Blood for the Baron!

...... some kid is dreaming, and we're all stuck inside his wacky Broadway nightmare.....

Actually, no, but I'll give 50p to anyone who knows where that is from, and £1 to anyone who has the remotest idea why it popped into my head as I started typing this!!

Anyway, the Theory (capital there, making it almost true already!) - Dufus Shads were the earliest issue Shadows. There. That's my theory! Why? I hear you all shout...

Well, the Dufus shads are the ones with not only the dufus head, but thicker soles to their feet, and harder plastic hands. Barons, Mutons and others came with the characteristics.

Anyway, I was looking at some of MOC Enemy stuff last night and most of my earliest 'Commander Mail Away' items, which also have the "and read all about them" paragraph under the "Join the Club" bit on the back, and often the "Look out for the exciting Action Force COmic on sale" flash on the front.

So these are the earliest issue cardbacks each time, which eventually started to get stickers on the front over the comic 'flash' and then after that became multi language cards. But most (not all, I hasten to add!) of the harder plastic, thicker sole, Dufus era figures, seem to be on the very early cardbacks. Hence the theory.

Discuss.....

My theory is the opposite, that the Dufii are later versions.

Why?

The thicker soles, better gripping hands and more symmetrical (albeit dufussy) heads look to be improvements made later in production.

Also, the Dufus has no eagle badge moulded on to his chest, it's just painted.
The earlier version has the badge moulded on as it uses the German Stormtrooper mould.

It is odd about the cardbacks though.
I need to check the cardback that I got my first Dufus Shad on.

I've had a Dufus-style Infantryman on an Commander Mail Away cardback and one of the earlier (IMHO) versions on the same type of card while another was on the later Skeletron card.

Buffy..... you are odd, Steve. Also, your google is broken.

Either I have all Dufii, or I can't tell the difference. I will look closely.

Chopper wrote:Buffy..... you are odd, Steve.

CORRECT!!! On both counts!!! Seems I owe you £1.50 Chopper!! That's about a million Aussie Dollars aint it mate, under current exchange rates??? Damn!!! But if you used Google you cheated, and are no better than a certain Mr Sundance and his Wiki ways!!

meertoh wrote:My theory is the opposite, that the Dufii are later versions.

That's why my theory is controversial Mr Meertoh!!! We all thought that! But I can't then reconcile that with how come so many of them are on the very earliest of Commander Mail Away cards. Unless it was just a "use up the old box of cardbacks we found at the back of the stockroom" moment.

But I would bet that if we do a little survey of the harder handed 'later' era Dufus-esq figures that are out there MOC that most of them are on Commander Mail Away cardbacks. Which is why I have this theory! And I know it flies in the face of what we all previously thought, but it's my theory, and I'm allowed to have one!!

meertoh wrote: Also, the Dufus has no eagle badge moulded on to his chest, it's just painted.The earlier version has the badge moulded on as it uses the German Stormtrooper mould.

That's a VERY good point there though! And something I'd never noticed!

You most certainly are allowed to have a theory, Steve ... in theory!

The survey is a great idea!
I'll have a look for my cardback this evening. (think it might be in the attic)

It might take a while for me to Survey mine.....

The other thing I'd be interested in finding out is if there are known "hard plastic" version of EVERY figure?? I've got Baron, Muton, Black Major (I think) and obviosuly Shads. I think I also have Z Infantry, and maybe some more, loose.

But were ALL figs done in this later way too???

So there's another survey to be done!!!

No Steve, that's all there is , there's not a shedload of new variants that must be sought out!

Stop it. Silly people. I have all my shads out now, trying to work out (still) what a dufus is.