Anyone made any replicas of Freddie the Flute from H.R. Pufnstuf?
Thanks,
Pumpernickel
Anyone made any replicas of Freddie the Flute from H.R. Pufnstuf?
Thanks,
Pumpernickel
been a few here.
It was just on PROFILES.
Did ya see it?
No, what is Profiles? I'm kinda new here. Thanks,
Pumpernickel
Profiles in History
Im sure last catalog is still available online.
http://www.profilesinhistory.com/new/
Thanks. Yes, I did see that. I thought you meant "profiles" was something on this site or some other prop forum.BrundelFly said:
Pumpernickel
There have been runs by a few members here.Pumpernickel said:
Check the junkyard as once in a while one comes up for sale.
Oh my Gawd, someone else remembers that show? One of the reasons I loved Saturday mornings in the 70's...Pumpernickel said:
I made some and put them on ebay. I tried to get enough interest to have them cast in resin as I could have offered them cheaper and as kits, but didn't get enough people to sign up - I think I needed 15 to break even but only got 4 or 5.
The ones listed on ebay are not accurate. If you want me to build you one, drop me a line -- I need to order some more plastic tube, so it might take me a couple of weeks. I can post pics of the one I have in my collection if you are interested.
Or I can give you tips if you prefer to build your own. Keep in mind, there were several versions of the screen used Freddy -- some talked, some were solid with no moving parts, and some were stunt versions -- there were variations in how the eyes looked and other details.
Loved the show as a kid -- made one for my daughter who carried it around with her everywhere, then decided to build one for myself and then sold a few on ebay.
Hi. Would love to see the Freddie's in your collection. I knew there were different versions of the Freddie puppet, but can you describe in more detail the differences in appearance? Did you see the one in the recent Profiles in History auction? If so, any comments on it?DrMcoy said:
Thanks,
Pumpernickel
I want to build one!
Any info would be great!
frankkcerney@yahoo.com
I offered a run of these years ago. In fact, I even went as far as running them past Marty Krofft when I was considering licensing them.
He said was cool with small numbered runs, but it wasn't worth the time and effort to bother with licensing.
His exact words were, "Have fun, but don't make a million of them or I'll send the Apes after you."
Cool guy who still loves the craft and gets the fan base.
I'm considering revisiting these later in the year with an updated sculpt. I may see how they work out in aluminum too. The idea would be to simply provide the machined aluminum blank so the builder can handle the finish however they'd like.
I paid an old friend to sculpt this one and it was the last piece I built up from the run.
Last edited by Rylo; Jan 9, 2009 at 1:47 PM.
By the way. I still maintain Freddy is evil~
Here are a couple pics of the one I still have. Others I've made had variations in color scheme -- some duller gold body (closer to what actual prop looked like) with glittery highlights and then this one, which is a chrome-like gold finish on body of flute with glitter-paint highlights.
it is not exact, but it is pretty close to actual look of one of the real Freddys.
I made this one out of plastic hollow tube with eyes, holes and bands cut from foam.
Rylo. Very nice. Thanks for posting. Enjoying the Marty Krofft story, too.Look forward to any updates on a new sculpt/run.
Pumpernickel
Dr. McCoy,
Your Freddie is very nice. Sending you an email tonight with additional questions. BTW, here's another pic of the studio prop from Profiles in History's auction. Also below is a pic of "Jimmy" holding the flute. Anyone else have more studio prop or replica pix of Freddie?
Pumpernickel
I used to have a lot of reference on Freddy, but can't seem to find it. I have the series on DVD, but can't do screen caps. I'll see if I can dig anything up on my other computer -- may have saved a few things.
Take a look at pic above, the one with Jimmy holding flute -- it does NOT look like the same prop from Profiles. Note the lower three bands, or rings, at bottom of flute...the one on very bottom appears to be a bit larger/thicker in diameter than the two above it, while one the Profiles prop, they are all same size.
From what I can tell from still framing the DVD episodes and what I have read on the internet, there were a couple talking flutes made from rubber that had a cable stuck through the bottom that went up into the head area and controlled making the mouth open and close. There was one made from foam rubber that got wet and Jimmy twisted it (wrung it out) to get water out of it -- I believe this was seen in the first episode. There was one that was rigged to crawl like an inch-worm, and there appears to be some that were solid non-taking versions and some that were made of a flexible material (rubber?) that flopped around a bit when held -- although I suppose these could have been the talking versions without the wire cable mechanism in place, but I imagine they would have made a few that were softer for scenes where it was in actor's shirt or pants and they were dancing -- so they wouldn't be injured.
Of course, this is mostly based on my observations -- I haven't been able to find too much written about it.
Another thing to look for on variations of the prop are the eyes -- same basic shape, but when Freddy is frightened, they appear to have tilted eyes upside down to create a more frightened look, although this same expression was used in scenes where Freddy was NOT frightened, so who knows. The placement of the flute holes also varies slightly from prop to prop, as does the diamond (rhinestone) placement.
The version I like best, eye-wise, is the one seen on Profiles prop and in most close-ups on the series.
As you may have guessed, I LOVED this show as a kid, and when I introduced it to my young daughter, she fell in love with it, which is why I decided to make her a little Freddy Flute, and then eventually one for my collection.
I wish I could find the shiny fabric material they used for eyes and bands on the real prop. The Profiles auction also mentioned that they used a gold leatherette type material on BODY of flute.
I'll see if I can find some reference photos and post them here.
Yeah, I noticed the fatter butt on Jimmy's version. Thanks for the reply and info, and look forward to more photos if you can find them. There is a shocking lack of published information on the Freddy the Flute prop! The PIH listing provided the most info I'd ever seen, plus the great photos.DrMcoy said:
Pumpernickel
Not the first time that PIH has listed/sold fakes or poorly documented items. Many of their so-called experts are simply experienced (some less so) prop builders. Often they hire these guys to refurb or clean up a prop prior to an auction to hopefully get more for it and use their observations as validation of the piece.Pumpernickel said:
It's also just as likely that the flute sold on PIH was a screen used piece but who ever did the screen caps didn't bother to try to find one that actually matched the piece being sold. Lack of due diligence.
Nice photo, BrundelFly. I found this photo I'd saved a long time ago. I think it was from one of the Krofft auctions. Looks like a different Freddy than the one PIH is auctioning.
Pumpernickel
I've been getting the PIH Hollywood auction catalogs for years and I've noticed, frequently, that the current photos of the prop/costume/whatever being auctioned frequently do not appear to match their screen caps published in the catalogs. Not to say these are fakes, but perhaps overly refurbished or secondary (non-hero) pieces?SurferGeek said:
Pumpernickel
Last edited by Pumpernickel; Jan 2, 2009 at 10:19 PM.
Where is this from? I thought that Freddy had been missing since the early 80's. I thought I had read that. Has anyone heard that? You guys are right, that PIH piece doesn't look right.Pumpernickel said:
Laffo.
I believe the photo was from the big Krofft auction catalog in 1998, but I'm not entirely sure.Laffo said:
I vaguely recall a story about a Freddy the Flute prop getting stolen a number of years ago, but I don't remember any details. There were definitely multiple Freddy puppets used in the show based on whatever the puppet needed to do (e.g., talk, walk like a snail, get wrung-out like a sponge after it got wet, etc.).
Pumpernickel
The Freddy in the tube was auctioned off some time ago. The person who bought it after some years then put it on ebay. I was bidding on it and really wish I would have bid more as it sold for $3,500.00 and the winner told me that it will be in his family forever!
Laffo said:
Found this article in a newspaper archive from September 11, 1995:
Puppet tears
Sad news coming out of Hollywood. Producers Sid and Marty Krofft, who turned out such favorite kids fare as "H.R. Pufnstuf" and "Land of the Lost," report that someone has stolen Freddie the Flute from one of their warehouses. Freddie, a puppet that looked like a flute, was a big part of the "H.R. Pufnstuf" series. According to a Krofft spokesman, the producers discovered the theft when they went to take the puppet out of storage for a reunion special that's being taped this week for Nick at Nite.
The special, titled "Puf-a-Palooza," is a marathon telecast of the 25-year-old episodes. The "Puf-a-Palooza" will start Saturday at 10 p.m. The spokesman said the producers are offering a $5,000 reward for the return of Freddie no questions asked. The puppet is valued at $50,000, the spokesman said. "Marty is very disappointed," the spokesman said. "He treats these puppets like they're kids."
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