Toy Dinosaurs, Dance!
Well, out of curiousity last night I decided to search the net for info on my new toy Gallimimus, and was reminded of the fun to be found in collecting plastic dinosaurs. This hobby is especially "fun" for me because without even trying I've got a a pretty good collection going- you know those little plastic dinosaurs everyone had when they were a kid? I have an entire box full of them somewhere in the basement. The company that originally made them in the 1950s and 60s was the Louis Marx Company, although the molds that produced these originals were used by other companies afterward and the designs have been regularly pirated by others. Many of my figures (given to me by older relatives) seem to be original Marx molds or MPC copies (naturally not as sought after, but apparently still collectable.) I have no intention of selling any of them (I imagine they're not worth a whole lot, given the limited market, but probably much more than you'd think plastic figures that sold for 10-15 cents 50 years ago would be- plus I have so many) but I like old stuff and would like to properly identify and preserve all of them.
Perusing the few collector websites out there got me thinking about the current overall state of dinosaur toys in general: it sucks. 50 years ago, the Marx dinosaurs and later even the few MPC original figures were actually pretty accurate given the scientific views of the time. Each figure was meant to resemble an actual species, and although they were unpainted (not a bad thing if you want to play rough with them,) a fair amount of detail was given to the molds. Some less well known species, such as Sphenacodon andCynognathus- I know, not dinosaurs, but there were several mammals and other non dinos in the sets- got their fifteen minutes of fame in the Marx sets, whereas beasts like Machrauchenia and Ceratogaulus (the latter I even had to look up) got to feature for the first (and probably only time) in a toy line. Herbivores also got a good showing, actually outnumbering the carnivore styles. Most of the figures were stamped with the generic name and the approximate length of a full grown animal. And they were cheap- even if 10- 15 cents was worth more "way back" in the 50s, they were still cheap enough that a sizable army of the things doesn't seem to have been hard to come by (having not grown up in that time period I can only specualte, but that's sure what it seems like from what I've heard, and explains the large assortment I inherited from a single uncle.) In any case, they're considered the best dinosaur toys of their time.
Then we have today. A lot has changed in the world of dinosaur science in the past fifty years, and if the Louis Marx Company had started making dinosaurs in 2005 with the same quality it did in 1955, the figures would be very different. Gone would be Trachodon, as this dubious species is based on a few teeth and has fallen out of popularity. Brontosaurus would be rechristened Apatosaurus and have a more elongated head, instead of the boxy camarasaur skull it wore for so long, and would carry its neck more stiffly and horizontally (it might also some dorsal spines or something to make it look "cool.") Kronosaurus would have a short neck and a long tail, instead of vice versa (I think this was wrong even by the time of the Marx figures, actually- oh, well, no one said they were perfect, just good.) All of the dinosaurs would stand with their tails lifted off of the ground, or perhaps just the tip touching for the sake of stability (sometimes accuracy does have to suffer in favor of practicality.) These revamped figures would then be available in bins for kids with allowances to spend to purchase, and eventually their rooms would resemble a miniature Mesozoic (and visitors would be cautioned to mind their feet- those things hurt when stepped on!)
Sadly, there is no such equivelent today. Instead, a quick scan of the dinosaur sets at the average toy store reveals nothing but copies of the original Marx molds, or similarly obsolete designs. A few large vinyl figures of decent quality can be found (although these often just copy outdated molds as well, my Gallimimus is fairly decent- the gangly ornithomimid body structure almost requires some care be given to make it work right) but these are slightly too costly and much too large to be proper substitutes for the scores of Marx dinosaurs that once inhabited every boy's closet. And the few high quality lines available- Carnegie being the best known- are much too expensive to collect more than one of each figure (if you can even manage that) and also too "pretty" to want to rough house with (I've ruined the paint jobs on some of my older ones trying to do just that.) Even if you could collect and play with the Carnegies like the Marx toys, there's a severe surplus of carnivores in the line- new theropods seem to be all they release now each year (although I have seen a picture of what looks like a new Carnegie Oviraptor with feathers, which is sorely needed- even the museum lines have been behind the times with feathered dinosaurs.) To be fair, Carnegie was never meant as a replacement for Marx, but the gap in quality between casual play things and museum quality collectables has grown so large that the high end lines are the only ones worth mentioning these days. And, given that movies like Jurassic Park have at least made the general public aware that dinosaur science has changed so much from when they themselves were kids (heck, when people my age were kids) it's sad to think that dinosaur toys will always remain behind the times, and continue to fall behind rather than evolving with them.
At least I finally found a good Gallimimus out of it all.
Perusing the few collector websites out there got me thinking about the current overall state of dinosaur toys in general: it sucks. 50 years ago, the Marx dinosaurs and later even the few MPC original figures were actually pretty accurate given the scientific views of the time. Each figure was meant to resemble an actual species, and although they were unpainted (not a bad thing if you want to play rough with them,) a fair amount of detail was given to the molds. Some less well known species, such as Sphenacodon andCynognathus- I know, not dinosaurs, but there were several mammals and other non dinos in the sets- got their fifteen minutes of fame in the Marx sets, whereas beasts like Machrauchenia and Ceratogaulus (the latter I even had to look up) got to feature for the first (and probably only time) in a toy line. Herbivores also got a good showing, actually outnumbering the carnivore styles. Most of the figures were stamped with the generic name and the approximate length of a full grown animal. And they were cheap- even if 10- 15 cents was worth more "way back" in the 50s, they were still cheap enough that a sizable army of the things doesn't seem to have been hard to come by (having not grown up in that time period I can only specualte, but that's sure what it seems like from what I've heard, and explains the large assortment I inherited from a single uncle.) In any case, they're considered the best dinosaur toys of their time.
Then we have today. A lot has changed in the world of dinosaur science in the past fifty years, and if the Louis Marx Company had started making dinosaurs in 2005 with the same quality it did in 1955, the figures would be very different. Gone would be Trachodon, as this dubious species is based on a few teeth and has fallen out of popularity. Brontosaurus would be rechristened Apatosaurus and have a more elongated head, instead of the boxy camarasaur skull it wore for so long, and would carry its neck more stiffly and horizontally (it might also some dorsal spines or something to make it look "cool.") Kronosaurus would have a short neck and a long tail, instead of vice versa (I think this was wrong even by the time of the Marx figures, actually- oh, well, no one said they were perfect, just good.) All of the dinosaurs would stand with their tails lifted off of the ground, or perhaps just the tip touching for the sake of stability (sometimes accuracy does have to suffer in favor of practicality.) These revamped figures would then be available in bins for kids with allowances to spend to purchase, and eventually their rooms would resemble a miniature Mesozoic (and visitors would be cautioned to mind their feet- those things hurt when stepped on!)
Sadly, there is no such equivelent today. Instead, a quick scan of the dinosaur sets at the average toy store reveals nothing but copies of the original Marx molds, or similarly obsolete designs. A few large vinyl figures of decent quality can be found (although these often just copy outdated molds as well, my Gallimimus is fairly decent- the gangly ornithomimid body structure almost requires some care be given to make it work right) but these are slightly too costly and much too large to be proper substitutes for the scores of Marx dinosaurs that once inhabited every boy's closet. And the few high quality lines available- Carnegie being the best known- are much too expensive to collect more than one of each figure (if you can even manage that) and also too "pretty" to want to rough house with (I've ruined the paint jobs on some of my older ones trying to do just that.) Even if you could collect and play with the Carnegies like the Marx toys, there's a severe surplus of carnivores in the line- new theropods seem to be all they release now each year (although I have seen a picture of what looks like a new Carnegie Oviraptor with feathers, which is sorely needed- even the museum lines have been behind the times with feathered dinosaurs.) To be fair, Carnegie was never meant as a replacement for Marx, but the gap in quality between casual play things and museum quality collectables has grown so large that the high end lines are the only ones worth mentioning these days. And, given that movies like Jurassic Park have at least made the general public aware that dinosaur science has changed so much from when they themselves were kids (heck, when people my age were kids) it's sad to think that dinosaur toys will always remain behind the times, and continue to fall behind rather than evolving with them.
At least I finally found a good Gallimimus out of it all.