Hi Woodsy,
Great job on your re-creation of the Corgi Popeye's Paddle-wagon. Corgi did four different Popeye vehicles, of which I have these two.
Regular large Corgi model [above left]
802 – Popeye's Paddle-Wagon, 1969-72. With Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Swee'Pea figures, plus the heads of Wimpy and Bluto. This 126mm toy is easy to identify as the anchors are part of the mudguards.
Corgi Juniors Extra
1008 Popeye Paddle-Wagon, 1971-72, smaller and simpler version of 802, without the mounted heads. The anchors are part of the boat hull, 70mm.
There were also two Corgi Juniors:
67 – Popeye's Tugboat, 1980 until the end of the line. A small open vessel that ran on concealed wheels. Plastic Popeye figure, 77mm.
79 – Olive Oyl's Aeroplane, 1980 until the end of the line. Open cockpit monoplane. Olive Oyl figure, 68mm.
I have the small Paddle-Wagon, and the Tugboat, and the photos are of my models. The other two are from Worthpoint.
Anyone else got any of these?
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Those are some groovy vehicles! Are they completely original, or were they based on designs from the comic strip? SFZ
ReplyDeleteSorry, I have no idea if the Corgi Popeye models were based on anything 'real', or if they were invented by Corgi. In the 1970s Corgi did a lot of these cartoon models.
ReplyDeleteThe Paddlewagon is such a bizarre design, it had to come from somewhere. But it is terrific regardless! SFZ
DeleteAs much as I liked the 30's era 'Popeye' cartoons from Max Fleischer as well as the '50s iterations, he never became a collecting interest. Cool toys Paul nevertheless!
ReplyDeleteIve got the Corgi Juniors model. It was the start of a phase by corgi (which was carried on by Hot Wheels years later) of making models around a comic or cartoon character. I dont think they are based on anything, just a random assemblage around an identifiable figure. Corgi did two different Tom and Jerry sets, Superman, Spiderman, DC heroes, Wacky Races and all kinds of other toys, by just sticking a cartoon figure in an existing casting! Some of them were hideous, but others were quite good, like Popeye and Tom and Jerry. Bill
ReplyDeleteI never knew Corgi made Wacky Races cars (obviously after I'd left England and grown up a bit!) I saw the MPC plastic kits of Penelope Pitstop and Peter Perfect, but Dick Dastardly's Double Zero was a glaring omission. As one of the coolest designs ever ( sort of an evil Batmobile)
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed it was never modelled back in the day.
If I'd seen Corgi's attempt, it would have just annoyed me -where was that super bubble cockpit?
There's a fantasticly large Spanish Dastardly car in plastic. Maybe by Molto. It's on the blog somewhere.
ReplyDeleteMPC did four of the Wacky Races cars - the Compact Pussycat (Penelope Pitstop), the Turbo Terrific (Peter Perfect), the Creepy Coupe (Big Gruesome and Little Gruesome), and the Mean Machine (Dick Dastardly and Muttley). These were all re-issued a few years ago, still under the MPC name.
ReplyDeleteGreat info. I bet they look great Paul.
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