Posted By:
Rob DewolfThanks again, Dan.
Yes, they're all Manzolini (I'm not sure if this is spelled correctly and am too lazy to look it up) figures. The middle two are vintage, albeit with bases of different thicknesses.
The left one simply is unpainted, and I have my doubts it's vintage. There was a run of these produced in the eighties by a gentleman who had similar molds to that of the original. He didn't produce them with the intent to deceive, but unfortuantely I see them being passed off as originals. The painting is the tell-tale sign, as newer ones have a flat finish compared with the originals.
The one on the far right is one of the newer ones that, along with several others, originally was manufactured by the man mentioned above for a native American Indian group that was putting on a presentation to Cleveland Indians management, trying to persuade the club to do away with Chief Wahoo. They ordered a couple figurines painted black, a couple with Asian features, etc. The point being that the club would never use those types of Chief Wahoos because they would be deemed offensive, so why use Chief Wahoo? The man produced a few more than needed and eventually sold them.
I got this one from a good friend who's a very respected Cleveland Indians collector around these parts and bought the extras, so I have every reason to believe the story. In fact, my friend is the person who sold you your most recent Lincoln pin.
Small world, huh?