I landed a couple more incredible vintage Halloween items over the weekend, a truly wonderful-- and complete-- Wendy the Good Little Witch for starters! One of Collegeville's most popular Harvey character costumes, alongside Casper of course, Wendy was first introduced to trick 'r treaters back in the 60's and stayed in flame retarded production for many decades to come. Super condition too, and seriously, how great is that box lid art? I also found a loose Collegeville Hot Wheels's mask from 1971 (scroll down to the very end of the post), unfortunately it's missing the frockin' smock and box, so if anyone reading this has either please let me know! Yes sir, 91 days until Halloween --and counting!
I'm sitting here trying to imagine the character that the Hot Wheels (TM) mask represents. Race car driver? Dare devil? Dashing Italian gears enthusiast on holiday at Monte Carlo in clever leather gloves? I never thought of either these or the Matchbox cars as having drivers, really. I never even thought of them as being scaled-down models of full-size vehicles. I don't recall game play as being about pretending I was operating them. I just pushed them around like marbles or something. In much the same way, I didn't pretend I was a construction equipment while making a building out of Legos or imagine myself Giuseppe Arcimboldo when I was cramming features onto Mr. Potato Head. So to me, a Hot Wheels driver seems more fanciful and unexpected--richer in conceptual potential--then the usual licensed cartoon or comic book character.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I love Wendy too. Cool finds!
Interesting point. My guess is they were probably attempting to tie it with the Alex Toth DC comic:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.comics.org/issue/23326/
—or the obscure animated tv series
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2faOHCNFB6o
Oh wow. I kind of gave a cursory look online to see if I could find something contemporary with the costume (I certainly don't remember any of this, which seems to have to have come and gone right as I was being born), but obviously I didn't manage to find anything. It's pretty rich that Mattel was trying to tap into that sweet, sweet Speed Racer market.
ReplyDeleteHaha yeah, and that sweet Hot Wheels theme song sounds like a rockin Cattanooga Cats b-side
ReplyDeleteAnother surprisingly intact find -- that box is crazy good for something you'd give to a kid and they'd immediately tear it open!
ReplyDeleteWendy and her weird onesie always creeped me out, even as a kid, I have no idea why. Just never liked it!
I really like the smock, too, good use of the two colors.
Don't handle that thing too much, though, "Flame Retarded" in the 70s usually meant "dangerous chemicals that can kill you dead in a moment!"
Heart-eyes emoji times 1000 for the Wendy costume, obviously!!
ReplyDeleteCasper always bothered me. I mean, if he's a l'il ghost, that means he's the spirit a dead child, right?
ReplyDeleteFrankly, ALL of Harvey's "funny" comics have serious issues.
That hot wheels dude has some nice lips
ReplyDeleteI think he's the Italian gear enthusiast. I can see him talking to a sexy snow bunny while he's sitting on a chalet balcony sipping on a martini with the snow covered mountain backdrop behind him while he regales her with stories of other guys driving cars
>Another surprisingly intact find
ReplyDeleteThe box was a little beat up but I fixed it with some tape, and the smock is actually in pretty ratty condition. The mask though is perfect.
>Heart-eyes emoji times 1000 for the Wendy costume, obviously!!
LOL! Obvi!
> if he's a l'il ghost, that means he's the spirit a dead child, right?
That observation has been made over the years by countless stand-up comedians-- come on, Callaway, you can do better than that! ;)
>I can see him talking to a sexy snow bunny while he's sitting on a chalet balcony sipping on a martini
I think you've just written the first sentence to a new book, CPC-- finish that ASAP!
More Halloween posts coming up, as we get nearer the FEARER ZONE of Octobrrrrrzzz! Stay tombed...
'That observation has been made over the years by countless stand-up comedians-- come on, Callaway, you can do better than that! ;)'
ReplyDeleteSorry, wasn't aware. I've fired my writing staff, btw!
Would you agree, though, that Baby Huey (a giant, challenged duck in a diaper) is very disturbing? ;)