Dukes of Hazzard Inflatable Toys - The General Lee and Boss Hogg Bop Bag

Looking over this blog, it seems I have four main categories of posts that I usually write about.  The first two are the most prominent.  I cover newly released Dukes of Hazzard items (such as AW's new snap together kit) and the items I recently added to my collection (the ever popular "New Dukes Stuff" posts.)  The third type doesn't come along all that often because it's when I cover an event like Dukes Fan Fair or next month's New York Comic Con (Did I mention I'm going to NYCC?  It's gonna be awesome).

The fourth type of blog post is something I should do more often but don't get around to it.  Open the vault and highlight items in the collection that I had long before I started up this ol' blog.  This post falls into to fourth category.  Today we're going to look at the quite rare Dukes of Hazzard inflatable toys.

Let's start with the blow up General Lee.  

 

The actual name for this item is the Sit N Play Inflatable General Lee Car.  My particular blow up General isn't mint in the box.  I don't have a box and had to resort to google to find this picture of it. This car is very rare simply because of its construction.  It was made to be blown up and bounced on. I can't imagine one lasting very long after a kid got a hold of it.  

Mine is a little crinkled from being stored folded up, but is in decent shape.  There is a small hole in the hood, but if I wanted to display it inflated, the hole could be easily patched.  In the Golden Era of Dukes, this was the largest General Lee toy you could buy.  At three feet long, it was as close as you were getting to a full size Charger.  It has a mostly correct shape and definitely looks like the Gen'ral. The 01 is blue, not black, but the wheels look pretty good.

They got the front grill right, along with the push bar.  I like that the front plate says Dukes in the familiar Dukes of Hazzard font.

I guess the blow up was losing a little air by the time I took the picture of the back.  The Charger emblem is a nice addition.

There is the bit of masking tape I used to cover the hole.  It looks most like a charger from the top.

I guess they added the show name on the back windshield just in case you forgot which show had the big orange car in it.

The car was made by Arco and it was made in Taiwan.

It's probably easier to see Acro's name  here rather than on the the nozzle.  Arco was known for their generic toy cars and Go-Bots.  They were purchased by Mattel in 1986.

The second Dukes inflatable was the Boss Hogg punching bag.

Like the General, I don't have the box for this one either.  This is a picture of Dave DeWitt's mint in box bop bag.  The full name is the 36 Inch Inflatable The Dukes of Hazzard Bog Bag. Dave doesn't mind me using pictures of his items.  Check out his mobile museum here.

The bop bag features a great cartoon style picture of ol' Boss Hogg. How could a kid want to punch that face?

The top of the bag has the show logo in all its glory.

Behind the front picture, printed on the back layer, is a full panel that starts with a General Lee jumping out of an explosion.

The inside of my bop bag is a little cloudy.  You can still see the picture of Boss' Caddy in front of the General parked outside the Hazzard County Courthouse.  You don't see the Courthouse represented too often on toys.  They did a fine job here.

With a slight change of the viewing angle, you can see Rosco's Patrol Car is  also in the scene.  The Hazzard Police sign is perfectly represented from the Warner Bros.'s back lot.

Someone should have sent an internal memo at Arco that the 01s should be black. Other than that, the graphics are great.

On top of the whole graphic is the rebel flag.  There is a lot going on behind J.D.

Below Jefferson's feet is WB's info and the year 1981.  What a great year '81 was.  No mention of Arco on this one, though we know from the box that they made it.

The back of the bop bag is solid white.  I'm surprised there is so much printed on the inside, but nothing on the back.  You kids only get to punch one side!

These are two pieces that are very tough to come by.  When they show up on ebay, they can sky-rocket in price.  Because they are flimsy, easily damaged, and built literally to beat up, these bad boys didn't last.  I'm fortunate to have had them in the collection for quite some time.  But I guess I should be on the lookout for mint versions, or at least boxes.

They aren't too pretty when they are deflated.

I'm going to write blogs like this, featuring items I already have, more often.  I hope you like them.  

New Dukes Stuff - 9/19/2014 - Wopat's New Album, New Custom 1/64s and More

Another heap of new Dukes of Hazzard items has arrived and it's time to take a look at them.

The first item up for bid, wait this isn't the Price is Right.  The first item to check out is this quirky rip off General Lee.  It looks like a 70s Caddy or Rivera dressed in the Gen'ral's uniform.  The 09 has a very accurate font.

I believe it says power because it is a rev-up car.

These random toy companies really wanted to capitalize on the Dukes' popularity.  This car seems to be just a repainted and redressed re-release of previously released toy.

It is a little smaller than 1/25 scale, as compared to the new AW snap kit.

Every collector should know an auctioneer.  It just makes things easier.  Great buddy, John Peters, of Fred Peters Auctioneers is my go to in the auction world.  Just like before, he is always finding me Dukes items that have patina.  This time around is a late '90s model kit.  Notice the lack of flag on the box.  The first re-release of this model in 1997 had the flag, but it was quickly removed, then oddly enough put back on.  Oh, Dukes products and rebel flags, you are so confusing.

Here is the new AW model kit next to the late '90s version.

The kit is somewhat put together, but includes some paint.  Score!  Keep up the great work John. You've earned that 01 hat I gave you.

Next up is a rare plastic lunch box in great condition.  This thing is nearly mint.  

It is in much better condition than the last one I picked up.  The plastic versions are more rare than the metal lunch boxes in the Dukes world because fewer were released and they came out toward the end of the show.  Most people assume the metal is more rare like it is in the rest of the world.

I wrap up this post with with good ol' Tom Wopat's latest album.  I was lucky to score the limited deluxe double LP of "I've Got Your Number."  Records are so cool and retro.

This presentation is impressive.  There is so much to read and enjoy.  You really miss out on all this great stuff when you download music.  You get all this plus great music when you go old school.

The double LP actually has six bonus songs from Tom's last album "Consider It Swung."  You get twenty songs!  This is the first album that Tom has released on vinyl in twenty years.

Here is Tom's first album and his latest, both on vinyl.  Besides the different hair style, Tom hasn't changed a bit!

Auto World/MPC's Brand New Snap-It General Lee Model Set Is A Great Toy!

Everyone knows I love getting new Dukes products.  This new snap together model kit from Auto World is my favorite new Dukes product in some time.  This may sound contradictory given that my blog is about collectibles, but I love this new product so much because it is not highly collectible.  It is basically a toy.  A very fun and playable toy.  A toy that can be enjoyed by all Dukes fans, especially the new, young ones that are just discovering the show on CMT.

I love my highly detailed Auto World 1/18 General Lee, but at a price tag of north of seventy bucks, it's not for everyone.  The newer 1/43 Gen'ral from AW has an even smaller target audience because it's smaller and costs nearly the same.  Ornaments. coffee mugs, and tin signs are great for us collectors, but there really need to be items geared to kids, and this new model is the perfect product.

You may be thinking, there is already a General Lee model kit, and it has been on the shelf throughout the Modern Age, the Silver Era, the Golden Era of the Dukes of Hazzard, and was even the only product on the shelves during the dark ages of Dukes.  You would be correct, but that model is a skill level 2 and requires paint and glue.

This new model is a skill level 1 and doesn't need anything but a Dukes fan for completion. Let's take a look at the box.

Even on a tiny representation of the decals included, the flag is missing.  But we have to hand it to Auto World, they continue to provide us with exciting new Dukes products while still maintaining Warner Bros' mandate about the flag on the exterior.

The front and smaller sides use the same artwork.  I believe this is new artwork for this model.  It is similar to the art used on several AW releases, but not the same.  It's a nice low angle picture of the General.  Low angles are used more often lately so as not to show the flag.  Just like in Auto Trader's commercial.  

One long side has a great profile shot of the actual product.  This is what your car will look like after it's done, unlike models that require paint and glue and feature a picture on the box of what your car will look like if you are a professional model builder.

The other side has a list of features in three different languages.  The whole world loves the Dukes.

How about we take a step by step look at the process of completing this model, and that sounds fun, right? Step one, open the box.  I will stop that joke right now.

There are a few part trees along with the body, decals and wheels.  For some reason, I got two decal sheets. I'm not sure if everyone does in case they mess up during application, or if I was randomly chosen as a super great terrific Dukes of Hazzard fan.  I'm going with the latter.

Who is the lucky graphic designer out there who gets paid to draw pictures of the General Lee in production?  I envy you.  The 01s look great.

On the inside of the roof on the main body piece is all the WB trademark info.  It gets very specific with the manufacturing location in China.  I love seeing 2014 and Dukes together.

Here are all the pieces before being taken off the trees.

I thought maybe one set of decals was water slide and one standard, but they are both regular old stickers.  I wonder why they are on different color backs.  I also wonder why I got two - probably because of the terrific super fan thing.

I love the inclusion of the tiny CNH-320 plate decal.  Great attention to detail AW!

The vector wheels, roll bar, push bar, CB radio, and antenna are also great attention to detail.  You really knocked this one out of the park AW.

Here is a shot of all the pieces taken off the trees before assembly.  It really isn't that many pieces.

The first step in the instruction is the completion of the interior.  It includes the seats, steering wheels, gear shift, a tiny CB radio, and the roll bar.

Tiny Lost Sheep can use the tiny CB to call Bo Peep, Shepard, or Crazy Cooter.

Next you put together the four wheels.   They each consist of three pieces.  These are great renditions of the vectors.

These look better than the Johnny Lightning's 1/18 wheel.

Step 3 is very easy.  Use the only metal pieces to connect the wheels to the base.

The next step requires a piece that, momentarily, I thought I didn't have.  Then I realized it was orange and found it connected to the inside of the body piece.

The front grill goes together fairly easily.  To me, a Charger, even an orange Charger, doesn't look right without a push bar.

Much better.  Step four of the instructions is now complete.

You then attach the rear lights, bumper, gas cap, and antenna.  You also affix the windshield piece to the inside of the orange body.

The final step in the construction is putting the three pieces, base, interior, and body all together.  I found this to be the hardest step.  But I got them together.  The instructions instruct you to put the decals on as you go, but I waited until last.

Not a bad looking orange charger.  If you saw this rolling down the road you, the wheels and push bar would tell you it was on the way to get Generalized.

The gas cap and antenna are great touches.

On no, it's the dreaded bald General Lee.  The decals are easy to put on, just peel and place.

I put the flag on before the General Lee text.  It seemed easier to place them that way.

Here is the final product.  It looks great.  Sure, it doesn't have the appearance of a real car like a painted detailed model, but it still makes one heck of a great toy.

The wheels roll and it's ready to be played with.

The addition of the plate really stands out.

You get two CNH-320 plates, but I didn't put one on the front.  Some states require it, but good ol' Pennsylvania doesn't make you have a front plate.  The General doesn't look right with one, in my opinion.

Auto World may hide the flag on the box, but you can be assured it's inside.  This car looks great from the top.  The whole process of construction only took me about thirty minutes.  It was a fun thirty minutes.

This Snap-It model kit by MPC/AW is a really fun car.  I can't recommend it high enough to every blog reader.  For less than $20 any Dukes fan can have fun putting the car together and then have a great General Lee to display, play with, jump, or any other fun thing your Dukes oriented mind can think of.  Everyone, go buy this car.