Irish 1985 plastic pack counter box

[sco(o)t]

I remember buying a beautiful movie program at the theater when Star Trek II came out.  Insulated coffee mugs too, I think.

They used to occasionally for some movies, at least pre-1980s that I remember. I still have a STAR WARS (episode IV) program from its original release. I know we had some around the house when I was young for DOCTOR DOOLITTLE and AIRPORT.

[Dr Popper]

I know there were some of those Wacky knock-off charms & little plastic bottles and junk that.  But stickers with actual product gags would be awesome, especially from Japan.  When I was over there, I bought a bunch of "movie programs".  Every movie has a program (like a concert program) that goes with it.  I don't know why they don't do that here.  They could make a fortune.

These are the decals I believe Ernie is referring to.  The backs are blank and light blueish.  They were found in Hong Kong by Duane Dimock in 2006..............

[ToadallyDude]

These are the decals I believe Ernie is referring to.  The backs are blank and light blueish.  They were found in Hong Kong by Duane Dimock in 2006..............

Weird items.  Are they confirmed to have been produced there by Topps or some other company, or are they just some fan's knock-offs?  Any kind of codes on the back, etc?  Wild.

[Dr Popper]

Weird items.  Are they confirmed to have been produced there by Topps or some other company, or are they just some fan's knock-offs?  Any kind of codes on the back, etc?  Wild.

No codes at all, and the consensus is that they are bootlegs.  Here's the info I have on them in my binder..........

"These wacky pack labels were most likely manufactured in the late 1990’s for the European market.  They measure 1-9/16" tall by 4-1/8" long, and have a light blue peel-away backing.  These seem to be bootleg items since there are no Topps copyrights.  No country of origin is listed, but they were found in Hong Kong as by collector Duane Dimock in 2006.  The only clues to their distribution are the CE mark (Conforms to European Safety Standards) and age-warning symbol (not for children under 3) found on Camals.  Both symbols have been required since 1995 on toys destined for countries belonging to the European Union.  Original series Wacky Packages stickers are prominently displayed, but the background characters are modern re-creations by an unknown artist.  There are at least four titles in the set......Camals, Dampers, Gadzooka, and Plastered.  These are considered extremely rare, as only two full sets of the 4 titles are known to exist." 

[ToadallyDude]

Very weird.  And I thought the POGS were the only re-hashing of the old series in the 90s.  They sound more legit with the sticky backs & CE label, etc.  But I wonder how they were distributed.

[Dr Popper]

Very weird.  And I thought the POGS were the only re-hashing of the old series in the 90s.  They sound more legit with the sticky backs & CE label, etc.  But I wonder how they were distributed.

All I know is that Duane found them in Hong Kong in a small store.  I think I have a pic of the store somewhere.  Yes, I found it!  Here is the store.........

[Fanatical_and_Sickly]

There is a small twist to that story - they weren't bought in Hong Kong, but actually in Japan. The price tags have a yen symbol on them. I asked about that inconsistency a few years ago and finally got the answer that they were actually bought in Japan but that the shop owner said they came from Hong Kong. So to eliminate confusion, Duane just said they were bought in Hong Kong.

[bandaches]

All I know is that Duane found them in Hong Kong in a small store.  I think I have a pic of the store somewhere.  Yes, I found it!  Here is the store.........

So these were in a plastic packaging at one time?  Are they all still in their packaging?  If so, can somone send me close ups of the bar coding?

[Fanatical_and_Sickly]

So these were in a plastic packaging at one time?  Are they all still in their packaging?  If so, can somone send me close ups of the bar coding?

I've got a good pic of plastered still in the wrapper with a good image of the UPC, but it's just a dummy code, used for general merchandise. I can't post the image right now, but I'll get to it later tonight.

[Dr Popper]

So these were in a plastic packaging at one time?  Are they all still in their packaging?  If so, can somone send me close ups of the bar coding?

Here you go............

[BustedFinger]

This seems like a good place to insert this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz-kWEkazKg

[RawGoo]

This seems like a good place to insert this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz-kWEkazKg

Pretty funny!  I still have my old lunchbox, and a recent "action" figure 

[ToadallyDude]

Here you go............

Seems like these things would be easy to track down more of.  I wish I'd known about them when I was in Japan in 2004... unless they're newer than that.  Anyone scan that barcode???  That might bring some clues.  They're kind of cool pieces.  I'll bet Topps don't like 'em none, though.

[Duznt]

Here you go............

Wouldn't that be neat if they were the same size as the Wacky truck stickers?

[bandaches]

I've got a good pic of plastered still in the wrapper with a good image of the UPC, but it's just a dummy code, used for general merchandise. I can't post the image right now, but I'll get to it later tonight.

..but interestingly, part of the UPC code is the item number for very popular highly priced ping pong paddles...maybe some japenese person who big time into ping pong, got into wackys and made these knock offs and created the UPC numbers?  Not really that crazy.

[Soremel]

..but interestingly, part of the UPC code is the item number for very popular highly priced ping pong paddles...maybe some japenese person who big time into ping pong, got into wackys and made these knock offs and created the UPC numbers?  Not really that crazy.

Is it possible that these were intended to be ping pong paddle handle stickers? They look like they would fit on most standard paddle handles ~ just thinking out loud!

[ToadallyDude]

Is it possible that these were intended to be ping pong paddle handle stickers? They look like they would fit on most standard paddle handles ~ just thinking out loud!

How weird would THAT be?  Talk about "obscure".  I don't think Paul would even include that in the Wacky Packages Gallery II.  Not that there is one.  But there should be a new book at some point.  Topp's little books are cool, but they don't document the oddball stuff.  How rad would it be to have a book in that style (1 item per page, plain black or white background) of all the Wacky stuff.  Yah, it would be the size of a phonebook.  But hey.

[Dr Popper]

Wouldn't that be neat if they were the same size as the Wacky truck stickers?

Here are the measurements for both............

HONG KONG's = 1.5625" x 4.125"
WACKY TRUCK = 1.875" x 6.875"

[ToadallyDude]

Here are the measurements for both............

HONG KONG's = 1.5625" x 4.125"
WACKY TRUCK = 1.875" x 6.875"

I'm going to forever call those HongKong Wackys, the "PingPongPaddle Wackys"... or PPP.
(...in "emoticon" language, PPP would sound like a long fart)

[bandaches]

I can't wait to see this box.  Hopefully someone will post a photo.  I had a line on a full one back in '99, but it fell through.  The dealer either couldn't find it or decided not to or something.  If I had all the items that random dealers promised, it would have been amazing.  Full 1st series cloth box, full OPC boxes, "green-pack" posters from Canada (which don't exist, but the guy swore he had some).  Wild goose chases are both fun and frustrating.

I believe the bidding came down to me and one other person above $300 and I didn't care to keep running this up so I made no counter bids especailly since the seller had given me the impression he thought this was worth huge bucks and he wouldn't sell for anything less suggesting to me he could reject the winning bid. Final bid was $350.  Had I not made a post 9:00 bid, it would have sold for around $300.

[ToadallyDude]

I believe the bidding came down to me and one other person above $300 and I didn't care to keep running this up so I made no counter bids especailly since the seller had given me the impression he thought this was worth huge bucks and he wouldn't sell for anything less suggesting to me he could reject the winning bid. Final bid was $350.  Had I not made a post 9:00 bid, it would have sold for around $300.

That sucks.  Any idea who might have snagged it?  Hopefully it filled out a near-complete box collection somewhere.