Well, we move tonight from WWII desert Jeep to Vietnam and my armored Mutt - The RAT PATROL. It is funny (funny strange, not funny ha-ha) that I should pick a name from a TV series about WWII troops fighting in the desert in Jeeps. But maybe not so strange when you think about it.
The Rat Patrol TV show aired during the 1960's and wasn't unknown to GIs in Vietnam (perhaps not as popular as COMBAT, but known none the less).
The Rat Patrol-ran for two seasons, a total of 56 color episodes, on ABC from September 12, 1966 to September 16, 1968. The show starred Christopher George as Troy, and Eric Braden as Dietrich; writers included Larry Cohen and Lorenzo Semple Jr.
THE RAT PATROL followed the adventures of an elite team of commandos of 111th Armor Recon, attached to the Long Range Desert Group, as they wreaked havoc with Rommel’s Afrika Korps during WW II. Led by the charismatic Sergeant Sam Troy, our heroes often found themselves pitted against their German nemesis DAK Hauptmann Dietrich. And yes, there is evidence that it was popular with folks in Vietnam.
THE RAT PATROL followed the adventures of an elite team of commandos of 111th Armor Recon, attached to the Long Range Desert Group, as they wreaked havoc with Rommel’s Afrika Korps during WW II. Led by the charismatic Sergeant Sam Troy, our heroes often found themselves pitted against their German nemesis DAK Hauptmann Dietrich. And yes, there is evidence that it was popular with folks in Vietnam.
But wait...there's more. Check out this helmet cover, it is hard to see, but you will see the words RAT PATROL on the cover as well as a very crude drawing of a little Jeep with some kind of gun mounted on it.
Anyway, that's my inspiration for the RAT PATROL armored Mutt. I don't know where I came up with the Mickey Mouse Idea, I guess I decided on the name RAT PATROL and then began thinking about a VC Rat and then the Mickey Mouse thing happened. Well, that's how "art" is sometimes.
Just an interesting little side note, as I was researching the Rat Patrol TV show, I found a reference to a MARX Rat Patrol Jeep with figures. I sure never saw this thing before. I had no idea that Marx did anything like this at all. It was definitely based on the television show, though I am curious as to whether or not it was a licensed product. Interesting that one of the figures is holding an M-16. Mistake, or done intentionally? Does anyone know? And was MARX copying the Hasbro Desert Jeep, or was it the other way around?
Here's the Hasbro piece by the way (below). By today's standard, it isn't much, but to tell you the truth, when this thing first came out, I wanted one as badly as everyone else.
Here's the Hasbro piece by the way (below). By today's standard, it isn't much, but to tell you the truth, when this thing first came out, I wanted one as badly as everyone else.
RSS Feed
