# Oversized Junk



## dacostasr (Oct 22, 2006)

Ordered some oversized hands from The Fright Catalog Inc. $42.00 worth of junk....I didn't send back because it would make these $65.00 worth of junk. They were nothing like the photo they show. They were flat in spots, with more latex repair marks than I can count...

OK vented...now...I might use these for my stalkaround next year...I'm so disappointed with them I'll probably just make my own hands and arms. 

Dennis


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## the_PROCRASTINATOR (Oct 14, 2006)

I HAVE HEARD MORE BAD STORIES with The Fright Catalog than all other venders combined!
THOSE GUYS SUCK!!!:finger:


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## the_PROCRASTINATOR (Oct 14, 2006)

The BIG hands I used in my GIANT Grim Suit were only $6 bucks and were from BIG LOTS.


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## dacostasr (Oct 22, 2006)

Yep...hopefully I can find some BIG LOTS hands. I have one piar but they're in my MIB. I knew I show have bought 4 pairs when I saw them. You can always use extras.

Oh well, live and learn...I figured big catalog place, nice site, would have good products....

I'll probably put them on ebay and take a loss

Dennis


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## Fright Yard (Jul 12, 2006)

yeah I use the big lots hands for all of my grim reaper props, well worht the money.


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## JCZ (Oct 31, 2006)

I made the mistake of only buying two pair of the Big Lots hands this year. When I was buying them I kept telling myself to buy more, but for some unknown reason I convinced myself that I didn't really need anymore than that. I knew I would regret it later.


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## Eric Striffler (May 6, 2006)

Wow I've ordered many things from Fright Catalog and I think they're great! I've been very happy with everything I've gotten!


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

i think your the only one eric - i also have had poor resilts - things look much more detailed - much better quality in the pics - one time i got this "foam filled" latex pumpkin skull - needless to say when i got it it was a floppy piece of latex with no foam filling - and talk about midge! sheesh - the horribly painted evil grin wouldnt even scare a baby if it was real cause he could just step on it and it would crush - i also got their "mega corpse" mask with chest piece - its ok i guess - but the pic in the book had these awesome brown eyes - and when i got it, just holes - and the painting on that left some to be desired as well - definitely not worth the 100 $ thankfully this was all bought from a gift card i won at a costume contest - too bad it wasn't for a more reputable place - o wel - beggers cant be choosers - im just glad i didn't pay for this stuff! - two thumbs down from me! - :finger: riley


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## ScareFX (Aug 18, 2004)

I've purchased a number of items from Fright Catalog. I've always gotten what I expected.


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

were you expecting pieces of crap that look like they are mass painted by someone with no talent?? haha - jp - riley


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## ScareFX (Aug 18, 2004)

1031fan said:


> were you expecting pieces of crap that look like they are mass painted by someone with no talent?? haha - jp - riley


Pretty much. That way I'm not disappointed.


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

I also have ordered from "fright" and "cheap creeps", some were good some were bad, and yes some of the stuff seems to be allegedly misrepresented in the pics. But they are not the only ones with better pics than the product actually is.
I am trying to buy things I actually see in person or make it ,... then I can't complain.


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## Spartan005 (Mar 13, 2007)

apparently no one here understands that commercial props in general... well Suck. Up until last year I've always bought all of my props online until I found skullandbones which inspired me to do my own stuff. Then I found the terrorsyndicate along with 1031fan's haunted house video... which have all been my inspiration for this year. Of course I still buy all of my masks online but when it comes to quality, the best way to get results is to do it yourself.


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## CreepyCanmore (Mar 27, 2007)

Ditto on Fright Catalog, masks look nothing like they are represented and no customer service when there's an issue.


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## dacostasr (Oct 22, 2006)

I don't mind massed produced...poor paint job...latex holes...but big creases that won't come out and fingers pointing in odd directions, poorly filled... oh well live and learn.

I thought this thread had died...I was just venting....lol

Dennis


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## Eric Striffler (May 6, 2006)

CreepyCanmore said:


> Ditto on Fright Catalog, masks look nothing like they are represented and no customer service when there's an issue.


Now I definitely have to disagree. Are you going to the same FrightCatalog I'm going to? I got customer service every time I needed it! They have a live chat customer service and a phone service! Both were great for me! I got all of my questions answered.

The main things I ordered from them were masks / costumes. I guess one of them counts as a costume. It's a wolf mask, with hairy wolf hands and a shirt with a hair wolf chest busting out. I also got a scarecrow mask. I think both look awesome! I still have them! In fact I have a picture from the local press featuring our haunt in it. I'm on the front cover in my wolf stuff.

Here's the picture, see for yourself. 










(It's from 2005, I don't wear it as my primary costume anymore. Now I wear more simple things for the most part. Usually a mask and some dark clothes, not a whole costume. This year I'm thinking about making some sort of stalk around thing, or maybe just extended arms.)


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## Front Yard Fright (Dec 23, 2005)

I've noticed their props are also poorly constructed.
The guy I worked with last year gave me a mummy he got from Fright Catalog.
He paid, I believe, 200 dollars for it and the thing was just made out of styrofoam and wrapped in cheap fabric.
Also, the head had fallen off within a couple years!
It looks nice in the pictures, but you can't really be sure what you're going to get in the mail.
I also bought a hanging clown from Fright Catalog but I was quite happy with it. However, like you had mentioned, the right hand was all bent up and seeing as it's just foam, no wires inside, I'm afriad to bend the fingers back it place. I don't want to have a fingerless clown!
I've noticed that with a lot of haunt industry prop sellers... Scare Factory comes to mind. In the pictures, the stuff looks amazing! But I got a DVD with a catalog from them a while ago and on the DVD it shows the props in action...
Many of them are very poor quality and aren't very realistic looking with the movements....
Anyways, I agree very much with what most of you are saying.
It looks great in the photos, but in person, it's crap!
.


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## Lakeside Haunt (May 31, 2007)

I ordered a grim rot bust and never recieved it and they wouldn't refund me or even reply to my emails. The other thing I recieved was missing parts, was dammaged, and the box wasn't damaged at all. 

Conclusion: Fright Catalog = bad product


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## skeletonowl (Aug 8, 2006)

I like FrightCatalog but they are a little exspensive and should stop making them look so great! However the two masks and props I got were pretty good actually.


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## susan from creepy hollow (Jun 17, 2007)

i was real happy with my grossferatu 
but my half zombie was real disappointing. he has a cardboard bottom! like i'm gonna have to take him up every night (or if it rains) and he doesn't look very good either (bad paint job) and won't stand up correctly (we'll have to dig him into the graveyard i guess) as he keeps falling flat onto his face. 

i guess some things are just better than others, no matter where they come from!


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## kerryike (Oct 5, 2006)

I've ordered only a few things from Fright Catalog. I ordered a few extra tombstones fron them last year in a pinch (after I gave my friend some of my old hand made ones). They were a little smaller that what I imagined, but the measurements were written in the descriptions...I should have gotten my tape measure out. The paint was not realistic at all, but I chalked it up to the typical store bought stuff you usually find. A quick touch up made it presentable, though. 

If you buy props in any store or over the net, expect what you pay for. For example, the tombstones I made out of styrofoam and the use of a dremmel tool took many hours to make to my liking by hand. Selling these pieces at $30 or so would certainly have been CHEAP labor. 

Just out of curiosity, does anyone have a favorite place to buy the props that you don't make yourselves...or of good enough quality that you've bought and "hacked" to make better? I'd love to hear of some experiences that some have had where your purchase was even better than expected. I'm always on the lok out for a good buy.


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## beelce (Jul 21, 2007)

Yep I thought I was smart last year when I purchased 4 pairs of big lots hands...I found a way to use all of them on ONE prop. Now I have to wait untill the season starts to buy more for the next batch of props that didn't get hands last year.

As for fright catalog... mixed response


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## turtle2778 (Jul 9, 2006)

I havent ordered from Fright catelog because of the mixed responses. I would definately indorse Frighteners Entertainment. I got some great things from them and Jeff the owner is a memeber here and he ROCKS.


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## Beth (Sep 27, 2005)

I have ordered quite a few things from Fright catalog. I think that they are on the expensive side and the giant scarecrow I ordered I have to prop up with sandbags or it topples over. (We also redid his face with our own paints.) If nothing else it has given me ideas on how to make my own.


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## MacabreManor (Jul 23, 2007)

Beth makes a good point. Fright Catalog pictures are obviously better than Fright Catalog Products, but those good pictures are good for inspiration. In fact, I can say that their catalog is always fun to look at if you get to look at a hard copy.

My only encounter with them was brief. However, the story I tell is unneccessarily long. This being said, it might not have even been the Fright Catalog with whom I dealt. You see, back then there was no internet and there was this place called Halloween Outlet. They had everything! Things I had never seen before. It was amazing and for a nominal fee you could have a fantastic catalog sent to your home! I really did enjoy it. I poured through the pages over and over as if it was my first Fangoria (or Gorezone, remember Gorezone?). 

After becoming a "fan", and several years down the line, I had ordered several editions of the Halloween Outlet catalog. To tell the truth, I still have every copy...and finally I found an item that I not only wanted, but also could afford. For Halloween Outlet was not for the faint of wallet. It was a "Bullet Breath." A hard foam severed head featuring a bullet hole in its forehead. I loved it. Pranks, haunts, ridiculous teenage shinanigans...it was glorious and it was a strong and reliable prop. I was satisfied to say the very least. My appetite for fairly pricey, premade props had been wet and, so help me...I would have more.

Then this thing, unbelievable by description at the time, began sweeping the nation. They called it the internet. I was intrigued. Negotiating the tedious internet protocols was difficult, but as I learned what the internet was all about, my intrigue grew. 

"Halloween Outlet", I typed into a crude internet search engine. 

It quickly led me to a place called the "Fright Catalog." The merchandise pictured was the same as pictured in my hard copy catalog. This was the place and it was time to buy another prop. What was it you ask? Well, another severed head of course. Satisfy me once...congrats to the seller. Satisfy me twice....congrats to me.

The severed head arrived. Slip latex this time. Soft foam filled. Not what I expected, but what did I know? Except that wasn't all I noticed. Large seam lines, poorly painted blood. This severed head was not what I expected at all.

Time went on. I grew older and wiser. So did the Fright Catalog apparently. And though I had discovered it years ago, now friends and aquaintances were beginning to discover the catalog as well. I warned them. They didn't listen...and one by one they each were delivered subpar props and over priced items. What can I tell you? Things a'int what they used to be. That's why we're all here I guess. Because we do it better than anybody. Aaallll-right!


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