Dinosaur Playsets

[Hepcat]

In the background are two carded sets by MPC and Marx....

Those carded sets are awesome!

[Hepcat]

...but Papo and maybe a couple of other companies seem to be the measuring stick now.

Papo makes incredible figures these days! Figures like Papos would have knocked our eyes out when we were kids.

I really like the newer, scientifically accurate, prehistoric figures, but my heart lies with Marx, MPC, and other '60s & '70s dinos and especially dino playsets. When you grow up with them they become part of you.

Truth! Nothing replaces the things we had as kids.

[horrorhunter]

My Invicta prehistoric animals:





From the mid '70s to the mid '80s the British Museum of Natural History prehistoric animal figures by Invicta were state of the art. Then, in 1988 the Carnegie Safari figures surpassed them with most collectors. I still really like these figures. They're like a bridge between classic Marx dinos and the realistic looking scientifically accurate figures being produced today.

Above are pictured all three boxed sets with some dupes. The box for set #2 is missing. There are also some extra singles Invicta offerings: Brachiosaurus, Cetiosaurus, and the white one is a By God Brontosaurus. Says so right on his belly. Take that, Apatosaurus!  . Also pictured is the big fold-out poster and some other paperwork.

http://www.dinosaur-toys-collectors-guide.com/invicta-dinosaurs.html

[Hepcat]

The packaging of these seems more "sophisticated" than earlier dinosaur sets. How and where were the Invicta sets marketed? Were they sold to the kid market through the same channels in which Marx playsets were sold? Or were they sold primarily through more adult-oriented hobby shops, or just through museum and zoological park gift stores?

[horrorhunter]

The packaging of these seems more "sophisticated" than earlier dinosaur sets. How and where were the Invicta sets marketed? Were they sold to the kid market through the same channels in which Marx playsets were sold? Or were they sold primarily through more adult-oriented hobby shops, or just through museum and zoological park gift stores?

Invicta were mainly sold in museums and other adult venues from what I've read. I was a teenager and young adult when these were first made available so I had other things on my mind besides collecting dinosaurs. I first learned about them a few years ago, when I seriously started collecting this stuff, in the Dinosaur Collectibles book and on various websites. I saw a listing on eBay for everything posted above (except the poster) and bid high at the time, around $80 I think, and won the lot. Of course these would sell for more now.. just the boxed set #1 might bring close to that. I ordered the poster a few weeks ago from another eBay seller who had a crapton of 'em for just 5 bucks. I guess there was a warehouse find or two. I've seen the poster listed for stupid money over the years but I just waited. I detest spending stupid money. 

[horrorhunter]

Some of my Sinclair items:



Dinokids love Sinclair! I would always bug my parents to get gas at Sinclair stations in hope that I might score some dino toys. In October 1966 we ran across the travelling Sinclair World's Fair exhibit on a Florida vacation and my generous parents bought me the bagged Marx-like Sinclair dinos and the bagged Mold-A-Rama Sinclair dinos (they couldn't tote the MAR machines I guess, so they made a bunch and bagged them in sets in those big plastic net bags). I was in Dinokid heaven on that trip.

Pic Description:

1st Row (front 3 items): Round Mirror, 2 Keychains

2nd Row: Small Patch, Timmee Minis Premium Bag of 4, Premium Bag of all 6 Early Timmee Poses, Trachodon Puzzle w/envelope (can't find it listed anywhere), Poloroid I took of the T-Rex at the exhibit in '66

3rd Row: 1964 Booklet, 1967 Booklet, 1966 Booklet

4th Row: Postcard from the 1930s, the 6 Marx-like Sinclair dinos my parents bought me in '66, Dino Soap w/Box

5th Row: All 8 of the Sinclair Dinoland Mold-A-Rama dinos including both Brontosaurus poses

6th Row: Sinclair Blowmold Brontosaurus Bank, Drinking Glass Premium

Back Row: Stamp Album w/Stamps, Hardback The Exciting World Of Dinosaurs Book, Sinclair Florida Map 1960s, Sinclair Kentucky Tennessee Map 1930s

I have more boxed away including the big patches, big inflatable dinos, more keychains, etc., but this is the stuff I had on the shelf when I decided to move everything for dusting so this is the stuff that made the pic.

If anyone knows anything about that puzzle then post it or PM me. I've searched everywhere and I can't find mention of it. I bought some Sinclair stuff off eBay a few weeks ago from a guy whose father had run a Sinclair station in the '60s and '70s and the puzzle came from him. He didn't know anything about it either.

[horrorhunter]

Some of my miscellaneous older dino items:



The two "Bags Of Fun" are MPC knockoffs from the Payton molds sold by Winneco in the early to mid '70s. Winneco dinos are distinctive by their curly tails and sloppy molding practice resulting in flawed dinos. Still highly sought after by Dinokids, especially in the package.

The three small dinos with boxes are by ELM (Empire Louis Marx) from the '60s. They were made in British Hong Kong and are made of hard, brittle, plastic and factory painted. I had been looking for these things forever and finally scored all three on eBay a few days ago.

The five marbled green ones are made by Linde. They are coffee premiums from Austria in the '50s. Highly collectible, and beautiful, they are modeled after the famous Rudolf Zallinger mural.

The booklet is from Dinosaur Land in White Post, Va. The two little ugly bumpy dinos in front of it were bought at Dinosaur Land a few years ago, Corythosaurus and Protoceratops. I haven't actually been there but from some of the "info" in the booklet you can throw science out the window  . Still, Dinosaur Land looks like a place loaded with Dinokid fun. I'd like to go there sometime and check out some of those wild looking dinos/monsters.

A portion of the Zallinger mural:


That Linde T-Rex is a dead ringer for the Zallinger. 

[Hepcat]

The two "Bags Of Fun".... Still highly sought after by Dinokids, especially in the package.

And why wouldn't they be? After all, they're bags of fun!

The three small dinos with boxes are by ELM (Empire Louis Marx) from the '60s. They were made in British Hong Kong and are made of hard, brittle, plastic and factory painted. I had been looking for these things forever and finally scored all three on eBay a few days ago.

Congratulations! Always great to find something you've been actively seeking.

[horrorhunter]

And why wouldn't they be? After all, they're bags of fun!

Congratulations! Always great to find something you've been actively seeking.

Thanks, Hep.

Well, it looks like ImageShack blew up so I'll be reposting the Marx playsets I posted earlier in this thread with better pics, as well as the ones I hadn't posted yet. It may take awhile but I'm motivated to do it now that I have a decent camera. It's cool to have that stuff on the 'net in case any fellow dino collectors want to check it out.

Regarding ImageShack: It's a good thing I switched to Photobucket when I did. As it is there are a lot of old pics of mine posted on UMA that evaporated, but at least the more recent (and best) pics are stable. I even had to redo my avatar with a more recent pic of my Haunted Hulk. Thanks, ImageShack, for dropping the ball and causing chaos. 

Well, it's Autumn. I wonder if Jeff Pfeiffer is ever going to get that dinosaur playset book published, or is he doomed to do drive-by posts every few months into infinity to advertise the thing like some sort of recurring Flying Dutchman haunt? It looks like a good info source... if it ever actually appears.

Mmmmph. Just checked ImageShack for the halibut and they're back up and say they're hoping to have everything straightened out by the end of the week. I'm still going to repost those early dino playsets regardless of ImageShack's antics. Those pictures I took with the old camera were terrible.

[Scatter]

HEY!!! That Marx Dino playset with the grey rocks is the set I had!! Cool stuff!!

[Hepcat]

This one?

[Scatter]

That's the one!!

[Hepcat]

What year then did you get the set? From what kind of store?

[Scatter]

I was the youngest of three boys...........and the youngest among my cousins. Dude, I got great hand-me-down toys!!

[horrorhunter]

Reposting this with better pics. 

This is my Prehistoric Times Playset #3390 (Marx, 1957):









CONTENTS:

Vacu-form Terrain Piece

1 Large Mold Group (PL-749) (Green Pot-bellied T-Rex, Green Brontosaurus, Metallic Green Kronosaurus)

1 Medium Mold Group (PL-750) (6 Dinos in Gray)

2 Small Mold Groups (PL-755-7) (7 Dinos in Green, 7 Dinos in Marbled Gray)

Total 23 Dinos

2 Groups of 6 Cavemen (6 in Cream, 6 in Tan)

4 Palm Trees (Trunks/Bases in Brown Hard Plastic, Fronds in Dark Green Soft Plastic)

4 Ferns (Bases in Brown Hard Plastic, Leaves in Dark Green Soft Plastic)

Dead Tree & 2 Stumps (Light Gray Hard Plastic)

Booklet (P-56-1)

Box

The 3390 (Series 1000) was the first Marx dinosaur playset, and one of the most common still. When these are found they are usually incomplete, frequently having extra parts that are not part of the set. The box, when present, is usually damaged to varying degrees, as is the booklet. The vacu-form terrain piece cracks if you stare at it too hard, so it is commonly damaged when found. This is the iconic Marx dinosaur playset. It is one of the "longbox sets".