H.E.L. match to Mego 1976 Wonder Woman

[wwgrandkid]

I'm trying to track the history on a small cast metal [pewter? lead????] figure that is an exact match to the Mego Comic Action Hero Wonder Woman from 1976. Side by side examination shows that they are definitely the same figure.
The base is marked:
MFG. BY H.E.L.
V.N. CA. 91402
and:
D.C. COMICS INC.
Anybody come across this H.E.L. before? I have yet to find any reference to such a company even existing, but I am new to this and do not yet have a good ref list together.
I do have pics, but... attachments not allowed... copy/paste no go... um, how DO I get a pic in here??

hahaha - sorry, I'm obviously clueless

[palitoy]

Wow, I'm intrigued at that one.

Here is how to post a photo here Mego Talk - FAQ: User Gallery

If you still have trouble, email it to me and I'll post it up.

[wilbs518]

Can't wait to see this!

[wwgrandkid]

thx palitoy - sorry for the delay - info great, but couldn't find the user gallery access lol

so, let's give it a try -
http://megomuseum.com/mmgallery/file...MegoWWface.jpg

http://megomuseum.com/mmgallery/file...MegoStars2.jpg
look at the perfectly matched perfect stars on those perfectly matched [and oh-so-funnily-shaped] butts

http://megomuseum.com/mmgallery/file...seMarkings.jpg

crossing my fingers that i did this correctly -
thanks again!
christie

[palitoy]

Now this is interesting. No doubt about it, it's a swipe. Too bad they used the early "Alan Alda" head sculpt and not the later much prettier version.

Got any background on the piece itself, where it was obtained?

[jayihdz]

Have you check the Wonder Woman collectibles??

ExperienceTheWonder.com - The Definitive Guide to Wonder Woman Collectibles

[Werewolf]

It's a cool knock off of the Mego figure that's for sure. But they used the man faced sculpt. Shudder

[rchatlin]

The V.N. stands for Van Nuys, CA,
but a quick Google search tells me they're long out of business.

I question, though, whether it is a knock off or not.
They added their Manufacturer info to the casting,
as well as the DC copyright (which they could have removed if
it was part of the CAH base)

r
o
b

[palitoy]

I just mean they knocked off the sculpt, not neccesarily that this piece wasn't licensed.

[wwgrandkid]

LOL @ 'alan alda'! the only reason i immediately recognized the HEL figure is because i had marveled about how incredibly AWFUL was the mego WW with the tower set. i had assumed it was because she had to fit into the plane... until i discovered that the figure pre-dated the tower. The pose, the figure, the FACE... yikes!!!

Anyhow, no background whatsoever. the stamp on the base makes me lean towards a legitimate product - or is that just naivety rearing it's ugly head?

Antony Coukos' Experience the Wonder site is excellent - his was one of the first links that i put into our site - and his detail and photos are outstanding. but this figure is just... odd!

now... let's try the image thing again....


ok, i missed the insert image icon last time and just pasted... jeez, and that was with the instructions in front of my face!
here's a mego that i love -

[Meule]

So, basically someone wanted to make a licensed statuette and they decided it would be cheaper to copy another licensed product. I'm guessing they did this around the same time as the CAH WW was released since they copied that particular WW with the ugly sculpt in stead of the newer version.

[Wee67]

Is it possible that this was used to create a mold? It just seems an odd thing to produce and sell.

Do you have any history on this particular figure- from where did you get it, etc.?

[Werewolf]

I know the base is marked, but it just looks so crude and amateurish for a legit licensed mass market product. Even by 70s standards. So little effort went into the base. No Wonder Woman name, logo or even stars. The base is just a messy lump with some scratches gouged into it.

Did H.E.L. (Hell? lol) do custom made to order trophies? That might explain it.

[vulcan2074]

Thats really cool
Sammy

[UnderdogDJLSW]

Very unusual. Great find.