The Avengers International Fan Forum

Avengerholic · Epic Joined: 01 Sep 2008 Posts: 1181

I've just rediscovered my boxed set while sorting out the loft. Does anyone know anything about them ? I know Steed & Emma Peel were part of the 90's Lumiere Avengers VHS promotion, but how many made up the complete collection, and how scarce are these likely to be? I don't think they were produced in very high numbers and I don't recall seeing many back in the day. I never then, and haven't ever since, come across anything advertising Cathy or Tara. And If I recall they were rather pricey.

mrspeel01 · Thingumajig Joined: 20 May 2016 Posts: 95

Late reply as I have recently joined and have been making my way around. I have the Cathy & Tara prototype figurines. I managed to get these from ebay many moons ago -could be 10 years or more. They are indeed rare and i have only ever seen the Steed, Cathy & Tara prototypes for sale, on ebay. The Steed one was unpainted. I was outbid on him & Cathy but managed to get the Tara one. Then a couple of years later i managed to get the Cathy one. Have not seen any come up for sale since. Apparently a very small number of resin prototypes were made, and either left unpainted or were hand-painted. These look slightly different to the actual porcelain ones that were released. The pose is the same but the faces look different and slightly more detailed. If i could post pics here i would, as they are great looking figurines. Although they aren't photo accurate, they do capture the look of the characters.

Cathy is in her Leather fighting suit (jacket & trousers) with her arms folded. Tara is in the oufit she wore at the end of "The Forget-me-knot" (and in flashback scenes used in "Homicide & old lace", which were originally from "The Great Great Britain crime)". She is wearing a beige top & Culottes with leather gloves and thigh high leather boots that reach the culottes! She is holding her mink coat behind her. The pose is taken from the crossover scene in which she passes Emma on the staiirs leading to Steed's flat/apartment, and turns as Emma says the famous line "He likes his tea stirred anti-clockwise!". The Steed figure is, of course, wearing his suit & bowler. The Emma figure is wearing her leather outfit and her hands are in a karate pose. I believe the pose was taken from one of the pics in the opening credit titles of series/season 4.

The released figurines were in very limited numbers, and, as with the prototypes, came in a navy- blue box with only a rose/carnation emblem on it. There is no mention of the Avengers or character name on the box. It may be that it is a standard Age of Elegance box. I believe a certificate came with each figure stating the number and this might have made mention of the series and character. i cannot be sure of this as mine didn't have the certificate, being a prototype.

I very much wish i had the full set as i think they are great pieces to have.

Avengerholic · Epic Joined: 01 Sep 2008 Posts: 1181

Sculpted by Marcus Quincy 'Age of Elegance'. Only the grey suited Steed and Emma Peel figures were originally offered on general sale. As officially licensed Avengers merchandise, they were sold through Lumiere Pictures in 1993 as part of their official Avengers merchandise range to help promote the first official release of The Avengers on VHS. In the end only a handful of figures were actually completed, interest in them was apparently extremely low. Six figures were intended to be released to make up three pairs, each sold individually. Steed & Cathy, Steed & Emma and Steed & Tara. However only two variants of the Steed figures made it to production. Steed in sporting trousers and jacket (more in keeping with the Gale era) to accompany the Cathy Gale figure, Steed in grey suit and bowler to accompany the Emma Peel figure and Steed in navy blue suit to accompany the Tara King figure. However due to lack of interest in the range the blue suited Steed never materialised. I count myself lucky to have obtained a complete set of all five figures direct from Marcus Quincy himself in 1993. Steed (the tallest) standing at approx 22cm tall and Emma (the shortest) at 18cm, each figure was supplied in a blue box with the Avengers 'gun and carnation' motif embossed in gold leaf on the front. None were ever accompanied by a limited edition certificate as originally intended, although each figure does have a silver embossed legend on the wood base 'Marcus Quincy Age of Elegance along with the company's phone number'. Although advertised as porcelain they were in fact all made of a high quality porcelain resin. Quite detailed in places, Cathy even has a tiny gold watch on her wrist. If memory serves me correctly they retailed at around £70.00 a piece, a fair sum in the early 90s. Very, very few finished figures (along with unfinished versions) are out there. To my knowledge this is the only complete set of five figures in existence (although a handful of individual figures are held in other collections), Honor Blackman herself is in possession of a Cathy Gale example. They suffered a couple of production problems, the right hand and brolly of the Steed figure was cast in metal and expensive to have made, and the ankles/feet of the Emma Peel figure were so fine that in hot conditions the resin softened causing the figure to start leaning over.

Although facially only having a passing resemblance to the actors, they are extremely classy for a promotional item produced nearly a quarter of a century ago, pretty awesome pieces, count yourself lucky if you own any of them Wink

The company also offered a similar range of figures relating to 'The Prisoner', although I'm unsure if any of those even saw the light of day.

mrspeel01 · Thingumajig Joined: 20 May 2016 Posts: 95

It is really great to see the complete set and many thanks for posting them here. I absolutely do feel lucky to own a couple, which are very treasured.

MikeR · Epic Joined: 19 Jul 2009 Posts: 1104 Location: UK

Avengerholic · Epic Joined: 01 Sep 2008 Posts: 1181

mariocki · Have Fingers... Will Type! Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 434

There are definitely others out there, as a Treasure Hunt attendee can testify:

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"No ma'm, I'm a Texan."

Avengerholic · Epic Joined: 01 Sep 2008 Posts: 1181

peeler1 · White Dwarf Joined: 07 Sep 2008 Posts: 9

I have just been sorting out some stuff and came across the sell sheet and price list for the age of elegance figurines. I myself only have the Emma Peel which I could only afford at the time I would have loved the whole set and still would but I think that is going to be hard. Just thought i would post them on here for a matter of interest, but unfortunately i don't know how to put images on here.

Avengerholic · Epic Joined: 01 Sep 2008 Posts: 1181

peeler1 · White Dwarf Joined: 07 Sep 2008 Posts: 9

Steed and Cathy were £69.95 and Emma and Tara were £59.95 which seem quite reasonable prices now compared to what they probably would cost now.

Avengerholic · Epic Joined: 01 Sep 2008 Posts: 1181

mrs_emma_peel · Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2016 1:40 pm Post subject:

Lovely pieces of stylish art-work. Must look out for them on eBay.
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James/Mrs Emma Peel

Rodders · Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 7:45 am Post subject:

James, I know which one you will be seeking out.
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The Avengers: a product of the sixties and a timeless piece of sublime art