Does anybody remember.....

Scotty

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After reading the cartoon booth post, I have one that is bothering me.... Does anyone remember a Coin-Op device that was kinda popular in the early 70s? Basically, you would insert your coins, and it would drop a bunch of single colored balls into a mold and after a few minutes the mold would open, and you would have a 6" plastic figure of a Disney character or other animal. I remember they were quite popular at zoo's and amusement parks back then, but have not seen one since that time. It was some kind of mold injection machine. Anybody have any info about them, or any pictures? More importantly, any idea why they seem to be extinct today?
 
Hey, those machines aren't extinct! There has to be at least a dozen of them at the San Antonio zoo. I haven't used one personally, but I was always under the impression that the machines used wax to sculpt the animal figurines, not plastic.

EDIT: Looks like you were right; the figures are made from plastic, not wax. Google "Mold-a-Rama" to find out more info about these coin-op machines. Looks like this place specializes in selling them. (http://www.replicationdevices.com/vintage.html)
 
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Yeah, I remember buying a bunch of these at the Brookfield zoo in Chicago. A Google search indicates that they are still there.
 
Here in the Milwaukee County Zoo we must have a dozen or so of these machines that still produce!

Man, I love the smell of those things for some reason!
 
I have about ten Santas/Reindeer from one of these they had by a Super Mario Bros. pin at Winter Wonderland in Ohio. Pretty cool machines. Fun to watch.
 
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Mold-a-rama is what they are called. We have one at work that makes seahorses now, it used to make sharks. S & S in Tampa seems to be the main place that handles them. You can get a refurbished unit from them for $15,000.

Here is a good site with more info: http://www.moldamania.com/
 
Mold-A-Rama

Still have them in the S.A. Zoo and many other places. Not a cheap machine when/if you can find one for sale.

http://mcdermot3.home.mindspring.com/Moldarama/

Mold2.gif
 
Como Zoo in MN had a ton of these way back when. I must have had a dozen or so different animals. I remember the color of the wax would very and you could get the special metallic gold if you were lucky.
 
Como Zoo in MN had a ton of these way back when. I must have had a dozen or so different animals. I remember the color of the wax would very and you could get the special metallic gold if you were lucky.


Yep. I still have a gorilla that I made at the Como Zoo (mumble mumble) years ago. It was kind of a gold flake brown.

ken
 
Yep. I still have a gorilla that I made at the Como Zoo (mumble mumble) years ago. It was kind of a gold flake brown.

ken

Blue Gorilla and Yellow Lion, right? I had the yellow lion. I miss these machines too. I don't think Como or the MN Zoo have them anymore.
 
Como Zoo still has 'em. Just got myself a nice yellow lion and black gorilla last summer. I do remember the gorilla being blue when I was a kid in the mid 70s. They may have more, but the gorilla and lion are the only ones I saw on my last trip.
 
Como Zoo still has 'em. Just got myself a nice yellow lion and black gorilla last summer. I do remember the gorilla being blue when I was a kid in the mid 70s. They may have more, but the gorilla and lion are the only ones I saw on my last trip.

Those are the only ones I remember, and the only ones you need. Good to know that they're still there.
 
Hmmm... From the mold-a-rama website:

Como Park Zoo, St Paul MN:
Small Lion (Yellow)
Gorilla (Black)
Sea Lion (Red)
Polar Bear (Light Blue)
 
We have one at work that makes seahorses now, it used to make sharks.

If anyone has extra mold-a-ramas they would sell for a couple bucks over shipping let me know. I have a friend who collects them and his birthday is right around the corner :).
 
If anyone has extra mold-a-ramas they would sell for a couple bucks over shipping let me know. I have a friend who collects them and his birthday is right around the corner :).

I hope you mean the items moded in the machines and not the machines themselves (even flat rate shipping boxes have limits :D).

ken
 
Hey, those machines aren't extinct! There has to be at least a dozen of them at the San Antonio zoo. I haven't used one personally, but I was always under the impression that the machines used wax to sculpt the animal figurines, not plastic.

EDIT: Looks like you were right; the figures are made from plastic, not wax. Google "Mold-a-Rama" to find out more info about these coin-op machines. Looks like this place specializes in selling them. (http://www.replicationdevices.com/vintage.html)

I have several figures from the S.A. Zoo from BITD.
 
Mold-a-rama is what they are called. We have one at work that makes seahorses now, it used to make sharks.

Just wanted to let everyone know HFK sent me a couple of figures and didn't even ask for a dime (although I'm going to send a few dollars his way). Thanks 'mang, it's appreciated :D:cool:!

-T

*You can even see the machine that made them here.
 

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