Rapaport Bros. Cast Metal Buck Rogers Figure: Unknown Character 45mm

I have no clue who this character is supposed to be. The only thing that comes to mind is one of Killer Kane's lackey's or goons??? Yes? No? Maybe? He's much shorter than the other figures at only 45mm because he's hunched over. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

I don't know who he is, but he's giving Wilma Deering a hard time!

These figures look great alongside the Wyandotte presseed-steel spaceship.

Rapaport Bros. Cast Metal Buck Rogers Figure: Dr. Huer 54mm

Dr. Huer is Buck Roger's friend - much like Dr. Zharkov is Flash Gordon's friend. I was always more into Flash Gordon than Buck and that may have played a part in me not being overly interested in these Buck Rogers toys. Even in 1979 when the television series came out, I largely ignored it, but enjoyed the heck out of the Flash Gordon movie of 1980! Now, I cannot explain that, because the comic book art and Republic serials of the '30s and '40s are so much alike in their look and feel that they're almost interchangeable. It is what it is. This figure is also 54mm, like Wilma Deering. Anywho, here's the good doctor - Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Now just who the heck is Dr. Huer holding at gunpoint?

Rapaport Bros. Cast Metal Buck Rogers Figure: Wilma Deering 54mm

The second of four Buck Rogers figures in my collection made from the Rapaport Bros. Junior Caster Mold set. These photos were taken ten years ago in 2014 and since then I have yet to even try and acquire the remaining figures in the set. Each one of my figures are a different size and Wilma here is significantly shorter at 54mm than Killer Kane (70mm). Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Rapaport Bros. Cast Metal Buck Rogers Figure: Killer Kane 70mm

Yet another series of photos taken years ago that have languished on my computer hard drive. 

I made a half-hearted attempt to collect these some years back and simply lost interest in them. Why? They're flats and I'm not a big fan of flats. As a background, Rapaport Bros. made their Junior Caster casting set as early as 1934 taking advantage of the latest in sci-fi entertainment: Buck Rogers. Buck was big back then and he went from comic strip to the big screen - in the form serials - in no time. This was a time when parents weren't afraid to let their children learn how to actually do things! The kids were expected to melt pot metal or lead and then pour the molten metal into molds to form all kinds of toys. The Buck Rogers line had at least the nineteen separate toys you see here as seen from the Angelo Pedron collection. Back then, this stuff was the cat's meow! I am not aware if Rapaport sold the figures already cast but I believe not. That brings us to at least one minor concern: how do you know if a casting was made back in the day, or if someone owns one of these Junior Caster sets and is selling modern castings. Patina would be one way to tell if the casting was vintage, but it's not full-proof. Of course, if a modern day seller was honest and up front about it, they would say whether the castings were newly made.

For me that wasn't a problem. For me it was the fact that these were flats, and as I said before, I'm not a fan of flats. I ended up with four figures and one spaceship and quit! Sooo, what the heck, I'll post what I have and then move on to the next subject. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Rapaport Bros. 1934 Ad for Junior Caster Lead Toys Mold

Popular Science Dec 1935

Buck Rogers figures beautifully painted by Angelo Pedron!

My one-&-only spaceship blogged in 2016

Killer Kane - the bad guy in the Buck Rogers story line

I believe all of my figures are vintage castings - at least going back to the '50s.

All four of my figures setup with the Wyandotte spaceship from the 1930s