Unifighters

Posted on April 11, 2012 by

History is written by the victors…and that applies to action figures as well. Ask anyone who remembers their toys from the 1980s, and they will almost inevitably rattle off one of four toy lines immediately: Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero, or Transformers. Beyond that, there are a number of other popular toy lines, such as Thundercats, Super Powers, Indiana Jones, M.A.S.K., that inspire the same type of fanatical devotion from collectors.

However, there were literally hundreds of different toy lines that debuted during the decade of the Reagan administration, and sometimes, even the experts can get stumped by a set of toys that they’ve never seen before. While I had all of the aforementioned toys as a kid, I did tend to gravitate toward some of the stranger, more unknown lines that were available, especially if they were deeply discounted. Unfortunately, these lines were produced in such small quantities that even if you know what you’re looking for, finding them at all several years after their release at retail can still prove to be an incredible challenge.

Case and point: Unifighters.

Unifighters was a line made in the classic 3-3/4” scale that served as an industry standard for many lines thanks to the success of Star Wars and G.I.Joe. These were not made by a no-name toy company, but rather by Lewis Galoob Toys (makers of the classic Micro Machines toys). This was not their first action figure line, but it was their first that specifically targeted the same kids who liked G.I.Joe. G.I.Joe inspired several knock-off lines of lesser quality, but Galoob’s attempt here was admirable…even if they ended up reusing the same heads, arms, legs, and torsos for most of their line.

While the action figures themselves were rather generic military men, the “gimmick” that drove the line was a series of transforming backpacks. The figures were divided into four different squadrons: Combat Jet Squadron (white), Navy Hovercraft Squadron (blue), Marine Combat Chopper Squadron (yellow), and Army Battle Tank Squadron (red). Four branches of the military, four somewhat appropriate vehicles. Gee, I wonder what happened when you attached the awkwardly shaped backpacks to one another?

I remember seeing these for sale only once as a kid. We were on vacation and we stopped at a Toy Liquidators in a mall. Toy Liquidators was a store that was stocked with slightly older and perhaps outdated toys, but everything was drastically reduced in price. However, because they would often get closeout deals, there were some toys that didn’t sell well enough at larger stores to receive large orders, so many toys that ended up at Toy Liquidators almost became exclusive merchandise for the chain of stores, as it was difficult to locate them anywhere else. As a kid, I could care less. If I hadn’t seen it before, I didn’t care if it was four or five years old and didn’t sell well enough to warrant large orders. I wanted what I wanted. And I wanted Unifighters, dammit!

I remember that you could either buy the figures individually on cards, or you could purchase boxed sets with each of the four squadrons already complete. I’m not sure whether I was unable to convince my parents to go for the larger hovercraft or the tank or if I just liked planes so much, but I went with the Combat Jet Squadron.

Sadly, this is not the one I owned. My sister and I have managed to find bits and pieces to the one I owned, since it was the only set I ever ended up getting as a kid, but since we played with them, various parts got scattered to the wind. Fortunately, there’s always eBay, and I managed to score a set recently. While not in mint condition, everything was there, and I could relive my childhood just a little bit.

 

The jet is really cool looking, and the figures are well made. It’s a shame the line didn’t take off like the folks at Galoob had hoped. I get the feeling the line was facing too much competition, and at the time these were released (1988), Ninja Turtles absolutely dominated the marketplace, so I get the feeling these got lost in the shuffle. Also, why didn’t they make any bad guys? Who were these military men going to end up fighting? Then again, they may have been designed like most knock-off lines and intended to be played with right alongside G.I.Joe. Still, they could have fought aliens or something who utilized the same combining backpack technology.

Unifighters are incredibly difficult to collect today, so I’m not sure that I’m going to end up pursuing a complete set. However, I like having a complete piece that takes me back to a very specific moment in my childhood, and maybe this entry can help others remember a long-forgotten toy line of the late 1980s.

Posted in 1980's, Action Figures, Ben, Toys | 6 Comments

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

Posted on April 10, 2012 by

I have noticed in my years of collecting that sometimes I seem to find objects that have a connection to each other within a short span of time.  This phenomenon just happened to me in the past month as I found two items related to Prohibition.

Prohibition, of course, is best known as the period between 1920 and 1933 when the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution banned the sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States.  The Temperance Movement which led to that result had a long history before then with its origins going back almost as far as the beginning of the nation.  It may seem sort of quaint to us in the twenty-first century but it was serious business back then.

The item I most recently found is a campaign ribbon showing the presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the Prohibition Party in 1884.  The Prohibition Party was founded in 1869 and fielded its first presidential candidate in 1872.  The Party still exists today!  Back in 1884, the Prohibition Party actually received over 153,000 votes nationwide, which was not much considering that the winner that year – Grover Cleveland , the first Democrat to be elected since 1856 – received 4.8 million votes and his Republican opponent, James G. Blaine, received only about 30,000 less votes than Cleveland.

I don’t know how many of these ribbons are out there but this is the only one I have seen and I had no problem shelling out $75.00 for it.

The second object I picked up earlier this month is really neat.  It is a metal wall plaque made in the shape of a hatchet with the words, “Nation’s Joint Smasher” boldly on the handle.

The hatchet was the symbol of one of the most colorful characters in the Temperance Movement – none other than Carry A. Nation.  (Yes, that’s her real name!)

Carry Nation (1846-1911) was certainly one of the most unique individuals of the movement and is best known for her “hatchetations” which meant bursting into saloons and smashing things up with a hatchet!  She did most of her damage in Kansas between about 1900 and her death in 1911, but her fame was widespread.  She even carried her message to vaudeville houses in New York City and music halls in England.   Little hatchet pins were sold where she would speak as souvenirs and as a way to help with her legal costs.  The hatchet wall plaque was also part of this and would date to the period when she was most active in the first decade of the twentieth century.  I acquired this piece for $65.00, and it is also the only one I have come across.

I always find objects like these dealing with American history fascinating.  Although the Prohibition Movement was ultimately successful in achieving its goal, Prohibition itself proved to be more of a curse than a blessing, leading to organized crime and widespread corruption and abuse of the law.  It was finally repealed in 1933.  That in itself is another story.

Posted in 1800's, 1900's, 1910's, 1920's, 1930's, Americana, Historical, Jim, Political | 1 Comment

A Busy Day in Dollville, My First Encounter with Bessie Pease Gutmann’s Art

Posted on April 10, 2012 by

Some antiques and collectibles reach out and grab you.  Your brain tells you, “I must have that!”  So it was when I saw the small metal sign entitled, A Busy Day in Dollville.  Dated 1911, it advertises Diamond Dyes.

The year was 1979.  The price was $130.  Normally, I would have balked at such a large expenditure but not that day.  Jim didn’t have to twist my arm at all.

At the time, we were veteran collectors of antique advertising, but we worked on a somewhat limited budget.  We knew that Diamond Dye cabinets were highly sought-after country store collectibles, and we had even managed to acquire a couple of them at reasonable prices.  This sign, we knew, was rather rare.  And the image of the little girl dying her doll’s dress was so sweet and appealing.  (Never mind that a small child standing close to a boiling pot of dye on a stove is insanely dangerous!) In a matter of minutes, the transaction was complete and the sign was on its way home with us.  Since then, it has always been prominently displayed with our other advertising pieces.

Quite honestly, I don’t know how familiar I was with the artist Bessie Pease Gutmann when we bought the sign.  However, we didn’t have to do any research to find out that she painted the original picture; her name is prominently signed on the lower left corner of the image, and there’s a rather detailed description about her on the back of the sign.  The Wells & Richardson Company, makers of Diamond Dyes, was justifiably proud that they were able to reproduce the painting of so famous an artist.  When the sign was made, it was the first time that any of Gutmann’s art was used in advertising.  I can’t find any confirmation that it remained the only advertising item attributed to her, but it may well be.

As the years have gone by, I’ve become quite familiar with Bessie Pease Gutmann’s art.  Anyone who frequents flea markets and antique shops is bound to encounter her famous baby prints, A Little Bit of Heaven and The Awakening many times over.  Once, back when I was writing for a local newspaper, I visited the home of a Bessie Pease Gutmann collector.  Every inch of wall space in her living room, dining room, hallway, stairwell, and bedroom was covered with rare and beautiful prints, many of babies and children, but many of beautiful young women and romantic couples as well.  It was an eye-opening experience for me, and while I don’t actively collect Bessie Pease Gutmann, I always recognize her prints and take a moment to admire them when I see them.

Finding biographical information about Bessie Pease Gutmann is not all that easy.  Apparently, she gave very few interviews in her lifetime.   She was born in Philadelphia in 1876, studied art at several schools as a young woman, and was an independent commercial artist when Gutmann & Gutman, a company that did art prints, hired her in 1903.  Three years later, she married Hellmuth Gutmann, her boss, and had three children who often served as her models.  She was a working mother long before working mothers were commonplace.

Bessie Pease Gutmann illustrated 22 magazine covers between the years 1906 and 1920.  She illustrated books and created innumerable art prints.  However, as far as I know, there is only one self-framed tin advertising sign that bears her work, and that is A Busy Day in Dollville.

A search of the internet will turn up many examples of this illustration, but nearly every one of them is a reproduction.  The original has a black border and measures 11 ½ by 17 inches.  In addition to the 1911 copyright date, it is also well marked as being manufactured by American Art Works of Coshochton, Ohio, one of the premier makers of tin signs and trays during the first decades of the 20th century.

Finally, a clear sign that you have an original is the cardboard backing with the lengthy description of Bessie Pease Gutmann’s work.

“Winsome” is one of the adjectives used to describe this illustration on the reverse of the sign.  I knew that I had won something when I purchased it.  It was an appreciation for an early 20th century artist who knew exactly how to capture her subjects’ expressions in such a way that she couldn’t help but elicit an emotional reaction from the viewer.  A Busy Day in Dollville remains to this day one of my favorite pieces of advertising art.

Posted in 1910's, Advertising, Americana, Art, Carol | 12 Comments

The Elephant in the (Family) Room

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

The phrase “elephant in the room” has become popular in the last few years, often referring to an object too big to ignore or perhaps even a person or topic that simply cannot be overlooked.   For the purposes of this story,  we are talking about a large object, one that has occupied our family room for nearly thirty-six years and is definitely hard to ignore.

By the spring of 1976, Carol and I had been collecting all kinds of stuff for several years.  We got married in 1974 and started our lives together in a one bedroom apartment that was, after a couple of years, full of our growing collection of old stuff.  I would say that antique advertising was a particular favorite at that time and remains so to this day.

On this particular day, we went to a nearby high school for their special one day “Bicentennial” flea market.  We got there fairly early and had barely parked our Ford Pinto wagon when I heard Carol let out a scream and start running  ahead of me.  Lo and behold, someone was just pulling out of her van a vintage Mr. Peanut costume.  Before I could react, Carol inquired, “How much is it?”  The dealer replied that the grand sum for this prized piece of American popular culture was ………… four dollars!

“Sold !”

Even though I had nothing to do with the transaction, I was more than happy to reach in my wallet and give the dealer her four dollars.  Hauling this rather large object back to the car required both of us, and we decided the best thing to do at that point was to skedaddle out of there before someone told the dealer she had made a big mistake in selling our new prized possession so cheap!

I should mention that this was not like a Halloween costume; it was actually hand made out of what appears to be layers of material that were put over a form to make a hardened shell – it is a peanut after all!   The wearer would provide the arms and legs and look out the eye holes and several other seeing holes strategically placed on either side of the costume’s big peanut face.  Planters has more recently produced newer plastic costumes, but this one would date to the 1940’s, give or take a couple of years.  These were used at Planters Peanut stores to promote sales and get people to come through the door.  Also produced for store display were Mr. Peanut shaped penny scales, Mr. Peanut figural counter displays, Mr. Peanut “window tappers,” and other incredible figural Mr. Peanut items.  Any of these objects are rare and highly collectible today.  Planters also produced glass jars for use in candy and grocery stores from the 1920’s through the 1960’s.   Made for public consumption and available for sale in stores were plastic toys, banks, utensils, condiment sets, etc.

We have displayed our Mr. Peanut on an old dress form since we got him. This way we can look at him pretty much eye to eye or, more accurately, empty eye socket covered with screen to eye.  His big red lips are forever formed into a slight grin, and his top hat and monocle permanently give him a dapper look.

Now I realize that not everyone wants a giant Mr. Peanut costume in their family room.  Our kids have even admitted that when they were little, he kind of creeped them out.  For us, however, he has always been a welcome member of the family.  We probably take him a little bit for granted after all these years, but he always makes an impression on anyone who visits our home for the first time.

I think it wholly appropriate that the elephant in the room should be a peanut!

 

Posted in 1940's, Advertising, Americana, Costumes, Jim, Planters Peanut, Weird | 3 Comments

The Little Horribles Meet Dali

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

The Weakling from The Little Horribles

For my first blog on Collectorgene.com, I wanted to share an observation that I made several years ago when I discovered the amazing pottery of Hagen Renaker.  I guess this story starts on a family trip to Vermont, where I found a small figurine of Lady from Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp” in an antique shop.

Disney’s Lady from “Lady and the Tramp” by Hagen Renaker

I was fascinated by this miniature figure.  It only stands a little over an inch, and the amazing quality in which it was crafted had me immediately researching its origin.  It didn’t take me long to find out that it was made by Hagen Renaker.  Hagen Renaker is best known for making animal miniatures.  These figurines were popular staples in gift shops, but as Japanese potteries started to create cheaper figurines in the 1950’s, Hagen Renaker decided to branch out.  One way they branched out was to get the Disney license and create Disney miniatures.  They also branched out into the Little Horribles, among other fascinating pottery lines.

I am sure in the future on this site I will be mentioning Hagen Renaker fairly often because I think that they made some of the most amazing pottery of the 1950’s and 1960’s.  I am not alone in that sentiment either; Hagen Renaker pottery is very collectible and sought after.  After finding my first Disney Hagen Renaker piece and identifying it, I went on the hunt to find out more about the line.  Lucky for me, and for you, there is an amazing website out there to tell you just about everything you need to know about Hagen Renaker.  The Hagen Renaker Online Museum, http://hagenrenakermuseum.com/, is an amazing resource for Hagen Renaker, and they can tell you more about Hagen Renaker than I will ever be able to.  It was through their site that I learned not only about Hagen Renaker’s Disney figures, but my favorite Hagen Renaker line, The Little Horribles.

These are some examples of Little Horribles from my collection.

The Little Horribles are an amazing line of grotesque figures made in 1958 and 1959.  Designed by Nell Bortells,  they are humorous and colorful and extremely rare.  The second I saw them I fell in love, and I have since accumulated a nice little collection.  Today I want to focus on one figure in particular, though, a figure that was immediately familiar to me because I had seen it once before in a painting.  That figure is known as The Weakling, and the painting is Salvador Dali’s Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War).

Salvador Dali’s painting, Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War), is a painting that was first made familiar to me in art history class, but I have since visited it on multiple occasions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) was painted in 1936.  Though painted before the start of the Spanish Civil War, Dali claimed that he was a prophet and dreamed about the Spanish Civil War before it began.   Most likely he renamed the piece after the war started, but it is understandable how the somewhat disturbing imagery in the painting could make one think about the effects of war;  it is an image that etches itself into your brain, and when you see it, you never forget it.  Needless to say, when I first saw a picture of Hagen Renaker’s “The Weakling”, I felt like I was seeing a familiar face.  Looking at the two pieces next to each other, there are clear differences, but the similarities are undeniable.

In Dali’s painting the right hand is clenching a breast, where similarly The weakling is grasping more of a shoulder.

Dali gave his figure two right hands, where The Weakling has a right and left.  Both the painting and figurine have similar hand placement though.

The weakling is lacking feet all together, where Dali’s painting has both present.  However, they both share the same composition of the left leg supporting itself on a lower torso… or butt.

Though the faces look very different they still share some compositional elements.  Both have pronounced up-turned noses, long dark hair, and a similar grin.

There are too many similarities to ignore between these two figures.

It is hard for me to believe that two people unaware of each other could both come up with this same bizarre and grotesque figure 22 years apart.  I am sure that Nell Bortells was familiar with Dali’s painting.  Obviously, when Bortells designed her figure, she made it a little more PG, and, dare I say, a little bit cuter.  She also made several changes to the design, which may have been done to avoid copyright infringement.  Why she chose to create a figure based on a Salvador Dali painting, I cannot say, but I doubt it was done maliciously or deceitfully.

Nell Bortells was clearly a gifted designer.  There is no denying it when you look at some of her other creations, and I think that she probably found a lot of influence in Modern art for her Little Horribles, Surrealism and Cubism especially.  I cannot know for sure why she would create a figure directly based on a Salvador Dali painting, but I think it was most likely an homage to Dali.   Bortells may have been a fan of Dali and thought his style would fit in beautifully with her Little Horribles.  I can’t be completely sure; I can only speculate.

No matter why “The Weakling” exists, as a fan of both The Little Horribles and Salvador Dali, I must say I am thrilled that it does.  It is a bit of an anomaly in the collectible figurine market.  Vintage figural representations of famous paintings don’t often exist in mass market forms like this.  It is kind of a special, albeit grotesque and totally weird, figure that I believe deserves some attention for what it represents.  If you are lucky enough to own a Little Horribles “The Weakling” like I am, I hope you will now look at it on your shelf or wherever you display it and see the two brilliant artists who created it for you, Nell Bortells and Salvador Dali.

Posted in 1950's, Amy, Art, Hagen Renaker, Miniatures, Monsters, Pottery, Weird | 3 Comments