Recent TOTS 78 find at local spirit

[UL74]

It’s kind of a stupid post, but I recently went to my local spirit Halloween to take a look at what this years TOTS runs are looking like, and OH BOY… are they messy but amongst them I saw this guy, which I think is probably the best stock paint and mold mask I’ve seen to date!

I picked it up and took it home with me! Thinking of redoing the hair since this guy has a few bald spots visible in the back, and I want to find a way to make the mask less glossy (it looks great in the photo, but irl it has a bit of gloss to it). If you guys have any suggestions as to what to do since it would be my first time trying out a “rehaul” plz let me know!

[Myers13Halloween]

Cut the mouth open just a bit!

[William_Blasko]

If you’re planning on painting at all, that’s going to affect the sheen. If you’re only trying to tone down the shine I normally use flat clear Plasti Dip spray. The flat is tough to find around here so I just Amazon it.

[UL74]

One of the first things I ended up doing to it was trimming the neck down and adding Velcro similar to how they filmed H18 onward, not only is movement better, the actual shape of it is closer to the movie IMO

Before:

After:

It’s a small change that I think really makes a difference

[UL74]

Got it! Thanks for the reference! I honestly don’t think it needs a repaint at all, just tone down the gloss/sheen as you said, so thanks for the recommendation!

[Datsun280z]

Great copy! I don’t know if you had one of the older TOTS '78s, but there is a lot of talk about the copies at Spirit being smaller than the older ones (which were quite large, 25 or 26").

Do you feel like this mask is big or average?

I made a few of my TOTS Myers less glossy by wiping with lacquer thinner or on a different one I covered the hair and sprayed the matte clear plasti-dip. Both worked pretty well, but I think the plasti-dip is a better option as lacquer thinner is more work as it actually removed the gloss layer (and possible some of the other paint).

I order mine and pick it up at the local Ace Hardware store, free shipping to the store.

[UL74]

Hey! So I actually did get a (I think) first run TOTS 78’ when they came out, and as for the size, I want to say they are just about the same to this day, at least to me! I also got a 2018-ish run of the H2, and that was massive on me comparatively, but I think they now shrunk the H2 down is size. So it’s harder for me to compare with my older mask!

I feel like the way the size is running, it goes the H18’, H78’, H2. From smallest to largest. H18 is snug on my face, H78 gives me some breathing room in the chin and nose/mouth but fits nicely elsewhere, and H2 feels like my head is inside a head shaped void, doesn’t hug my head at all. But one important thing to note is how well it was manufactured! There are a LOT of hit or miss masks this year across all mask types, so I feel some are bigger, some are smaller, and some are just right!

I’m sorry if this answer was all over the place!

[Datsun280z]

It’s all over the place, but I think that’s the reality. Latex and mass production is just that way.

My head measures just a tad over 22" on my forehead, so my head is small/medium (according to fitted hat sizes). The 2018, which I got the originals of back in 2018, is pretty snug even for me, but wearable.

I also got the original H2 back in 2012, and it was pretty big but at least with big, you can wear a stocking cap, add some foam, or add velcro on the back.

My original '78, from 2019 I believe, is the biggest mask I have, almost unwearable even with a hat and velcro. It displays nice on my life size Myers, but still looks a tad big.

All the original H2 and '78 that I’ve bought over the years were all large masks- I got 3 of each as I rehaul them (for fun). The newer “yellow” H2 mask might be different, I think it’s just a little smaller but still not a small mask. I know TOTS made a “Small H2” for like a year, but that one is really hard to find and might be too small.

So I agree with you, they vary a lot and I can’t see TOTS changing sizes much as (now I don’t know) I think that would require making new molds-? I might bring a soft tape measure if I go to Spirit again this year to measure one, but that’s hard to do when the hair is on it (and an inside dimension is impossible).

I’d love to think they shrunk the '78, but until they say (and I think they would advertise it, knowing people want a smaller one) I just think it’s normal variations and/or people just have a hard time comparing sizes when they only vary at most 2-3" in circumference. And their hair could be longer/shorter, or their head shape in unique, etc…

If I knew the '78 this year at Spirit was for sure verifiably smaller, I’d definitely pick one up as it’s a great mask- but I already bought my mask for this year and I got the TOTS Frankenstein as it’s going out of production (lost the license) and it is an amazing Boris Karloff likeness. But I have been known to make poor budgeting/financial decisions, especially when it comes to the Myers hobby!

[UL74]

I think I might just have a big head that fits into a 78’ then .

Wearing my H18 it’s barely fitting, it fits like a glove around my head and starts to slightly morph it.

My 78’ I think is SLIGHTLY large but only around the neck (I attached Velcro as seen here to help improve this, as well as cutting it the neck to shorten it)

But NOWHERE near my 2018 H2, which was so genuinely massive on my head, which is odd. The H2’s out now fit me better, I wanna stay still smaller than this H1…

Just the way the dice rolls with tots I guess

Next time I have access to a clothing tape measurer i’ll have a look inside the mask and around my noggin’!