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)