Dinosaur Playsets

[Hepcat]

Which is the set with the most pieces again?

[horrorhunter]

Which is the set with the most pieces again?

The #3398 from 1961 had the most prehistoric animals (36):



The reissued #3398 from 1971 also had 36 dinos but it's a pale shadow of the original since the newer version had the dinos and cavemen in the dull "Heritage" type plastic with no color variations.

The mountain sets from '74-'77 had the biggest and most elaborate terrain pieces with their 5 piece mountain setups.

[Hepcat]

Here's Larry at Xmas in 1957 with his Marx Prehistoric Times playset:

[horrorhunter]

My Prehistoric Times #3388 (Marx, 1958), the first squarebox set:









CONTENTS:

4 pc Terrain Set (Cave in lightly marbled Brown, 2 Rocks in lightly marbled Brown, Pond in heavily marbled Gray/Brown, all Hard Plastic)

1 Large Mold Group (PL-749) (Gray Pot-Bellied T-Rex, Green Brontosaurus, Marbled Metallic Silver Kronosaurus)

2 Sleek T-Rex (Green & Lt. Gray)

2 Medium Mold Groups (PL-750) (6 Dinos in Lt.Gray, 6 Dinos in Green)

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

31 Dinos Total

4 Palm Trees & 4 Ferns (Trunks/Bases in Tan Hard Plastic, Leaves/Fronds in Green Soft Plastic)

Booklet (P-56-1)

Box w/Corrugated Insert

The Marx Prehistoric Times #3388 is the first squarebox set with the 4 piece rock formation set included in Marx Wagon Train playsets and others. 3388s did not commonly have the set number on the box, and they normally did not contain cavemen. My other squarebox set, the #3394, does contain cavemen, as did the one I had as a child. When Marx released the #3398 in 1961 they included cavemen once again in that set, and in every set after that. Customer feedback probably requested the cavemen as part of the sets. They did add play value for me as a child, and interest for me as an adult collector.

[Hepcat]

The boxes and pamphlet are marked 1987. I think they were only sold for a couple of years. IMO the Superior sets are the best of the "after-Marx" sets which used the Marx molds.

How again do you tell the Superior repops from the Marx originals?

And have many of the original Marx, MPC, etc figures been unofficially, i.e. illegally, repopped? How do you/can you tell? One of the reasons I'm asking is because the Time Passages Nostalgia Company was selling this lot of dinos with the words:

The picture shows a view of all (11) Old MARX Dinosaur & Prehistoric Animal Play Set Figures in this lot. These figures may be ones that were reissued, but we do not know for sure.

Could you tell whether they were repops? Should the Time Passages Nostalgia Company have been able to tell as well? Do you think this was one of those situations where a seller knows, or should know, the provenance of an item but claims ignorance and says that he's just selling whatever "As is"?

[horrorhunter]

How again do you tell the Superior repops from the Marx originals?

Here's a pic of some of my Superior dinos (Large Mold Group and Medium Mold Group):



Superior recasts were always swirled or marbled whereas only Marx dinos in the older lead-based plastic were marbled. The Superiors were made with the newer waxy/shiny plastic like the newer Marx dinos from the '70s (Heritage plastic is the common collector nickname). So, if you get a Marx-mold marbled/swirled dino and it's the newer plastic then it's Superior. If it's the older lead-based flat colored plastic then it's original Marx.

The original marbled Marx dinos are fairly uncommon and sell for 2-5 times the cost of the more common non-marbled Marx, depending on the amount of marbling and general attractiveness of the piece, which is in the eye of the purchaser. Superior dinos are much more scarce than original Marx, and seem to sell for about the same premium as original Marx marbled dinos. (Example: a regular common Marx Allosaurus in nice condition might sell for around $3-4, whereas a Superior Allosaurus might fetch $8-12.)

Most of the original Marx marbled dinos were from the small mold group which Superior never made. So, an original regular common Marx Dimetrodon non-marbled figure might sell for $2-3, and a well marbled version of the same dino might go for $6-15.

These dollar figures in these examples are all ball park to be sure. The only real active marketplace for this stuff is evilBay and we know how chaotic that is. If Aunt Sally finds a bunch of old dinosaur toys in her basement and sells the lot on fleaBay they may end up selling for a quarter apiece or 3 bucks apiece depending on who's bidding and how good the pics are. However, there are several dealers on eBay who consistently sell this stuff as BIN and those are the prices I'm referring to in the examples above.

[horrorhunter]

And have many of the original Marx, MPC, etc figures been unofficially, i.e. illegally, repopped? How do you/can you tell? One of the reasons I'm asking is because the Time Passages Nostalgia Company was selling this lot of dinos with the words:



Could you tell whether they were repops? Should the Time Passages Nostalgia Company have been able to tell as well? Do you think this was one of those situations where a seller knows, or should know, the provenance of an item but claims ignorance and says that he's just selling whatever "As is"?

I don't think any of the older dino toy repops were illegally made. After the molds left the hands of the original companies, and those companies were dissolved, it was a case of the implied rights following the molds. I never heard of anyone being sued for repopping Marx/MPC/Lido etc. toy dinos. Most of those molds are probably south of the border now along with the Nutty Mads, MarxMons, Pop-Tops, and a lot of other Monsterkid faves. They're crankin' 'em out down there and peddling them on evilBay and who knows where else. I've noticed quite a few of the Marx 2nd Series (Mammals & Monsters) repops on eBay recently, minus the Megatherium. Evidently that mold was partially damaged in the '90s and you see 7 of the 8 figures with no Megatherium (Giant Ground Sloth).

Re: the pic you posted above, it's hard to tell from that pic but those look like Marx dinos from the '70s in the mint green waxy looking "Heritage" plastic. The seller probably just doesn't know for sure, hence the disclaimer. Most sellers can't tell Marx & MPC originals from repops. It takes an obsessive collector who grew up playing with these things and collecting After-Marx dinos into adulthood to be fairly certain which is which. There are info sources which certainly help, to which there are links posted thoughout this thread. Another help should be that new book about Marx and MPC Dinosaur Playsets if the thing ever comes out.

[Hepcat]

Yeah, that's the detail in which I'm most interested, telling present day repops from Marx, MPC or Superior originals.

[horrorhunter]

Yeah, that's the detail in which I'm most interested, telling present day repops from Marx, MPC or Superior originals.

Original Marx and MPC dinosaurs are still VERY plentiful, probably far outnumbering the repops. Many of the repops (like Superior) sell for more than the originals because some collectors want the After-Marx repops from the '80s and '90s. Some of the originals are scarce and expensive like the Metallic Green ones, and to a lesser extent, Metallic Silver, Marbled, Tan, and a few other colors. But, most common Marx/MPC originals are really only worth around $2-$3 each because there still so many. The larger original Marx dinos in common colors sell for a bit more (Pot-Bellied T-Rex $15, Kronosaurus $15, Sleek T-Rex $12, Brontosaurus $10, Wooly Mammoth $10, Megatherium $10, other 2nd Series $5). Naturally, if bought in groups they end up being even cheaper. The Marx recasts by Superior, on the other hand, are quite scarce, and sell for 2-5 times what the original common Marx dinos do.

Anyone interested in collecting Marx/MPC dinos should just jump in and start buying cheap eBay lots. Playsets turn up on eBay in various states of completion, and often with extra pieces. Bid on some playsets and add them to your stash. Eventually you'll accumulate enough extra pieces to start completing those playsets and you can always sell off extras. I started doing this about 14 years ago and I now have most of the Marx, MPC, and After-Marx, playsets and related items. It's like anything else, you learn by doing. After you've owned a few hundred dinos and done the research through books/mags, the web, and talking to other collectors then you'll be able to tell originals from repops and know the correct contents of those playsets. You might even put together some custom playsets, as I have. 

[Hepcat]

Here's a pic of some of my Superior dinos (Large Mold Group and Medium Mold Group):



Superior recasts were always swirled or marbled whereas only Marx dinos in the older lead-based plastic were marbled. The Superiors were made with the newer waxy/shiny plastic like the newer Marx dinos from the '70s (Heritage plastic is the common collector nickname).

Those Superior dinos look fabulous. And they're all tail draggers too!

[horrorhunter]

Those Superior dinos look fabulous. And they're all tail draggers too!

Yeah, they're made using the old Marx molds. What makes Superior dinos special is the heavily swirled color variations. They are really all unique, like the old Marx marbled/swirled dinos. Each separate one is like a fingerprint because of the mix of different colors with random patterns.

[horrorhunter]

My other longbox set, Prehistoric Times #3392 (Marx, 1958):





CONTENTS:

Vacu-form Terrain Piece

1 Large Mold Group (PL-749) (Pot-bellied T-Rex Lt. Green, Brontosaurus Metallic Silver, Kronosaurus Marbled Gray)

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

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

Total 23 Dinos

12 Cavemen (6 Cavemen in Cream, 6 Cavemen in Tan)

4 Palm Trees & 4 Ferns (Trunks/Bases in Tan Hard Plastic, Leaves/Fronds in Dark Green Soft Plastic)

Booklet (P-56-1)

Box

The #3392 is in the second wave of longbox sets Marx released in 1958. It had the same contents as the #3390 from a year earlier except the dead tree and 2 stumps were omitted. The vacu-form terrain piece is still present, and notoriously easy to crack and break being quite brittle. This was the first Marx dino playset that I completed about 15 years ago. I bought the box, terrain piece, and booklet, from a dealer at a toy show. I replaced the correct dinos from some I had from Dinokidhood plus a few I picked up over the next few months. For a short while this was the gem of my toy dino collection.

[Hepcat]

Those Marx sets just scream baby boomer monster kid goodness!

[horrorhunter]

Those Marx sets just scream baby boomer monster kid goodness!

I agree, Hep. Marx and MPC dinosaur toys are some of the most iconic of Monsterkid/Dinokid toys. Nearly all of us grew up playing with them, and the playsets are great collectibles. There are many views for this thread so I know there is interest, possibly more interest from non-UMA members who check in regularly because there aren't any other conversation sources for this stuff on the web which is updated very often that I'm aware of. I started this thread over 2 years ago and frankly I'm baffled that there hasn't been more participation from UMA members. One would think among the mega monster toy collectors on here that a few would be collecting dino playsets and '60s/'70s Dinokid toys. The only two people who have posted any of their dino toys besides myself have been Bigbud and Jeff Pfeiffer, and Pfeiffer just does those drive-by posts every few months to advertise a book that seemingly never comes out. I invited Pfeiffer to join us as a collector and show some pics of some of his stuff actually out of the box and join the conversation with some of his own experiences but he never even answered my post.. just barreled by to the next site hawking this promised tome. Aside from some posts in the model section UMA seems to be barren of other dino toy collectors. Baffled...



I will continue posting my dino stuff. Maybe someone else will jump on board at some point. A special thanks to Hepcat for sharing his interest in classic dino toys and for keeping the conversation going. 

[Hepcat]

I started this thread over 2 years ago and frankly I'm baffled that there hasn't been more participation from UMA members. One would think among the mega monster toy collectors on here that a few would be collecting dino playsets and '60s/'70s Dinokid toys.

Aside from some posts in the model section UMA seems to be barren of other dino toy collectors. Baffled....

I'm also surprised that there aren't more members collecting the dinosaur and other playsets. Surely some members must have had at least one as kids. I did not, so this is an area in which I have particularly much to learn, but I'm always wiling to learn.