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websites that purport to be complete listings are woefully out-of-date.
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.
Recent updates:
October & September 2019 – Toledo Zoo
July 2019 – Henry Ford Museum
April 2019 – Field
Museum, Willis Tower
March 2019 – Stahl Automotive Collection
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.
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 reportedly a
Mold-A-Rama at the Nashville Tennessee branch of the store, too. That machine made red guitars when the
Novelties Lounge portion of 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 purchased on November 26, 2016.
2016 PHOTOS:
Side-by-side comparisons (2016 version on left)
2015
PHOTOS:
The
real truck
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 are sometimes
moved from the museum to the Village.
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
change for the carousel horse. Price to
create your own toy: $3 each (raised from $2 in 2017). Scroll down for more recent updates.
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.
Astronaut new in 2019 – also shown, revised
map of machine locations, July 2019
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 10/03/2019