Dinosaur Playsets

[Hepcat]

I like that they included an icthyosaur in the set, you don't see many toy versions of that one.

Not surprising. Ichthyosaurs are not often seen in the wild these days either.

[horrorhunter]

Loose though I'd be tempted to combine it with Fort Apache in a thrilling diorama. Cowboys and Indians versus prehistoric beasts! Talk about wild!

Dinosaurs in the Wild West is a super-cool subgenre. 



BTW, I have a copy of this Valley Of Gwangi coloring book from the days of Dinokidhood, and it's in nearly new condition except for the first page being neatly colored. Not sure what happened there, but it must have been accidently put away before I could color it through and wear it out. Bad for kid-me, but good for collector-me. 

I also had this Turok Giant when I was a kid, as well as many other issues.



Sadly, I never got around to replacing my Turoks, and currently have only one original ish in my collection. 

[Hepcat]

Hmmmm, a Turok Giant? That's a comic that would fit into my collection very nicely.

[horrorhunter]

I ordered this DVD ROM of Dinosauriana from Joe Demarco a few days ago.



It contains a ton of information on dino toys and figures from every era. There is no print version, just DVD or download. I found it certainly worth the $25 shipped price. I was a little disappointed that it didn't give a set by set contents breakdown with pictures of each Marx and MPC dinosaur playset, but since it covers everything in the way of dinosaur figures I guess that would be a bit beyond the scope reasonably expected. I already knew everything about Marx and MPC dinosaur toys listed in Dinosauriana, plus a bit more. I'm still anticipating that Dinosaur Playsets book by Jeff Pfeiffer to hopefully expand knowledge of Marx and MPC prehistorics, but it's taking so long I wonder if we'll ever actually see it.

Dinosauriana states that the big toothy hollow 1960s "dimestore dinos" were never made by Ajax, but by Tootsietoy from the beginning. It makes sense that would be the case since the "dimestore dinos" never looked anything like the other Ajax product, and I know Tootsietoy was active in the '60s because as a kid I bought several of their packs of diecast cars. So, Tootsietoy it is for the somewhat mysterious "dimestore dinos", and the similar Prehistoric Beasts as well.

Here, again, is a pic of my Tootsietoy dinos (plus a couple of Lindes)



And, a pic of the Tootsietoy Prehistoric Beasts, which many people believe to be by Ajax.

[Hepcat]

I'm still anticipating that Dinosaur Playsets book by Jeff Pfeiffer to hopefully expand knowledge of Marx and MPC prehistorics, but it's taking so long I wonder if we'll ever actually see it.

You're not the only one!

[horrorhunter]

Best Plastics Corporation produced 14 different dinosaurs and 2 cavemen as well as the 5 monster figures most collectors call "Palmer flats". These were sold in 5 cent Horror Monsters Grab Bags in the 1960s (probably '64-'68) in various dime stores, food stores, and quick marts. Below is a pic of my Best Plastics collection so far.



The 2 green dinos, red truck, and "Sourlets" candy on the left came in the Horror Monsters Grab Bag in the center. To the right are 7 more Best dinos I've accumulated from eBay purchases. The bottom row contains the 5 "Palmer flats" monsters and both Best Cavemen. The pink Creature and Wolfman were purchased in a pink set of 7 from a Toy Shop ad in the '90s from M&J Variety as I recall. The 3 red monsters and 2 cavemen I have left from childhood.

According to Dinosauriana by Joe Demarco the Horror Monsters Grab Bags contained 2 Best dinos, an additional toy (sometimes a Best "Palmer flat" monster), and candy. Some collectors seem to remember the Grab Bags containing 2 monsters with a bonus toy and candy. Maybe the Grab Bags contained both combinations, I can't remember for sure. Also, the Grab Bags were sold open to allow the customer to inspect the contents. Trust ran much higher in those days.

Best monsters and cavemen turn up nowadays in blue and pink much more commonly than the other colors. I believe there was a warehouse find of these colors in the '90s which would explain the Toy Shop ads and cheap prices in the '90s. Best dinosaurs on the other hand are pretty scarce and are avidly sought after by certain collectors (like me). These were the cheapest of the cheap back in the day and kids mangled and tossed them while keeping the nicer looking Marx and MPC figures. The nostalgia factor is very high with these little figures which, coupled with the scarcity, drives demand (and price). I hope to someday complete the set of 14 Best Plastics dinos. Gonna be tough.. but fun.

[Hepcat]

Best Plastics Corporation produced 14 different dinosaurs and 2 cavemen as well as the 5 monster figures most collectors call "Palmer flats". These were sold in 5 cent Horror Monsters Grab Bags in the 1960s (probably '64-'68) in various dime stores, food stores, and quick marts.

I never saw those in London, Ontario! I would have been on them big time!

Best dinosaurs on the other hand are pretty scarce and are avidly sought after by certain collectors (like me). These were the cheapest of the cheap back in the day and kids mangled and tossed them while keeping the nicer looking Marx and MPC figures. The nostalgia factor is very high with these little figures which, coupled with the scarcity, drives demand (and price). I hope to someday complete the set of 14 Best Plastics dinos. Gonna be tough.. but fun.

I can understand why you want them. They're hard-core kid stuff. Good luck! I hope you score them all.

[Mike Scott]

The pink Creature and Wolfman were purchased in a pink set of 7 from a Toy Shop ad in the '90s from M&J Variety as I recall.

They still sell them, as well as a red set. $10 ea. set, I believe.

[horrorhunter]

They still sell them, as well as a red set. $10 ea. set, I believe.

Yes. They offer them in red, pink, and yellow. The plastic is shiny and the red ones they currently offer have that slightly translucent look instead of the flat finish plastic from the '60s. I wonder if the mold grouping with the monsters and cavemen was repopped at some point, or if these that are popping up now and back in the '90s are all from warehouse finds. Doesn't seem like the sort of thing that would be repopped, but south of the border they're reissuing all manner of cheap toys, and have been for years.

The Best dinos don't turn up commonly like the monsters/cavemen. The dinos are hard to find, as are the monsters/cavemen in the older plastic. I've been searching for the dinos for awhile and only have half the set with a couple of duplicates.

[horrorhunter]

Here's a slice of '60s Dinokid charm, the complete Timmee Small Mold Group MOC.



The cavemen are named "Mimbo, Bimbo, and Sam". 

The dinos are as follows (L-R, Top-Bottom): Seymouria, Dimetrodon, Tyrannosaurus, Duck Billed Aquatic, Pteranodon, Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, Palaeoscincus, Triceratops. The "Duck Billed Aquatic" is actually a Plateosaurus. The "Pteranodon" is actually a Rhamphorhynchus. Most of these dinos are standard toy-fare, but the Seymouria and Palaeoscincus are unusual choices, and pretty cool.

It's hard to believe any of these even survive with packaging intact. The seller had this at BIN $12.99 and I clicked quickly. I scoured the packaging for a date but there are none to be found. I'm thinking '63-'65. I probably bought one or more of these exact same packages when I was a young Dinokid. Real piece of '60s Dinokid history here. 

[Hepcat]

It's hard to believe any of these even survive with packaging intact.... Real piece of '60s Dinokid history here.

Indeed! Forgotten old store stock probably.

The seller had this at BIN $12.99 and I clicked quickly. I'm thinking '63-'65. I probably bought one or more of these exact same packages when I was a young Dinokid.

Congratulations! Fabulous score, especially for a piece you had as a kid!

[japfeif]

Not really concerning the dinos.

If Pfeiffer ever gets that book out it should have some good info. If he's done his homework it should be the go-to source on the subject. Maybe he'll get it published before we all keel over of old age.

Lol....actually, it was starting to look like we ALL may drop dead of old age before this thing ever got completed! As an update, the book has been actually finished for the better part of a year, but I ran into major hurdles at the publishing end of things (way too much to get into here!), but the final proof was submitted to me just this past week and okayed.  If all goes according to plan, the book should FINALLY be ready for printing and release! The problem was I decided at the last minute to include a checklist of the contents of each playset covered in the book, and the formatting of this section was such that it apparently gave the publishers fits and they never could get it right (either font would be wrong, indented areas not indented, bullets deleted, etc) and I was just about to give up on it & omit this section when they finally got it right!
So it should be a go from here on and smooth sailing and the book available very soon (a month or two they said).

Sorry for all the delays....hopefully everyone will find that it was worth the wait!
Jeff

[horrorhunter]

Lol....actually, it was starting to look like we ALL may drop dead of old age before this thing ever got completed! As an update, the book has been actually finished for the better part of a year, but I ran into major hurdles at the publishing end of things (way too much to get into here!), but the final proof was submitted to me just this past week and okayed.  If all goes according to plan, the book should FINALLY be ready for printing and release! The problem was I decided at the last minute to include a checklist of the contents of each playset covered in the book, and the formatting of this section was such that it apparently gave the publishers fits and they never could get it right (either font would be wrong, indented areas not indented, bullets deleted, etc) and I was just about to give up on it & omit this section when they finally got it right!
So it should be a go from here on and smooth sailing and the book available very soon (a month or two they said).

Sorry for all the delays....hopefully everyone will find that it was worth the wait!
Jeff

Excellent news. And, you're right, that checklist for every playset is a must. So, how much will it be and where will we be able to order it from?

[japfeif]

Excellent news. And, you're right, that checklist for every playset is a must. So, how much will it be and where will we be able to order it from?

Well my understanding is that for the first couple weeks it will only be available thru the Authorhouse website (Authorhouse.com), but then it will be available thru the usual outlets like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Retail price has not been finalized yet........the publishers actually set the price & the author can tweak it however they see fit. For me, it was important that it remain affordable and at the lowest retail price feasible. Please don't quote me on this, but I am negotiating for somewhere in the $30s, maybe low $40s. Due to the huge amount of pictures. and the fact that all are in full color (I thought color photos were critical, since as you know color plays a HUGE part in correctly being able to ID different figures & such, and one of the issues I've seen in other source concerning the dino playsets is seeing pics published in black & white...so much just gets lost), the cost was initially projected much higher ($70+) but I have fought to keep it as low as possible.
As I said, don't quote me on it, as you never know what will happen at the end of the day, but I am hoping to keep it as I said somewhere around the $30-$40 range.

[horrorhunter]

Well my understanding is that for the first couple weeks it will only be available thru the Authorhouse website (Authorhouse.com), but then it will be available thru the usual outlets like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Retail price has not been finalized yet........the publishers actually set the price & the author can tweak it however they see fit. For me, it was important that it remain affordable and at the lowest retail price feasible. Please don't quote me on this, but I am negotiating for somewhere in the $30s, maybe low $40s. Due to the huge amount of pictures. and the fact that all are in full color (I thought color photos were critical, since as you know color plays a HUGE part in correctly being able to ID different figures & such, and one of the issues I've seen in other source concerning the dino playsets is seeing pics published in black & white...so much just gets lost), the cost was initially projected much higher ($70+) but I have fought to keep it as low as possible.
As I said, don't quote me on it, as you never know what will happen at the end of the day, but I am hoping to keep it as I said somewhere around the $30-$40 range.

Thank you for the info. As long as it's less than $50 then I'm definitely a customer. Even dinosaur nuts like me resent being gouged, so it's fortunate you managed to steer them away from that $70+ figure which many would view as excessive.

By posting updates here you get the info out to many potential customers I would think. From what I've seen over the past couple of years I don't believe there are many playset collectors who post here on UMA, but judging from the number of views this thread gets I know many people do keep up with it (probably more non-members who are dino collectors and found the thread through a Google search). As you know there just aren't many places on the web where you can find info on dinosaur playsets, and this is the only place I'm aware of that is actually updated with any frequency. Dinosaur playset collectors represent a small niche market, and I hope you sell enough books to make it worth all the working and waiting you've endured.

I eagerly await your book.