I decided to revisit my research on the Freddy the Flute Props used in the Pufnstuf TV Show and Movie to come up with a better "conclusion " ( in quotations since its really all still speculation. ) on how many Freddy the Flutes were made for the Show and Movie production. Last time I did this I came up with the conclusion that there were around 27 which looking back is inaccurate , However there are more than just 5 Freddys made , most of which cant be explained by the new " Face parts can be swapped out and replaced " theory.
Starting with the Hero Freddy puppets from the original TV Show
( as seen in Image #1 and the video after it.)
Hero Freddy #1 is permanently stuck in a sad expression and its highly unlikely any of the face pieces could come off without damaging the puppet. Not to mention alot of the diamonds and holes are differently placed between the 3 Hero puppets with some having less diamonds than others.
Hero Freddy #2 is the iconic one used in a majority of close up shots and is once again unable to have any of his features removed as in order for them to move consistently without falling off they'd have to be glued on , not to mention if you take a good look at the inside of the mouth which i circled green you can see the foam rubber used to make the body flexible has the mouth molded in permanently happy state which helps give the mouth its shape , and once again
Hero Freddy #3 is one of the more distinct ones and the easiest to declare as it own puppet cause altho it has a similar mouth mechanic the way it moves is completely different to the other two as instead of making the head lean back it pushes and pull only the nose and upper lip making it more impossible to swap out features since theyd have to be securely attached or molded in so Freddys lips or nose wouldnt fall off mid scene. This Freddy also has even more differences with his diamonds with some being broken off by the time the first episode started filming which only one was fixed with the very top on never being fixed , which makes it obvious this flute is also its very own puppet , meaning its highly unlikely any of the Hero Freddys used in the show were one of the same just with swapped features as each one has too many differences in proportions , functionality and diamond and hole placements.
Moving onto the Movie Hero Freddys ( image #2 and Video #2)
Out of any of the Hero Puppets to have any feature swapping it'd be #4 and #6 as altho aside from differently sized eyes they are genuinely nearly identical to each other and after hours upon hours of analysis I'm confident Hero Freddy #4 and #6 are one in the same and the only likely instance of the " Face parts can be swapped out and replaced " theory being likely.
However Hero Freddy #5 from the film is one i can 100% confirm is not one in the same with any of the previous Hero Freddys from both the Show and Movie , as the nose and eyes are very secured to the face and to the point where the eyes and nose have melted into the body of the flute in recent times as this one is the only Hero Freddy to have survived to our knowledge. He also have very different diamond placements and less diamonds overall compared to the other 2 Hero Freddys used in the film not to mention the far smaller flute holes on his body.
So In terms of how many Hero Puppet Freddys were made for both productions it'd be a total of 5. 3 from the TV Show and 2 from the Film.
Now regarding the Static Freddy props ( Image #3) this is where it got a lil bit harder but i think i got close to identifying them all. I also grouped the TV Show and Movie Static props together since some are shared between the productions most likely cause they aged better compared to the Hero Flutes which were prob already badly damaged and unscreenworthy by the time the Movie was being filmed hence why new Hero Freddys were made.
Static #1 is one that is very distinct and different from the others as this one lacks a nose which can be seen as early as the Intro Sequence. aside from that hes very on model with Hero Freddy #2. Hes also very stiff and sturdy.
Static #2 is prob the most accurate to the Hero Freddy #2 and one of the most on model , he is also more noticeably flexible compared to some other static Freddys.
Static #3 is Very off model and its most notable feature is the large forehead which is cause by the all flutes features such as diamonds and holes being placed lower than usual. Not used often but can be seen in several shots from both the TV show and Movie , Hes also very stiff and sturdy.
Static #4 is one that is used in a few shots but is most prominently seen in several promotional photos taken to advertise the show. He has a very flat nose and is another one that is flexible , this is also the flute used for when Pufnstuf hid him under his belly in Ep.1 " The Magic Path."
The squeezable Freddys is where i hit a bump cause after hours of cross referencing i couldn't come to a solid conclusion whether of not these 2 are the same or very similarly built props , as they both serve the same purpose of squeezing water out of Freddy. Some things are different while some things are very similar and since we dont get that good of a look at either its hard to say but at most there were 2 made and at least 1 if they are indeed the same.
Static #5 is one that is from what i could find not one that was used often as i could only find him being used clearly in Ep.7 " The Birthday Party." although we dont get a good look at him we can see that the top of the flute is more short and stumpy compared to the others and looks a tiny bit more on the angry side expression wise.
Mushroom Freddy is one of the easiest to identify as hes the only Freddy to be a pure green color with his formerly light gold accents turing a dark gold under any lighting , most likely done to make him look sickly. However the Green Freddy was only ever used in closeup shots as when the camera was far away from Freddy they took the mushroom cap and just placed it on some of the other Static Freddys , mainly Static #4.
Worm Freddy was only ever used in Ep.2 " The Wheely Bird" where Freddy crawls to Witchiepoo's Forest , The Puppet one used here is very distinct and only ever used for the crawling scene , while the posed static worm Freddy was used for one shot so we dont get a good look at him to confirm whether or not its a new flute or one of the other Static Freddys posed. So just like Squeezable Freddy at most there were 2 Worm Freddys made depending if you believe the posed Static Worm Freddy is its own thing.
Static #6 is easily the hardest to identify as he was only seen in 2 shots but the feature that makes this one stand out is Freddys coloring , Moreso the lack of color in some spots as it seems like this Freddy never got some of his lighter gold accented added to him and its most visible on the top ring around Freddys forehead where its the same color as the main body of the flute instead of the proper light gold.
The Movie Transformation Flutes are easy to identify and explain as they were more simple flutes made for when Freddy is in various stages of transforming into a magic flute , starting from a normal silver flute , to a golden flute with no face then to a flute with a face but no diamonds before using one of the main Freddys at the end of his transformation.
then last but not least the one thats given me a headache for years , the Static Freddy that was sold at auction in the 2000's. For the longest time i couldnt find a match but thanks to a fellow Krofft friend here on facebook ( who i wont name to protect their privacy unless they wanna reveal themselves. ) had told me this Freddy was never used on screen as allegedly it was one of the first ones made by the art department , kinda like a prototype and that's most likely why when it was auctioned off it was in such incredible shape as if this is true it was most likely never used on screen and never went through major wear and tear like most other Freddy the Flutes did.
So my conclusion on the possible number of Freddys made? Although we cant 100% confirm , based on my new research and all the comparisons on the low end there were around 13 static Freddys made between the Tv show and Movies Production or on the high end around 15 if you want to count the other Squeezable and Worm Freddys as their own thing. In terms of Hero Puppets no more than 5 of those were made based on my evidence and new research. But once again this is all speculation as theres no real way we can confirm how many were made 100%.
Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a great day!!
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