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What ever happened to the BONANZA figures ?

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  • Mikey
    Verbose Member
    • Aug 9, 2001
    • 47258

    What ever happened to the BONANZA figures ?

    Anybody remember seeing prototypes for new Bonanza figures about 4-5 years ago ?
    They were posted on the Museum, but I forgot by whom.
    Not customs... I think they were suppose to be a legit release.

    Did these ever get made ?
  • The Toyroom
    The Packaging King
    • Dec 31, 2004
    • 16653

    #2
    Wes McCue/Classic Plastick has done some recently but I think those would be catagorized as "customs".
    Think OUTSIDE the Box! For the BEST in Repro & Custom Packaging!

    Comment

    • fallensaviour
      Talkative Member
      • Aug 28, 2006
      • 5620

      #3
      I want to make a set of bonanza figures in Eight inch.
      I have been trying to get arou nd to them for awhile but eh ;life keeps holding me back from my toys...LOL
      Would love to see some heads in eight inch if anybody has???
      “When you say “It’s hard”, it actually means “I’m not strong enough to fight for it”. Stop saying its hard. Think positive!”

      Comment

      • Captain
        Fighting the good fight!
        • Jun 17, 2001
        • 6031

        #4
        That was me working on the Bonanza figures. they would have been 12" collector figures using bodies from Nick DeMarfios company Action Figure Paradise (now long gone--Dog Soldiers figures used the same bodies). The figures were to be based off of Wes's designs.

        We had permission from Bonanza Ventures Inc. (David Dotorts company) to pursue this, and things were trucking along for awhile. M&C Toys of Hong Kong were trying to get into licensed toys at that time and I had partnered up with them to do this and a (Alex Raymond inspired) Flash Gordon line.....thats when things went south. M&C (armed only with pictures of Wes's figures) asked retailers if they would be interested in Bonanza, and couldnt get one single affirmitive from anybody....keep in mind this was before the Diamond Select/comic book shop toy marketing days we enjoy now. Pernell Roberts turned out to be a complete ***** and wouldnt allow his likeness to be used at all. Plus, the Michael Landon estate was split between his two ex-wives and the kids...and they all wanted seperate licensing agreements made. the Blocker and Greene estates were easy to deal with....but who wants just two members of the Cartwright clan? (We could have done Hop Sing too.)
        With no buyers, M&C dropped out (and have not pursued licensed toys ever since....except for local Chinese properties). Without M&C, I couldnt do this alone, and the project was shelved. A real shame too, as Wes really worked hard on these, and they would have made for incredible figures! Worse yet, Dotorts lawyers started watching Classic Plastik like a Hawk, preventing Wes from selling custom Bonanza heads/figures on his site or on e-bay!!
        I had really hoped these figures would have been a hit. I had even started working on a follow up Roy Rogers line. Got to meet Dusty Rogers, whom ...if memory serves...gave Wes a ton of cool reference stuff to work from. Next time Wes posts here you should ask to see his Roy Rogers head sculpts!

        I still hope to do the Roy Rogers figures some day!!!

        Flash Gordon did elicite some interest at toy fair, but Stephen Sommers optioned the property for a film at the same time, and locked up the toy rights too. His film never was made, and the figures never saw the light of day.
        Last edited by Captain; Sep 9, '08, 10:09 PM.
        "Crayons taste like purple!"

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        • chalwa
          Mego Philomath
          • Jun 8, 2007
          • 592

          #5
          What a shame.
          bestest
          Chalwa AKA The Pre-Crisis Chris

          Chris' Blogs:
          The Misadventures of Captain Blog
          Comic Book Fanzines: Chain Letters for Disturbed Children


          When I am grown to man's estate,
          I shall be very proud and great.
          And tell the other girls and boys,
          not to meddle with my toys.
          -Robert Louis Stevenson

          Comment

          • The Toyroom
            The Packaging King
            • Dec 31, 2004
            • 16653

            #6
            Very interesting stuff there...I didn't know all of that and Wes' involvement.
            Think OUTSIDE the Box! For the BEST in Repro & Custom Packaging!

            Comment

            • ScottA
              Original Member
              • Jun 25, 2001
              • 12264

              #7
              I would have bought both lines, easy.
              sigpic WANTED: Boxed, Carded and Kresge Carded WGSH

              Comment

              • johnmiic
                Adrift
                • Sep 6, 2002
                • 8427

                #8
                Yeah, why does Pernell Roberts have to be such a tool? I remember 20 years ago there was an ET story on Bonanza and he wouldn't let even ET use a clip of him from the show. One of the most fondly remembered shows from TV and he doesn't want to be associated with it.
                Last edited by johnmiic; Sep 10, '08, 11:03 AM.

                Comment

                • hobub
                  Ghost of a Dead Indian
                  • Jun 18, 2001
                  • 4778

                  #9
                  I heard that Pernell Roberts left the show because he felt it was beneath him.

                  Besides. After seeing these shows on TVLand recently, I must say I much prefer the (what 20yr) long running series Gunsmoke. Much stronger story lines. James Arness is very old but still alive. That would be a great line to create in my opinion. I've even seen shows in recent years like "The Big Valley" and "Daniel Boone". Those would all be great ideas to create figures from. And I must contend that my favorite of all these is the Daniel Boone series. Too bad greed and elitest feelings shot the project down. I still think there are several people out there, mostly older now who are still huge western fans and would buy these. I prefer the 8" scale but I have seen that those sideshow Custer figures seem to hold value. I'm partial to Custer as some of you may know because he was born locally and two of his older brothers (who died in infancy are buried in New Rumley, about 35 minutes away) Butthole or not, he's a local hero along with Dino and Gable. I like them all because of that but love the old west/civil war stuff. Cannot get enough.

                  Later,
                  bub

                  Comment

                  • Mikey
                    Verbose Member
                    • Aug 9, 2001
                    • 47258

                    #10
                    The only problem with both Gunsmoke and Bonanza, as the shows went on they adopted the new TV show trend --- single character episodes.
                    In other words, this week all you see is Festes ... or, today it's just Little Joe and maybe a cameo from Ben from the beginning.
                    I never liked them kind of episodes.

                    Comment

                    • Earth 2 Chris
                      Verbose Member
                      • Mar 7, 2004
                      • 32966

                      #11
                      That stinks Clayton. Sounds like you guys put a lot of work into it.

                      I've heard Pernell Roberts was a jerk more than once. I also heard the "bad guy" figure from the old Bonanza line was reworked from an Adam figure that was in development when he left the show. Kind of fitting since he's "the bad guy" now it seems.

                      And ws "Trapper John, MD" really that much more cultured than Bonanza? Playing someone else's MASH character as an old fart doctor is really high-brow, let me tell you.

                      Chris
                      sigpic

                      Comment

                      • GSPUSA
                        General Patton
                        • Apr 9, 2005
                        • 1506

                        #12
                        I still love Gun Smoke, I can give or take Bonanza. I'd still go for Hawaii Five-O in a heart beat.
                        It

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                        • AAAAA
                          Permanent Member
                          • Oct 28, 2005
                          • 2505

                          #13
                          you always try and find the 60's 7 1/2 figures
                          Roberts used to get most of the fan mail, and thought he outgrown bonanza. worng!
                          could not get steady work for over 20 years.
                          he was alway arrogant.
                          Last edited by AAAAA; Sep 10, '08, 9:39 PM.

                          Comment

                          • hobub
                            Ghost of a Dead Indian
                            • Jun 18, 2001
                            • 4778

                            #14
                            I was just reminded of this thread. Sitting here watching Gunsmoke with another great episode and then Bonanza with Hoss being tormented by leprechauns. Yeah, another dumb episode.

                            Awhile ago, I did a search for Festus because I remembered him in an episode of Twilight Zone during the Civil War with a Witch. I remember it was spooky but good. I still haven't found it. Maybe someone knows the episode and can let me know.

                            But I did find this, Ken Curtis. I thought, yeah, what joke this is going to be. But once I clicked the link, then kept clicking, I discovered some things. Festus was, not only an accomplished country and western singer, but also was a leading singer for The Sons of the Pioneers, which was the band that was featured in many westerns of the 1950's including "the Searchers" theme song, which is referred to as one of the greatest westerns of all time. He also played another goof in it named Charlie McCorry who has a pretty good fight scene with "ST Capt. Pike".

                            Back to Hoss's stupid leprechauns, I like my Sci Fi and I like my Comics. But I love my Westerns and stupid stuff like that really doesn't belong. I just can't believe the show lasted. Gunsmoke, otherwise blows if off the map.

                            I'd still like to see some kind western castaway figures though.
                            Last edited by hobub; Jan 22, '09, 4:23 PM.

                            Comment

                            • ScottA
                              Original Member
                              • Jun 25, 2001
                              • 12264

                              #15
                              I think Gunsmoke and Bonanza (and even the old Wild Wild West series) would have made great extensions to the 8" American West series as a seperate branch to the western tree. Throw in some Eastwood and Wayne for kicks and you'd have a nice little TV/Movie line going.
                              sigpic WANTED: Boxed, Carded and Kresge Carded WGSH

                              Comment

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