Hi Woodsy
Its Boxing Day!
I saw you piece on Hot Wheels dates.
I encountered something similar a few years ago, but with Corgi Juniors. In November 2018 I picked up a pair of Tom and Jerry models at a fair, which I thought might date from the 1970s (actually they were released in 1980). It was only when I got them home, and had a chance to examine them closely that I spotted the copyright dates on the underside: 1940. Yes, 1940.
Clearly, that had nothing to do with the actual models. Here is what I pieced together, I even ended up doing an entire article on dates for Model Collector - Dubious Dates, February 2019 issue.
The cartoon characters Tom (the cat) and Jerry (the mouse) were created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who were then working at MGM. The two first appeared in the cartoon short Puss Gets the Boot, in 1940.
At first they were called Jasper and Jinx, but became Tom and Jerry in 1941. The date 1940 therefore applies to the original appearance of the characters, and not to the models at all.
Corgi first released a pair of Tom and Jerry models in 1971, as part of the Corgi Juniors line of Matchbox-sized vehicles. Tom's Go-Cat and Jerry's Banger. In 1980 they produced a second pair of Juniors, which were similar in theme, but completely new castings.
Tom's Go-Cart was re-named, although Jerry's Banger kept its original title. Neither of the original models had a copyright date on them, but the later models do - 1940. Stunned by this, I had a look at my other Corgi Juniors, but these all seemed to carry normal dates.
It appears that Tom and Jerry are the only Corgi Juniors Star Cars that have copyright dates relating to the original characters, rather than the model, or the licence date allowing Corgi to use the character. They are also the only MGM-owned characters in the Corgi range.
Yours Sincerely,
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Jerrys Banger 1971 was a cannon mounted on a rollerskate. The car on the far side with dustbin is based on the 71 release too, but looks like a recast
ReplyDeleteThe 1971 and 1980 models are both totally different, but of similar subjects. The two plastic figures are also different. It seems strange that Corgi would have produced new dies of the same subject, even if the original dies had been damaged or scrapped. Why not new vehicles entirely ? The 1971 Tom's Go-Cat (not Go-Cart) had a dustbin-lid roof, and a machine-gun mounted on top of the dustbin; the sides were crutches, and Tom had his left leg in a white plaster cast. Both versions of Jerry's Banger, with either a long-barreled cannon or short-barreled gun were muzzle-loaders, so poor Jerry would have to dismount to re-load after every shot. The 1971 versions do not have dates on the bases, but the 1980 versions do, although these are for 1940 - which still has me shaking my head.
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