Honey West Custom Die-casts

Hi

          I just came across this custom-made Honey West die-cast set. Someone has done her Cobra in yellow, and the surveillance van in grey-green, then put them in a faux Corgi Gift Set box. 

The artwork on the outer box is clearly based on the real Honey West boardgame by Ideal. The results look pretty good, although the models are not totally screen accurate. 

Honey's Cobra was an early model, without the side exhaust pipes or roll bar behind the driver. Also, Honey was blonde, not a redhead.

Honey West - Corgi Toys Gift Set 41 (Culfi Toy Soldiers) - Honey's AMC Ford Shelby Cobra & Sam Bolt's Ford Falcon Econoline (lulu-berlu.com)

Paul Adams from New Zealand

 

 

THE HONEY WEST VAN

Woodsy

I finished the two episodes of Burke's Law with Anne Francis as Honey West or Best.

It was interesting to see the vehicles in the early Burke's Law episode, not only does Honey have a Jaguar rather than a Cobra (which she also drives in one episode of her own series), but the surveillance van is different too.

Looking at Mark's amazing Honey West site, I found an old article from a Ford Motor Company magazine called Clues, aimed at those in the trucking industry. No idea how Mark managed to find this, but it has an article in it on the Honey West van.

The best part being that the photos are in colour - the Econoline van is light blue, with mainly yellow lettering on the side. If you have not seen this before, it is well worth a look.

http://www.thechampions.info/hwac/h66WINa.htm

There is also a short clip on You Tube, which is a brief history of Honey West. While it does not offer anything new, it is a good potted history lesson, and includes plenty of stills

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J371qvrh1ug

Yours Sincerely,
Paul Adams from New Zealand

HONEY WEST STOCKING FILLER

Hi Woodsy
While looking for more information on Honey West I came across this - a fridge magnet, which uses the cover of the Gold Key comic from 1966. 

Not sure if it is an official product or not. It is only 2 inches by 3 inches, so a lot smaller than the original comic cover. 

The prices for vintage Honey West items are totally insane, and well out of my league. But this would seem to indicate that there is still a good deal of interest in Honey.

Yours Sincerely,
Paul Adams from New Zealand

Honey West Book Review by Paul A.

Honey West, by John C. Fredriksen, Bear Manor Media (whose logo is a Panda head), 2009.

The book is devoted almost entirely to the 1965-66 TV series, with only a brief mention of the books, and a passing reference to the toys that were available at the time. These are not illustrated. Do not expect a detailed look at the world of Honey West. Overall, it seems rather lacking in depth and detail, but it does have some useful nuggets of information, including several interviews with the cast. It is useful rather than essential reading for the Honey West fan.

This is a 225 page paperback. The blurb on the back describes it as 'profusely illustrated'. There are 45 black and white photos, mostly portraits, with only a few shots from the show itself; with two colour photos on the cover. Only three of interior photographs have a caption, which seems odd.

Reflections on a Sylphic Sleuth (introduction)

The books were written by G.G. Fickling - actually husband and wife team Skip and Gloria Fickling, and we begin with an interview with Gloria Fickling, and the origin of the show. The original authors did not provide any scripts for the series.

There are also interviews with Anne Francis (Honey West), John Ericson (her partner Sam Bolt), and Gene LeBell (stuntman and martial arts instructor).

Then short entries on Irene Hervey (Aunt Meg), Sharon Lucas (stunt double for Anne Francis), Bruce the Ocelot (played by a number of female Ocelots and smaller Margays), and the AC Shelby Cobra car (mainly a general history of the Cobra, with only a little on the car in the show; but nothing on the Ford Econoline van used in most episodes). At least the Jaguar E-Type used in Burke's Law and one episode of the series is mentioned.

Next up is a synopsis and cast list for the episode of Burke's Law which introduces Honey and Sam, and then the 30 episodes of the series itself. Her final appearance, as Honey Best, in a 1994 episode of the revived Burke's Law is not mentioned.

Finally, there are 1960s interviews with Anne Francis and John Ericson that appear to date from just before the series went to air, and three pages of notes.

I was a little disappointed with this book, it would have been better with more detail and background information. Surely a section on the gadgets used (radios, tracking devices, smoke bomb earrings, and the like) would have been a fun addition ? These do get mentioned here and there, but a chapter would put everything together in one place.

Paul Adams 

New Zealand

BIRTHDAY DOSSIER: PAUL A'S REVIEW OF THE HONEY WEST DVD COMPLETE SERIES

Hi Woodsy

Here is my review of the Honey West DVD set. I do recall seeing this set in a shop several years ago, but I did not buy it at the time, as I did not know very much about the series, and how great it is. If you want to have a look at the series before buying the DVD, it is available to view for free on You Tube. Anyone who liked The Avengers, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Mission: Impossible should enjoy this series.

To recap, the Honey West TV series of 1965-66 was based on a series of books that had made their debut in 1957, beginning with This Girl For Hire. On television the character was introduced in an episode of the series Burke's Law in 1965. This was followed by a full series with Anne Francis as Honey, and John Ericson as her sidekick Sam Bolt. There were numerous changes from the books. It comprised 30 black and white episodes, all running 25 minutes. It is a really cracking action-adventure series about a female private eye and martial arts expert, who could have held her own with Emma Peel. Anne Francis would later play the re-named Honey Best on an episode of the revived Burke's Law in 1994.

There are several different DVD sets available, some of which include the original Burke's Law episode as an extra - alas, this is not included in my set, which is by VCI Entertainment. The copyright date on the discs is 2008, but the cover says 2009. Here, you get all 30 episodes, on four discs (each with a different picture of the cast), with a fairly limited range of extras. Discs 1 and 2 each include a small photo gallery of mainly black and white photographs. All have a selection of vintage TV commercials for a variety of products, only some of the ads on Discs 3 and 4 have any connection to the show. Total running time 900 minutes, which is 15 hours.

The blurb on the back cover gives a potted history of the show, but does not even mention the original books. This states that 'Honey West was the first dramatic TV show with a female star in an action-adventure role'. A highly dubious claim - there was certainly Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, with Irish McCalla, as far back as 1955. Possibly others as well. 

Given my love of the show, which did not screen in NZ in the 1960s and which I have only just discovered, I really enjoyed the episodes. It is fun, there is plenty of action, with comedy, and great fights - Honey is a dangerous lady. Car lovers will also enjoy it. 

Honey usually drives an AC Shelby Cobra, basically a small British sports car with an American V8 engine, although she has a Jaguar XKE (E Type) in one episode. For undercover and surveillance work there is a Ford Econoline van. In each episode there are many familiar faces from 1960s TV. The best known today would be Richard Kiel (Jaws in the Bond films) in King of the Mountain.

The DVD set is available in Britain, where it has a BBFC PG rating, which actually surprised me, given the level of violence in the show, and the way the BBFC usually hits violence with at least a fully restricted 12 rating. I got my copy from Amazon US, as Amazon UK no longer ships to NZ.

Paul Adams

New Zealand