Star Wars Ep 1 R2-D2 Die-cast watch by Hope Industries

A second robot running today, but this one is more more recognisable.

The watch is a Star Wars watch which was released in 1999 as one of the promotional products for the release of Stars Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. It is a die-cast metal watch and part of the same series as the Darth Maul watch I blogged in April. It is by the US based company Hope Industries, Inc who seem to not exist anymore.

The watch is a model of the robot R2-D2 who was one of a small few characters who featured in all 6 of the Star Wars movies so far. The watch body is a metal model of R2, and pressing down on his middle leg lets his body flip up and reveal the LCD display. As with Darth Maul, the time is displayed in 4 digits over two rows. There are two buttons below the display with one to cycle between time, date, and seconds, and the other for setting. Both buttons need to be pressed with a long pointy object suggesting that it isn't really designed to show the other display modes. The strap is a moulded blue plastic design with a texture design like a circuit board.

Star Wars Episode 1 Darth Maul Die-Cast Watch with collectible case by Hope Industries

It's silly watch Sunday again, so time for another novelty watch.

This one is another by the New York based manufacturer Hope Industries Inc, and as usual, made in China. They were members of the Toy Manufacturers of America, and L.I.M.A (International Licensing Industry Manufacturers Association). I don't think the company currently exists as their website isn't there anymore. This watch was developed in association with Art Asylum, and sculpted by Paul Komoda. Paul Komoda is a US based sculptor, known for making highly detailed and dynamic works, and has worked with many toy manufacturers. It is, of course, copyrighted to Lucasfilm Ltd too.

The watch is from 1999 and is merchandise for the release of Star Wars Episode 1. It features the Sith apprentice Darth Maul, who had been taken from his Jedi training by Sith Lord Darth Sidious (aka Emperor Palpatine), and trained in the way of the Sith. He was a very distinctive character with a red and black tattooed face. The head of the watch is a die-cast moulding of Darth Maul's head. Under his chin is the lid release which opens the watch up, revealing a vertical LCD display (two digits for hours with the two minutes digits on a separate row). Under the display are the two buttons, and as with most novelty watches, one switches between time, date, and seconds, and the other sets the time.

Aliens - Alien Queen by Hope Industries

Today, I'm covering another of my watches that is sealed in it's original packaging. It seems however, that it's still not worth much, as you can buy it for less than $2 on Amazon!

The watch is an Alien Queen model from the movie Aliens. It features a watch head which is a model of the Alien (with movable head) and a long tail that wraps around your tail to hold it on. The 4 digit LCD is placed in the Alien's chest, and the two buttons are on either side of the LCD panel.

It is a 5 function quartz watch, with hours, minutes, seconds, date, and month!

The watch was made in 1993, and has copyright of Twentieth Century Fox from 1986 (when the film was released), as well as 1993.

The alien that the watch is based on was originally designed by H. R. Geiger, who is known for his unique and atmospheric sci-fi designs.

The watch has made by Hope Industries Inc, who are based in New York, but manufacture in China.

Dinosaurs (TV) Baby Sinclair watch by Hope Industries

When I was in my teens, I used to watch a TV puppet series about a dysfunctional family of dinosaurs called the Sinclair family. The series was called Dinosaurs, and included Jim Henson Productions as one of the two production companies, and was released in association with Walt Disney Television.

The series is set in Pangaea in 60,000,003 BC, and was a sitcom around the dinosaurs family lives. Many names in the series are linked with oil companies (Sinclair Oil (who use a dinosaur as a logo), Phillips, Hess, Richfield, and BP) referencing the belief that dinosaurs were one of the origins of oil.

This watch was released in the 1990s by Hope Industries Inc. from New York (but made in China). It features one of the most popular characters from the series, Baby Sinclair (who shared a voice actor with Elmo from Sesame Street), with the LCD display showing in his baby bottle. The copyright for the watch is held by The Walt Disney Company. The watch head is Baby Sinclair lying in its basket, and the strap is textured to be like rock.

The watch only has a simple LCD module, with time, date, and seconds.
I really like the way these old watches promote themselves as having 5 functions, when that only means day, month, hours, minutes, and seconds! It also promotes that this has an adjustable strap (!), and a battery included (!!).