Dinosaur Playsets

[Hepcat]

The One Million BC set did not come with a playmat or a color booklet, however, it MAY have had a version of the booklet that was produced for only a short time around 1974, after Quaker had taken over Marx. It looked the same as the earlier "Revised Edition" booklet from the #3398 set from '71, except that it had a new "Marx Toys" logo, and listed the Stamford, CT address (home of Quaker) rather than the NY address. It had 12 cavemen and 29 dinos, and half of the Palm Tree Group (two trees and two ferns). All three of the Mountain Sets only had a half Palm Tree Group.

The next year, Marx came out with the Prehistoric Mountain set, which added the playmat, the color booklet, and upped the cavemen count to 18. In 1977, the Giant Prehistoric Mountain (with gray mountain pieces) came out. It also had the playmat & color booklet, but the caveman count dropped back to 12, and also the dinosaur count dropped to 22 from 29 (the Small Mold Group was not in this set).

Interesting that the Giant Prehistoric Mountain set was not as big/elaborate as the ordinary Prehistoric Mountain set.

[horrorhunter]

Interesting that the Giant Prehistoric Mountain set was not as big/elaborate as the ordinary Prehistoric Mountain set.

I believe it was a simple case of hype to add "Giant" to the name of the playset. It was the same five piece mountain setup that was in the two earlier Marx prehistoric mountain sets, which was IMO the absolute best terrain ever sold with a playset. The Comanche Pass mountain was very similar but that had shorter land bridges and a boulder instead of the walking bridge as well as a dry "pass" instead of the nice painted river in the prehistoric mountain terrain.

I may be mistaken here but to my understanding Marx had changed hands from Quaker Oats to a British company called Dunbee-Combex sometime between the 1975 Prehistoric Mountain and the 1977 Giant Prehistoric Mountain. The new owners revamped the old playsets... Prehistoric Mountain became Giant Prehistoric Mountain and the mountain setup was molded in gray plastic instead of the previous yellow/brown, the #3398 became the new #4208 with fewer pieces and the 3-piece terrain in gray instead of the previous brown as well as the dinos in blue, yellow, and brown instead of mint green and light gray. We also saw those small "Storage Box" sets right at the end before Marx went out of business in 1979.

Some of the last Marx playsets are the hardest to find now, especially that Giant Prehistoric Mountain set from 1977 with the gray mountain setup. I've only seen two of those on eBay in the last 14 years with both the correct box and the complete gray mountain setup. I bought the one with the decent box back around 2003/2004. The other one I saw had a badly damaged box. One Million BC sets and Prehistoric Mountain sets seem to be selling for around $500 for nice near-complete examples. There seems to be only about 10% as many Giant Prehistoric Mountain sets as there are those other two. Who knows what fair market value might be on one if all this were well known and well traded like some other collectibles. As it is the evilBay chaos rules and something super rare might pop up and sell for a small percentage of what logic should dictate. That's part of the fun, and most of the reason why I've accumulated my dino collection so inexpensively. I've been in the eBay trenches buying up dino playset stuff since 2001. It's the same principle with any of this stuff, the sooner you got started and the more you bought the better collection you have now. You wait a few years and pay much more. Time is the collector's enemy.

[Wicked Lester]

TERROR IN the WOODS

A group of trappers/woodsman with their Indian companions are suddenly thrown into terror and turmoil as a young but deadly Tyrannosaur chases it's frantic prey into their camp. In seconds one of the men is snatched up in the powerful jaws. The shocked men spring into action as the frightened Raptor snaps at and tries to blow through the men in it's attempt to flee it's ravenous pursuer and the battle is on. Who will live and who will die? Who will still be standing when this is over?

[Mord]

 All you need are some zombies for historical accuracy.

[Wicked Lester]

All you need are some zombies for historical accuracy.

I'm working on that . However these guys are Gwangi's predecessors by 200 years so...... 

[Mord]

I'm working on that . However these guys are Gwangi's predecessors by 200 years so...... 

Close enough.

[horrorhunter]

TERROR IN the WOODS

A group of trappers/woodsman with their Indian companions are suddenly thrown into terror and turmoil as a young but deadly Tyrannosaur chases it's frantic prey into their camp. In seconds one of the men is snatched up in the powerful jaws. The shocked men spring into action as the frightened Raptor snaps at and tries to blow through the men in it's attempt to flee it's ravenous pursuer and the battle is on. Who will live and who will die? Who will still be standing when this is over?

Pretty good Gwangi inspired diorama, WL. My money's on the T-Rex. 

[horrorhunter]

Got these today via evilBay. They are cast iron or pewter, and are in the likeness of the small plastic Ajax dino figures from the '60s. I checked my dino sources and can't find out anything about them yet.



The small Ajax dinos have been repopped (plastic) over the years and sold by Joy Toy and Tootsietoy.



Ajax also made the larger hollow toothy dinos that most collectors called "Dime Store Dinosaurs" for years. These have been reproduced over the years as well.



I sent the seller a message inquiring about any info regarding the metal dinos and the reply was that they came from an original collection from an owner who was a child in the '60s. That was all they knew. These things are pretty cool, and heavy, too. I'm glad to add them to my collection. I still hope to get some info on them at some point.

[horrorhunter]

I finally scored a couple of SDC carded examples, and in nice condition as well. The Spaulding Dinosaur Company, Inc. produced four different carded dino sets of four each in the early 1980s. These consisted of 8 Marx recasts (from the Marx PL-977 Revised Mold Group in waxy green plastic) and 8 MPC recasts (from the MPC Second Series Monsters and Mammals mold(s) in pastel colored plastic). SDC only produced the dinos for 2 years, then sold the molds to an individual from Texas. This would be the last AfterMarx company to produce dinos using the Marx PL-977 Revised Mold Group mold. SDC dinos were either sold, or offered as premiums, by Sinclair gas stations in the '80s (maybe regionally, which might explain their scarcity). I've been checking eBay with saved searches for 14 years and these are the first SDC MOC examples I've seen for sale. They were only $19.99 each and I hit the "BUY" button like a gunfighter slappin' leather.  I'm just glad these weren't listed as an auction. These things must be far scarcer than original carded Marx and MPC dinos from the '60s because I've seen several of those offered for sale over the years (usually at very expensive prices). Anyway, I'm pleased to finally add some SDC product to my toy dinosaur collection.



The card on the left features Marx recasts from the Revised Mold Group. The card on the right features MPC recasts for the Diatryma, Moschops, Wooly Mammoth, and Styracosaurus, from the MPC Second Series Monsters and Mammals mold(s).

[Hepcat]

Is Sinclair Oil Corp. mentioned anywhere on the cards?

[horrorhunter]

Is Sinclair Oil Corp. mentioned anywhere on the cards?

No. Info is very scarce on SDC. I got mine here: http://www.dinosaur-toys-collectors-guide.com/marx-playset-monograph-Part-2.html

[horrorhunter]

I dug out an old box full of dino items I originally got as a kid. It contained some of the 2nd string toy dinos that I didn't feel worthy to be stored with my Marx, MPC, and AfterMarx sets and pieces. I've found that in recent years I've come to value this "grade B" stuff much more than I used to, and I was very glad to find the box it was stored in. I also found some dino books, stamps, and other dino related items I've had from kiddom to present.

First up is my View Master set. I picked this up probably in the late '60s.

[horrorhunter]

Next is my Remote Control Triceratops sold through the Sears Wishbook around 1970. Worthpoint info states that it was made by a small Japanese company called Toytown, and only sold through the Sears Wishbooks here in the States. I also had the Tyrannosaurus but it was lost in the dino wars of kiddom. The trike doesn't work anymore, sadly. Just a relic of days gone by, albeit a cool one to Dinoboomers.



Here is an ad for he and his companions from the 1971 Sears Wishbook:

[horrorhunter]

Here are my original Ajax dinos from the '60s (top row, with Ajax mini Triceratops), along with a set of the Hong Kong Ajax knockoffs with painted eyes (middle row), and dupes (bottom row).

[horrorhunter]

My Timmee dinos from the '60s. The Timmee minis are below the cavemen. Sinclair used the minis in their little gas station premium bags back in the '60s and '70s. Timmee were the cheapest of the cheap, but still hold a place in the hearts of many Dinoboomers.



Timmee changed the look of their dinos and cavemen in the '80s. I like the original ones better.