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Creepy Crawlers (or Thingmaker) is an activity toy made by Mattel, beginning in 1964. The toy consists of a series of die-cast metal molds resembling various bug-like creatures, into which is poured a liquid chemical substance called "Plastigoop", which comes in assorted colors. The mold is then heated to about 390 °F (199 °C) on an open-face electric hot plate oven. The Plastigoop is cured by the heat, and when cooled forms semi-solid, rubbery replicas which can be removed from the mold.
Contents
The concept of the Thingmaker was introduced in 1963, as part of Mattel's "Vac-U-Maker" set. This omnibus toy combined the new molds and Plastigoop technology with the existing "Vac-u-form" machine, which molded simple sculptures by heating thin sheets of plastic, then using a vacuum pump to form the softened plastic over hard plastic forms. Following this introduction period, the Thingmaker portion was spun off as a separate set, and launched as the "Creepy Crawlers" line.
Mattel packaged molds from various sets to be sold separately, and also combined molds into larger omnibus editions, encompassing several themes into one set, under names such as "Triple Thingmaker", "Super Thingmaker" and "Every Thingmaker". Mattel produced many Thingmaker sets as follow-ups to the original "Creepy Crawlers" throughout the 1960s, utilizing a variety of themes, aimed at both boys and girls. There were also several exclusive single mold sets, such as Superman and Tarzan, and original Mattel concepts including Squirtles and Gangly Danglies.
Varieties of Thingmaker mold sets
It is generally believed that production of the original Mattel Thingmakers was discontinued following consumer safety concerns over allowing children to use a small electric heater as a toy.
In 1978 Mattel released an updated (and safer) model of their "Creepy Crawlers" toy. Called the "Thingmaker II", this version used a very differently formulated Plastigoop, and utilized plastic molds, into which was poured the heated Plastigoop. In this set one heated the Plastigoop and poured it into the green plastic mold(s) to cool; the molds were not put into the heater, which looked like a small cauldron. The reformulated Plastigoop did not work well and the process of making bugs, etc. with these sets was typically slow, taking an hour or so to make a creation. Needless to say, the late 1970s sets did not work as well as their predecessors, and the attempted revival was a short-lived one. Only two sets were produced - Creepy Crawlers and Flower Fun.
ToyMax revival
After being out of production for more than a decade, the "Creepy Crawlers" brand was brought back in 1992 by a New York-based company called ToyMax. With much stricter safety regulations in place, the new version of the Creepy Crawlers set re-introduced the metal molds and earlier Plastigoop-type formulation, but now utilized a lightbulb-powered "Magic Maker" heater, with a heat-triggered door designed to remain closed until the mold had cooled sufficiently to be handled safely.
The name "Magic Maker", as well as the new oven design, were borrowed from an earlier 1980s-era toy that melted clear colored plastic granules to form sun catcher window decorations. Over the next five years new mold designs were released as well as new mold packs. Apparently Mattel, the originator of Creepy Crawlers, had let its trademarks lapse, for many of the original Mattel concepts were revisited, such as "Creeple Peeple", "Mini-Dragons", "Eeeks" (ToyMax changed the spelling), and "DollyMaker". Numerous licenses were also employed, resulting in mold designs featuring such characters as Bugs Bunny, The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Batman, and The Mask. The new formula Plasti-Goop had an array of colors, and several varieties, including
Toward the end of the ToyMax run, the oven was redesigned to incorporate a fold-down hinged door, and required less at-home assembly. Releases of new mold packs became more and more sporadic over time. In 1997, a wave of molds (and a new oven set) based on the second Jurassic Park film, and an original line of "Mutant Squad" Plasti-Goop-based figures (three of the six advertised "Mutants" were never released) heralded the end of another era of "Thingmaking", and the beginning of a third period of hiatus. In 2001, ToyMax tried again, with both a "Creepy Crawlers" and a "DollyMaker" line, but this revival was brief.
After ToyMax
Since then, a third company, Jakks Pacific, based in California, has taken up the reins of producing Creepy Crawlers toys. Although most of the Jakks Pacific line merely utilizes re-used mold designs from the extensive ToyMax oeuvre, they have also produced new character molds featuring SpongeBob SquarePants and Hello Kitty. New releases of oven sets and mold packs have been sporadic, and seem to come very much at random. Although Christmas 2006 saw release of three "new" mold designs at the hands of Jakks Pacific, the numbering of these molds seems to suggest that they are actually unreleased designs from the ToyMax era.
In 2007, Jakks Pacific released a Pokémon-themed Creepy Crawlers Oven and Mold Paks, and in late 2008, another Oven Set based on the Star Wars: Clone Wars license was released, again just in time for Christmas gift-giving.
In the Fall of 2010, Toys "R" Us stores released a line of exclusive "Creepy Crawlers" Activity Toys (produced by Jakks-Pacific) that use injection molding and hollow, two-sided molds to create bugs and spiders in solid, wall-crawling and gut-filled "squishable" varieties. Reviews on the Toys "R" Us site indicates numerous problems with the molds leaking in the Creepy Crawlers injector models.
As of Spring 2012, the once-Exclusive Jakks-Pacific "Creepy Crawlers" Sets and Refill Accessories are available at other outlets, such as K-Mart and Target.
3D printer
In 2016, Mattel announced a new version of the ThingMaker, capable of 3D printing toys. Originally planned for a Fall 2016 release, the 3D printer version has been delayed to 2017.
Television show
ToyMax developed their own entertainment property based on the "Creepy Crawlers" concept, which became a Saturday morning cartoon — Creepy Crawlers lasted two seasons (23 episodes, including one unaired episode that later saw release on video) and a line of 12 action figures that each came with a metal mold, with which to make unique accessories for the figures.