The Thingmaker was a toy made by Mattel in the 1960's, back when toys were toys. To use it you poured liquid plastigoop into metal molds and then cooked them in the Thingmaker ovens. When cooked they made rubbery toys. In early 2001, my son Zach discovered my old molds in our basement and we have been playing with them ever since. This is a great creative toy and I highly recommend it. The molds are usually for sale on ebay and I have bought some there to add to my collection.
Beginning in 1992 I believe, Toymax began putting out new Creepy Crawler sets with a safer plastic oven. Not only did they put out new molds like Bug's Life, X-Men and Jurassic Park, but they also re-issued (with new molds) some of the old sets, like Creeple Peeple, Mini-Dragons and Dollymaker. The goop is still availabale at stores, as are some molds and the newest oven. You can also order items directly from Toymax on their web site.
| Mattel Thingmaker sets in my collection: |
| Creepy Crawlers: The original set. You can make bugs, rats, toads, and other creepies with it. |
| Giant Creepy Crawlers: The second Creepy Crawler set. The difference is that this set has only one huge bug on each mold. |
| Creeple Peeple: A very interesting set. It allows you to make weird people out of pencils. |
| Fighting Men: You can make bendable soldiers, weapons, equipment and even vehicles. |
| Fright Factory: This great set allows you to make shrunken heads, skeletons, disguises,
etc. |
| Fun Flowers: With this set you can make plastic flower arrangements and other flower decorations. This was bought for Justine. |
| Mini-Dragons: With this set you can make many different types of dragons. |
| EEEEKS!: Like Mini-Dragons, but you make bugs instead of dragons. |
| Zoofie-Goofies: This cool set allows you to make animals using pipe cleaners and plasti-goop body parts. |
| Incredible Edibles: This Thingmaker was different in that the creepies you made were edible. |
| Miscellaneous Molds: Mattel put out various mold paks. Some where just molds from the sets. Others were brand new. |
| Thingmaker Accessories: The Thingmaker oven, handles, etc. |
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| Toymax Creepy Crawlers (Zach & Justine's): |
| Creepy Crawler Workshop: Toymax's first Creepy Crawler product. |
| Mini-Dragons: Toymax's version of the classic Mini-Dragon set. |
| Creeple Peeple: Toymax's version of the old Creeple Peeple set. |
| Spideroids: You can make weird giant spiders with this set. |
| Dolly Maker: With this set you can make bendable dollies and clothing accessories. |
| Monster Maker: Vampire and Werewolf: With this set you could make bendable monsters. The first Monster Maker set. |
| Monster Maker: Frankenstein Monster and Mummy: Companion set to the Vampire and Werewolf set. |
| Bug Maker: The anniversary set that allows you to make creepy bugs. |
| Graveyard Ghoulies: A somewhat educational set where you make organs and put them in a skeleton. |
| Incredible Edibles: Toymax's version of the old Mattel set. |
| Miscellaneous Molds: Various molds that the kids have collected. |
| Creepy Crawler Accessories: The new, safer, oven, along with handles, picks, etc. |
