Jim’s
Mold-A-Rama page
Link
to my auctions: 
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websites that purport to be complete listings are woefully out-of-date* (but see update below)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.
*
Mold-A-Rama, Inc., located in the Chicago area, now maintains a helpful and
accurate list of the locations it serves:
LINK
Recent updates:
July 2022 – Henry Ford Museum
May 2022 – Kalahari
Resort, Wisconsin Dells
March 2022 – Henry Ford Museum
December 2021 – Henry Ford Museum
December 2021 – Third Man Records, Detroit
November 2021 – Stahl Automotive Collection
July & August 2021 – Henry Ford Museum
May 2021 – Third
Man Records, Nashville
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.
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.
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.
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 7/2/2022