Era: 1960s or 70s
Glow-in-the-Dark?: No
Place of Origin: Archie Mcphee's, Seattle WA
Rib Count: 22
Celebrity Look-alike: Sandy Duncan
Description: The giant hoop on his head was probably your first clue that this is one of those plastic miniature "charms." When I was a kid it seemed like 90% of the trinkets that came out of gumball machines sported a hoop. My mom informed me that the stuff was intended for use with charm bracelets. I never made one so I always felt a little guilty thinking that I was misusing my vending machine toys. Maybe that's why I always bit the hoops off.
Anyway, this one's a pretty decent skeleton with the exception of the claw-like feet.
And Fun Blog reader Gugon commented:
"I work in the injection molded plastics field and sometimes it gives me a different perspective on toys. For example, do you see that little circle in the middle of the chest? That's the ejector pin mark. The ejector pin is what pushes the part out of the mold. Usually these are located in a discreet location. For example, on the BACK of the skeleton.
In the highly competitive plastic skeleton industry, there is no excuse for the ejector pin to be located in the middle of the chest. For me, this skeleton loses points for that."
Additional Info: One of the cool things about the Archie Mcphee shop is that they sell lots of kooky, vintage store stock. They had big vats of the trinkets I so loved as a kid, and it was worth it to pay a little more since you can actually choose the ones you want without having to deal with unwanted doubles, gumballs, or toy jewelry. More info at Mcphee.com
Cause of Death: Citrus poisoning
Rating: 5.2
UPDATE: Special thanks to Fun Spot reader Travis for researching the following...
"I had to check Sandy Duncan's face again, after your blog entry this
morning, and sure enough- it's her! Proof is attached."
I work in the injection molded plastics field and sometimes it gives me a different perspective on toys.
ReplyDeleteFor example, do you see that little circle in the middle of the chest? That's the ejector pin mark. The ejector pin is what pushes the part out of the mold. Usually these are located in a discreet location. For example, on the BACK of the skeleton.
In the highly competitive plastic skeleton industry, there is no excuse for the ejector pin to be located in the middle of the chest. For me, this skeleton loses points for that.
Ha! I love it!
ReplyDeleteOh, man you could have been a consultant for this whole thing.
Please share any future observations that might occur to you based on your knowledge of plastics.
Your point made me think how cool it would be to see a Sesame Street type film that showed toy skeletons actually being manufactured.
That Sesame Street clip about making saxophones used to give me the creeps. All the sounds were made on a sax, and in a bad way.
ReplyDeleteThat circle on his chest was the orange entry wound!
Hey- that "anonymous" up there was supposed to be me! :(
ReplyDeletetravis- I remember the sax one (and the troubling music). I always liked the crayon one.
ReplyDeleteThere's an old school sesame street DVD (69-74 I think) that comes out in a week and I'm hoping it has some of those on there.
All I know is that skeletons are very very pothy!
ReplyDeleteRose
Rose you veggie vay, what the duece are you doing lerving around here?
ReplyDelete