Pez in Baltimore

Hello Woodsy

I probably have one or two PEZ dispensers around somewhere, more because they were purchased to give away to kids rather than to be kept.

I did see this collection of them at The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore recently.

Terranova47

NYC

PEZ ANYONE?

I've often toyed with collecting PEZ. There's something mightily attractive about these candy containers.

Here's a small group that's gathered at Moonbase. Needless to say my favourite is Batman. You will notice he's no 'feet' on the base. I've had to do that as it was split and sharp. An original footless PEX would be something to cheer about!

Have you any PEZ readers?

GETTING AHEAD!

Sometimes I get fixations.

One of them is PEZ with monster heads.

The original 1965 Universal monster heads PEZ cost an arm and leg so I'm always dreaming up alternatives. Aurora kit monster heads would do classy but where would you get them!

Cheaper options include my new Burger King Frankenstein. Would his head make a decent PEZ?

and then of course there's 1972's Dr. Skull explained clearly here on You Tube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiCN1Rp5IJo

I picked up a little toy skull in Germany. Not quite the Doctor but he may do well or of course there's always a modern party favour like this old bonehead on Amazon.

Have you got a monster head?

Prime Time

Another small cache of characters from today's midweek outdoor sale. The September sun was shining and the toy gods were smiling!

As I've reported before, Gen1 Transformers are this year's love and today an old ragged Optimus Prime said hello Woodsy, take me home.

The rest of the gang need ID'ing and some sprucing up.

SWEET STADIUM

I love this Pez stadium.

What a cool way to display those nifty dispensers.

This candy grandstand was on Etsy. It could even work for action figures like Star Wars or GI Joe?

What do you think?

PS. are these called bleachers in the US?

I'M STILL DISPENSING

 I had to chuckle at this custom Pez I saw online.

Would you accept a sweet from its drooling extending jaws?

What would a facehugger Pez look like? Yuk!

All we need now is a Shaker Maker set customised as a shake and bake colony!

What a cool birthday prezzy it would make!

THE PEZ FROM THE BLACK LAGOON

Its hard to believe that back in the Sixties this non-descript box housed one of the most exciting Pez ever.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon Pez!

Look at those gills!

I found one these loose in a Leeds second hand shop years ago. I might as well have swum across that Lagoon I was so thrilled!

Would you accept a Pez from a Creature?

Pics courtesy of Hakes auctions USA.

Pez

I've always liked PEZ. Probably as a kid but definitely as an adult. I used to buy mint Pez whenever I could, keep them a few years and then put them on my vintage toy stall. Star wars were always popular, as we're superheroes.

I've got a Pez in my hand at the moment. It's a woody from toy story. I think we must have got it Moonbase Junior.

Taking a look at it there are all sorts of numbers. On the base is a long 7 digit number 191 243 0, also on the base is a 2-digit number 07. On the side is a single digit 6 and on the other side is the US patent number 75238 41.

I can imagine that these numbers are important to serious PEZ collectors. Unfortunately I can only guess at what they all mean.

The best, most collectible PEZ I ever owned was green head and body Creature from the Black Lagoon from 1965. I sold it it on my my vintage toy stall in the Noughties. It was great fun to own search a collectible PEZ for a while.

Have you got any PEZ readers?

PEZ Museum Tour

Hi

          PEZ dispensers have featured a few times before on MC, so I thought you would be interested in this You Tube look at the PEZ museum. The video is a 25 minute tour of the PEZ Visitor Centre (or Center ?) in Orange, Connecticut. 

It is an amazing place, filled with new and vintage PEZ dispensers from across the decades. I do have a book on PEZ, but I had no idea the range was so vast. From American Presidents (including John F. Kennedy - to add to your Kennedy model collection) to Mr Bean (including his famous green Mini). 

Lots of TV, movie, and cartoon characters, Halloween and Christmas seasonal dispensers, and themed sets. Wow.

The PEZ Visitor Center - World's Largest PEZ Dispenser and Museum! - YouTube

Paul Adams from New Zealand

PAUL'S PEZ

I dug out my book on Pez. 

It is Warman's Companion: Pez, by Shawn Peterson, Krause Publications, 2007, however there are a number of other books on Pez as well. They originated in Austria in 1927, initially only in peppermint. 

The odd name is from the first, middle, and last letters of pfefferminz, German for peppermint. It was only after WW2, in an attempt to crack the American market, that other flavours were added. 

Heads were also added to the plastic dispenser. A base was added to the body in the late 1980s, my book says 'around 1987'. Some characters have been produced in several versions over the years, and in different colours. 

Many of the heads depict cartoon, comic, or superhero characters.

The Creature From the Black Lagoon is also known as Fishman, and there are other named or generic monsters: vampire, werewolf, Frankenstein's Monster; and superheroes such as Batman, Captain America, Green Hornet, Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, and even Zorro.

Astronaut, Asterix, sports balls and equipment with various team logos, Disney, Cars, Christmas, Halloween, Mr Bean, Muppets, Popeye, Robot, Smurfs, Star Wars, and many others since this book was published. 

Plenty to keep collectors busy!

Paul A
NZ

Do you collect Pez?

creature feature

On a recent trip to the crafts mega-store The Range I picked up a PEZ.

Brand new and on its card my PEZ was a minty R2D2, a gift for a family member in need of a new droid.

Buying it reminded me of one of my greatest collectables finds ever, the PEZ Creature from the Black Lagoon.

I found it in a dusty cabinet in a vintage shop in Leeds many years ago. It wasn't alone either because a Lincoln Frankenstein was hiding in a drawer too! Needless to say both monsters made their way home to Moonbase!

Diving further into The Range store I surfaced in the Aquarium aisle. I love fish tank decorations and was thrilled to see my old friends Penn Plax still bubbling along with cool modern Action-Air frogmen and skeletons.

Besides frogmen and spaceships, Monster collectors love Penn Plax too. They released a cracker ... almost a Kraken! Their own version of a fish tank Creature from the Black Lagoon called the Action Aerating Monster. A legend among goldfish everywhere this monster is one of all creature collectors' holy grails.

Checking up on the gill man I was pleased to see that the Lagoon hasn't dried up yet:

Veny's re-issued the Penn Plax monster as recently as 2013.

Have you any creatures at home readers?

*

P.S. This is the first new post I've written in a while and posted on the same day. Normally I schedule posts 2 months ahead but its unusual as it's on my new Lenovo laptop. My old trusty Compacq workhorse, known affectionately as The Toaster, which I've had for well over a decade and on which this blog was born nine years ago is sadly giving up the ghost. 

The end of an era.