Action Animal III

This dog is an Action Animal, a bendable animal figure on a skateboard from 1979. Both the rabbit and giraffe action animals were previously featured on BPA. Similar to the rabbit, the dog has large feet which make it easier to balance him on the skateboard (unlike the giraffe's hooves). Unlike the rabbit, who has human hands, the dog has front paws that are pretty much identical to his back paws. This guy did not come with a hang-card but I included the one from the giraffe which also shows the dog. This is a pretty random menagerie of skaters.

Hot Lunch

Hot Lunch is a contemporary hard rock band from San Francisco. This album is their debut LP and was released earlier this year on Tee Pee in the US and Who Can You Trust? in Europe. Prior to releasing this album they released 2 7"s on Who Can You Trust?. The cover is reminiscent of a cheap 80s deck graphic and the back shows an actual deck with this graphic. Following the release of this album the band made this deck in 2 different shapes (available direct from the band here), although neither shape is the one shown on the back.

Hard Rock Homie

 

Homies are a series of 2" figures based on Chicano characters (although they have since branched out into characters of other backgrounds). The first series came out in 1997 and was sold in gumball machines. When they first appeared there was a fair amount of controversy over stereotypes and the glorification of gang life. This has since died down a bit as the artist added more characters and created backstories. This dude's name is Hard Rock and he is from series 4 which was put out in 2002. From Beyond Possession to Homies and beyond, the glorification of a skater's life continues.

Rosita, la Monstrua de las Cuevas

Rosita is a Spanish-speaking muppet from Sesame Street. She was introduced in 1991, long after my Sesame Street watching days were over. This figure is from 2011 and was sold in a 2-pack entitled "Skating Friends" which also included a rollerskating Abby Cadabby (a muppet that wasn't introduced until 2006). According to the Muppet Wiki, Rosita was originally a fruit bat but later redesigned as a muppet monster.

Hard-Ons

The Hard-Ons self-titled LP is the US release of their debut album (Smell My Finger) with "The Girl in the Sweater" 7" tacked on. It was released in 1987, a year after the both the album and the single were released in their native Australia. The cover features caricatures of the band members and shows singer/drummer Keish De Silva holding a deck.

Rooty the Great Root Bear

Rooty the Great Root Bear is the mascot for A&W Root Beer and the A&W restaurants. There is no date on this guy but he is probably from sometime in the '80s or possibly early '90s. He appears to be a kids meal toy and is part of a set that included a soccer player, a tennis player, a basketball player and a golfer.

Wakko

This Wakko figure was made by Hardee's in 1998, the last year of the Animaniacs run. Wakko is rocking his classic backwards baseball hat, blue shirt and no pants look. He's also in a fairly realistic pose. This figure originally came with a small launcher that would shoot him out. This is from a different set than the previously featured Goodskate Goodfeathers.

Doggy Style

Doggy Style's Live at Sun City is a one-sided 12" put out by Flipside in 1986. It appears to be a picture disc but it's actually a silkscreen on the b-side of transparent green vinyl. One of the many dancers is holding a Flipside deck. Doggy Style put out a skate punk album in 1985 which was quickly followed up by this live 12". By this time they were already traveling down a dangerous path of mixing punk, rap and Red Hot Chili Peppers inspired party funk (as evidenced by the Beastie Boys "She's on It" cover on this 12"). The band split into 2 factions following this release, both of whom refused to give up such a terrible name. Both sides released albums in 1986, both of which are not good. One side followed it up with an even worse album that had Duane Peters on the cover. Thanks to Matt of Smash! for setting me straight on the post-split history.

Beetlejuice

The Magic Slate Paper Saver is one of those pads that you can draw on and then lift the sheet to erase everything. This one is Beetlejuice themed, specifically for the animated TV series. I watched a lot of this when it was on but do not remember him ever skating. Beetlejuice came close to having some major BPA in an aborted sequel called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian where he follows the Deetz family to Hawaii. They have built a resort on a native burial ground and a spirit is now haunting them. Somehow this translates into Beetlejuice saving the day by winning a surfing contest.

Buster

Buster is a California Raisin figure put out by Hardees in 1991. He is the second California Raisin figure to be featured here on BPA. By '91 they had apparently exhausted regular raisin shapes doing things so they started giving them weird hair. Buster has a pretty sweet flat top and appears to be chilling on the ramp deck getting siced on someones run.

Killing Time

Thrasher put out some great skate rock comps in the '80s. After a bit of a gap in the '90s they started releasing skate rock compilations again in the early '00s. This 7" EP bears the classic skate rock logo but is a split between Bad Shit and LSDemons (both of whom feature pro skaters among their ranks) rather than a full compilation. It was released in 2011 and includes the Killing Time DVD and a tour zine as well as mp3s by each band. I picked this up at a small curio shop in Baltimore called NoveltyHaus.

Ronald McDonald II

This is the second time Ronald has been featured on BPA in figure form (he also appeared as a sticker). As generic as this figure's pose is, it's still infinitely better than last time. This figure dates from 2004 and was apparently a birthday party favor (rather than a Happy Meal toy). He is a bendable figure but with his feet attached to his board you can really only bend his arms a little. He has the tiniest knee and elbow pads to go along with his bike helmet.

The Boneless Ones

The Boneless Ones' Skate for the Devil was released by Boner Records in 1986, a pretty rough year for punk. Aside from a track on Thrasher's Wild Riders of Boards LP and the Boner Records sampler These Boners Be Poppin' LP, this is the only release by The Boneless Ones. The cover is pretty ripping and was drawn by Kent Mathieu, who has a pretty impressive resume that includes cover art for Possessed, Verbal Abuse and Autopsy. The back has a staged picture of three of the members on boards (including a McGill Skull and Snake). In addition to the title track there is also a second skate track titled "I'm a Skater."

California Fresh Eggs

This is a pin put out by California Fresh Eggs. I can't find too much on them but they seem to put out mostly baseball related pins. This dude looks like he is definitely feeling the BPA. I think this might be the laid back brother of the egg on the Hirax cover.