Recently I've been picking up a bunch of Dukes stuff from outside of the US of A. I've accumulated so many international items that I decided to split the the posts into two, this one about mostly Golden Era items, and my next post all about International 2005 Dukes movie items. Check that one out soon. Let's start where we should, with the actual Dukes of Hazzard. This post is full of all kinds of foreign goodies that I'm excited to add to the collection and excited to share. Shall we begin?
Oh man, I've been after this item for a long time. Well, twelve years actually. This is the first entire series DVD box set that was released containing every episode of the Dukes of Hazzard. Why did it take me this long to get it? Well, it was only released in the U. K. and seems to be pretty rare. I've seen pictures of it before, but never snagged it. Until now! It's hard to believe, but this amazing box set with its incredible box, was first offered in 2008, a whole seven years before any complete box set was released here in America!
I really love the design of this set. Three of the four sides of the box have different artwork. The jumping General Lee looks great flying in front of the waving flag. Eagle eyed Dukes fans might notice that this is actually a movie General Lee jumping, but I'll forgive you if you didn't see the white letters on the wheels.
The opposite side of the box features Bo and Luke with ol' Boss Hogg posing in front the the General Lee with the Boars Nest in the background. This same image is on the season 4 DVD sets. It's a good image.
The other two sides of the box feature 01-07 in similar font to the 01s on the door of the Gen'ral. This is a fun addition. I wonder why the box lid didn't use zeros as well.
The box lid features the classic Dukes underline logo in front of the waving rebel flag. The General Lee font is on each side mimicking the top of our favorite car. There is a sticker that reads "Includes all 147 episodes! Over 114 hours of full throttle action!" I like that tag line.
The bottom of the box is mostly blank.
It features the 2008 release year, information stating that this is a Region 2 DVD release and a cool WB hologram. We don't get enough cool holograms any more. Sure, I may be spoiled by early '90s Marvel cards, but dang it, I want some more holograms!
Inside the box....is more DVD boxes. I had never seen one of these complete series sets open before so I didn't know what to expect. Getting basically the same single season sets that I already have was a little unexpected, but it makes sense. The biggest difference with this set is that all the seasons come in a cool new box.
Unlike the original releases with their fold out boxes, these season sets are comprised of slim cases containing the disks. It's a nice set to house all the discs. Later US single season re-releases utilize the slim cases.
Inside the box, along with the single season sets is a My WB TV pamphlet. Normally I wouldn't mention a sales add-in, but this one is really cool.
There is a darn cool line-up of other DVD sets pictured along with the Dukes. Thundercats is iconic. The O.C. will always be a special show to me. The first season was great even though it started to slack after that. West Wing is among the greatest TV shows ever created and one of my mom's and Uncle Kevin's favorites, and Babylon 5 is one of Big Bill's favorite shows. I don't have a connection with V except for the commercials for the remake introduced me to Morena Baccarin who went on to star in Gotham and Deadpool, so I appreciate that. The WB Studio Tour is also advertised and I can't recommend that enough, cause you get to see the actual Hazzard County! I loved the WB studio tour and can't wait to visit again!
There are other awesome shows featured too. Several seasons of Smallville are shown, which of course is a great show that I loved because it was about Superman and featured none other than John Schneider as Pa Kent. Supernatural is a show that I never watched but hear great things about. People tell me it has a Dukes vibe, which is enough for me to check it out. Jeff loves Pushing Daisies and it reminds me of Daisy Duke. Speaking of Jeff, he made a few appearances on One Tree Hill which is also shown. And another of my favorite shows of all time, Chuck is featured. Chuck was perfection. If you haven't seen it, definitely watch Chuck! There's even a General Lee in one episode, a General Lee I took a picture with! And of course, Friends is one of the most popular TV shows ever. There are a lot of heavy hitters in this pamphlet.
I've written a lot about a tiny add-in pamphlet, but it's just so cool. The back features my second favorite movie of all time, just for the heck of it. I love The Dark Knight!
Ok, moving away from that awesome pamphlet, let's get back to the DVD box set. You know I had to compare it to the other complete series sets. Pictured here from left to right are the 2015 Complete Collection, the UK 2008 Complete Season 1-7, and the 2018 Complete Collection. Both the of the newer sets are taller because the dvd sets stand up. The UK set has them laying down.
The UK set has more artwork on the box. I like the giant 01-07 images on it. The two US sets are a little more plain. I'm so happy I can finally add this UK set to the collection. It's a great feeling to find something you've been chasing for a long time. It's a shame Rosco P. Coltrane never got to experience that.
Next up are some strange items I got from a fellow Dukes fanatic. These are Italian notebooks that appear to be genuine and from the golden era. They remind me of the Portuguese notebooks I bought back in 2014.
There are three different images on the front of the notebooks, but the backs are the same. The badge next to the flag and General Lee font is interesting.
The backs say Prodotti Stiassi and WB 1983. I'm going to call these legit, but I always get a weird vibe from foreign items that are in perfect condition. Just like those Portuguese notebooks. I trust the fellow Dukes collector I got these from and his word is as good as Uncle Jesse's so I'm saying these are the real thing. Prodotti Stiassi appears to have made other school supplies according to a quick Google search.
The book that has drawings of Bo, Luke, Daisy, and the General Lee on the cover features a first page that has a label with first name, last name, school, and class all in Italian.
The other two books don't have this page. This one incorporates the bull horns from Boss Hogg's Cadillac into a Dukes of Hazzard logo to create something I've never seen before.
This third one has the Gen'ral up on two wheels eluding Rosco. This image is similar to the graphic used on the bed sheets and blankets.
All three notebooks are filled with graph paper. That's different. These are fun little notebooks and quite rare.
Dukes Collector Cooter really likes this next piece. So do I.
This is an Australian release of video games for the Commodore 64 called a Hit Pak. It features bestselling games and newer games all in one package for the '80s game console. 1984 and 1985 are both mentioned on the back, so I'm going to guess it was released in 1985.
Of the five games packaged inside the Hit Pak, you can guess which one I'm interested. The games include Commando, Bomb Jack, Airwolf, Frank Bruno's Boxing, and Hazzard. Not Dukes of Hazzard, just Hazzard. At first I didn't know if this was legit or not.
The back of the package has a ton of information on it. Basically the story line for each game is included along with the controls. No game manuals here.
Reading about Hazzard for the Commodre 64 online, it seems it was not the best game and only released in this Hit Pak set and never on its own. The other games in the set are bestsellers. Each other game gets an exciting introduction. Airwolf talks about the characters and the mission. Hazzard doesn't even mention the General Lee. "The object of the game is to drive your car to the end of the race-track." Come on! "Your car" is the most famous star car in the world! I guess it was just dumped in this set because it wasn't the best effort.
Having grown up on the Nintendo Entertainment System and later the Sega Genesis, I still can't wrap my head around a video game coming on a cassette tape. Each game is on it's own tape within this set.
The internet never disappoints. I was able to find game play video of the game on youtube. It looks similar to the Spectrum game that I blogged about in 2014. This game is also made by Elite, just like the Spectrum game, but this one looks newer and more colorful. Maybe the game is incredibly difficult, or maybe the player isn't very good, but the General Lee seems to be wrecking an awful lot. The graphic of the General Lee flipping through the air is cool, though. The load screen does mention Warner Bros. so at least it's in there somewhere. The Dukes were always on the run from hot air balloons and helicopters. (No they weren't.)
Next up is an odd little diecast that comes our way from Germany. Made by Busch Automodelle, it's a tiny 1/87 scale Hazzard County Patrol Car.
If you look close, it actually doesn't mention Hazzard County, it just says County Sheriff. We all know it supposed to look like Rosco's car though.
The back of the clear package has a lot of information. I can read "made in Germany." That's all I need to know.
1/87 is quite a bit smaller than the average 1/64, hot wheels, size that we are used to. This is a unique little car that I picked up on ebay, and I think there are still some available.
One thing we all know about Cooter is that he loves music. The real Ben Jones is a wonderful musician and singer and the Dukes Collector Cooter follows suit. Here he is showing off two international single 45s for me.
First is a Mexican single 45 release of Waylon's Good Ol' Boys that features a stunning picture of Daisy Duke leaning on the General Lee. Waylon's It's Alright is on the B-side of the single. (Jeff hates when someone uses "alright" instead of the correct usage of "all right." But it's alright Jeff, 'cause Waylon used it here first.)
The back cover uses the same image but has different text on it. To my understanding, Waylon couldn't use Dukes images or logos on his music in the U. S. because he was signed to the RCA record label which was a competitor of Warner Bros. owned Scotti Records and Epic Records. His American albums that feature the Good Ol' Boys don't have the Dukes logo, the General Lee, nor sweet Daisy on the cover. That was a shame because I'm sure that would have sold even more copies. The restrictions must not have applied south of the border because Daisy and the General Lee are featured on the cover of this Waylon record. And what a feature it is.
Everyone knows that Enos had a huge crush on Daisy. But you know who else did? The balladeer! Waylon is always talking about how much he loves Daisy and how much he hates to see her in trouble. Enos had some competition in Hazzard, but he just didn't know it. The record is made in Mexico, or Hecho en Mexico. Theme from the Dukes of Hazzard is printed in Spanish as Teme de los Duques de Hazzard. I like it!
It's Alright is Esta Bien. All right.
Nest up is another 45 single record. I've been after this one for a while. This is a New Zealand only single that features Flash and the Ballad of the General Lee from the Dukes of Hazzard Album. The artwork is a zoomed in portion of the regular Dukes album cover. This is the only item I have that is a New Zealand exclusive. The whole world loves the Dukes of Hazzard.
The back cover is similar to the back of the album as well. It features the same picture. Every time I show off something that uses this picture, I mention that it's my favorite cast picture. It's just such a great image of everyone from the show, except Enos and the General Lee. Funny that the single features the song Flash and Rosco's beloved velvet ears got cut out of the picture.
The album is a lot of fun. Boss Hogg narrates a story throughout the album and many cast members sing on it. The weird part about it is that Waylon isn't on it, but like I said above, that was because of squabbling record labels. John, Tom, and Catherine all have songs on the album, but the high point of the whole record has to be James Best singing about Rosco's pooch, Flash. The song is so great. "My old dog, his name is Flash, I don't know why, 'cause he ain't too fast. He runs two steps and he runs outta gas, in a one dog race, he'd come in last." That is pure gold! The record is printed with made in New Zealand on it.
The flip side has the song the Ballad of the General Lee on it. I think this is an underappreciated song on the album. Johnny Cash's The General Lee gets all the glory as THE song about the Gen'ral on the album, but Doug Kershaw's song, with the Hazzard County Boys is great. It basically tells the story of Bo and Luke being two young foolish dreamers changing out the engine of their homemade custom car, thinking that old set of wheels could take them very far. The song mentions them putting the final touches on the dixie flag they painted on top of that old stock car that they named the General Lee. It's an origin story! This song came out years before the seventh season premiere episode, Happy Birthday General Lee, that told the story of how the General Lee came to be. The chorus is just great:
"But a dream don't die when there's fire in a young man's eye
And y'all are inclined to agree, so that you really see
When that dream takes hold it's worth its weight in gold
And they believe in the General Lee"
That's just incredible! I believe in the General Lee!!!
Here is the New Zealand single compared to the standard album. The same images were used, just smaller portions.
These are two fun additions to the music wing of my collection. I've been planning on doing an all music blog post for some time, but was waiting until I finally got this New Zealand record. I've been after it for years but never tracked it down. Time to get a music post together!
The final international item is a doozy. The argument might be made that it's an American release that was also released in Canada, and that argument does hold water, but I wanted to add it to this post because I just got it and wanted to share it with the world as quick as I could. This is the super rare, unbelievably hard to find, extraordinarily scarce, Ertl 1/64 General Lee and Rosco's Patrol Car two-pack. Did I mention it's uncommon? This two-pack is mysterious to me. These are the two main cars from the show, yet this pack is super hard to come by. In the golden era, Ertl released several 1/64 Dukes cars. The General Lee and Boss Hogg's Caddy were released individually on the card. There is also a less rare two-pack that has the Gen'ral with the Caddy. All the other cars, which include Rosco's Patrol Car, Daisy's Jeep, and Cooter's pickup truck, that came in tow variations, all came from either the four car packs or the playset. You'd think this two car set would be the most popular of them all, but for some reason after all my years of collecting, this is only the second one I have ever come across. The other is just the two cars with the top of the card cut off. I bought that set and blogged about it in 2013. I finally got an undamaged two car set and I'm super excited about it. The card is bilingual; it has both English and French on it. This is typical with a lot of Dukes toys that were sold in the U.S. and Canada.
The card isn't perfect, but I can live with that. There is no French on the back of the card. There are two different descriptions on the back. And they both sort of say the same thing. One is longer and has more detail, but it seems Ertl could have gone with either one and didn't really need two. In my head, two different Ertl workers wrote a description and the head honcho couldn't decide which one he liked better. Put them both on he said!
Rosco is pictured as well as the Duke Boys and the roof of the Gen'ral. Ertl used this film strip design on a lot of their packages.
This car belongs here on this post dedicated to international items. That's a lot of French subtitles.
The Boss Hogg two-pack also has the French subscript. The cards are basically the same except for the image of Boss on the Caddy pack and the image of Rosco on the patrol car.
The patrol car pack has a serial number of 1571 and the Caddy has 1572. I really wonder why the patrol car set is so much more rare.
The back of the cards are quite different. Maybe one of the two tag lines was supposed to go on the Caddy set, because there is no description at all. The Caddy set was made in Hong Kong and the Patrol Car set was made in the USA.
There are Ertl General Lees that were made in Hong Kong, some made in Singapore, others in Taiwan, and some were made in the USA. Some of the cars have an orange decal with an 01 on it applied to the car, where as other cars have the 01 printed on the car. The General Lee on top here is in the Patrol Car set and was made in the USA. The General Lee on the bottom came with the Caddy and was made in Hong Kong. They are both decal 01 cars but the decals are different sizes. Interesting stuff.
These are the two two-packs that were released during the golden era. I'm glad to finally have them together in the collection. This was a fun post filled with treasures from around the globe. Stay tuned for another international item post that's full of 2005 movie items from many different countries. I love writing about Dukes of Hazzard stuff!
