Dinosaurs!

[Hepcat]

My oldest daughter loves dinos and has amassed a huge collection of toys which I keep a close eye on. Hopefully she'll pass them up to me one day!

Be sure to treat her well then and she may.

[horrorhunter]

Nabisco definitely distributed dinosaur figurines in Rice Honeys and Wheat Honeys. This was done on more than one occasion it seems judging by the difference in the art gracing the various boxes:





But there's some question as to whether these dinosaurs were actually produced by MPC, or else Lido.



I'll have to get this book to answer the question:



Mike Fredericks also publishes a magazine called Prehistoric Times.

The toy dinos in the picture above are definitely MPC as stated. MPC dinos were also sold on blister cards and in playsets in the '60s and '70s. They were the main competitor to Marx concerning dinosaur toys. The Lido dinos were much smaller and more crude. There were 10 different Lido dinos and (I think) 7 different Lido prehistoric mammals. Lido dinosaurs in mostly gray color were also given away in Fritos boxes-of-bags in the late '60s, and maybe into the early '70s, in much the same way the MPC Weird Monsters were. Google Lido dinosaurs to get up to speed on those (many images, too).
     As an aside, Hepcat, last year I stated that I was unsure whether the MPC Weird Monsters were given away in cereal. I'm fairly certain now that I only ever got MPC monsters out of Fritos. It was the MPC dinos that were cereal premiums as stated above.

[Hepcat]

Google Lido dinosaurs to get up to speed on those (many images, too).

That's what confused me though. Look at these three writeups:

http://dinofigs.tripod.com/nabiscopremiums/

http://www.dinosaurcollector.150m.com/lido.htm

http://www.dinosaurcollectorsitea.com/companiesCollectables.html

Very confusing. But since Nabisco appears to have done a dinosaur promotion on more than one occasion, it could be that different brands of dinosaurs came in Nabisco cereals at different times.

[Hepcat]

I went on a dino binge a few years ago and reconstructed several original Marx Prehistoric Times playsets from eBay auctions. Those Prehistoric Times playsets you get from people on eBay are always incomplete, so I accumulated a pool of original parts to reconstruct each playset. It was fun, but expensive, and a lot of work.

Where did you get your info on what a complete set should contain? Was there any variance in the contents that Marx included in the set over the several year production run?

[horrorhunter]

That's what confused me though. Look at these three writeups:

http://dinofigs.tripod.com/nabiscopremiums/

http://www.dinosaurcollector.150m.com/lido.htm

http://www.dinosaurcollectorsitea.com/companiesCollectables.html

Very confusing. But since Nabisco appears to have done a dinosaur promotion on more than one occasion, it could be that different brands of dinosaurs came in Nabisco cereals at different times.

I checked the links and I see no conflicting information. Lido dinosaurs are often referred to as Nabisco because that is how they were most commonly obtained: as premiums in Nabisco cereals. The MPC dinos look nothing like the Lidos. It all seems pretty clear to me.

[Hepcat]

I'm confused. You're saying that the dinosaurs included in the Nabisco cereals were made by MPC. The links indicate that the Nabisco dinosaurs were made by Lido.

[Hepcat]

I do know I collected many grey Nabisco dinos back in the day from those very Fritos boxes-o-packs.

Lido dinosaurs in mostly gray color were also given away in Fritos boxes-of-bags in the late '60s, and maybe into the early '70s, in much the same way the MPC Weird Monsters were.

A collecting buddy of mine remembers getting small, brightly coloured dinosaurs in the large 29 cent bags of Fritos Corn Chips in Ottawa circa 1963. They were I suspect the MPC dinosaurs given MPC's association with Fritos with respect to the Weird Monsters.

[horrorhunter]

Where did you get your info on what a complete set should contain? Was there any variance in the contents that Marx included in the set over the several year production run?

It takes some research to become knowledgeable about Marx dinosaurs. I grew up with them so it came pretty easy to me. First, you have to learn about the mold groupings, then the playsets, then the color variations, etc. Most of what you need to know can be accessed on the web with some diligent googling. Mike Fredericks' book also reprints important information from Plastic Figure & Playset Collector #64 and a little fanzine called Freakie Magnet #11. The contents of the playsets, mold grouping info, etc. can be found from these sources. I can't enlighten you in a paragraph. It takes some investigation. As for variance within the same set, it mostly stayed the same. When they wanted something different they just came out with a new set.
     Here is a very broad overview of the Marx Prehistoric Times playset "types":
     late '50s(beginning in '57): "long box sets" #3389, #3390(series 1000), #3391, #3392 (all have vacu-form terrain piece), small polka dot box sets
                                             "square box sets" #3388, #3393, #3394, #48-2748 (all have four hard plastic mountain terrain pieces)
     early '60s: very rare #2650, #3398(w/2nd series mammals, 3 piece cave-arch-lake terrain piece, time tunnel box)
     early '70s: #3398 2nd issue with dinos in newer "non-lead" plastic
     mid '70s: Mountain Sets, #3421 One Million Years BC Sears exclusive, #3414(photo box mountain set)
     late '70s: Dunbee-Combex(new Marx owners sets) 1977 "Giant Prehistoric Mountain" in gray plastic, #4208(#3398 reissue w/gray terrain), #4304, and small "World Of Dinosaurs" storage box set (scarce)

     This is just a brief overview. Then there are all of the "after-Marx" sets like the Dinosaur Playset made by Toy Street, and the huge "Jurassic Village, Isle Of Terror" set

[horrorhunter]

I'm confused. You're saying that the dinosaurs included in the Nabisco cereals were made by MPC. The links indicate that the Nabisco dinosaurs were made by Lido.

There were BOTH. In the '50s Rice Honeys and Wheat Honeys had Lidos in different colors. In the late '60s/early '70s those cereals had MPC dinos. Also, in the late '60s/early '70s Fritos gave away Lido dinos in mostly gray color, and also had the MPC monsters as premiums. The links do indicate that the Nabisco dinosaurs were made by Lido, which is correct. What I meant was the PICTURE you posted of the dinosaurs above are MPC dinosaurs, as stated on the picture. MPC made those dinosaurs which were included as premiums in Nabisco cereals. MPC dinos and Lido dinos are easily distinguishable.

[Hepcat]

Okay! The dinosaurs that were distributed in these boxes in the late fifties were not made by MPC:







The provenance of the ones above is actually unknown, and they're best referred to as just early Nabisco dinosaurs.

But the dinosaurs distributed in these boxes circa 1970 were made by MPC:

[horrorhunter]

Okay! The dinosaurs that were distributed in these boxes in the late fifties were not made by MPC.







The provenance of the ones above is actually unknown, and they're best referred to as just early Nabisco dinosaurs.

These were all made by Lido. They are commonly referred to as Nabisco because of these promotions. These are from the '50s. The ten Lido dinosaurs were also given away with Fritos in the late '60s/early '70s in a brownish color (I think I said gray before, but they were brown), as well as less common other colors.

[horrorhunter]

But the dinosaurs distributed in these boxes circa 1970 were made by MPC:

Yes. These are MPC dinosaurs. They were never referred to as "Nabisco" dinosaurs the way the Lidos were because the vast majority of MPC dinos were sold on blister cards and in playsets from around '64 through the '70s. MPC and Lido recasts have shown up in other companies playsets through the '80s, '90s, and perhaps after 2000. Most of these molds got traded around and many MPC recasts showed up in "after-Marx" sets in the last few years mixed with Marx, Lido, Ajax, and even Tootsietoy recasts. An entire book could be written about the history of toy dinosaurs, and I mean a HUGE book filled with real information, as opposed to the Fredericks book which is mostly photos with little real meat. And, you can forget those prices listed in the Fredericks book. They were way off when it was first published. If you want to know what the stuff really sells for haunt eBay religiously for a few years then you'll get an idea.

[Zackuth]

Nabisco definitely distributed dinosaur figurines in Rice Honeys and Wheat Honeys. This was done on more than one occasion it seems judging by the difference in the art gracing the various boxes:





But there's some question as to whether these dinosaurs were actually produced by MPC, or else Lido.



I'll have to get this book to answer the question:



Mike Fredericks also publishes a magazine called Prehistoric Times.

Oh yeah, loved dinosaurs as a kid!!!  I would get books from the school library about dinosaurs.  I got the dinosaurs from the cereals also.  For a bit of time, at least two years, the cereal I'd depended on whether or not there was a dinosaur toy in it or not.  I still have most of the dinosaurs and my grandson plays with them.  My favorite dinosaur was, and still is, the Iguanadon.

[Hepcat]

These were all made by Lido. They are commonly referred to as Nabisco because of these promotions. These are from the '50s.

Probably not Lido though. From the Toy Soldier website:

CEREAL PREMIUMS WRONGLY ATTRIBUTED TO LIDO

Early toy figure dealers were eager to put a label on all the figures they were selling and mistakes were made. The LIDO toy company wholesaled many of it's figures to be used as cereal premiums. Apparently whoever was making some of the "unknown manufacturer" premiums used the same mold maker as did Lido which has caused some confusion as to identification by collectors years later. Careful study of existing records and the LIDO mold catalog when the company went out of business indicates that LIDO did not make any of the following three groups of figures;

Prehistoric Mammals

Nabisco Dinosaurs

Toy Soldier Website

[horrorhunter]

Probably not Lido though. From the Toy Soldier website:

Toy Soldier Website

I've heard from several sources over the years that Lido made the Nabisco dinosaurs and mammals. I followed your link and the Toy Soldier co. provided no real proof to the contrary simply stating that someone(who and when?) checked the Lido catalog and saw no evidence of Lido making these, and that the mystery co. responsible shared mold makers with Lido. This is just more hearsay. The Nabisco dinosaurs and prehistoric animals are very similar to the Lido mammal figures in size and style. Unless someone provides proof I'll still assume the Nabisco figures were manufactured by Lido. You will find much misinformation trying to run down accurate information on this stuff. The Toy Soldier website is probably just repeating second or third hand information which may, or may not, be factual.