“The only official Weird-Ohs helmet.”
Released by Ideal in 1964, the Weird-Ohs Helmet was a wearable toy inspired by Hawk Model Company’s popular Weird-Ohs model kits.
Introduced in 1963, the Weird-Ohs kits featured caricatured human figures and their hot-rod vehicles. Early releases included Leaky Boat Louie, Drag Hag, Endsville Eddie, Digger, Huey’s Hut Rod, and others.
Ideal’s helmet resembled a stylized vehicle safety helmet and prominently displayed the “Weird-Ohs” name in the brand’s signature lettering across the front. Purple lightning bolts decorated the bright yellow plastic shell, while a pair of wings extended from the sides. The helmet also included a visor and chin strap.
COLLECTOR CONSIDERATIONS
The popularity of Weird-Ohs inspired a variety of spin-off merchandise and entertainment media.
Fairchild released a series of jigsaw puzzles in 1963, followed by Ideal’s Weird-Ohs board game and Hairy Records’ Music to Make Models By in 1964. That album featured one side devoted to Weird-Ohs and the other to Silly Surfers, another Hawk line of models. Decades later, Pearl Jam covered Gremmie Out of Control, a song from the Silly Surfers side of Music to Make Models By, for its 2003 album Lost Dogs.
Fleer expanded the Weird-Ohs brand with trading cards in 1966 and 1967. Interest in the property continued decades later. Testors reintroduced Weird-Ohs model kits in 1993, followed by Decode Entertainment’s 13-episode animated television series, which aired on the Fox Family cable network in 1999. Hawk revisited the original model kits through its Hawk Classics line in 2006.
Ideal’s Weird-Ohs Helmet can be hard to find on the secondary market. Those looking to add this item to their collection should be prepared for a high price point.
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