CIRCUS TIME: Mattel Circus Playset No. 0506 (1973) - Pt 7 Set No. 6 Human Cannonball Act

Here's a nice set that went together well. The peel-&-stick applique's - like all the rest - were of no use of course and the only other drawback was that the trigger just didn't have enough 'oomph' to it to launch the figure very far. Oh well - Enjoy! Opa Fritz

The unopened package

The scanned package

The insert

Here's a nice cannon display at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin

CIRCUS TIME: Mattel Circus Playset No. 0506 (1973) - Pt 6 Set No. 5 Trained Gorilla and Monkey Act

Another set which supposedly allows you to balance the figures. Nope! Won't happen - at least the way Mattel intended. The two hanging monkeys work fine hanging from the gorilla's outstretched arms, but the other there just sit there on a flat surface. The only way for them to sit on the gorilla's arms is to glue them! Enjoy! Opa Fritz

The unopened package

The scanned package

The insert

There is a flat spot on the gorilla's outstretched arms which is ostensibly meant to allow any one of the three crouched monkeys to sit on. Doesn't work.  One of these days I may try very hard to get it to work but really, if you can't do it within a matter of a couple of seconds the fun just gets totally sucked out of the toy!

CIRCUS TIME: More Wagon Pics From Baraboo, Wisconsin 1991 - Pt 11 Wagon Odds-&-Ends

We're not quite through with Baraboo just quite yet. Today we'll look at some odds-&-ends photos of wagon details. Part of the museum's displays are carvings surviving from wagons that are now lost but one of the other things I found fascinating was the detail work that went into the wagons themselves. Some detail pics have already been shown here on the blog, these here were just random photos I took but never took notes as to what wagon they came from. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

CIRCUS TIME: Mattel Circus Playset No. 0506 (1973) - Pt 5 Set No. 4 Springboard Act

This was the redeeming act of these eleven Mattel Circus playset bags. I opened this up and saw there would be no major malfunctions (except of course for the labels which had all lost their stickum over the years - but that would be the same for all eleven sets). Then, after a quick perusal of the other bags it appeared as if none of them would be a problem so once I opened this bag and photographed the contents the remaining sets were all done post haste and photographed on the same day. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

The unopened bags

The scanned bags

The insert

The idea is to hold the bench while springing that guy in the air and trying to catch him on the bench...

...I couldn't do it! LOL guess I'm not that coordinated :-)

CIRCUS TIME: Mattel Circus Playset No. 0506 (1973) - Pt 4 Set No. 3 Trained Elephant Act

I tell you what, these first three 'acts' nearly threw this whole project in array. Each one had its frustrations when assembling and I was sitting there thinking over whether or not I wanted to continue photographing this stuff. The project started way back in February - okay, there were a few months of uncomfortable working conditions out in The Cave that also played a hand in delaying the project - and this set languished for two months before I finally finished it. Why? Well, Mattel in their infinite wisdom, chose to make these elephants as kits or assemblies, vs. the one-piece castings as found with the lions and tigers of set no. 2.  That wouldn't have been so bad if the damn things actually fit together like they should have!!! Yeah, that meant filing, drilling, cleaning flash, and finally gluing the little buggers together!!! Again, if this is what these things were like when brand new, I can imagine how pissed-off some young 'un would be with the whole thing! But perseverance will out and I did in fact complete this as well as the rest of the sets. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

The unopened package

Scans

The insert

Unlike the first two sets which included dry transfer decorations, this set has peel-&-stick appliques. The two are very similar and are handled the same way but differ in the way they're made. NONE of my peel-&-stick decorations were any good. While they stayed on the backing sheets, the glue had dried out and were of no use.

This is the suggested use as shown on the bag. Ummm, I don't think so. Elephants are absolutely amazing animals, smart and deft, but they are not super creatures and one can't expect a baby elephant to fly up on its mothers back like this (unless of course it's Dumbo - but that's another story)!

BTW, I did take this photo before gluing these together. They managed to stay put long enough for photography but popped open with the least bit of handling.

This would have been far more appropriate to model

(My photo taken at the Carson and Barnes 5-Ring Circus in 1992)