(part of a series on the advertising character toys of German shoe maker Salamander AG)
Being unfamiliar with German beyond movies and a few chance meetings, I can only assume “Mäusepiep” is pronounced similar to “Mousie peep” which has some disturbing implications if one is, like myself, immature enough to move past the more obvious and palatable thought that the “piep” stands for the sound the little critter might make as opposed to the stain and stench he leaves behind.
If you’ve been reading along these last few weeks (or care to peer a moment at the preceeding posts … g’wan, we’ll wait) you’ll know that Mäusepiep here is one of a group of six vinyl toys used as marketing props for German shoe manufacturer, Salamander AG.
In the stories, known as “Lurchi’s Abenteuer” (Lurchi’s Adventures), Mäusepiep is apparently a bit timid and occasionally clumsy. There are no notes I can find that indicate whether he is more prone to squeak or wee, so the mystery will have to remain.
The toy stands a nice 10 and a half inches tall, or thereabouts, and has an interesting sculpt. The fellow whom I got it from described it to me as “Mickey Rat” and it isn’t an unreasonable moniker, given those incisors, that long tail, the greasy little neckerchief knotted about it’s neck. Still, from other angles, the toy is actually rather cute.
Perhaps the biggest questionable choice of this sculpt, is why they decided to make it look as if it is crapping out its own tail. I mean, guys, that’s not coming out over a port aperture but pretty obviously protruding FROM it. Yikes. Ick. Ack. Uck … Peep.
And that’s it: the end of my rambling on Salamander AG and their odd, sometimes disturbing, vinyl toys. The rest of the series, Hopps the Frog and Piping the Dwarf, awaits me and my sluggish finances on Deutsche eBay. Until that time, keep wearing your fancy, German shoes … but no need for a shirt.
unguarded flesh – mayhap the baby’s ear.
behavior, don’tcha think? Especially if there’s a matching neckerchief.
