Hasbro x Ben Cooper Costume Kids Collection – Series 15 Preorder

The next wave of NECA’s popular Ben Cooper Costume Kids Collection has dropped for preorder and I know G.I.Joe fans are going to want to see this!

Series 15 brings us a Hasbro x Ben Cooper collaboration, giving us a few recognizable fan favorites in costume form. Check it out –

https://store.necaonline.com/products/hasbro-ben-cooper-costume-kids-collection-series-15-bundle

The NECA Ben Cooper Costume Kids Collection is back with Series 15, bringing a new wave of spooky trick-or-treaters to your shelf in collaboration with Hasbro. Based on the licensed kids’ Halloween costumes of the 1950s–‘80s, these fully poseable figures perfectly capture the vintage charm of the looks from that era.

This wave includes faithful recreations of classic costumes, showcasing fan-favorites from original Hasbro brands: Grunt and Sgt. Slaughter from G.I. Joe; Optimus Prime and Megatron from Transformers; and Matt Trakker from M.A.S.K.

Each 6-inch action figure wears a mask and soft goods clothing replicating the signature vinyl look of the classic costumes and includes a trick-or-treat pillowcase accessory. Each figure comes in a numbered, retro-style window box that pays homage to the classic costume packaging.

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I’ve done my best to skip picking up many of the Ben Cooper Costume Kids collection, having snagged just a few here & there (Gremlins, for example). This wave? Yeah, this wave is one that I am ALL IN on.

For those of you that may not be too familiar with Ben Cooper or Ben Cooper costumes, just know this: He was the King of vintage Halloween

If you grew up trick-or-treating anywhere between the 1940s and the 1980s, chances are you, or a friend, wore a Ben Cooper costume. These instantly recognizable box costumes, with their plastic mask and vinyl smock combo, defined American Halloween for generations and remain some of the most collected vintage costumes today.

Ben Cooper Inc. was founded in 1937 in Brooklyn, New York, by Ben Cooper himself, a former costume-shop employee who had worked designing outfits for Broadway performers. He launched his own company after his previous employer’s factory burned down. What started as a theatrical costume business quickly pivoted toward children’s Halloween wear, and by the mid-20th century, Ben Cooper Inc. had become the largest costume manufacturer in the United States.

Ben Cooper costumes are easy to spot thanks to their trademark design:

• A thin plastic mask held on with a thin elastic band
• A one-piece vinyl or rayon smock printed with a full-body image of the character
• A colorful cardboard box featuring bold, hand-painted cover art

This affordable, mass-producible format allowed the company to churn out thousands of licensed character costumes every year at a price most families could afford.

What set Ben Cooper apart from competitors like Collegeville was its aggressive pursuit of licensing deals. Over the decades, the company produced costumes for:

• Classic superheroes like Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man
• Disney characters including Mickey Mouse and Snow White
• Pop culture icons such as Star Wars, Star Trek, and The Beatles
• Horror legends like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Universal Monsters
• Saturday morning cartoon stars from Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros.

The company’s box art, often painted by uncredited freelance illustrators, has become highly prized among collectors for its vibrant, exaggerated style.

Ben Cooper Inc. closed its doors in the early 1990s after losing key licenses and facing pressure from cheaper overseas competitors. But the brand’s legacy lives on:

• Nostalgia value — Many adults today remember wearing these exact costumes as kids
• Box art as pop art — Collectors frame the vintage boxes as standalone art pieces
• Character history — The costumes document decades of licensing deals and pop culture trends
• Rarity — Well-preserved boxes, especially for horror or superhero characters, can fetch significant prices at auction and on sites like eBay

Ben Cooper costumes weren’t just Halloween novelties, they were a snapshot of American pop culture packaged into a cardboard box. Whether you’re a vintage collector, a Halloween history buff, or just feeling nostalgic for that plastic-mask smell, Ben Cooper’s legacy remains one of the most beloved chapters in costume history.

With that, I’m going to go wait patiently by the mailbox for this wave to come in. Will you be adding any or all of series 15 to your collection?