Fun with Spooky Kooky jigglers! Playing "Hogan's Heroes".

Well, since I've got the serious business of documenting the history of Spooky Kooky jigglers out of the way, now it's time to have some fun with them.

What do you do when you're a kid, and "Hogan's Heroes" had just hit syndication on the local TV channel? (this was pre-cable TV) Of course, we were completely enamored by the hijinks of Col. Hogan and crew versus Col. Klink and the Germans.

We had Spooky Kooky jigglers, my Mom had lot of scrap cloth around the house, and my Dad had cardboard beer boxes, so we made outfits for the Kookys (some were the Germans, some were the Allies) and the beer boxes became barracks. We even made hollow tree stumps out of cardboard. Spent many, many hours playing "Hogan's Heroes" with them. Never took any photos, since "kids playing with toys" wasn't important enough for my parents to photograph (Sigh! All those missed moments!)

So, fast-forward to the year 1996, when reissue Spooky Kookys returned to the stores. I bought a few, but the most important ones, Kooky #5 [Boots] and Kooky #6 [Leaves] (who were the German officers) eluded me. Around Thanksgiving of 2009, after rediscovering them on the Internet, I found a set of 5 (new old stock) on ebay for $20.50. I joked around with my older brother about them, and then I realized I JUST HAD TO HAVE THEM.

So, here's a re-creation of the old days. My doll clothing-making skills improved vastly, and modern inventions like inket iron-on transfer paper made it possible to duplicate insignia. Sculpey (polymer clay) now comes in colors, and one can buy doll belt buckles in 5mm x 6mm sizes.

Here's the Germans:

Spooky Kookys as WWII Germans

And here's the Allies:

Spooky Kookys as the Allies

I've always been a fan of soft goods. It's a legacy of growing up in a time of Gi Joe, Gi Joe Adventure Team and MEGO's Action Jackson. Your action figure can be whatever you want them to be- all it takes is a change of clothing.

I'm really not overly fond of modern figures with all of their clothing molded and painted on. I feel that limits the imagination, and ties the figures to a specific character and franchise.

Just my opinion that hats, belts, jackets should be removable, and pockets, buckles, backpacks, holsters, etc. should be functional, not just an ultra-realistic, (sometimes) elegantly sculpted but non-usable hunk of plastic. That's why I enjoy replicating the concepts of the 1:6 world (Gi Joe) and the 1:9 world (MEGO) in the much smaller world of Spooky Kookys.

RELATED PAGES:
Imperial Toys Spooky Kooky jigglers, Part 1 
Imperial Toys Spooky Kooky jigglers, Part 2
Spooky Kooky Dungeon Dioramas
Imperial Toys Loony Kooky jigglers (1974)