Just to explain the new changes and why.
Recently, I added a whole new section of Matching the Swipe where I've gone through all the Planet pin numbers, and, mostly, found the original image the pin was swiped from. This has caused problems, as because I was using a Wix free site, I was only entitled to 1MG of images on my site. And I started getting warnings I'd run out of image space. I tried lots of things, like removing pages, reducing the size of the images. It got to the point where I hated editing this site because it was such a pain.
So on the 1/1/24 I paid Wix for the lowest priced web space which entitles me to 2MG of images... So this site isn't free anymore and I have to make it pay. Anyone who knows me, know I hate paying out lots of money, so I've got to find a way of making this site pay, which means buying pins from me. Though, I have got rid of the annoying Wix banner.
Speedball pin
Some friends have had this pin made, Speedball #321. Planet advertised this pin, but it was never made (At least I and everybody in the pin community have never seen it). A few friends have gathered together and produced this pin to be as close to a Planet pin as can be. On the back, it's labelled "After Planet Studios Pin #321" to show it's not a genuine Planet Pin. The Speedball pin is 1.25 x 1.0 inches. It is hard enamel made using the epola process, which is the newer version of Cloisonné pins. The pin has a single post backing, the back of the pin is waffle design with back stamp and is plated in black nickel. The boarder edges are tapper. This pin is more durable than the old Planet Studio pin because it is made out of enamel based in resin. Only a hundred have been made, so there aren't that many of them. This could be yours
If you want this great reproduction pin. Email me on fantastic.four@ntlworld.com
The UK cost is £1O + £2 postage in the UK.
USA cost is $15.50 and local postage.
Planet Studios
This web page is dedicated to Planet Studio Pins, that were made between 1987 and 1996.
Planet Studios was created in 1987 and was sold in 2007. Between 1987 and 1996 it created, what in my opinion, are some of the best pin's ever made. The company was created by Elizabeth Barry, aka Libbey Saul. She and her husband created comics pins, mainly Marvel, between 1988 and 1996. When in 1996 due to the comic market crash and Marvel wanting a bigger take of the revenue when sales all around were falling and comic shops going under, they decided to get out of the comic business and just produce small butterfly and flower pins under Libbey's design's. Libbey unfortunately died around 2000 and her husband sold the business around 2007. This was a small family cottage industry, run in a private house by a wife and husband and maybe a few employees.
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They started doing just small well-designed hard enamel cloisonné pins, but also tried branching out towards other things like ear-rings, key rings, money clips and rings. You can tell if it is a Planet Studio mainly by its size, back pattern, subject matter and date. Most pins were of the super-heroes in dynamic poses, the early one normally featured the hero slightly off-centre within a box or a circle background. Later pins featured more cropped figures with no background.
I've found that the pins were produced mostly in two different ways, in the classic cloisonné hard enamel method but also a soft enamel type pin, which is a brass embossed stamped pin, which was then painted with one coat of enamel. These soft enamels, painted pins are lower quality too and can be easily told apart by the lack of detail and the brass halo effect along the edge. There are examples where the same subject has a pin in both classic cloisonné and painted. I'm unsure why they did this. Were they sold at two different prices? The best description of the types to pin and the process of making them is from another pin / badge maker, Made By Cooper. They also tried to diversify into small jewellery like ear-rings, key rings, money holders and even small pencil grips.
Not all of their product was clearly marked with their copyright, and it never has of whom the character is. This has led to some confusion over time, as some of the characters who featured, only appeared in a few issues and I have seen many mislabelled when sold. I have noted the stamped copyright date on the back of all the pin scans I have made, but on some pins the date is so small I can barely read it. So if you find a mistake about the pin date or anything else, please let me know, so I can change it.
I have to mention the cover pins. I will only be listing a few of them on this site. They were a brass blanks, with a safety pin back, about 3.5cm x 5cm, with a glued on paper reproduction of a recent cover. They were made around 1991-1993 and were "limited editions" of 2500. They don't last well. Over time the colour fads and if left out on display becomes sun bleached. They were mostly of 1st issues that had just come out like Spider-Man, Ghost Rider and the multiple X-Men issue #1 A to E covers.
The types of pins they made - Hard enamel, soft enamel, plastic on brass.
This is an example of the cloisonné type pin, also called hard enamelled. Notice the finer detailing, in the lips and eyes. Also, the better colour it has.
This is an example of the soft enamelled pin. A brass stamp is cut out and stamped, leaving a slightly raised edge between the different areas, the inner area was then painted. Also notice the thicker out edge.
This is a third example of the same image being used, but the quality going down hill. Again a soft enamelled pin, but loses even more detail. This pin appeared in the X-Men Collector's Pin Set #2.
This is a fourth variant of the same image that has been pointed out to me and the image supplied by Robert Jones. I have seen this pin sold on eBay, but always assumed it was a cheap plastic pin. It is a plastic image bonded onto a brass backing.
Variations - Different bases
Planet Studio on a few occasions used both a copper or zinc base on their pins, which slightly changes the colouring to the main pin
Zinc or silver based pin.
Notice the pinking of the white. This is why different metals were used.
Copper or brass based pin.