A new series from Y&A announced - so of course its it deserves the keen insightful analysis you'll read only here in the Fog Signal Building. LOL!
After a spin with flying santas and knights of the can't give 'em away, HL is taking another gamble - but one that plays to their strength. Bully for them - they take a folding and keep on molding! This time in a new medium - ceramic. Guardians of the Night, lighted and 10 - 14 inches talll - we'll dub 'em the GUNI series.
With AC lighting and a foot tall, one speculates about the girth of the base. Its gotta be wide enough to deal with the cord issue. Cords on small knick-knack type objects can make them a bit tippy and difficult to place. Course there's always the possibility of the ubiquitous transformer block which allows a smaller more manageable cord.
We shall see. Perhaps the GUNIs will tend toward that squaty look seen in many of the Leftons.
It will also be interesting to see the packaging and marketing literature. This is a pretty big venture for Y&A and I'll predict they make a strong effort to completely differentiate these from the HL line. I'm gonna go farther out on the limb and guess the
logo posted on their web site is not the final branding. Looks a bit too corporately stylized and swooshy for my taste - almost like it belongs to an insurance company.
But hey - gotta give 'em credit for a sense of humor. The GUNI page is pretty funny with its "Left in the Dark?" headline. This is the polite version of "Lefton the Rocks?". LOL!
The most interesting aspect (to me anyway) is the lights they've picked to go out the door with this new line.
Alcatraz CA
Bodie Island NC
Cape Hatteras NC
Cape May NJ
Cape Neddick ME
Currituck NC
Key West FL
Ponce de Leon FL
Portland Head ME
St. Augustine FL
Sea Pines SC
Tybee GA
What you got here is a pretty good reno line for
The Sweet Sixteen (minus four).
If you're a hard core HL collector, odds are you've got a strong collection if it sports these. Little surprised not to see Sandy Hook in there. But I'll bet everyone of the 12 has a strong gift shop near the real thing. This lineup tells me HL is serious about making the GUNIs a success - if they can't make 'em go with these 12, then trying a second round with different lights probably won't matter much.
We never had much indication that your basic Wacko also went for the Leftons in a big way. Of course the cord means a different venue - can't imagine cabinets full of these - although I'm sure there will be a few Wackos who will buy every one. Different target audience as lighted + ceramic + $48 suggest they may not have the same level of detail that HL lovers really go for. Though you never know.
No doubt Y&A is hoping for GUNI success, but it may not come in the form of 'award winning collectible lighthouses'. But hey - they've got the production thing down and distribution network. Don't know what the ramp-up is, but the GUNIs strike me as much less of a risk than some of their other spin-offs.
Interesting offering. Time will tell. I suppose we still aren't gonna get those lighted fog signal buildings. :-)
T