Mid-Century Mold-A-Rama Machines

When I was a kid, every time we went to the Brookfield Zoo, we got a Mold-A-Rama figure. The evidence of that lives in our travel-theme nursery. I also had a spaceship from the Museum of Science and Industry, but I lost that a long time ago.

Needless to say, Mold-A-Rama machines hold happy memories for me. And as an adult, I love the mid-century look of them.

So much so that at one point I was seriously looking into buying a Mold-A-Rama machine. But, when I realized it would have to live in the garage, I decided it wasn't worth the expense.

I assumed they weren't out in the wild anymore, but we stopped by the San Antonio Zoo recently and they had a collection of Mold-A-Rama machines there.

They had an orange giraffe Mold-A-Rama

A blue koala

And a gray elephant (among other).

All the details are as I remember them, especially the warning where you picked up your final mold.

All the space-age dials are there.

And the (now quaint) coins only detail.

Because the price is definitely more modern.

In the end, the kid wanted a giraffe (even though they don't have giraffes at the San Antonio Zoo).

So we put this miniature plastic factory to work.

And the kid got a giraffe.

Here's what he looks like now that it's in our home.

And here's what it looks like among my childhood collection of Mold-A-Rama molds. 

All of mine say Brookfield Zoo on the base, while the kid's says San Antonio Zoo.

I'll have to make sure that every time we go to the zoo, another San Antonio base gets added to the collection.