Knock-offs, all the way down. I love this stuff, man, it just scratches an itch in my brain in a way that never fails to be entertaining. ¶ So, this is Skull Turret (1982), one of two little plastic towers made to hold the monster figures from Arco’s Dragons n’ Monsters line of rack toys. The other one is Headsgone Tower. Each had one dragon and three monsters, all molded in colored plastic that is so bright it is difficult to photograph. I have the full compliment, save one of the dragons.

The towers are cute, but the monsters are the interesting bit. Old heads might have already noticed, certainly folks who listened to the podcast episode on these guys know: the little dudes are knock-offs of various RPG miniatures. The dragon that I don’t have is Ral Partha’s Royal Dragon, while the one I do have is just the Welsh dragon in plastic. The Cylcops and the Birdman are both very close but not exact replicas of minis from Martian Metals (circa 1979?). The fellow with the whip is a crude copy of Tom Meier’s Troll Discipline Master from Citadel (circa 1981?). The Djinn is from Heritage, as is the “Brawn Hulk,” itself an Umber Hulk from D&D with the serial numbers filed off. Last, and perhaps most recognizable, is the Lizardman With Club from Grenadier’s line of Dungeons & Dragons miniatures from 1980.