Dinosaur Playsets

[horrorhunter]

X-PLUS released a couple of nice big dinos in 2002. They are the only two figures in the Prehistoric Masterpiece Collection.

Albertosaurus is over 20" long and comes with a folding display card and base.



Styracosaurus is 16" long and comes with the folding display card.



I bought both a few years ago and they look great on the shelf. They are made of lightweight hollow vinyl. Great detail for figures of this size. They were originally sold inexpensively for around $15 each, but are OOP now.

These are pics off the net. I use them sometimes instead of dragging out the camera and going through all the hosting shenanigans. 

[Hepcat]

Were the MPC dinos not distributed with or in bags of Fritos Corn Chips sometime in the sixties? Could this have predated MPC packaging these dinos on cards as rack toys?

MPC dinos were given away in these Nabisco cereals, but this was in the late '60s and would have been well after they began being sold as rack toys.

I recall that a collecting buddy of mine in Ottawa who's a particularly avid collector of cereal and potato chip premiums as well as assorted Marx playsets and figures such as the Disneykins mentioned to me that he used to get dinosaurs in bags of Frito Corn Chips. I sent him an email on the subject yesterday. Here is his reply:

Great to hear from you.  Actually the Fritos' dinos were (generally) smaller and, as I recall, made of a shinier, cheaper kind of plastic (although that may have been my impression simply because of their size).  As for the cereal ones; the earlier ones, in the 1960s, were larger, duller and slightly more rubbery plastic (though not rubber).  As time went on, figures became smaller, shinier, a more smooth plastic and more vibrant colours.  I fed on many a Fritos' corn chip (dinosaur) when young; not sure if this made me an omnivore or carnivore....

As for the dinos, I can be pretty specific.   You see, we were living in Bells Corners, a rural spot at the time just outside Ottawa.  We moved there in 1961.  I lived there until 1967.   We had to bus to school; so, I could never buy chips etc., as they did not let you leave the schoolyard and one had to catch the bus immediately after school.  So, the only time we could buy Fritos Corn Chips was on Sunday's, after church, as a 'reward' for being quiet in church.  I always bought the very large 29 cent bag of Fritos; bigger than the 10 cent but not as large as say a box of bugles (about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of a box of bugles).   Inside, was I think only a single dinosaur (perhaps 2, I can't quite recall).  Another premium  that I recall from the bags were a series of put-together wagons (I have the set I think).  I'm sure there were other premiums as well, but I cannot recall which.  I would say that the years that I was accumulating these would be 1961-65.

[horrorhunter]

MPC dinos were given away in these Nabisco cereals, but this was in the late '60s and would have been well after they began being sold as rack toys.

I recall that a collecting buddy of mine in Ottawa who's a particularly avid collector of cereal and potato chip premiums as well as assorted Marx playsets and figures such as the Disneykins mentioned to me that he used to get dinosaurs in bags of Frito Corn Chips. I sent him an email on the subject yesterday. Here is his reply:

It sounds like your friend is describing the Lido/Nabisco dino premiums that were given away with Fritos. Here's another look at the pic of my Lidos posted earlier:



The 10 at the top were given away with Fritos in the late '60s. The 8 Prehistoric Beasts in the middle were given away in the Rice and Wheat Honeys around 1960. The 10 marbled green ones at the bottom were given away in the Rice and Wheat Honeys in the late '50s (the box is an original shipping box when the entire set of 10 was ordered by mail).

I'm not sure what he means by "As for the cereal ones... As time went on, figures became smaller, shinier, a more smooth plastic and more vibrant colours." To my knowledge the MPC cereal premium dinos from the late '60s weren't followed by different dinos matching this description. I wonder if he's confusing the Lido Fritos premiums with cereal premiums in the late '60s. Maybe there were other cereal premium promotions that I'm unaware of, or maybe they varied some between Canada and the US.

As far as I know it breaks down like this:

* The Lido/Nabisco premiums were given away in cereal in the late '50s-early '60s, and given away with chips (Fritos) in the late '60s.

* The MPC premiums were given away in cereal in the late '60s. MPC jungle animals and deep sea fish were featured in separate cereal premium promotions as well as the dinos.


Thanks for trying to dig up some history on these dino premiums. To non-collectors this all may seem silly, but this was important to us as kids and is important to us as collectors. If we keep at it maybe we can uncover the facts and lock down the history for other collectors. 

[Hepcat]

I wonder if he's confusing the Lido Fritos premiums with cereal premiums in the late '60s.

That's certainly possible after over fifty years. But then again he does seem to have a strong memory of getting a big bag of Fritos Corn Chips containing a dinosaur premium every Sunday after church at the time when he was living out in the sticks in 1961-65.

Maybe there were other cereal premium promotions that I'm unaware of, or maybe they varied some between Canada and the US.

Indeed. Maybe the dinos he found in Fritos Corn Chips weren't MPC ones. I actually don't remember Fritos Corn Chips in Canada before about 1963(?).

[Hepcat]

It sounds like your friend is describing the Lido/Nabisco dino premiums that were given away with Fritos. Here's another look at the pic of my Lidos posted earlier:

That's a great looking set of dinos and with the shipping box and everything!

[horrorhunter]

Here's one of the handy dandy Dinosaur Guides that came free when you ordered one of the two sets of 5 dinos by mail:



As explained on this classic cereal box from the late '50s.



Sadly, I don't currently have either guide (A or B) in my collection, or the cereal box (which would set you back a small fortune if you could find one).

[horrorhunter]

A Sears Wishbook ad from probably 1974 featuring the Marx One Million B.C. Play Set (bottom, right):



The MPC Planet Of The Apes Play Set (top, right) included the metallic blue mountain and two rock arches which were also used in the MPC dinosaur playsets, and the bridge and trees used in the MPC Jungle Sets including the King Kong Jungle Set.

Later, in 1987, Superior used the large Marx mountain piece as well as the rock bridge from the One Million B.C. Play Set/Prehistoric Mountain (1975), and the boulder halves and smaller rock bridge from the Marx Ambush At Falling Rock Play Set/Comanche Pass (top, left) as terrain pieces in their Rulers Of The Earth dinosaur playsets.

Collectors seldom have the luxury of being able to buy complete playsets and have to buy incomplete examples and various original pieces to reassemble their favorite playsets. eBay is the best source for most collectors to buy these partial sets and pieces. Nice boxes and paperwork are some of the hardest things to find. Most eBay sellers have no clue what the original playset contained and sell partial sets with extra pieces not belonging to that set that got thrown in over the years. The best way to reassemble original playsets for your collection is to keep adding to your stash of original pieces and use those to complete similar types of playsets as the need arises. Collectors who want complete original sets have to educate themselves on what these sets originally contained, and how to tell original pieces from repops. This info is scarce so some investigation must be done to attain this knowledge, which is added to what you remember from kidhood actually playing with this stuff. It takes awhile, years sometimes, but eventually a collector will know which playset contained what, and how to tell reissued pieces from the real thing. It's an enjoyable journey which results in a nice collection of original playsets.

[horrorhunter]

When I see an erroneous listing on evilBay I usually mind my own business. But, if it's a dino playset sometimes I'll shoot the seller a message with what I understand to be a correct description. I saw the following listing identified as being made by Superior from the '80s and I recognized the reissued Marx and MPC parts as being from Toy Street in the '90s.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/361416890891?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I messaged the seller with this info and received the reply that he changed the description in the listing. He even thanked me for the heads-up. It makes it worthwhile to help people if they're honest like this guy seems to be. Some sellers would have ignored the message and thought they might get more for an older collectible.

This is my copy of the Toy Street Land Of The Dinosaurs Playset that this seller is offering parts from.



Most of the Toy Street sets had the Marx Cave/Pond/Rock Arch repop terrain pieces. The eBay listing has the MPC mountain and rock arch repop pieces. It's possible that Toy Street used these in some later sets. They changed the exact contents as time went on, and replaced nicer with cheaper. At the end of the run I believe they were using cardboard terrain and less (or cheaper) dinos. Still, these Toy Street sets are in some demand by dino collectors today.

[Hepcat]

Collectors who want complete original sets have to educate themselves on what these sets originally contained, and how to tell original pieces from repops. This info is scarce so some investigation must be done to attain this knowledge, which is added to what you remember from kidhood actually playing with this stuff. It takes awhile, years sometimes, but eventually a collector will know which playset contained what, and how to tell reissued pieces from the real thing. It's an enjoyable journey which results in a nice collection of original playsets.

Are there any goo books on the history of Marx playsets?

[horrorhunter]

Are there any good books on the history of Marx playsets?

Not really concerning the dinos.

Dinosaur Collectibles by Mike Fredericks and Dana Cain offers a section on Marx, but not very much info.

Plastic Figure & Playset Collector #64 (Dec. '99) has a good in-depth article on Marx dinos and prehistoric playsets.

The cereal collector's fanzine Freakie Magnet #11 (Spring '98) has a 3 page article on Marx dinos and prehistoric playsets by Joe DeMarco, but only covers the '50s and '60s. That issue also has an article covering the Lido/Nabisco dino and prehistoric beast cereal premiums.

Perhaps the best current info is this 2 part Marx Monograph right here on the web: http://www.dinosaur-toys-collectors-guide.com/marx-playset-monograph.html
Part 2 even covers After-Marx copies and repop sets.

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.

[Hepcat]

But I'm not asking specifically about dinosaurs. I'm wondering about books on Marx playsets in general.

[horrorhunter]

But I'm not asking specifically about dinosaurs. I'm wondering about books on Marx playsets in general.

Yes, I believe there are several. There is one book dealing with Marx Western Playsets in particular. There is also a series of DVDs covering different Marx playsets, but no Prehistoric Playsets. Any of these are probably easy to find on eBay or Amazon, or through certain dealers.

I don't have any of these, and don't know much about them, because I only collect dinosaur and monster related items.

[horrorhunter]

Marx Prehistoric Mountain siting on evilBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/351564578555?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT



At 300 bucks it isn't a bad deal. The 5 piece mountain terrain is nice, and undamaged examples of the 5-pc terrain set seem to sell for around $150-$200. It's only missing a couple of common dinos (there's even a red MPC Ceratogaulos thrown in), 7 common cavemen, 1 palm tree with frond(s), 1 other palm frond, 1 fern base, instruction sheet, and color booklet. The box is little more than trash and really has little if any value in that condition. If I were selling that set in person I would throw in the box for free. The playmat is rough, but this is the condition they usually show up in. I would only advocate cutting up a collectible box in an extreme situation since packaging is so important and valuable. But, this situation is pretty extreme. If it were mine I would cut up that crappy box to salvage whatever graphics I could and just store them stacked on a shelf. That box is certainly not displayable, and I wouldn't want to use it to store the pieces either. Nice boxes and paperwork are the hardest things to find with these sets. Maybe another incomplete example might net a decent box in future. It seems to cost $500-$600 or more to complete a nice example of one of these mountain sets currently. But, the sooner you get started the less you spend. Older high demand collectibles continue to rise in price, sometimes dramatically. These mountain sets have steadily gone up over the past few years due to supply and demand.

In order to get a complete playset a collector has to buy one or more incomplete examples and finish it out with the correct bits and pieces. If anyone is serious about this it pays to amass a stash of extra playset parts, and, of course, know what the set contained initially. The stash saves a lot of trouble and shipping costs having to buy things as you need them. And, you can always sell the extra pieces after you've finished your playsets. Since it takes years to finish several playsets, the extra pieces you've accumulated will probably bring a profit if listed correctly on eBay because this stuff seems to outpace inflation consistently.

[Sean]

A Warren ad for the Prehistoric Scenes kits:

I had numerous Saber Tooth Cats, Pterodactyls, an Allosaurus, a Mammoth, a Cave Bear and a Neanderthal Man.  I loved these kits as a kid.

[horrorhunter]

I had numerous Saber Tooth Cats, Pterodactyls, an Allosaurus, a Mammoth, a Cave Bear and a Neanderthal Man.  I loved these kits as a kid.

Yes, the Prehistoric Scenes kits are boss. Many of us built them and played with them like toys. A few UMA members have turned those kits into fine dino art as posted in the Model Kits section. Very cool.