utilitarian. They were a replacement for horses, and buggies. Some of the first car builders were former carriage makers. As technology improved they made cars with better handling, better visibility for drivers, and better comfort for passengers. By the 1930’s cars started having more unique body shapes that were less carriage like. Automobile manufacturers also started offering different colors, and options. Some cars were now becoming luxury items. Roads began being paved, and expanded beyond the city. In the late 1940’s Americans were returning from a war economy to a peace economy. Factory jobs were changing. Women, and minorities were not willing to give up the advances that they had gained, and suburbs were expanding. There was some civil turmoil boiling under the surface, and it would only get stronger through the 1950’s, and especially the 1960’s.

As far as car culture went it was in the late 40’s, and ‘50s that a perfect storm was brewing. That original generation of cars were now filling up junkyards, and collecting dust in garages. There was a surplus of bodies, and a youth culture that was eager to get away from the war mentality that they had grown up with. They put that energy into rock and roll music. They put that energy into rebellion. They put that energy into remaking old cars because they couldn’t buy new ones. More than simply trying to go faster, and faster this was the foundation of hot rod culture. Hot rods were considered too fast, and too dangerous for the masses. Hot rods were counter culture. They were punk. They were rebellious. They were visual statements against the establishment. After all what could be more punk that ripping the hood, and fenders off of grandpa’s old car, chopping off the top, and exposing the motor?

Teens were constantly embracing anything that shocked adults. The fashion, the music, the language, anything that challenged the status quo was appealing to them. The bigger the shock value the more the youth were drawn to it. Years ago I talked about “Big Daddy” Ed Roth. He created the most mind-bending custom cars, trucks, and motorcycles. More important he created Rat Fink. He would become the mascot of hot rod culture. Aside from Rat Fink things like ghouls, ghosts, skeletons, monsters, and the macabre actually mixed into hot rod culture very well. This wild mashup of elements couldn’t be ignored any longer. It was becoming a part of pop culture. It could be seen in Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow, a movie from 1959.

Hot rod culture was constantly evolving, and creating different branches. Entering the 1960’s there was another movement happening within the culture. Builders were creating what would later be known as “show rods”. These were hot rods seemingly built out of anything, including a barbershop chair, telephone booth, bathtub, bed frame, and popcorn cart. The Boothill Express by Ray Fahrner was arguably the coldest example of the movement. He turned a late 1800’s funeral coach, the kind that carried the outlaw Jessie James into a hot rod. Show rods could be a little campy, but the builders that understood the culture could really make a statement. Such was the case for the “King of Kustomizers” George Barris.

Mr. Barris was known for building all sorts of outlandish hot rods, show rods, and especially cars for television. He built the Black Beauty for the Black Hornet television show. He built the Batmobile for the Adam West TV series. He built K.I.T.T. for the show Knight Rider. He built the Beverly Hillbillies truck. He built the Monkeemobile (designed by Dean Jeffries) for the Monkee’s television show. All of these cars were brilliant, but I would argue that his best work went into the Munsters show. The family car was a stretched t-bucket-meets-hearse called the Munster Koach. Not long after he gave Grandpa Munster a car by turning a coffin into the wickedly cool Drag-u-la. To be fair these last two were designed by Tom Daniel. Tom had created a number of best selling hot rod model kits, some of which were so popular that they were turned into actual show rod builds.

There was definitely an appeal to the ghoulish hot rods. By the late 1960’s hot rod culture was becoming mainstream culture. It was subtle in movies like The Great Race. The 1965 Warner Bros. classic featured several fictional rides, but none were as scene stealing as Professor Fate's Hannibal 8. I would call that ride the original Sinister Six. You could also see the hot rod appeal in the cartoons from the era. Shows like Tom Slick captured the spirit in 1967. A more popular cartoon was called Wacky Races, which was influenced by The Great Race. Animation studio Hanna-Barbara was always quick to turn a pop trend into a cartoon. They were the animation studio that turned the live action shows Happy Days, Star Trek, and Gilligan’s Island into cartoons after all. The studio saw how quickly car culture had grown in the past decade. They made a cartoon that was essentially a mash up of show rods, hot rods, and the model kits from Roth, Daniel, and Barris.

The Wacky Races featured a car made of stone driven by cavemen, a ‘30s sedan driven by mobsters, an airplane-turned-car driven by a pilot, a military tank driven by a general, and even a distillery on wheels driven by a moonshiner. Some of contestants were Big Gruesome, and Li’l Gruesome know as the Gruesome Twosome. They piloted the Creepy Coupe which was a rolling haunted house. It hosted all manner of monsters that they could call upon for help. The kinds of fantastic cars featured in Wacky Races wouldn’t necessarily have made sense in any other time, but they perfectly captured the anything goes spirit of the ‘60s.

There was a certain appeal to what I called the goth hot rod aesthetic. It was as intimidating as a custom car build could get. The hot rod had long been a canvas for artists of every kind. Some would paint pinstripes, or airbrush flames all over their rides. Some would make cartoons of monsters driving hot rods, or build models of skeletons racing dragsters. Some would hand build fiberglass bodies over a rolling chassis. Ed Roth managed to do all of the above. He was the leader of a movement that had no parallel. Certain paint schemes, or body mods told a story. They reflected the personality of the builder. These things let other people on the road know how badass their ride was. There was the extreme end of kustom kulture. One that went well beyond a massive engine or paint scheme. The most heavy metal thing a person could do was turn a hearse into a hot rod. Changing a car that was previously used to carry dead people into a street racing machine was beyond macabre. It was apparent in the Boothill Express, and every modern hearse-turned-rod ever made. This connection between hot rods, and the undead had been coloring the mainstream for generations. It would eventually influence car designs in video games.

Carmageddon was one of my favorite games of all time. It was a vehicle combat game from the mid-‘90s that didn’t use guns. Instead the cars destroyed each other in collisions. That was when they weren’t running over pedestrians. There was a number of memorable cars, trucks, tanks, and monsters that had been featured in the series. One that was highlighted in the original title, and early ads was a fan favorite called the Stiff Shifter. It was a hot rod hearse driven by the Brother’s Grimm. It had coffin in the trunk, and the owners were rumored to have a connection to the underworld. The full story of the Brother’s Grimm hunting for souls, and summoning demons was explained in the official comic which was available to people that contributed to the Kickstarter campaign. It was my little brother’s favorite ride in the game, and one that I certainly enjoyed racing with as well. It wouldn’t be the only game influenced by the wicked designs of hot rods, and show rods.

The 2009 game Brütal Legend by Double Fine was a love letter to everything rock & roll, specifically heavy metal music. It called out 50+ years of history, and culture. It presented the type of world that Ed Roth would have dreamed up; filled with avatars of metal icons like Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead), Glenn Danzig, Lita Ford, Metallica, KISS, and more. Director Tim Schafer was known for his sharp writing, engaging stories, and funny games. These included Maniac Mansion 2: Day of the Tentacle, Psychonauts, Grim Fandango, and Full Throttle. Each one was a refreshing change of pace from the standard genres. Brütal Legend had one of the greatest aesthetics, and world building of any action-meets-RTS game. There was nothing like it before, or after. The good guys, bad guys, magics, vehicles, and character designs pulled together several generations of heavy metal influences. The team at Double Fine somehow made it all work together, and put it in a package that was severely underrated. The iconic rides reminded me of the darkest monster trucks I had ever seen.

There had been a few hearse-bodied monster trucks in the community. Some going back almost to the birth of the sport. The oldest I think was called the Undertaker. It had a 1955 Cadillac Hearse body that was built by Tom Zachery and Robert Moore. I first saw it in an old monster truck poster magazine. Based on its construction it looked like a first generation monster truck. This meant that it was on a stiff frame with traditional shock absorbers. These were prone to breaking if pushed too hard in competition. Then there was Cardiac Arrest, which was built by Rick Rabb from a 1961 Cadillac Hearse. The construction of this one was closer to a second generation truck, which meant it had a greater range of travel on its suspension. This made it less likely to break in racing. This truck was sold to a Canadian. It was fixed up as the Soul Collector, and turned into a ride truck from the last news I was able to find on it. They all demonstrated that the goth hot rod worked whether they were slammed to the ground, or riding on monster truck tires. That was one of the reasons why the Bone Shaker looked so good as a monster truck. This dark aesthetic also reminded me of the early version of the Grave Digger.

Dennis Anderson like many of the early monster builders started with a work truck. He strengthened the chassis, built a new motor, added a better suspension, and more over the years. Replacing mechanical parts like transmissions, and axles with military equipment so they could take severe abuse. The tires got taller, but still narrow so that he could conquer the mud. Then one day his truck got big enough to run in monster truck competition. The 1950 Chevrolet Panel Van that it was built from was both beautiful, and brutal. No other driver had anything that looked remotely as tough. A lot if it had to do with its paint scheme. The van was all black with green flames on the front, and an airbrushed ghostly skull cloud hovering over a cemetery. A haunted house was shrouded in the mist. The chrome grille with some patina, red headlights, and gold rims gave the truck contrasting colors. It helped frame its tough appearance. Everything about the early Grave Digger embraced the spirit of do-it-yourself. That was the backbone of hot rodding. Monster trucks were essentially hot rods for off road enthusiasts. The baddest monster trucks embraced their brutal side. They didn’t aways have to look bright, and polished like a show truck. They were allowed to be rough around the edges. To show their working man roots. The important thing was that they got the job done.

By comparison the recent builds by Feld Entertainment were more uniform, almost cookie-cutter. The trucks featured in the Monster Jam shows had steel tube chassis made by one of a handful of fabricators, often painted with a bright complimentary color. The interchangeable fiberglass bodies had colorful graphics. Not the toned down, hand painted metal bodies of the old school trucks. The new frames were covered with sponsor stickers similar to NASCAR. The Feld monsters looked like they were searching for corporate branding opportunities rather than cars to flatten. Feld made sure that their trucks offered a family-friendly look, whereas the original Grave Digger looked like it was about to beat you up, and take your lunch money. This was what I felt was missing in the modern format, and most new builds. It wouldn’t hurt to see them return to their roots, and maybe put a coffin in the bed. That’s what I think anyhow. Do you think the macabre and motorsports work together? I mean would a goth NASCAR design work? Tell me in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Bookmark This Page; where did the Capcom giants come from?

Sometimes my biggest series are very short, if you love fighting game giants then Bookmark This Page.

A look at the big man, where did the Capcom giants come from? Part 1…

A look at the big man, where did the Capcom giants come from? Part 2…

A look at the big man, where did the Capcom giants come from? Part 3…

Did you have a favorite giant fighting game character? Let me know about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Bookmark This Page; Art, graphics, and aesthetics in fighting games

Video game players sometimes use the word graphics, when instead they mean the aesthetics, or art style of the game. If you want to learn about some of the most unique looking fighters then Bookmark This Page.

The aesthetic versus graphics debate, part 1…

The aesthetic versus graphics debate, part 2…

The aesthetic versus graphics debate, part 3…

The Style Files, Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer & Goketsuji Ichizoku aka Power Instinct

The Style Files, Psikyo and the aesthetic copies

The Style Files, Daraku Tenshi: The Fallen Angels, part 1

The Style Files: Daraku Tenshi The Fallen Angels, part 2...

Did you get a chance to play any of these fighting games? Let me know about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The monsters in my sketchbook

I had been doing a monster truck deep dive over the past month. I talked about losing my collection of books, and magazines, and the journey of rebuilding over more than a decade. I also talked about how Feld Motorsports pushed the Bigfoot Team out of the spotlight at the start of Monster Jam, and how Hot Wheels helped bring them back. I even talked about collecting some old monster truck toys for my work desk. Today I would like to share some of my favorite monster illustrations

Rebuilding my library was a slow, and steady process over the 2010’s and 2020’s. When I couldn’t find any books, or magazines to collect I would draw instead.

The passion that I had for those massive trucks never went away. I would spend my lunch breaks at work doing some of the best ink illustrations that I had ever done. I would make up trucks sometimes, and other times I would draw actual vehicles.

I would alternate between drawing old school monster trucks, which were notorious for injuring the drivers, and new school trucks which could perform amazing stunts.

I tried different drawing techniques. Working on exaggerated proportions to make my drawings more cartoonish.

Focusing on angles, and action helped break me out of my comfort zone.

As I managed to pick up rare issues I would be inspired to draw favorite trucks. These often had unique properties. Such as the Silver Bullet which had a jet engine under the hood.

Or I would try drawing realistic effects, like the smoke coming out of the diesel-powered Brodozer.

I made this illustration before finding out that Dave “Heavy D” Sparks was a full MAGA supporter. I lost so much respect for the Diesel Brothers in the past few years because of their politics.

The one thing I would never lose was my love of all things monster trucks. I really should start drawing more, as I haven’t done anything new in the sketchbook in very long time. Was there anything you loved to collect, and draw? Tell me in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Bookmark This Page; how ARIKA turned an April Fools joke into a great fighting game

Many of the people that created Street Fighter II left Capcom, and founded ARIKA. If you want to find out about how they teased a successor to Street Fighter EX then Bookmark This Page.

Teasing the next Street Fighter EX and Fighting Layer, part 1

Teasing the next Street Fighter EX and Fighting Layer, part 2

Teasing the next Street Fighter EX and Fighting Layer, part 3

Speculation on ARIKA's unnamed Street Fighter EX successor, part 1…

Speculation on ARIKA's unnamed Street Fighter EX successor, part 2…

Speculation on ARIKA's unnamed Street Fighter EX successor, part 3…

Speculation on ARIKA's unnamed Street Fighter EX successor, part 4…

Did you have a favorite ARIKA fighting game? Let me know about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Bookmark This Page; the great fantasy fighting games

I love fighting games of all types, some of the most unique were fantasy inspired. If you want to learn about some of the best then Bookmark This Page.

Golden Axe the Duel, the great fantasy fighting games part 1...

Dragon's Heaven, the great fantasy fighting games part 2...

Warzard, the great fantasy fighting games part 3...

Asura Blade Sword of Dynasty, the great fantasy fighting games part 4...

Asura Buster Eternal Warriors, the great fantasy fighting games part 5...

Chaos Breaker - Dark Awake, the great fantasy fighting games part 6...

Battle Fantasia, the great fantasy fighting games, final part...

Did you get a chance to play any of these fantasy fighters? Let me know about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Collecting modern monsters

In a previous blog I talked about how Hot Wheels stopped producing Monster Jam toys in 2018 to create their own line. Mattel also partnered up with the Bigfoot Team, and a few independent monster truck owner / drivers to bring an arena show to fans. Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live was now in its eight year with no sign of slowing down. This change of toy companies allowed me to focus back on something that I had been a fan of all my life. As long as Feld Entertainment controlled Monster Jam, and the majority of monster toys then I couldn’t bring myself to collect anything. Once I had an alternative it would be easy to start again. As with everything in my collection I had to be very selective. I had a budget I couldn’t go over, and very little space in my home to display anything. This meant that I could only collect a handful of trucks that really meant something to me. I’m going to feature them today.

I’m going to start with the most obvious toy. Bigfoot was the original monster truck, and the one that I grew up with. I was a fan from day one. I was also a fan of the owner Bob Chandler, and various Bigfoot drivers for decades. The next one I added to my collection was for the missus. When Bigfoot started gaining popularity in movies, and TV Bob’s wife Marilyn asked why he should be having all the fun. So he built her a baby blue Ms. Bigfoot. It was almost identical to the original Ford F-250 that he used for Bigfoot. He even kept it on 48-inch tires which was what the original Bigfoot drove around in before Bob put it on 66-inch tires. I covered Marilyn as the first female monster truck driver, and the truck on a previous blog. It was important for me to have the Chandlers at the start of my new collection.

The next two trucks were also complimentary for a different reason. The Grave Digger was always a tough competitor. Despite the feelings I had for the Feld company, I had nothing but respect for Dennis Anderson, and his family. He built his own truck, and legacy in many early competitions. Plus the Grave Digger had a fantastic look often imitated, but never duplicated. It earned its spot at the top of the collection. Note that the version I got was a classic design. The skull, cemetery, and haunted house were similar to the "Grandma" version with the words Grave and Digger on top of each other, as opposed to side-by-side. Right next to it was the Bone Shaker. Larry Wood’s iconic Hot Wheels design was every bit as brutal as the Grave Digger. There was a reason why it was the star of Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live. The old school hot rod-turned-monster truck was just too cool for words.

The next truck was actually a fictional rival to Bigfoot. Snake Bite debuted in 1991, it was the first monster truck to have a custom 3D character body. Underneath the snake-shaped shell was actually a rebuilt Bigfoot IV. This allowed Chandler to run two trucks in shows, and competitions. The team really committed to the rivalry. They said the truck came from Cobra Creek, Colorado (which didn’t actually exist). They also had the drivers wear snake-patterned airbrushed masks. Veteran Bigfoot drivers like Andy Brass, Dan Runte, Larry Swim, Chris Norman, and a few others played the characters Colt Cobra, Ricky Rattler, Vic Venom, Kris Kopperhead, Andy Anaconda, or Sid Sidewinder. Hot Wheels was on board the rivalry, and made some popular toys featuring both trucks. The Carolina Crusher was another formidable competition monster truck. It was built, and driven by Gary Porter for years, and years. He stepped away from racing for a while. He returned in 2014 to drive once more for the 30th anniversary of his truck. He eventually sold the rights to Paul Shafer, who later sold those rights to Pace Motorsports which became Feld Motorsports. Despite all this I still held Mr. Porter, and his truck in high regards.

The next truck in my series was created by Rosalee Ramer, and her father Kelvin Ramer. Kelvin built, and drove the Time Flys truck. Rosalee grew up learning how to fix trucks alongside her dad. There were pics of her as a little kid doing repairs. By 14 she was driving competitively. Making her the youngest professional monster truck driver ever. Her truck was called Wild Flower, and was easily one of the most unique trucks ever built. Next to it was King Krunch. It was an old-school truck that also represented generations of competitors. It was originally built by Scott Stephens from Texas way back in 1982. He toured the country for years, and his son Colt Stephens became a driver as well. Scott also built two of my favorite trucks, the jet-powered Coors Brewser, and the Coors Light Silver Bullet. Those trucks would never be made into toys, so having a King Krunch was as close as I could get.

The next two trucks embodied the spirit of the early monsters. Those trucks were literally inspired by ancient monsters, and cryptids. The first was the Cyclops. It was a 1969 Chevrolet C-10 built by brothers Fred and Gary Dykman out of Arizona. It was similar to the Grave Digger in that it was a famous mud truck that got coverage in the 4x4 magazines, and later become a monster truck. The Dykman brothers were very committed to the Cyclops gimmick. They had a giant animated eye hidden under the hood. It would pop out, and look around before starting a run. I remember seeing this live as a kid, and the audience went crazy when it happened. The Michigan Ice Monster was a 1983 Chevrolet C-10 by Brett Engleman. It was only in competition for a few years before Mr. Engleman stepped away from the sport. This was also one of the old school trucks that I saw live for the small window it toured originally. There was a smaller version of the truck called the Michigan Ice Monster Jr. It was built from a 1975 Chevrolet Blazer, and owned by Jesse Birgy.

The next two trucks represented the smaller owner / drivers that carved out their own path, and became successful. Titan was an awesome 1972 Chevy C-10 truck owned, and driven by Donald Epidendio from Lower Lake California. He drove as a member of the Straight up Racing team, and took part in the Monster X Tour. He also competed in several Monster Jam World Finals as well. There was something about the old school square body trucks that I thought could never be topped. Bigfoot, Cyclops, King Krunch, Titan, Giant, and a few more were all square bodied classics. The next monster in my collection was easily the most successful to feature a car body. The Avenger had a 1957 Chevy Bel Air body. It was owned, and driven by Jim Koehler from Columbus Michigan. He owned, and operated Team Scream Racing, and ran in the Monster Truck Throwdown Tour. He had an outspoken personality, and knew how to fire up the crowd whenever he got on the mic. He was possibly the greatest ambassador the sport had ever seen.

The next truck owner / driver Dave “Heavy D” Sparks was half of the Diesel Brothers alongside “Diesel Dave” Kiley. Sparks fell out of favor in my eyes for a number of reasons which had nothing to do with his arrest, and release either. It was more about his outspoken defense of immigrant Mexican laborers while also revealing he was a MAGA Trump supporter. Rather than waste my time on this glaring contradiction I would rather talk about the Brodozer. The Ford Super Duty truck was one of the first modern diesel trucks to compete in Monster Jam. I wrote about it years ago. The next truck belonged to an owner / driver that was a tough competitor. Joe Sylvester out of Canton Ohio played by his own rules, and had a truck that reflected that. My favorite version of Bad Habit featured a Jeep Gladiator body. There was a build with an Escalade body but I thought it was too bland. Mr. Sylvester held the records for both the fastest truck in the quarter mile, and furthest jump. 

The next truck in my collection was the Lucas Stabilizer, which was driven by Cynthia Gauthier. It was the only truck owned, and operated by Feld that I collected on purpose. I did so for two reasons; because Ms. Gauthier was an exceptional driver who had been competing for years with different trucks, and different teams. She had long since earned a truck of her own. The other reason why it was in my collection was because it was a callback to the classic Peterbilt monster trucks like Big Pete, and Super Pete. I also had a truck that was featured in the first few years of the Hot Wheels Monster Truck Tour. There was a WWII airplane-themed square body truck called the V8 Bomber. It looked hyper-American. On tour it was driven by Stevie Snellen, and built on a version of Basher with a vinyl wrap. Mattel realized in hindsight that maybe it wasn’t a good look to have a truck like this on tour that glorified war machines. This was especially true as they took the tour international. So they came up with a different theme.

I did collect one vehicle that wasn’t based on a specific truck. That was the Cremator, a hearse-bodied monster. There were other hearse monsters in the past, and I would like to talk about them one day, but this was a Hot Wheels original. The last monster truck in my collection was Wreckreation. It was an RV monster truck which was run by Tomfoolery Motorsports. The Pagliarulo family out of Florida owned and operated many trucks including the classic Michigan Ice Monster, and Excalibur, as well as the newer Jester, Kraken, and Missfire. Matt Pagliarulo was a veteran driver, and his children Michael, Nick, and Brooke were competing alongside him. The trucks they owned were cool, however they didn't appeal to me as much as this RV. Wreckreation captured the essence of everything I loved about monster trucks. It had a classic square body, a solid color, and a very strong visual theme.

The trucks that told a story were always the ones that I gravitated toward. Wreckreation could have come from the actual first generation of monsters. There were pics of early trucks such as Bigfoot, and King Kong with camper shells on the bed. Remember that Bob Chandler, and Jeff Dane would take camping trips using their actual daily driver trucks? They would hit the trails, and mud bogs as weekend warriors. Wreckreation was carrying on that tradition. It was possibly the last of the working man's monster campers. By contrast I never cared for the trucks with animal, zombie, or robot bodies. Those weren't cohesive themes. They didn't tell a story, they were just gimmicks.

Of course I needed a place to store my trucks when I wasn’t playing, I mean, when I wasn’t studying them for reference. Hot Wheels released a Bone Shaker Monster Mover in 2018, the same year that they released the Bone Shaker monster truck. It could store a dozen models. How amazing was this?! I put the most important trucks to me in the carrier, in case I ever cleared enough space in the home to display them. You’ll have to guess which ones those were.

So this wrapped up my look at the monster truck toys I currently had. Were there any toys that you collected because they meant something to you? Tell me about them in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!