MOLDVILLE is not affiliated with Mold-A-Rama, Inc. of Brookfield IL
List of Vintage MOLDS
SERIAL NUMBERS of vintage moldsets for Mold-A-Rama of L.A. Machines
_____ 3 monkeys (no base) ][
_____ space needle oo 4/62
_____ monorail sq sq
_____ century 21 rect
_____ hollywood bowl rect 10/62
_____ skull ][
_____ chinese theater ][
_____ elephant (small) oo
_____ jai lai player oo
_____ tiger (bengal) ][
_____ angel (flying) ][
10/62
_____ lion (small) ][
_____ coal train
_____ dolphin (MGM flipper) ][
1005P kennedy (small) ][
1006C skull bank oo
1008C HOTEI oo
1009A bear (standing) ][
1015A gorilla (small) ][
1016A 3 monkeys ][
1017E space capsule ][
10/62
1019A panther (wild cat) ][
1021A sea lion ][
1022T cable car ][
1023A koala ][
1027E bowling pin ‘the champ’ ][
1028E bowling pin & plaque ‘In Memory’ ][
1029E bowling pin & card ][
1031C devil bank ][
1032E golden gate bridge ][
1036A otter ][
1039E hms bounty )(
1043T steam train ][
1044C robot )(
1051C kewpie doll )(
1055C cowboy (2 guns) )(
1056A bull seal
1057E dc capitol )(
1058C troll bank )(
1059C frankenstein bank )(
1061C bathing beauty )(
1065A walrus )(
1066E liberty bell bank (large) )(
1067E capt. starn’s sailboat
1068E diving horse (griffith park) )(
1069B kitty bank )(
1072E valley forge )(
1074A pilot whale )(
1075A beluga whale )(
1082E Chris’ Restaurant Flying Saucer
1083A gorilla (waving) )(
1101P george washington )(
1102P Lincoln )(
1105P kennedy (large) )(
1106A dolphin (flipper)
1107A sea horse )(
1108E liberty bell bank (small) )(
1113E seaquarium monorail
1116A mickey (small) )(
1117A donald (small) )(
1118A pluto (small) )(
1119E clock of nations
1119A pinochio )(
1120A jiminy cricket )(
1121A goofy )(
1122A peter pan )(
1123A brer rabbit )(
1124P lyndon johnson )(
12/63
1125T friendship international airport
1127A enco watchdog service
1129E unisphere )(
1135A donkey )(
1136C pirate
1142A trachodon (large)
1144A triceratops (large) )(
1145A corythosaurus (large)
1148A sailfish )(
1151A donald (large) )(
1152P lincoln (standing)
1154A pluto (large) )(
1155A mickey (large) )(
1156A dolphin (jumping)
1156T space lab
1158T lunar lander
1164A cockatoo
1166T gemini capsule
1171T titan IIIc missile
11/66
1172T steamboat
1174E skytower marineland )(
1175A octopus )(
1176A stegosaurus (small) )(
1177A brontosaurus (small) )(
1178A T-rex (small) )(
1179A corythosaurus (small) )(
1180A trachodon (small) )(
1182E girl riding seahorse
1192A bear looking to side
1195M apollo astronaut
1967
This list may be cryptic, but it is the result of exhaustive research. The molds are listed in chronological order with deduced dating.
Vintage Moldsets (Historical Information)
J.H. Miller first used his plastic slush mold machines in December 1955 to produce plastic nativity figures, then large & small dinosaur series in 1956 - 1957. In 1958 his mold machines churned out their "Earth invaders", more affectionately known today as "Miller Aliens". All of these highly collectible figures were produced on plastic slush mold machines patented in September 1957.
This, my friends, is an actual JH MILLER moldset from their "Miller Alien" series introduced for Christmas 1958 - fitted onto MOLDVILLE and put back into operation for the first time in 54 years!
J.H. Miller's plastic injection mold machine that he used to produce thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of plastic dinosaurs, cavemen, and Miller Aliens was extremely similar in operation and structure to the coinop embodiment which he helped develop for Mold-A-Rama, Inc. The differences were largely as would be expected in a manufacturing setting:
Shown below is now actually believed to be the VERY FIRST made by 1960s Mold-A-Rama of L.A.. (It's either that, or it's a J.H. Miller moldset converted for use on the coinop machine.) It's certainly the oldest in existence for use on the coinop machine. What figure does it mold? I won't say just yet, but there is only one known original plastic figure still in existence molded from the moldset shown below.
Very soon the collar became integrated into the back plate. Next to the very first mold shown above, this is probably my oldest 'production' oriented moldset. Wondering what figure it molds? HINT: It was used at the '62 Century 21 Exposition (aka the 1962 World's Fair) in SEATTLE, WA. It is milled aluminum block (rather than cast aluminum as in the later molds.) Most interesting (ok, maybe to me) is that the BACKS themselves of these earliest prototype molds are cooled. Note tapped holes
in top edge of back, and one tap hole on the side near the bottom edge of the back. This permitted the formation of a "U"-shaped tubular cavity within the back to allow for the cooling liquid to pass through. The cooling liquid passes through the molds continuously whenever the machine is turned on. (OK, if you're still wondering which figure it molds, it's the 1962 Seattle World's Fair Space Needle!) This is another early mold (also used at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.)
This mold has both the back AND the mold fronts drilled for passing the cooling liquid therethrough. Obviously the early tests of the machine made by Mold-A-Rama, Inc. of L.A. at the '62 World's Fair in Seattle indicated a need for greater cooling of the mold halves. (This is particularly true when the machine is operated nearly continuously as it was when first introduced. The cooling needed to keep up with the repeated injection of 250 degree hot plastic into the mold.)
This is what the great mass of the BACKS of the molds look like. Note the additional mounting screws to hold the back and front halves of the mold together; and the additional 'rib' down the center of the back.
This is what the great mass of molds look like: CAST aluminum mold fronts. The backs of the mold are essentially the same as the mold previously shown. The real COOL part of this mold is that it forms a DISNEY character. How can you tell that? The baby blue stripes on the edge of the backs, which is found on just about all the original Disney molds. Even cooler? There is a tap hole for a small mounting screw about halfway down in the blue paint. See it?
That's where the bendable Disney figures' hands were mounted. The wire Disney figures moved in and out with the mold halves after you dropped your 25c. Most typically Goofy's left hand mounted to the right half of the mold, and Donald's right hand mounted to the left half of the mold! Drop your quarter in and Goofy and Donald pushed the mold halves together (and later pulled them apart) for you!
Here Goofy and Donald Duck, though on temporary break, are still in position to help move the mold halves open and closed. Note the mounting holes drilled in their hands (and the corresponding screw holes on the blue stripes of the mold above). That's where they hold on!
This is a MASTER from which an aluminum mold of a RHINOCEROUS was made 70s or 80s. On the right is a first master image, from which the non-shrink rubber block on left is made and used to impression the front side of a sand-cast aluminum mold half. The molds are somewhat complicated to make, and include another master set for the reverse side of the same mold half to evacuate much of the aluminum, leaving about 1/4" thickness all around in the final mold (which then forms a sealed cavity.)
Cast aluminum mold on left, back of mold on right. These two parts are mated with a gasket material & screwed together to form a water-tight seal. In operation the water/coolant fluid is constantly injected into one tap hole of the cast mold, and returned out the other. A formed aluminum divider ensures that the cooled fluid passes along the bottom side of the mold. The backside of this cast aluminum mold required a 'master' as well.
Moldset heaven!
A little bit of trivia: Back in the 1980s quite a few original moldsets were stolen and sold for scrap. (AHHH!) Sad, but true. As a result, quite a few original moldsets no longer exist. Of the dinosaurs which were made in both a large for the 1964 NY World's Fair, and then in very late 1966 a small size, only two dinosaurs survive today with moldsets in both sizes: corythosaurus and trachodon.
A little more trivia: the triceratops and ankylosaurus were made by 1960s Mold-A-Rama for Sinclair only in the large size! (A small triceratops was made many years later in the 1990s.)
A little more trivia: In 1965 an operator could buy a used standard moldset from Mold-A-Rama, Inc. of L.A. for $20, or a new standard moldset for $100. A custom moldset was a bit more pricey in 1965 at $750 (about $7,500 today)