Invaision of the Saucermen Model Kit Fantasy Art Box

My commodity on Metallica lead guitarist and monster collector Kirk Hammett appeared in the Halloween issue of AntiqueWeek. You tin read it here:

FAMOUS MONSTER COLLECTOR KIRK HAMMETT

Often wielding a guitar decorated by a painting of Boris Karloff as the Mummy, Kirk Hammett plays pb for Metallica, the famous heavy metallic band responsible for such ear-shattering tunes as "Kill 'Em All" (from the band's 1983 debut album), "Master of Puppets" (1986), and "Enter Sandman" (1991). In 2009, Metallica, which has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, was inducted into the Stone and Roll Hall of Fame.

Many fans undoubtedly assume that Hammett's Mummy guitar is simply a macabre affectation, a cool and eccentric nod to the quirky lifestyle of the prototypical guitar god. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Hammett is a hardcore brute collector and an avowed horror movie vitrify, amassing an amazing array of monster memorabilia that is 1 of the best collections of its blazon in the world.

Hammett'due south terrifying treasure trove is the field of study of a new book, Too Much Horror Concern: The Kirk Hammett Collection (Abrams Image), which features more than than 300 photos of Kirk's collection. Hammett doesn't offer pricing, simply the legendary guitarist does complement each photo (or at least each page) with commentary, such every bit the impression a item movie had on him as a kid or what he thinks of the artwork on a particular poster or model kit box.

Posters are in fact a huge chunk of Hammett's drove (as is original fine art by the likes of Frank Frazetta and Famous Monsters artist Basil Gogos), which dates back to the 1920s. He owns a Castilian Nosferatu (1922) one-canvass, Metropolis (1927) foyer cards, a French Frankenstein (1931) double-console, a King Kong (1933) six-sheet, a Son of Dracula (1943) half sail, and far, far likewise many others to mention.

Also impressive are Hammett's vast array of accurate moving-picture show props, such as Bela Lugosi'south belong and jacket from White Zombie (1932), Boris Karloff'due south outfit from The Blackness Cat (1934), a Bud Westmore examination makeup bosom from The Wolfman (1941), a Martian adapt from Invaders from Mars (1953), and an alien's weapon from Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957).

Hammett grew up in San Francisco during the 1960s, a child of hippie parents, watching horror and science fiction movies from a very early on age. "When I was five years old I got into a fight with my younger sister and managed to sprain my arm," he recalled. "My parents then said that I couldn't go exterior and play…they sat me in forepart of the tv, and I soon found myself watching 24-hour interval of the Triffids [1962], which is about gigantic homo-eating plants."

Day of the Triffids did indeed terrify young Hammett, but it attracted him as well. He fifty-fifty tried to draw the titular creatures, which he loved to fear. "I was apparently as fascinated as I was scared by them," he said. "I realized that Day of the Triffids was a different kind of movie. It gave me another sense, another feeling. And I enjoyed this 'other feeling' very, very much."

Monster toys entered Hammett's life shortly thereafter. "I remember very, very vividly seeing my blood brother bring habitation an Aurora monster model of Frankenstein soon after I'd seen Twenty-four hour period of the Triffids ," he said. "I didn't know exactly what information technology was, but I was aware that it was a monster picture because I had seen pictures or stills somewhere. It made an enormous impression on me."

This "enormous impression" informs Hammett's collection tremendously. He has some of the rarest, most sought-after monster toys from the 1960s and '70s, including Universal Monster "soakies" (figures filled with bubble bath), porcelain figures, processed boxes (from Phoenix Candy), paint-by-number kits (from Hasbro), board games (from Hasbro), model kits (from Aurora), wallets, wall plaques, action figures (from AHI), and jigsaw puzzles.

Like many "monster kids" of the era, Hammett spent coin that was intended for food on comic books and such monster magazines Creepy, Eerie, and Famous Monsters of Filmland. "My parents started to give me milk coin, twenty-5 cents a day, which was enough to get some milk and a donut," he said. "I found out that saving that quarter a twenty-four hour period gave me access to a earth I wanted to know intimately."

Hammett's attraction for horror and science fiction, which is only every bit strong now equally information technology was when he was a kid, goes beyond mere entertainment (though that's certainly a large part of information technology). Universal'due south original Frankenstein in detail strikes a personal chord, particularly since Hammett's relationship to his alcoholic, drug-taking father was less than ideal.

"There's a lot of melancholy in Frankenstein," Hammett said. "He's the ultimate outsider who's too misunderstood. And the ironic thing about it is that throughout the course of the picture show, the monster'south trying to connect with his creator. He's looking for a male parent figure. Perhaps I ever deep down recognized it as something of a mirror for my world."

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Source: http://www.brettweisswords.com/2012/10/