Hippo Toys Apollo Rocket - Orange HP with Friction Motor

Here's an interesting rocket I picked up recently. It's a Hippo Toys Apollo rocket in orange HP with friction motor from ca1969 and is 13" (33.02cm) L. I know nothing about Hippo Toys but do know that this was bundled along with other manufacturers toys in a Montgomery Wards space set from that year so at the very least I can narrow it down to when it was made. Other than the friction motor, this is a very simple toy and a wonderful space ship from the Apollo Moon Landing era even if it is a caricature. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

I know, I know, not even close to being historically or technically accurate, but I had a rare few minutes of  'me time' and wanted to play some

May the 6th Be With You - No Wait, I Mean The 4th! Oh heck, Here's Some Star Wars Toys - Ferrero Kinder Egg Happy Hippo Star Wars Series

Yeah, I know, I'm late! I totally forgot about posting these delightful little figures from Ferrero's Kinder Egg line in Germany. As much of a fan I was of the movies, I never got into the toys. This small batch of toys is nearly the only things I have that are Star Wars related. During the '80s, Ferrero - maker of those great Kinder Egg toys - released a series of Happy Hippo figures that was quite popular. Then they released this series of Happy Hippo caricature's of all our favorite Star Wars characters. The smaller figures were in the normal sized eggs while the land speeder was a special release in their large eggs. Unfortunately I haven't gotten around to doing my usual 12-pic photo essay of each character. Hopefully I can get that done by the next May the 4th! :-)  Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Montgomery Wards Miniature Apollo Exploration set - Pt 2 Hippo Rocket

The centerpiece of this magnificent set from Wards is the Apollo rocket made by Hippo Toys. It's been on the blog before back on 19 Nov 2019, but that one was in orange HP and the Wards version is in yellow HP. It measures 13" (33.02cm) L, has a friction motor, and can stand on end for more dramatic display. Enjoy! Op Fritz

Here are the two color variations that I know of

May The 4th Be With You!

With today being 4 May, we celebrate Star Wars and all its various incarnations and the catchphrase "May the 4th Be With You" is one of the most popular in today's pop culture. Oh BTW, while I'm not a huge TV watcher - only turning it on for a few select shows - I actually managed to binge watch Star Wars: Skeleton Crew on Disney+ a couple of weeks ago. This particular series is really made for the kiddies as kids are the focus of the adventures chronicled in the series. Jude Law - who plays a younger Dumbledore in the Harry Potter prequels - plays a more malicious scoundrel in this outing as he helps, then hinders, a group of kids who accidentally find themselves on a runaway starship. Now, I'm even thinking about watching Andor! OMG, have I crossed over to the Dark Side? arrrrrgh 😂

I am not a Star Wars collector per se - a conscious decision made years ago to spare my pocket book any more heartache - but I have a few baubles made by Ferrero for their Kinder Surprise Egg line of toys and I've been using these in various capacity over the last couple of years for May 4th's. Be Blessed and Relish Life! Ed

Ferrero's take on the land speeder as driven by one of their Happy Hippo figures (the Happy Hippo line was a popular series of Kinder Surprise Egg toys). The land speeder was a separate purchase which came in a large plastic egg with no accompanying chocolate.

New Moonscape Diorama / Display Board - Pt 10 Finished and a Bit of Experimentation

The Moonscape diorama board is now finished and I experimented a little bit by culling a starry sky photo from the Internet and, using Photoshop, placing it in the background. I like this particular starry sky because it has a blue cast to it and contrasts nicely with the Moonscape. Next, I inserted a .PNG of my Hippo Toys Apollo Saturn rocket, also using Photoshop. The image of Earth was culled from the Internet as well and it may be something I use only occasionally vs. every time I do a Moon shot.

Ed

Even though I pulled the Hippo Apollo Saturn out of The Cave I opted to use a .PNG file to insert it in the photo for this experiment in composition.

I like the colors and contrast of the Earth in the background, but I probably won't use it in all my shots

Ferrero Kinder Surprise Egg Star Wars Happy Hippos - Pt 8 Erzwo Hippo (aka R2D2)

This figure also comes with a small insert showing how to assemble the figure. I like how the hippo is trying to break out of that tin can suit he's in LOL

Ed