A question about molds (1 Viewer)

[Carnahan]

I'm not too clued in on the business end (or technology end) of things, and I was wondering why we're not seeing any of the older (and better) dimestore soldiers around anymore. Just the other day I picked up a pack of plastic bathtub boats for my son. There's a $3 set that includes a ferry, tug, runabout and sailboat that are all composed of three or four pieces each . I looked at it and realized that I used to play with the exact same boats when I was little. The detail is minimal but clean and the price is good, so why don't they re-use some of the better molds for soldiers? I remember in the early '80s getting a bag of 8th Army Arifix clones that were almost a perfect copy of the originals. What ever happen to these molds - do they eventually wear out? The detail on most dimestore stuff is awful - looks like the plastic melted partially!

 

[theBaron]

Hi, Carnahan, yes, molds do wear out, and typically they're retooled or replaced, during a production run of an object, whether it's a metal or plastic figure, or a model kit.

Some molds are copied, particularly in the Far East, though not exclusively there, sometimes during the production run of an item and therefore, competing with an original, and sometimes after the original is out of production and the maker gone.

As far as the old generic army men are concerned, I've seen variations of them even more recently, some in dollar stores or even in my local grocery stores, others in craft stores, places like HobbyLobby. Quality has varied, too, from figures that look like the masters were rushed with little thought to detail, to some sets of similar quality to Armies in Plastic's figures and figures by other, more formal makers. I recall especially sets of Revolutionary War and Civil War figures, sold in round, clear plastic drum-like containers, with horses, equipment and some scenery like trees included.

Hope that helps answer your question, prosit!
Brad

 

[Carnahan]

Thanks - very enlightening!

 

[larso]

Some molds just got lost when companies went under. I recall reading about some old Marx molds being found propping open a barn door. Some of the molds from Atlantic (an Italian company I think), were sent to the Middle East somewhere and were never seen again. Some certainly have been kept properly and were able to produce re-issues (airfix being a good example) when later companies gained the rights to use them. I've always wondered what happened to the Timpo overmolding machines that made the Vikings, Arabs, cowboys etc. I guess they were sold for scrap....

 

[steve weston]

Some molds just got lost when companies went under. I recall reading about some old Marx molds being found propping open a barn door. Some of the molds from Atlantic (an Italian company I think), were sent to the Middle East somewhere and were never seen again. Some certainly have been kept properly and were able to produce re-issues (airfix being a good example) when later companies gained the rights to use them. I've always wondered what happened to the Timpo overmolding machines that made the Vikings, Arabs, cowboys etc. I guess they were sold for scrap....

Actually, at least some of the Timpo molds are still in existence and owned by three different people. One guy is in Germany, another in Mauritius and the third is Emhar/Pocketbond. Some of the weapons are being run, but none of the figures or anything else that I know off.

 

[larso]

Yes, the weapons and some of the plain figures (knights, US Civil War, Nap Highlanders etc) have been available for a while, though the demise of Timpo Mk II might impact on that at some point. I wonder if anyone knows much about the overmolding machines. Was each one designed for a particular series (Crusaders, Apaches) or were the series molds inserted into the overmolding machine as required? I wonder if any pictures of them are around?