{"id":3277,"date":"2012-03-20T04:00:42","date_gmt":"2012-03-20T11:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coreyshead.com\/blog\/?p=3277"},"modified":"2014-02-14T09:03:29","modified_gmt":"2014-02-14T17:03:29","slug":"piping-the-dwarf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coreyshead.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/20\/piping-the-dwarf\/","title":{"rendered":"Piping the Dwarf"},"content":{"rendered":"

(part of a series on the advertising character toys of German shoe maker Salamander AG<\/a>)<\/span>
\n\"Piping<\/a><\/p>\n

Don’t worry, kids. I’m not going to kill you!<\/div>\n

Piping der Zwerg – I can only assume it’s not pronounced “Piping,” as in “who’d like a plate of piping hot dwarf?” but\u00a0“Pipping.”<\/p>\n

Further, though “zwerg” translates roughly to “dwarf” in English, I really think the little bugger is more gnome-like – but who am I to nitpick? Dwarf, Gnome, Brownie, Creepy Little Dude – it’s all the same in the long run.<\/p>\n

That’s right, my toy collecting hobby has come to the point that I now own a gnome. Allow me to paraphrase the fellow who started me down this path of German shoe-character madness: “I wasn’t really all that thrilled about owning a gnome but, having received it, this toy is actually pretty cool – a standout in the group.” I concur.<\/p>\n

Piping is the last of a group of six vinyl toys I’ve been collecting and profiling on this blog that originated as marketing props for German shoe manufacturer, Salamander AG.<\/p>\n

According to the shoe manufacturer’s manufactured folklore for their werbefiguren (advertising characters), Piping is the elder of the group; conservative, cautious, but prone to “tinkering.”
\nThere’s a euphemism, if I ever heard one. “Tinkering,” indeed …<\/p>\n

The vinyl stands 11 inches tall from the heels of his tan oxfords to the disturbingly bulbous protuberance ineffectively obscured by his skin-tight, red hat. Is that a greasy ponytail wadded up under there or is Piping sporting a craniopagus, parasitic twin? *shudder*<\/p>\n

The toy has lots of nice sculpting detail: a patch on the knee, an unappealing, oldster’s tucchus crease, irregular and bushy chin-curtain, fanciful scalp tuft, and manic expression. Something about this toy’s eyes: as if, lonely and hungry, he’s just stumbled upon a particularly disturbing erotic cake and no one’s around to stop him …<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And that’s it: the true end of my rambling on Salamander AG and their unexpected (by me, at least) vinyl toys; a strange but welcome addition to my collection.<\/p>\n

\"Piping<\/a><\/p>\n

I shall eat your face with glee!<\/div>\n

\"Piping<\/a><\/p>\n

Piping is so dashing in his oxfords.<\/div>\n

\"Piping<\/a><\/p>\n

What the hell is hiding under his hat?<\/div>\n

\"Piping<\/a><\/p>\n

Never miss a chance to sculpt some old-man ass in your toy.<\/div>\n

\"Piping<\/a><\/p>\n

Naughty cupcakes!<\/div>\n

\"Piping<\/a><\/p>\n

Piping spends so much on expensive German shoes that the rest of his wardrobe suffers.<\/div>\n

\"Piping<\/a><\/p>\n

We all gotta boogie sometime …<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(part of a series on the advertising character toys of German shoe maker Salamander AG) Don’t worry, kids. I’m not going to kill you! Piping der Zwerg – I can only assume it’s not pronounced “Piping,” as in “who’d like a plate of piping hot dwarf?” but\u00a0“Pipping.” Further, though “zwerg” translates roughly to “dwarf” in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[251,6,394,8,5,894,7],"class_list":["post-3277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-toys","tag-german","tag-lurchi","tag-piping","tag-salamander-ag","tag-sofubi","tag-toys","tag-vinyl"],"yoast_head":"\nPiping the Dwarf<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coreyshead.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/20\/piping-the-dwarf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Piping the Dwarf\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(part of a series on the advertising character toys of German shoe maker Salamander AG) Don’t worry, kids. 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