In the late 1960s, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In was a hit on TV. Arte Johnson played a continuing part as a German soldier.
Hogan's Heroes finished it's TV run in 1971. There was plenty of broken English and bad German accents.
The Estes Red Max was introduced in shortly after in 1972. The Arte Johnson influence was found in the instructions.
Throughout the instructions you were guided by a wisecracking German skull that would compliment you on completion of each step. That German skull was based on the Arte Johnson character.
In each step he dodged bullets, but eventually got picked off. His eyes follow the action -
Step 8 was a head shot, cracking his Colonel Klink monocle.
The Red Max might have been politically incorrect. Well, it still is.
Over the years the instructions have mellowed quite a bit.
To see the original instructions, CLINK HERE, DAS IS GOOT, YAH?
Speaking of parodied German... there's the old gag from the computing world where many computer labs might have a sign in black-letter Gothic that read:
ReplyDeleteACHTUNG!
ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS!
DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKEN.
IST NICHT FÜR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS.
ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN.
apparently this gag dates as far back to the mid 1950s. The Germans did develop their own version of a fractured English version of the sign:
ATTENTION
This room is fullfilled mit special electronische equippment.
Fingergrabbing and pressing the cnoeppkes from the computers is allowed for die experts only!
So all the “lefthanders” stay away and do not disturben the brainstorming von here working intelligencies.
Otherwise you will be out thrown and kicked anderswhere!
Also: please keep still and only watchen astaunished the blinkenlights.
Speaking of non-PC... Apparently what was released under the Goonybird lineup had some non-PC origins:
ReplyDeletehttp://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showpost.php?p=26003&postcount=119
It appears that there might be some evidence of the non-PC origin found in the instructions. The instructions for the Cloud Hopper refers to a part labeled as "cockpit" -- which corresponds to what would be a cockpit if it was built as a parodied version of the Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka ( see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokosuka_MXY7_Ohka ).
Thanks Naoto,
DeleteI'll be doing a post on the comparisons coming up. I checked the Cloud Hopper instructions. Not trying to be picky, but they called the cockpit a canopy.
On the Cloud Hopper, Estes gave you stickers for most of the detail but the builder had to draw on the nose end and whiskers. The stickers were obviously directed to the younger builders.
Eventually some of the non-PC versions did eventually get released by Semroc
ReplyDeletehttp://www.semroc.com/Store/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=100
Yes, my Pigasus and Little Green Man kits are based the same format as the larger Semroc Groonies.
DeleteIf you want comedy in your instructions, Dr. Zooch has plenty, but not at all quite like that Red Max variety.
ReplyDeleteHi Glen,
DeleteDr. Zooch and Perberton Tech kits both have funny instructions.