Payton Products, Inc. Little Green Army Men - Pt 92 Sets: REMCO Style No. 712 Whirlybird (With Payton Figures and Vehicles)

I have been waiting for years to post this bad boy! I wanted to include it in a Payton series, but as it turned out, that took many years to happen. Well, we've been doing Payton now since January, so it's about time this gets it's due!!

Of course, the prime subject for this is the absolutely awesome H-21C Piasecki Tandem Helicopter, also known as the Flying Banana which entered service in the early 1950s. REMCO's version is large and full of features. REMCO had an unusual nomenclature for their sets, referring to them by 'style number' instead item number or part number. This one is Style No. 712. It is battery operated  and turning it on caused the rotors to rotate and the helicopter to move along the ground. A separate switch allowed you to raise or lower the hoist. Unfortunately mine doesn't work - it's strictly a display piece, however it does display really well. There is a cargo door on the port side, allowing you to fill the hold with the 25 Payton troops that came with it (spoiler alert: they don't all fit nice and neat like). BTW, this is the pre-Monkey Division set. The Monkey Division was a whole series of Army toys REMCO came out with in the 1960s. This set was advertised as early as 1960 in Sears, but I don't know how long of a run it had - either as a regular helo or Monkey Division helo.

My set was missing its full compliment of figures and vehicles, but I had more than enough extras to turn this into a complete set. Like Marx, Payton too would supply products to other manufacturers for inclusion into sets. This REMCO Whirlybird included the following Payton pieces:

-25 Man Attack Force (45mm Army Men)

-1 Tank

-1 Troop Carrying Truck

-1 Jeep

-1 Howitzer

The helicopter measures: fuselage 24" (60,96cm) x 6" (15,24cm) W x 8.5" (21,59cm) H with a 36" (91,44cm) rotor span.

Real Flying Bananas At Work

A couple of photos culled from the Internet showing how these helicopters actually hauled equipment like Jeeps and cannons - they weren't loaded into the belly of the beast. However, REMCO's version does have 

Catalog Extracts

1960 Sears Catalog Extract

1961 Sears Catalog Extract

REMCO's Whirlybird

My box is rough, but cosmetically the helicopter is in decent shape.

This is the set as I received it: missing quite a few troops and an incorrect compliment of vehicles.

Like many plastic toys of the era made with white plastic, mine has discolored a cream-ish color.

After going through my extra figures and vehicles I now have a complete set.

There was no room in The Cave to photograph this beast so I had to take it outside on the patio.

You'll be hard pressed to fit all 25 figures in this cargo hold unless you just dump them in!

REMCO Hamilton's Invaders - Pt 30 Bug War Pt 6 (Final): Mop Up

The Defenders have won the day - Horrible Hamilton and his brood have all been eliminated. Now, all that's left for the Defenders to do is follow the tunnels and wipe out any remaining Bugs, after which they will seal off the tunnels so that the monsters have no chance of returning - or will they?

This is the final installment of my look at REMCO's Hamilton's Invaders series unless
I end up buying the pistol (it would have to be at a good price though!!). Enjoy! Opa Fritz

REMCO Hamilton's Invaders - Pt 29 Bug War Pt 5: The Defenders Engage

The authorities have finally stepped in to investigate and exterminate whatever's causing the trouble in this part of the forest.

Enjoy! Opa Fritz

For this little animation I decided to add some special effects to see how it would work out. Overall, it came out okay, and I learned a bit in the process 

REMCO Hamilton's Invaders - Pt 28 Bug War Pt 4: Search Party Disaster

With disappearances on the increase, local establish a search party. It did not go well! Survivors of the encounter with The Bugs spoke of their immense size and power. Something more had to be done!

Enjoy! Opa Fritz

REMCO Hamilton's Invaders - Pt 27 Bug War Pt 3: The Pistol Packing Third Victim

Young and full of himself, this kid thinks he can fight whatever's in the forest with his 45mm peashooter. He was wrong!

Enjoy! Opa Fritz

REMCO Hamilton's Invaders - Pt 26 Bug War Pt 2: The Second Victim

Horrible Hamilton's horde is hungry! This part of the forest has always been known to be dangerous at night as this hapless person now realizes.

Enjoy! Opa Fritz

REMCO Hamilton's Invaders - Pt 25 Bug Wars Pt 1: The First Victim

I haven't had this much fun with a series of toys in a long time, and unlike so many of the things I collect, REMCO's Hamilton's Invaders were toys I had as a kid. After pulling them all out and photographing them, it hit upon me that making a story would be fun - so I did! Mind you, it's not high art, no technological wonder here folks, but a campy, fun way to put these toys to use.

Here's the story line I came up with:

Mysterious Mt. Rainier in Washington State is known for multiple missing persons, Bigfoot sightings, UFO sightings and abductions, and supposed interdimensional portals. Legend has it that a race of very large bugs, also terrorize the region. To the First Nation peoples, the The Bugs are not rumor, they are both legend and fact, and teach their young to avoid areas where the bugs have been spotted. However, there hasn't been a sighting for decades, leading people to speculate that the rumors were just scary stories to tell children around the campfires at night. But something has caused them to reawaken in a remote area of the surrounding woods. This area of the forest is not well traveled, and all visitors to the park  are warned against venturing in, despite The Bugs' absence for so many years. But not all heed the warnings! As this first victim soon finds out, warnings (like 'STOP' signs on a street), are there for a purpose! Horrible Hamilton has awakened and claims the first victim!

Enjoy! Opa Fritz

REMCO Hamilton's Invaders - Pt 24 The Toys: Set Style #460 Helmet

When I started this Hamilton's Invaders series, I said I didn't have, nor was I interest in acquiring the helmet and pistol that was a part of the line...

...I lied! 😄

A few weeks ago a helmet in fairly decent shape and for a reasonable price, became available on fleaBay and I decided to pick it up. The helmet measures 8" (20.32cm) W x 7" (17.78cm) H and although it was made for kids. it still fits over my fat head! 😄   Now all I'm missing is the pistol.

Courtesy Hake's Auctions

The clear lenses on my helmet are a bit crinkled, but they're still intact

Yours truly modeling the #460 Helmet

The height of NERD (nerdidity? nerdism?)

hahahahahahahahahaha