Page 2 of 2

Re: Stand-up Toys with a Roll on the Base

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:10 pm
by spudgy
Hi, Larrydw.
If you haven't seen these things in that long, then I'd have to believe, like you, that they're recent, although the boxed set (different seller) currently on eBay has only these same shapes which is maybe a hint. They look brand new and never played with (unusual); they don't have anything written on them, not NOSCO, not anything, and there is plastic missing on the base of one of them. Incidentally, The dealer I bought these from now has another auction on eBay with more of the these same pieces.
I recently bought Larry White's book, "Cracker Jack Toys" hoping I could learn more and finally tie my pieces to a specific starting year. I love his coding scheme. I also bought the Ravi Pina book but it has very little detailed information but I REALLY enjoy perusing them nearly every night. I'm beginning to believe I also need to join the CJCA club.
Larry, I really appreciate all the help from you and other collectors because even though I've collected off and on for many years, I'm still a novice.
hmmmm... Larrydw(hite)?

Re: Stand-up Toys with a Roll on the Base

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:29 pm
by larrydw
Hello Spudgy,
Yes, larrydw is Larry White the book author, and that's me. I saw the other auction for about the 100 or so and box does look old. The roll almost looks like one of the injection molding places so let me do some more searching.

By the way, I believe all of us are novices in some areas, experts in others - I just don't know where I fit in ? ? ? ? ?

Re: Stand-up Toys with a Roll on the Base

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:49 pm
by spudgy
Wow! Larry, I'm having a ball with your book and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. After receiving it a couple of weeks ago, I decided to try arranging my collection in sequence by series, now that I have a way to do it. The info on the differences in the bases, markings, backs, etc., is VERY useful. That book must have taken a LOOONG time to put together. Anyway, Thank you again! Great work! -Pat

Re: Stand-up Toys with a Roll on the Base

Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 1:14 am
by Jeffrey Maxwell
I collected a number of prizes that were variations on 1940s and 1950s plastic Cracker Jack prizes. They all came from Canada. I took some to the convention one year, but not too many people were interested in looking at them. I think I discussed them at length with Jim Davis. I remember someone told me they thought they came from Canada Cracker Jack. Due to the quality, these are most certainly NOT NOSCO. I also think of the hundreds of yellow and red plastic train sets that were sold on eBay about 10 years ago that came out of Canada, which everyone believes are newer prizes made from original molds. So I think these are not Cracker Jack items, but are fascinating to have because of their similarity. What CJ plastics collector would not buy them if they had the chance, just for the novelty of it?

I will quote Larry to continue my discussion of NOSCO:
larrydw wrote: The original series had the NOSCO; however one could purchase the same figures, sans NOSCO, from comic books, stores, etc.
Larry's "sans NOSCO" comment is wrong. I want to clarify that the NOSCO prizes marketed outside Cracker Jack ARE marked NOSCO and no different from the ones included in Cracker Jack. Show me a NOSCO prize from this set that is not marked, and I will show you a prize that is not NOSCO. That is why it is so easy to collect the Type II Alphabet Animals and Western flats, because the same exact prizes were marketed in bulk in so many ways other than through Cracker Jack. I have handled a dozen different mail order boxed Western sets and ALL the flats were marked NOSCO.

The ONLY plastic Cracker Jack prizes I did not sell before I moved to South America is my collection of Type I Alphabet Animals. It took me 15 years to collect them, and I would doubt that there are too many other complete sets of them in captivity. It is the largest set of plastic flats that you can be certain came from Cracker Jack only, and, as a result, very difficult to collect. Type II Alphabet Animals, for example came in both Cracker Jack as well as wholesale bulk. So it is substantially easier to collect a set of Type II Alphabet Animals, because there is no distinction between the ones included in packages of Cracker Jack and those marketed by other means.

@spudgy, it is not unusual to find large numbers of mint condition NOSCO standups, so new condition is not a good way to judge age. Many of these sets were sent for by mail order, and once received, the purchaser lost interest and stuffed them in a closet or attic and they were never used. For a collector like me who has seen literally thousands of NOSCO prizes, I am much more excited to see these copies like you have acquired, because they are so unusual. Sure they are not CJ, but so what? They are cool and (for the time being) much more difficult to acquire than the actual NOSCO prizes, because there were so many millions of NOSCO prizes made.

Re: Stand-up Toys with a Roll on the Base

Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:20 am
by spudgy
Jeffrey, thank you for posting so much useful information. I’m still reading. Your comments about the figures with a roll on the base make me wish I had bought more of them when I had the chance. Your comments about condition of pieces in your collection are interesting. My collection is growing so I still keep marginal pieces and I have another large box of items I don’t display that were loved a bit too much, if you get my drift. I can’t bring myself to discard them. To me, it would be like throwing out the Venus de Milo because she has no arms. In my experience, if I find a large group together, I’m lucky if half are in excellent condition. This may not be the place to bring up cleaning, organizing, and displaying but I hope you will find time to comment. Maybe I should post a query in the general forum. Thanks again, Jeffrey.

Re: Stand-up Toys with a Roll on the Base

Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:52 pm
by Jeffrey Maxwell
I am seldom at a loss for words, as most anyone can attest. I am happy if you find some of them useful.

As far as the NOSCO copies, they are probably only of value to some nut like me who has made a lifetime hobby out of obsessing about NOSCO prizes. There is not a big market for them, or there would be a lot more copies floating around.

Regarding damaged pieces, I save them to give to children who come to visit or around the neighborhood. Who knows maybe some will be inspired to become future CJ prize collectors.