Stop That Pigeon!!

[beaky]

Anybody remember this? Forgot I'd found these (lousy, low-res) images a while ago...



That's right, it's Dick Dastardly, Muttley, and the rest of the Vulture Squadron, from Hannah/Barbera's cartoon masterpiece  Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines, ca. 1969.
For those not familiar with the show, it involved attempts to stop a messenger pigeon (Yankee Doodle Pigeon)using all sorts of insane contraptions like those pictured. I don't like these airplanes- I love these airplanes. The world of FS desperately needs models of some of these beauties!!
  Like Wile. E. Coyote, Dastardly and his crew never succeeded, but kept trying nonetheless. It all takes place in the midst of a strange, comic version of WWI (but not really). It was a spinoff of the (also wildly imaginative)  Wacky Racers show... from the Golden Age of Saturday morning TV...
There's a wealth of stuff online about this show (and all the other TV insanity from Mr. Hannah and Mr. Barbera) - even saw a site offering DVDs of the episodes. Gonna have to buy that, I guess!!

[Yurei]

wow, i think i remember that show. i'm sure it was on tv when i was a kid! great stuff rottydaddy, and yeah, someone should build these models for fs. they look like great fun

[Omag 2.0]

The wacky racers-cartoon still runs on Cartoon-network in Belgium! Funny and wicked!

[Craig.]

I used to love that show:)

[Hagar]

LOL I remember that. Didn't watch it much as I think it was shown in the mornings. I was always too busy to watch TV during the day. Reminds me of the strange machines of Rowland Emett (Emmet?), a well-known local cartoonist & sculptor. He did a lot of work for big exhibitions & films. Emett was the brains behind Caractacus Potts inventions in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

[beaky]

Fortunately for me, during the late 60s I was not very busy at all, unless kid stuff counts. My brother and I would be up with the dawn every Saturday morning, full of sugar-coated cereal and bouncing around in front of the TV until the morning roster of great cartoons was done.

Chitty...LOL!! That was  a fun movie, at least the last time I saw it, which was when I was much younger. Can you believe there's  a musical production of that on Broadway right now? I'm sure the car will be as big a deal as the helicopter in  Miss Saigon.  Great sculpture, there... I like Emmet's stuff. No doubt he had something to do with Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines?

[Hagar]

I like Emmet's stuff. No doubt he had something to do with Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines?

There seems to be some dispute over the correct spelling, it's either Emmet or Emett. Not sure which is correct. I think all the aircraft in "Magnificent Men" were based on actual flying machines. Some, like the Bristol Boxkite replica, were specially built by Miles at Ford Aerodrome & test flown at Shoreham. The Boxkite is now owned & flown by the Shuttleworth Trust at Old Warden. You might have seen my photos of it in the air with other aircraft used in the film. The Lee-Richards Annular Biplane replica is on display at Shoreham although this never flew & aerial sequences were filmed with it suspended on a crane. I think Magnificent Men was the inspiration for Wacky Racers & Dick Dastardly is probably based on Terry Thomas' portrayal of the villain in the film.

PS. Check this out. http://website.lineone.net/~roling48/Magnificent%20Pioneers.htm

[beaky]

Hm...  been so long since I sawthat movie, i couldn't picture any of the planes. I'm pretty sure one of the nuttier ones is (or was) tucked away in one of the old hangars at ORA- sort of a flapping-wing deal if i remember correctly. I think it might never have made it into the film, but was built for it. As for the inspiration for the vulture Squadron, etc.: makes sense.

[CaptainCub]

[quote]LOL I remember that. Didn't watch it much as I think it was shown in the mornings. I was always too busy to watch TV during the day. Reminds me of the strange machines of Rowland Emett (Emmet?), a well-known local cartoonist & sculptor. He did a lot of work for big exhibitions & films. Emett was the brains behind Caractacus Potts inventions in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.