dratomic Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Thanks to the amazing generosity of our own Toy Memories -- a.k.a Mike -- I was lucky enough to add this original mold cavity for the robot from the Rex Mars target game to my collection. It now sits comfortably next to my Rex Mars target game prototype! THANKS MIKE! The mold is made of beryllium copper with a few extra pieces of steel. It weighs a lot! It's actually half the mold -- a second piece would have locked onto the side of this one so that four robots could be made at a time. The half-circle in the center is part of where the injection molding tube would be attached. The plastic was squeezed in through those tiny troughs by the figures' feet. (Attendees of Botstock X had a chance to see this mold, plus the molds for three of the four other figures and original drawings, that Mike sent along to display alongside my prototype.) I've got to express again how appreciative I am that Mike passed this off to my collection. I love building runs of the different stages of toy development, so having this and the prototype is an incredible thrill. I honestly never imagined I'd have the chance to do it -- I definitely didn't see this landing in my lap the way it did! (Seriously, from initial phone call to putting the mold on my shelf took a grand total of 4 hours -- and that's only because I had to spend two hours at dinner with my family! Fastest deal EVER.) Thanks again, Mike! Here's a more-or-less current photo of my pre-production, prototype, and behind-the-scenes collection. I'm happy with how it's shaping up -- actually, I'm sort of amazed I've found any of this stuff, so I guess happy is an understatement! BTW, I meant to post a photo, but those little colored pieces of plastic on the bottom shelf are samples from Marx. They were used by designers to select colors, and were also sent along with the designs and sculpts to the factory to make sure there was no mistake about which colors to use when manufacturing the toys. They're kind of like today's Pantone color-matching chips, but from the days before computer-controlled systems. I love this behind-the-scenes stuff, the pieces that get us into the nitty-gritty of how these toys were made! Tough to find, but worth the effort! Any questions about any of this stuff, please feel free to ask. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robothut Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 How totally cool ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morbius Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Wonderful Brian, fits right in there. That target set is a sight to behold, spent lots of time staring at it at Botstock taking in the colours and form of it. Oh and yes, there are many generous members here to be sure, just looking above my post I can see two among many... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Robot Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Dinner with the family... Longest...Two...Hours... EVER. HAHAHA! Just kiddin' Brian, congrats on a crucial score! I really enjoyed seeing the target game prototype and related items at Botstock; that kind of stuff really makes for a collection that is a notch above those that have only the toys themselves (and those are friggin' amazing collections!). I look forward to seeing your collection of prototypozooan artifacts as it evolves... Cheers, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinman Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 A wonderful piece Doc, what a great addition to your prototype collection! As you know, I just added a Rex Mars target to my collection and love it. I'll be working on the display of my collection over the Holidays and looking forward to seeing my Marx pieces on display...now I need to make a 4-hour call to Mike about his Jumpie pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 Thanks guys, glad you like seeing this stuff. The irony is that I still don't have a production version of the target game. (Ahem... BILL! Ha ha... I'll get the next one!) And Dave, you're right -- I could barely focus on the conversation at dinner. I still don't remember what I ordered! No one could figure out why I was so distracted... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinman Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Brian, have we seen all your printing blocks (or whatever they're formally called)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 I'm not sure I posted a picture of all four blocks. I did a quick hunt but couldn't find one. Of course, my brain is Swiss cheese at the moment, so who knows... I'll put something up later, though, if you'd like. I might have one on my phone or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fineas J. Whoopie Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 What a thrill it must be to own such a museum level piece of toy history like that! And so many items that represent the process of creating and bringing to market the toys we all love. The sample tags and the color samples really create a slice of life working at Marx. Just too cool!! Congrats Brian!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultrarobotman Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Wow! that really is a very unique piece of the past. Missed it at B-10 but looking at it there in your collection had myself and Ultrarobotson pondering and appreciating all the families and kids who actually played with the toy produced from that very (1/2) die. This is a great site to find nice pieces of history such as this. Congatulations. I can only imagine it must be kind of creepy-cool to have such an item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electric Robot and Son Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Congrats Brian! A great addition to your pre-production collection, and all the better because its the mold for one of the target figures in the Marx target set! Mike, It was really nice of you to offer this beautiful mold to Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe K. Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 . Congrats, Doc. Here's the link to the BotStock X pictures (scroll down to Post #168): . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted December 24, 2013 Author Share Posted December 24, 2013 Thanks for the link, Joe. I wanted to include those photos, completely flaked on digging them up. It's been one of those weeks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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