Question About "Bikini Beach" Brand Firecrackers

[BillRoss]

Today I was gifted a single pack of "Bikini Beach" firecrackers. They are a Class 7 pack of 10 that are 1-5/8 length. I did a search on this forum and found some info about them. Sounds like the fellow that ran "Midwest" was a real character.

Anyway, the thing that amazed me was that the shell wrap look exactly like the older "Woodpecker" brand cracker. Is it actually possible that "Bikini Beach" is a re-wrap of that old brand? If so, what class or year might the crackers be?

[countryboy7978]

Woodpeckers are not that old. Most of the ones I’ve seen are clay plugged, although there is a crimped version. They came labeled from Red Lantern and Flower Basket and I feel were never intended for the US market. In fact most of them say Pajaro which means bird in Spanish. They also don’t have the CPSC mandated caution/warning and instructions. So anyways Larry Lomaz of Midwest/Buckeye Fireworks was quite the character. Some compare him to an eccentric rockstar with his behavior and marketing styles but that’s for another thread. Bikini Beach came with both red firecrackers and later the woodpecker firecrackers. The red ones supposedly are louder and better made. These firecrackers were brought in during the late 1990s and are a Class 7 by definition. They are over 50mg in either version and a nice item for the collection.

[BillRoss]

Thanks much countryboy7978. As always, your expertise is phenomenal!

[countryboy7978]

Larry brought in several other types of firecrackers over the years:

Duck penny pack bricks 100/6: Each pack contained 6 little 1” firecrackers with orange star shell wraps. They were not braided, were clay plugged but were quite stout. The fuses are long and slow. Good shooters. These are not related to the Class 6, made in Macau Duck firecrackers. The label is a reprint.

Mermaid 80/16: This was another reprinted brick with modern clay crackers. The packs were wrapped in various colors of glassine. A very pretty brick from the class 6 time period, but they are better to look at than shoot.

M100 Air Thunder: 10pcs packs of red wrapped, individually fuses 2” firecrackers. They have a pretty good report and shoot nice.

Tank: These came in 1.5” and 2” sizes. The 1.5” are just like the mermaid. The 2” are some brutal suckers that not only packed quite a punch, but tended to have fast fuses (similar to Black Rooster). If you find 2” Tanks, you’ll be very happy. Just follow the label if you want to keep the flesh on your fingers. Class 7 as well.

Superman and Gangster: These were a Class 5/6. They typically were rewrapped Red Lantern firecrackers at the beginning of their release in the early 1980s. They were 1.5” with pastel star wraps usually and some came wrapped in clear cellophane. Later versions had a tissue paper wrap and did not perform as well. Clay plugs similar again to Mermaid.

[halk]

Woodpecker seems to be an old brand of Yuen Loong. Came in a wide variety of lengths and configurations. I think the PRC uses Yuen Loong Hong as a way to market product away from the mainland and thats why they resurrected the brand.http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=2711&stc=1

[displayfireworks1]

It is always fun to look at some of the artwork on these old firecrackers.

[countryboy7978]

Hal, thank you for clearing that up. I’ve never seen a Woodpecker with American markings like the ones you show above. Those appear to be Class 2-3’s. Very awesome.

[countryboy7978]

Hal, thank you for clearing that up. I’ve never seen a Woodpecker with American markings like the ones you show above. Those appear to be Class 2-3’s. Very awesome.