The Identification thread

[docronnie]

Thanks a lot amargasaurus! 

I'm so delighted that at least I got a Marx figure in this part of the world. 

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Seen many marx figures in the more gaudy reds, and yellows of the later year playsets, so dont worry too much about the color really.. ....Comparing it to at least three of my marx Brontosaurus, it looks legit to me. It even has the filling mark along the back spine hump . I am no expert, but to my eyes it seems legit.

[Link666]

I planing on buying it, but there is no info on the webshop where i found it. Only price and length. (T-rex 43cm, Triceatops 41cm, Carnosauria 50cm, Raptor 46cm)
Can anyone help? Which toy company made them?
Thanks!

[Seijun]

Need help if this is a Marx 1959 mold original or recast or knock off.  According to what I've researched the original Marx Brontosaurus figures are gray, brown and green. Some specials are in metallic green or silver.  This one that I got yesterday is yellow:




It is marked Brontosaurus "70' LONG.

As I see it, it has no signs of recast, but as a newbie, I can't tell if this is an original and only an expert Marx Dino collector could (according to Ebay guidelines).

Thanks in advance for the help. 

The marx pieces made in the latter seventies and even early eighties used these colors for the dinosaurs, as well as incorporating pieces cast in the molds from MPC as well. I believe your piece is legitimate marx, late seventies era, however.

Based on what I have learned about marx, this would have to be a recast. The large marx were recast, not by marx, but by different companies after marx sold the molds. So, this figure came from the same mold as the original marx, but it was most likely not made BY marx, if that makes sense. Recast marx are common in a variety of colors--bright greens, reds, yellows, oranges, etc. I have a recast potbellied rex in a brick red-orange color. Other than the color, its only difference with the originals is that the plastic is shinier and slicker, plus the mold lines are not cleaned as well.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Yes technically correct Pam, however the molds were then sold to..Louis Marx, no relationship to the original Marx owners. So even though it would not be considered a classic Marx dinosaur it is still a Marx dinosaur if that makes an ounce on sense. Ouch that even hurts my head thinking about it !
  Aside from that I wonder if you would consider it a recast, since it was made from the original molds and not actually, well , recast. A recast to my mind would be something made from a new casting made from an existing piece, rather than one made from original molds. Semantics perhaps, I dont know enough to say, but to my way of thinking it would not even qualify as a recast.

[docronnie]

Thanks a lot amarga and Seijun! 

Just found this and confirms it all:

http://www.collectorsquest.com/collectible/415/marx-prehistoric-playset-3a47fb-c45

[copper]

i have a question about knock-offs too;

on this site ( http://www.dinosaurcollectorsitea.com/rom.htm ) it says ROMs were cast in grey and tan, but here ( http://www.dinosaurcollector.150m.com/Zallinger_Lcretaeous.html scroll down a bit ) a photo displays an original ROM lambeo in green, and a knock-off in green.

which one is this:

[SBell]

i have a question about knock-offs too;

on this site ( http://www.dinosaurcollectorsitea.com/rom.htm ) it says ROMs were cast in grey and tan, but here ( http://www.dinosaurcollector.150m.com/Zallinger_Lcretaeous.html scroll down a bit ) a photo displays an original ROM lambeo in green, and a knock-off in green.

which one is this:

That's the green one (I've seen the diplo in the same colour).  The grey is a very obvious dark grey.

[Takama]

 

I've been to flee market today and bought this dinosaur toy.
Does anyone know what type of dinosaur is it?
Or is it just a dinosaur wannabe?

Thanks!

That is part of a blind bag line called Predasaurs

They are Hybrid Dinosaurs that come with weapons  and cards that tell you what species there made from.

there are 25 of them in all

[Daverat]

Does anuybody know where this Oar Fish comes from or who made it. I've had it forever (since the late '60s or early '70s.)

There is a guy on Ebay who claims that this was a cereal premium but does not say from what cereal.

[SBell]

Your question belongs here.

But anyway, it's from MPC, part of their (modern) sea life set. They might have been cereal premiums, but they were definitely sold in stores as sets.

I always kind of wanted that one, but am just not willing to pay much for it. And, of course, I now have a few different (realistic) Japanese models anyway. It's neat though.

[copper]

i have a question about knock-offs too;

on this site ( http://www.dinosaurcollectorsitea.com/rom.htm ) it says ROMs were cast in grey and tan, but here ( http://www.dinosaurcollector.150m.com/Zallinger_Lcretaeous.html scroll down a bit ) a photo displays an original ROM lambeo in green, and a knock-off in green.

which one is this:

That's the green one (I've seen the diplo in the same colour).  The grey is a very obvious dark grey.

so it's original rom and not a knock-off?  just making sure that i understood correctly  : P

[Daverat]

Your question belongs here.

But anyway, it's from MPC, part of their (modern) sea life set. They might have been cereal premiums, but they were definitely sold in stores as sets.

I always kind of wanted that one, but am just not willing to pay much for it. And, of course, I now have a few different (realistic) Japanese models anyway. It's neat though.

Thank you for your reply I did not realize that it was an animal because it was always kept with my dinosaur figures.

[Daverat]

How do you tell if your figures are Marx figures or MPC figures?

[Seijun]

It depends on the figure. A lot of the MPC figures are very different from the marx counterparts so it's easy to tell which is which (for example, the MPC brontosaurus looks absolutely nothing like the marx one). Others, like the pteranodon, I'm not sure. They might be smaller and/or not as detailed. I had some plateosaurus that I thought were marx, until I got the marx version, and they were definitely different.

MPC: http://www.dinosaur-toys-collectors-guide.com/mpc-figures.html
Marx: http://www.dinosaur-toys-collectors-guide.com/louis-marx-and-company.html

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Somewhat in line with what Seijun stated, the MPC company was also looking to trim cost while still offering basically close to what Marx had for playset dinosaurs, so they took similar figures, and rather than casting them as three part molds, they tried to make them using two part molds which made the figures smaller, less detailed, and lacking in depth and size comparitively. When you hold a triceratops, or anklosaurus from each company in hand you can see how they cheated the size and detail to eliminate extra molding pieces. Generally the MPC figures will feature two part molds, that are narrower, smaller, and all around use less plastic than their Marx counterparts for those reasons.

[Daverat]

I know that this is Diener rubber eraser but can anybody tell me what dinosaur this is?

[stemturtle]

I know that this is Diener rubber eraser but can anybody tell me what dinosaur this is?

You are correct, Daverat.  My copy of this figure is stamped "1987 Diener" by the manufacturer.  The identification is not marked.  It is Eryops, a temnospondyl amphibian from the late Carboniferous to the Permian.  See Randy Knol's website, Dinosaur Collector: http://www.dinosaurcollectorsitea.com/EPermian.html

[Damon]

Hello I Just signed up for this forum and would like to say hey. I know this is the wrong place for that but I have this toy that has been bugging me for long time and I just dug it up out of a box of old dinosaurs again. This dinosaur was in a box of old toys that belonged to my father. It has no makings on it at all and is about 7-8' long. I was told that it was from the late 50's or early 60's but that's all, as my father has no actual recollection of playing with it. Because of it's fairly good condition I suspect it is a later dating toy (though the plastic seems pretty stiff and brittle). There were a couple of my old toy dinosaurs from the 1970's in the box when I received it in the early 90's so it is not impossible it could be from that decade.

Cheers!

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Hello I Just signed up for this forum and would like to say hey. I know this is the wrong place for that but I have this toy that has been bugging me for long time and I just dug it up out of a box of old dinosaurs again. This dinosaur was in a box of old toys that belonged to my father. It has no makings on it at all and is about 7-8' long. I was told that it was from the late 50's or early 60's but that's all, as my father has no actual recollection of playing with it. Because of it's fairly good condition I suspect it is a later dating toy (though the plastic seems pretty stiff and brittle). There were a couple of my old toy dinosaurs from the 1970's in the box when I received it in the early 90's so it is not impossible it could be from that decade.

Cheers!

  That appears to me to be an older Sinclaire Petroleum Company Brontosaurus from the time period you described . It is similar to a marx Brontosaurus but has slight differences in posture and detail overall. They were generally given as prizes for purchasing gas at roadside stations or sometimes handed out at various events.