Ready?!?!
Here's Picture 1 - The Silver Bells Wedding Chapel instruction sheet:
Here's Picture 1 - The Silver Bells Wedding Chapel instruction sheet:
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Here's Picture 2 - Another Silver Bells Wedding Chapel instruction sheet:
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| Photo courtesy of eBay seller azmusicsales |
What's the difference!?!?
Okay, there are actually several, but the one that I'm the most interested in has less to do with the Chapel, and more to do with what's out front.
Here's another hint...
A close-up of the first sheet:
And here is a close up of the second instruction sheet:
Do you see what I see? There are heart-shaped sidewalk connectors pictured on the first set of instructions, but none on the second set!
What does this mean? Well, nothing for certain, but I think it's further evidence that I was on the right track in my previous post about sidewalk connectors when I said that I didn't think all shop sets originally came with the little heart-shaped buggers.
My current theory (and yes, it is just a theory) is that the sidewalk connectors were in the sets when they were first produced, but then later removed, since they are completely unnecessary for the sidewalk to stay together (and actually make it harder to move figures around on the sidewalk). This theory might be helped a little by the fact that the eBay auction that contained the second set of instructions (the one not showing the connectors) also included the box which had a clearance price sticker still stuck to it. It seems most likely that the toy would have been on clearance in 1990 after Fisher-Price discontinued the line. But again, this is really just speculation on my part, especially since the auction also included a Village Map showing the 1989 sets.
So as usual, I have nothing certain to say. You'd think that Fisher-Price would have made the same toy the same way over a brief two year production period, but clearly, that is not the case.
Sets produced in the 2nd year didn't come with the connectors. Part of the problem with the connectors was that they would stick to the sidewalk and the bottom part would break off when removed from the sidewalk.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, probably not such a good idea to be "borrowing" ebay photos unless you have permission. I ran a Rainbow Brite blog that was shut down by my webhost when I borrowed images from ebay auctions that I didn't have permission to be using.
Hi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information about the connectors. How did you find out that it was sets produced in the 2nd year that didn't have the connectors?
Also, thanks for the heads up about eBay images. I had no idea that they would be copyrighted. Do you know whether I need to ask eBay for permission or if I have to ask each seller? (Or do I have to get permission from both?) Yikes, I hope no one minds that I used their pics. The majority of these aren't even from active listings, but I suppose that doesn't matter, huh?
All the sets I got as presents in the 2nd year didn't come with the connectors (bought in USA). I remember being sad about it because I had broken all my other connectors. They are one of the most difficult to find pieces.
ReplyDeleteEverything is automatically copyrighted by the person who took the image, in this case that would be the sellers. I didn't realize either and my entire blog got erased by my webhost because I copied a few images from ebay auctions that had ended. I wouldn't want your blog to be erased, so I thought I'd let you know.