PezGnome's Fantasy PEZ

OK I admit it, I like fantasy PEZ.  Some collectors dismiss them, but if done right they can be a work of art.  Albeit a small, plastic, candy dispensing, work of art.  On the flip side, some fantasy PEZ are nothing but a toy head slapped onto a PEZ stem.  Then there are the fantasy PEZ creations by John Sproull a.k.a. PezGnome, a fellow collector on the PEZheads e-mail list.  

He sets the bar higher by creating innovative, detailed fantasy PEZ and photographing them with a backdrop that really completes the work.  Below are my favorites, all 27 of them!  Sorry, but like regular PEZ it's hard to pick just a few.  :-)  The last 2 are his newest creations.

Before we get to the photos, though, here's a brief e-mail Q&A I had with PezGnome...

When did you start creating fantasy PEZ?  
Maybe 6 or 7 years ago.

What was the first one you made?  

Bugs as Daffy and Daffy as Bugs.

Your handle is Pez Gnome.  How did the name come about?  Was the name inspired by your gnome creation or vice versa?  

With my former job I had three weeks vacation per year, so I decided to check out the USA (40 states so far).  Since I travel alone, I kinda wanted proof of the places I've been, hence a 10-inch gnome named Larry standing in front of stuff.  The idea was inspired by the movie Amelie and it's kidnapped gnome. I needed a handle for various online forums so I combined my love of Pez and gnomes.  Of course, I needed an avatar to match and the rest is history.

Did you have experience in art before making fantasy PEZ?  If so, please tell me about it.  

My family has always been (to borrow a great English term) bodgers. We like to make things out of other things (now called repurposing) with cool results. I have made broaches and pins out of credit cards for twenty or more years (of which, were even featured on a local morning show - Good Day Sacramento), stuff out of license plates, roadsigns  and other items that didn't start out that way for special gifts to friends and family. Past year or so I've started to try some roadside sculpture made from only things I find on walks.

What inspires you now to make a fantasy PEZ?  

It's fun to figure out how it's going to turn out, to share with other Pezheads and being completely selfish, each one I make, is one more I can add to my grand total of different PEZ.

How long have you been a member of the PEZheads e-mail list?  

Probably late 2009.

Do you also buy fantasy PEZ?

Not too many opportunities and I am kinda thrifty.

What is your opinion of the fantasy PEZ scene in general?

I think it's great as long as a little thought is put behind each one...any head stuck on any stem without a reason or proportion is a little dismaying but when a fantasy PEZ is done right (even with a matching bubble card), it's awesome.

You seem to be a big Simpsons fan.  Me too.  With all the great characters in the show it's too bad there aren't more PEZ than just Homer, Bart, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie.  If you could persuade PEZ Co. to make 5 more new characters from the Simpson's show, which ones would it be? 

Just 5 huh? well they could start with Apu, Willie, Ned, Burns and Krusty....of course,  why not Itchy and Scratchy.  Although first, how about some from South Park, Family Guy and Futurama.

Any fantasy PEZ in the works that you'd like to mention? 

Looking to do more American Gothic like ones but two specifically by this this old Italian painter (hint I need 13 PEZ total), Homer as Dracula and maybe something solar powered.

»»» To view PezGnome's credit card art and Larry the Gnome's adventure across the U.S.A. be sure to visit the Gnome Voyage Flickr page. «««

So without further ado, here are the fantasy PEZ creations of PezGnome.  Enjoy!

Mick Darthy -- "Disney buys Star Wars...<nuff said"

Kitty Alex -- "bought an extra kitty in case I screwed up one of the Kisses...kinda inspired by Bart Simpson's version"

Drinking Bird -- "maybe my favorite"

PezGnome -- "my second creation inspired by my travels around the USA with a 10 inch gnome named Larry (and one I saw at the Pez Museum)"

Tina's FEB ChiaPez -- "I like to make one-of-a kind gifts for folks, in this case Tina G (I need a creative outlet or I'm just cheap)...this was the second try, the first head fell apart in the kiln"

Ag Marge and Homer -- "wanted to do this for years from an idea at the Pez Museum had to find the right shadowbox"

Bugs as Daffy & Daffy as Bugs -- "my first fantasy because I love the three cartoons in the WB Rabbit Season series 'Pronoun trouble'"

Pez Attacks -- " that movie gets better every time I watch it, so....."

Afro Circus -- "saw the commercial and just had to"

Borg 1 -- "found the TNG box set at a flea market and got inspired"

New Bat meets Ozzy -- "some of my fantasy pez is just attaching a head but I always try to get the right proportions"

Godzilla 2 -- "took a while to find the Godzilla donor and then had to decapitate him...My Japanese neighbor cheered"

Kiss Kittys -- "as soon as someone on FB suggested Pez make these, I was all over it"

Jurpezic Rex -- "another fun one...got to work with plaster of paris...made a FEB one for Tina <sadly no pix"

Opus -- "huge fan of Bloom County and I was checking out my Pez wall, Dino seemed perfect"

PringlesPez -- "I LOVE PRINGLES!"

SmartPez -- "Einstein just rocks"

Bride of Pezenstein -- "on a suggestion of another Pezhead"

Tiki -- "just always wanted to do"

Sept 12 Punk -- "another collector had one but wouldn't sell it"

Sock Monkey -- "dig sock monkeys so an Easter lamb had to be sacrificed"

Alien -- "saw another on the web but that works"

Day of the Dead -- "another always wanted to try"

Skull LED Eyes -- "been to two tapings of Craig's show [The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson] and wanted to try a battery operated one"

RCL2 -- "love me some Robot Chicken!"

Cyberman3PO

Frankenbart

Wall Grandstand Display

Well today I FINALLY got my act together and put up a decent display of some of my PEZ.  I bought a wall grandstand display from ShowTime PEZ Displays that can hold up to 80 PEZ dispensers.  The model I selected is 424WG80E, which has four rows and is 24" W x 7" D x 8.5" H.  I chose to get a wall mountable grandstand display since it is space efficient (I'm short on wall space) and the company's displays are recommended by other PEZheads.

Below are some photos to give you a good idea of the display in case you're looking for one.  As you can see from the first photo, the display requires three screws (not included, no biggie).  Make sure to use flat head screws, not countersunk, or you will likely crack the plastic.

The installation is really easy, just hold the display against the wall, make sure it is level using a balance, and trace the three holes onto the wall.  Then put the display down and drill the three holes into the wall.  Depending on your wall type and chosen screw you might need a wall anchor for each hole.  In my case I didn't need them, which made things even easier.  I recommend using a hand screwdriver, so you can screw until it is hand tight and stop at that point to avoid cracking the plastic.  Optionally, you can use a washer, but in my case it wasn't needed since the screw head was wide enough and I wasn't over torquing the screw.

The last photo is a side view to show you the toes of the PEZ feet slide snugly under the rail.  Note that this model has a single rail on the front, which is indicated by the E at the end of the model number.  There is a two rail version, where the second rail holds the back of the PEZ feet, but it is $5 more and doesn't seem necessary as far as I can tell.  The PEZ are good and sturdy in position and won't wiggle or tip over.

After I got the display mounted then I had to decide which PEZ to show off!  I opted for Star Wars, Super Heroes, Sesame Street, Pink Panther, and Funky Faces.  With these I was only able to fit 74 PEZ in the display.  So you really won't be able to fit 80 unless you select lots of slim ones, which aren't too common these days.

Btw, right now ShowTime is having a 10% off sale, so if you're considering getting a display, it's a good time.  The model I got is on sale for $34.95 and I strongly recommend it.  I plan to get many more of these displays so I can show off the rest of my PEZ collection!  That's all for now and hopefully this post helps you out.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Safari (Kooky Zoo) Lion Variations

The last few days I've become fascinated with all the variations of the Safari (Kooky Zoo) Lion variations.  The whole thing started when I realized my collection included only four of the variations, 1) purple face/purple mane/purple ears, 2) red crystal, 3) clear crystal, and 4) tan face (known as "David W" for David Welch).  These four are common and shown in the first row (leftmost four) of the collage below.

Tonight I spent some time creating this collage from the photos available at the excellent PezBase site.  Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can fully enjoy all the details in the variations.

The first five in the top row starting from the left are common, but the rest are harder to find.  The opaque red variation (top row, 3rd from right) is known as "Novartis" and MoMoPez has some good quality photos of it.  Novartis is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.

Although the collage shows 32 variations, PezBase lists a total of 55 variations (no photos for 23 of them).  The main variations:  

• Face (clear crystal, light purple opaque, or red cystal)
• Mane (brown opaque, dark purple opaque, or red crystal)
• Ears (tan opaque, light purple opaque, or red crystal)

Below is a better photo of one of the red crystal face/purple mane variations.  It recently sold on eBay for $22.50 from Austria. You can see the contrast between crystal and opaque ears, which I really like.

Some other good photos of Safari (Kooky Zoo) lion variations are at the Pastor Pez blog (my favorite PEZ blog) and at ChristianPez (excellent collection site).

I'm gonna keep searching and hopefully I can add a few more of these lion variations to my collection!