Jim’s Mold-A-Rama page
MAIN PAGE &
MICHIGAN MACHINES
Mold-A-Rama collecting
is a lot of fun, but the resources on the Internet are rather sparse. Many websites that purport to be complete
listings are woefully out-of-date* (but see update
below)
I will never be able to
compile a complete listing of Mold-A-Rama designs, locations or colors. Nonetheless, I have decided to post parts of
my collection to help give a more complete picture of the toys that are available. More will be posted as I photograph the
collection. Worth noting: there are no
Mold-A-Rama machines at Disney World or Disneyland.
DUE TO THE NUMBER OF LISTINGS, I HAVE SPLIT THE
PAGE INTO SEPARATE STATES
My home is in the Detroit area, so I regularly
keep track of the Henry Ford Museum machines. All other machines are monitored
only during rare visits. Updates are in
chronological order.
* Mold-A-Rama, Inc., located in the
Chicago area, now maintains a helpful and accurate list of the locations it
serves: LINK
Recent
updates:
February 2023
– Henry Ford Museum
February 2023
– Universal Studios Orlando
(from January)
February 2023
– Museum of Science & Industry
Mold-a-Rama exhibit (from December 2022)
MICHIGAN
Stahl Automotive
Collection, Chesterfield, Michigan
An automobile museum north of Detroit has an inoperable Mold-A-Rama machine in a
corner of its main display room. It has
a red Messerschmitt Cabine model in the display panel. Photo taken in March 2019.
MARCH 2021 UPDATE: The machine has been moved
to a work area where cars and machinery are restored for the museum. I was unable to determine whether the machine
is being readied for display or operation.
NOVEMBER 2021 UPDATE:
The machine has been cleaned up and placed in the main car display area, but
one exhibited car is backed up to the machine (denying access) so it does not
appear the machine will be operable. I
checked again in February 2023 and the machine is still like this – unreachable
and inoperable.
November 23,
2021: note the fender of an antique car blocking access to the machine
Third Man Records is a record label owned by
musician Jack White of The White Stripes.
He opened a retail store in Detroit on Black Friday (November 27)
2015. Among the novelty machines in the
store – which also serves as a museum and includes a record manufacturing plant
– is a Mold-A-Rama machine. It takes 3
dollar tokens (sold at the sales counter) and produces a very large truck
representing the record label’s mobile record store.
There is a Mold-A-Rama (“Wax-O-Matic”) machine
at the Nashville Tennessee branch
of the store, too. That machine has made
red guitars since the store opened in 2012.
This sample was harvested on November 28, 2015
– the second day of operation.
UPDATE: NOVEMBER 2016: The truck mold was so
big that the machine kept malfunctioning, creating toys that didn’t have enough
plastic. In 2016 the store replaced the
mold with a smaller truck that has a better success rate. They also changed the faceplate of the
machine to change the Mold-A-Rama name to Wax-O-Matic, as shown in the “2016
photos” below. The new version was
harvested on November 26, 2016.
2016 PHOTOS:
Side-by-side
comparisons (2016 version on left)
2015 PHOTOS:
The real truck
DECEMBER 2021 UPDATE: The machine is out of order and has been all
year. The left mold has fallen out of
position. The machine remained out of
order throughout 2022.
HENRY
FORD MUSEUM: PRICE INCREASED TO $5 IN DECEMBER 2021 – see December 2021 update
at bottom of this entry
Henry
Ford Museum/Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan. Two machines are generally located in the
lobby area of the IMAX theatre, and you can reach them without paying admission
or paying for parking. The others are
inside the Henry Ford Museum.
Seasonally, machines were sometimes
moved from the museum to the Village, but not in the past 10 years or so. These examples were obtained circa 2005. The black locomotive is the same basic design
as the Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago, but with a different
inscription on the base. The colors of
certain models used to change frequently, but have remained the same for a
couple years as of 2017: the antique car, the F150 pickup, and the
Mustang. Abraham Lincoln is available in
a couple colors and a lot of shade variations.
I am aware of only one color change for the carousel horse. Price to create your own toy: $3 each (raised
from $2 in 2017). Scroll down for more recent updates.
2005 designs shown (not all are currently
available): blue locomotive; black locomotive; Henry Ford; carousel horse;
Oscar Mayer Wienermobile; antique auto; Rosa Parks bus; Ford Mustang; Abraham
Lincoln; alligator; Ford F-150 pickup; George Washington; John F. Kennedy.
Right: Carousel horse
color variations
Right: antique car
color variations
Alligator mold was for
a special IMAX movie about the bayou, and is no longer available
Ford F150 pickup color
variations. The mold is marked for the
“Rouge Factory Tour,” but the machine is at the Henry Ford Museum
Hail to the Chiefs:
Washington (Henry Ford Museum); Lincoln (Chicago Museum of Science &
Industry);
Lincoln – 2 colors
(Henry Ford Museum); Kennedy (Henry Ford Museum)
Sign in museum in August 2012 shows a new mold:
“Liberty” cannon
Sign in museum in December 2012 showing
seasonal toys
NEW INFO DECEMBER 2012: Two seasonal molds were available in December
2012. The “Santa Claus” mold has “Henry
Ford Museum” on the front of the base and “Happy Holidays” on the back of the
base. A second toy, the blue locomotive,
is offered as the “Polar Express” to complement the IMAX movie shown during
Christmas season. The base has “Henry
Ford Museum,” but does not say “Polar Express.”
Other than a slight color variation, this is identical to the blue
locomotive that has been available at the museum for years. The two designs temporarily replace the Mustang
and F-150.
Here are photos of the
Santa Claus mold and the machine for the Polar Express:
“Liberty” cannon; typical museum Mold-a-Rama
machine
NEW INFO SEPTEMBER
2013:There are two new molds this year – President Kennedy (which is actually
an older mold returned) and the 1961 Kennedy limousine. In addition, there are some color changes:
the smaller steam locomotive is now a silver grey instead of black, which makes
the features easier to see. The Liberty
Cannon is now red instead of dark grey.
The Rosa Parks bus is a more olive shade of green. Lincoln is a different shade of
tan/fleshtone, and the antique car is now black.
The machines are all
located in the Henry Ford Museum. Two
are in the IMAX lobby (JFK bust and red Mustang). Seven are lined up along the museum’s front
wall (Oscar Meyer Wienermobile, Rosa Parks bus, Lincoln bust, JFK limo, liberty
cannon). Two are along the front wall,
but closer to the railroad exhibit (Henry Ford standing and small
locomotive). The final machine (antique
auto) is located behind the Model T and assembly line display (which does not
adjoin the regular auto displays).
Kennedy car and bust
Color and shade variations as of September
2013:
What heaven looks like! And this isn’t even half of the machines at
the Henry Ford Museum (Oct. 2013 photo).
NOVEMBER 23, 2013
UPDATE: Santa returned to the M-A-R machines at the Henry Ford Museum this
week. The mold is available in red (like
last year). Santa replaces the Ford
Mustang in one of the IMAX lobby machines.
The Polar Express train has not appeared yet; the John F. Kennedy bust (in
blue) remained through the weekend as part of the JFK commemorations at the
museum, but is expected to be replaced next week.
DECEMBER 2013: The
Polar Express toy was available for the Christmas season and into January. The regular locomotive color was changed to a
very dark grey.
JANUARY 21, 2014
UPDATE: The Polar Express train and the Santa mold are gone. In their place are the red Ford Mustang and a
blue Ford F-150 pickup, both of which have been available before in these
colors. The gift shop area is undergoing
renovation, so the machines normally found in that area have been distributed
to other areas of the museum. A sign
near the machines has a map of the temporary locales. The John F. Kennedy mold is retired for
now. The loco is back in silver, which
shows its details very well.
The sign omits the
black Antique Car, which is still near the Model T assembly exhibit. There remain 10 toys at the museum.
Mustang and F-150 machines near IMAX lobby –
notice no description in the windows on the right
NOVEMBER 28, 2014
UPDATE: There are now 3 Christmas-themed
molds at the Henry Ford Museum, installed today. They will be there through the holiday season
(mid-January if past practice holds true).
This year they have the red Santa Claus toy, the blue locomotive (for
Polar Express), and a new mold: a green Christmas tree. The tree mold has “HAPPY HOLIDAYS” and “HENRY
FORD MUSEUM” on the base. This mold
temporarily replaces the Rosa Parks Bus mold inside the museum. Photos below ▼
November 28, 2014 photos
August
4, 2015 UPDATE: The Liberty Cannon design has been replaced by a new mold:
Thomas Edison’s lightbulb. The mold was
replaced around July 2015. The new
design is red, and is inscribed on the side panel “THOMAS EDISION’S FIRST
LIGHTBULB 1879 HENRY FORD MUSEUM DEARBORN MICHIGAN.” The toy is 3.5” tall x 3.5” wide x 2.25”
deep.
New in 2015
November
28, 2015 UPDATE: The Christmas molds returned a few days before
Thanksgiving. In the IMAX lobby, the
blue “Polar Express” locomotive replaces the Ford F-150 pickup truck and the
red Santa replaces the Ford Mustang.
Inside the museum, the Rosa Parks bus has been replaced by the green
Christmas tree. See the photos from the
2014 update – they haven’t changed.
November 20, 2016
UPDATE: the Christmas molds are in place.
October 29, 2017
UPDATE: the price was raised to $3 per mold some time during the year.
July 7, 2019 UPDATE:
the Edison light bulb mold is off-stage.
The Mustang mold (in red) has been moved to its location inside the
museum, while a new Astronaut mold (also in red) is now located in the movie
theatre lobby. The front of the base
says “ASTRONAUT” and the back says “THE HENRY FORD.” I believe this is the first mold to have the
new name for the museum and village complex – The Henry Ford. The machine notes that this a limited-time
offering, and I expect it will be replaced shortly after this year’s
Apollo-themed events have ended. You do
not have to pay museum admission to reach the machine in the lobby (the blue
Ford F-150 machine is also located in the lobby). The
astronaut mold remains available as of Labor Day 2019.
January 15, 2020
UPDATE: The Astronaut, blue Ford F-150 pickup, and Rosa Parks Bus molds were
replaced around Thanksgiving for the annual Santa Claus, Polar Express, and
Christmas Tree molds. After the end of
the season (mid January), the pickup truck and bus molds returned. Santa was swapped out for the astronaut. It appears this mold will remain in service for
the majority of 2020 as an Apollo exhibit will be coming to the museum later in
the year.
Astronaut new in 2019 – also shown, revised map
of machine locations, July 2019
December
6, 2020 UPDATE: A new Christmas design has been added at the museum as a
seasonal offering. In addition to the
green Christmas Tree (inside the museum) and red Santa (in the lobby), a blue
“Reindeer Ornament” has been added in the lobby. This may be the smallest MAR toy I have seen
at 3-3/4” long and 2-7/8” tall. There is
no base, and no name of the museum anywhere on the toy.
It appears the Polar
Express locomotive is temporarily retired, which is not a huge surprise
considering the attached movie theatre is closed during the pandemic and
therefore will not be showing the popular film.
Reindeer new in 2020, and Santa and Reindeer machines
side-by-side in museum lobby
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
July 26, 2021 UPDATE: The color of the Ford F-150 pickup truck has changed
from blue to red. The F-150 and Henry
Ford machines are currently placed in the lobby and can be reached without
paying admission. The other machines are
still in the museum, past the ticket desk.
The Ford Mustang was switched to orange.
New colors in 2021
August 28, 2021 UPDATE:
A new design has been added with a 1933 Willys Gasser, which commemorates a car
in the museum’s collection that is featured in the new Driven To Win: Racing in
America permanent exhibition. The base
says “1933 WILLYS GASSER” and “THE HENRY FORD.”
In addition, the red
Ford Mustang has been switched to orange (from red).
Photos: actual car in museum collection; new
2021 mold
Sign shows locations as of August 5, 2021
As of August 2021, the
current 10 designs are: blue Willys Gasser, red Ford F-150, orange Ford
Mustang, dark grey Henry Ford, green Rosa Parks Bus, orange Wienermobile,
silver steam locomotive, black Antique Car, black JFK limousine, and tan
Abraham Lincoln.
DECEMBER 2021 UPDATE:
The price at all ten Henry Ford Museum machines has been raised from $3 to
$5.
The Christmas designs
(two of them) are in place. The Santa
design has replaced the red Ford F-150 in the lobby, and the green Holiday Tree
has replaced the green Rosa Parks Bus inside the museum. There is not a blue holiday design this year;
the new Willys Gasser has remained in its machine near the trains. In past years a blue train has been offered
to coincide with showings of the Polar Express movie, and in 2020 a blue
reindeer was offered. Price at museum:
$5.
Two seasonal machine conversions & map of
locations in December 2021
MARCH 2, 2022: Two
designs were switched out for the special exhibit “Apollo: When We Went to the
Moon,” which opened in February. The red
Ford F-150 pickup truck mold was switched for a red space shuttle (launch)
design (this machine is in the theatre lobby and can be reached without paying
admission).
The green Rosa Parks
bus inside the museum was switched for a green Mercury space capsule. Paid admission is required to reach this
design. Each costs $5 (the new price
level). I was surprised that the museum
did not use offer their existing Astronaut mold (see the January 15, 2020
update above for a photo of that toy).
The shuttle model is
about 4.5 inches tall (at an angle, the shuttle itself is about 5 inches long)
and has no inscriptions on the base. The
Mercury craft is about 4.25 inches tall.
Its base is inscribed “Sigma 7” and “Project Mercury.” Other inscriptions on the toy include “Aurora
7” and “Friendship 7.”
New in February 2022: red space shuttle in
launch mode; green Mercury capsule; sign showing all current machine locations
JULY 2, 2022 – The
space molds were replaced when the special Apollo exhibition ended. The green machine returned to dispense Rosa
Parks bus toy. The red machine in the
lobby switched to Mickey Mouse to coincide with a new exhibition of Disney
costumes. This machine can be reached
without paying for museum admission, and the toy costs $5 (the new price since
late 2021).
Mickey is the standard
Mickey design, molded in red. The base
has “MICKEY MOUSE” and “© WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS” with no designation of the
museum name. Mickey stands about 5.25”
from the bottom of the base to the top of his ear.
December 2022 – February 2023 updates: When the Disney exhibit left the
museum, Mickey’s machine was switched to Santa, and the Rosa Parks Bus machine
was switched to the Christmas Tree. In
January those holiday dies were removed and the Rosa Parks Bus and red Ford
F-150 Pickup returned.
When I
visited on February 18, 2023, the Abraham Lincoln mold had been switched to
white plastic. At this time, the “headcount”
at the Henry Ford Museum was 10 molds: grey Henry Ford and red Ford F-150 in the
lobby; silver locomotive, orange Wienermobile, orange Ford Mustang, black
antique car, white Lincoln, black JFK Limousine, blue Willys Gasser, and green
Rosa Parks Bus in the museum. The Ford
Mustang displayed on the machine is a dusty orange color, but the delivered
product continues to be bright orange as it has since the color changeover a
couple years ago.
Feb. 2023 signage, with wrong color
for Abraham Lincoln
On occasion I will list
Mold-a-Rama toys on eBay. I mainly sell
coins, though. Link to my auctions:
New 04/29/2012
Revised 2/19/2023