Doll-A-Day #18: Some Super Tiny Special Things,and the World's Smallest Barbie,G.I. Joe,Gumby and Pokey

  Yesterday I announced that today's post would be about a doll I got for Christmas. Well, it still is,but not the one I originally intended. I'll show you that one in a later post. I'm showing you a couple of dolls in this post,but they also give me the opportunity to show you something else. I have been really anxious to show you something very special that Ivy gave me for Christmas. It isn't a doll,but it kind of 'goes with'  dolls. Tammy World is going to show it all to you.
  First of all,our actual dolls today are these little guys.

You may recognize them. They're Gumby and Pokey.

Gumby and Pokey are the creations of Art Clokey,and some of the most famous stop-motion characters of all time.

Like regular size Gumby,these guys have a wire armature and are bendable and posable.

Gumby had his own TV show in the 1950's and 60's,and again in the 80's,after he had a resurgence thanks to Saturday Night Live and Eddie Murphy. ("I'm Gumby damn it!") I don't specifically remember watching Gumby when I was a kid, but I had several Gumby dolls. (I upgraded him when the first one got his legs cut off by my sister after they went limp from being posed too much.) I still have them,along with the Pokey my sister got me for Christmas when I was really little.

Gumby started airing again on Nickelodeon in 1992,and little Emma and I watched it every afternoon. She had her own set of Gumby toys, but they are standard size. It's the large set that includes his dinosaur friend Prickle,and later characters like Gumby's sister Minga,,and his arch enemies,the Blockheads.

These tiny versions of the famous Gumby and Pokey are from the 'World's Smallest' series of miniature cool toys,made by Super Impulse.

Gumby stands only 1 1/2 inches tall...

...while Pokey is only 1 1/4 tall.

Other toys by 'World's Smallest' include G.I. Joe,Barbie...
 

I got these at Toys R Us when it went out of business,but I forgot to include them in that post. Joe comes with tiny binoculars,and Barbie comes with tiny sunglasses.

...Etch-a-Sketch,Fisher Price toys like the Little People school bus,Rock-a-Stack,and Chatter telephone,Stretch Armstrong,Magic 8 Ball,Hot Wheels,and Pez.

 I wouldn't call this the 'world's smallest' Barbie. The original mini Barbie that came with a Skipper outfit and a Tutti outfit,in the 60's, was way smaller. The 40th anniversary Barbie doll,and some Hallmark ornaments came with Barbie's even smaller than the 60's one.

It's a shame the Barbie and G.I. Joe aren't to scale for Tammy.

 

But they must be in scale for some doll.

"Sorry Joe. Go find another kid."

World's Smallest even makes a sock monkey,which doesn't seem that small to me. (And, like all the other 'World's Smallest',it's package proclaims 'really works!' It really 'sock monkey's I guess.) They also sell a lot of mini arcade games and retro toys. You can go to their website HERE.  (Under the heading of 'World's Coolest' you'll find a 1/6 scale record player and a slightly larger mini Polaroid camera, (with sound!).

  Some Gumby trivia that I found interesting:
Other than a film made when Clokey was in college,Gumby's first public appearance was on the Howdy Doody Show. Gumby has long outlived Howdy.
The name 'Gumby' was based on the clay mud on the farm of Clokey's grandparents,which they called 'gumbo'.
Gumby's look was based on The Gingerbread Man,except for his pointed,curved head, which was based on Clokey's father's haircut!
Gumby's big feet were so the model could stand up for filming.
Gumby is green because Clokey decided green represents life,and is racially neutral.
  Now,on to the really cool Christmas present Ivy gave me last year. This is SO great!

Tammy has taken up origami,courtesy of Ivy.

Ivy had a friend at college make me these tiny origami butterflies,foxes,and cranes.

The crane.

The fox.

They're so small! I've been afraid that just getting them out to look at them I'll drop them and lose them,or crush them!

Another crane.

A fox.

The fox is about an inch tall.

The butterfly is even shorter.

Excuse my pruney fingers. I'd been washing dishes.

The crane is only about half an inch tall.

Ivy got the idea when her friend made regular sized origami. Ivy asked her if she could make some miniature ones for me as well. Luckily her friend was willing to give it a try. When she was successful Ivy asked her how much she would charge to make some for me for Christmas. Her friend couldn't come up with a figure, so Ivy took her out for coffee a lot! 

I knew when people saw them they would be crazy about them,so I asked Ivy to ask her friend if she would be interested in making them to sell. College students can always use some money. Her friend messaged back from England, where she has gone home for break,and said she would. School commences again at the end of January and she'll be back in Ohio. So if you're interested, she can make more!(For those in Europe, school is out in May and she'll be back in England,so you can save on shipping.)

  That's all. tomorrow we'll see another doll of a more regular size!

Doll-A-Day 2017 #61:Davey and Goliath and Family

  Yesterday I hung laundry out in the WINDY weather. When I took it down it was getting a bit chilly. Today it has snowed on and off all day! My poor daffodils don't know what's going on. here's what they looked like yesterday before the snow started.

The myrtle is coming in nicely too.

Today's doll is a whole family...and the family dog! It's the Hansen family, and their dog Goliath.

Readers of the blog may have seen my Davey and Goliath hand puppets,and heard about me watching the TV show as a kid.

The show was done in stop motion, and the characters were brought to life by Art Clokey, the creator of Gumby.

"Really?!"

These figures are made by Majestic Studios.

They came in cool packages that look like an old fashioned TV.

I actually have two Daveys,because the only way to get Davey's dad John was to get the two pack of Davey and John,and the only way to get Goliath was to get the two pack of Davey and Goliath!

The Mom and sister Sally came in another two pack.

There were actually 2 sets of Davey and Goliath. One set had Goliath standing, as seen here, and one had him sitting.

Dad John Hansen and mom Elaine Hansen are 7" tall.

Sally is just over 5" tall.

And Davey himself is 5 1/2" tall.

The figures have limited articulation, but that fits in with their look of Claymation figures.

None of the figures can sit down, but they can all move their head and arms.

 They even have arm and wrist joints.

Even Goliath can move his head. 

You can visit the official Davey and Goliath website HERE.
  See you tomorrow for another doll.

Thrift Store Finds Part 4: Davey and Goliath Puppets

  It's been awhile, but I still have more finds from that one week of thrift store hauls a couple of weeks ago. Today I'm showing you these puppets. Anybody remember Davey and Goliath?

These guys are full sized hand puppets. They were 49 cents each at Salvation Army.I found Davey one day, and Goliath several days later!

Davey and Goliath was a children's tv show created by Gumby creator Art Clokey.

"We thought we were the only ones!"

The series used the same 'stop motion' animation as the Gumby series, and shows like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The characters were made of foam over a poseable armature. The eyes and mouths were made of paper so their expressions could be easily changed. 

 It began airing in 1960 and new episodes were made until 1965. It was later brought back and more new episodes were made. I watched it as a kid in the 60's.

Ken volunteered his arms...ok, I asked him.He's not much of a puppeteer.

Goliath was Davey's dog. His catch phrase, (Yes, he talked.), was "People never listen."

Davey's friends Nat, (from the 60's shows I watched as a kid.) and Jonathan Reed, (from the later 70's shows), were some of the first African American characters to appear as friends of a white lead character.
The series was made by The Lutheran Church.

While Davey's faith in God was a part of his life, the show was praised for never being 'preachy'. The lessons taught were about respect,tolerance,right and wrong, and manners: lessons everyone needs to learn, regardless of religious preference.
  Davey and Goliath episodes can be bought on iTunes. There is also an official Davey and Goliath website. You can go there HERE.