Instruction Sheets: The Magic Key Mansion - Page 2

Back in March I started a series of posts about Precious Places instruction sheets.  It was my intention to post photos of whatever instructions I could get a hold of so that we could all puzzle through them together.  However, as you may know, I didn't get any further than posting about the first page of the Magic Key Mansion instructions.

Until now that is....

So, sorry it's taken me eight months, but let's go on to page two, shall we?

Here is a photo of the Magic Key Mansion instruction sheet, page 2 (from my personal collection):

I know it's hard to read such tiny print, so I've taken close-ups of the top and bottom halves of the page.  Here's the top (click on the picture to view a larger image):

 

 And here's the bottom:

Since it may still be hard to read, here's what it says (starting at the top of page one, working to the bottom of the first column and then back up again and down the right side):

Find Pink House.
Find Porch Roof and Battery Box (Bagged Separately).
[Illustrations: Battery Box and Porch Roof]
Open Master Bags A & B.
Find Chimney, Power Wall And 3 Basement Walls In Master Bag B.
[Illustrations: Basement walls, Chimney and Power Wall]
Find Bags 1-9 (Content List Follows) And Line Them Up In Front Of You In Order Of Numbers.
NOTE: Parts are not all bagged in assembly order.  During assembly, we suggest keeping unused pieces inside the numbered bags so they are easier to find when required.

Contents Of Bags 1 - 9:

Bag 1
House trim (vertical) (7)
Fence (3)
Porch roof trim (2)

Bag 2
Windows (9)
Round windows (2)
Oval window (1)
Outside doors with frames (2)
Door trim for power wall door (1)
Corner closet door/frame/wall (1)

Bag 3 
Bird tower (1)
Mousetrap cellar (1)
Fireplace (1)
Clock (1)
Mailbox (1)

Bag 4
Brick pillars (2)
Steps (2)
"Stone" stairs (1)
(Key)

Bag 5
Front porch (1)
Side porch (1)
Bedroom floor (1)
Bathroom floor (1)
Ceilings (2)

Bag 6
Large roof (1)
Small roof (1)

Bag 7
Roof trim (8)
Bird tower trim (6)

Bag 8
Lights (5)

Bag 9
Flower boxes (4)
Flowers (4)
Porch roof triangular pieces (2)
(Mouse)

Remember to check off steps as you complete them!
Be sure BASE LABELS are all applied. 
Be sure BATHROOM AND BEDROOM FLOOR LABELS are applied
Turn base upside down after labels are all applied.

FIG 2
Snap in mousetrap cellar (Bag 3) from underneath base. Be sure it is securely fastened.
Snap the three basement walls to each other, matching A to A and B to B.
Snap basement walls to base from underneath, matching up all tabs and slots and pressing firmly to make sure they are securely in place.  Pull green tabs out slightly while pushing down side walls.
Turn base right side up.
[Illustrations: Rotate and insert Mousetrap Cellar, and Basement Wall assembly]

FIG 3
Snap in 2 brick pillars (Bag 4) near front walk. 
Snap in brick stairs at front (Bag 4).
Snap in 2 sets of steps with railings (Bag 4) at side and at front (higher steps go at side).
Snap 3 pieces of fence (Bag 1) onto base.
Attach mailbox (Bag 3) to small fence piece.
Snap front porch frame (Bag 5) onto base.
Add side porch frame (Bag 5) to base.
Set base aside.
[Illustration: Porch, Steps & Fence assembly]

FIG 4
Place outside of house in front of you.
Snap vertical trim pieces (Bag 1) into outside of house as shown in illustration.  Note that notches in trim pieces line up with window frames.
Remove windows and doors from Bag 2.
Snap in 9 house windows, bottom tab first. Note that shapes and sizes of windows differ.
Snap in 2 round windows at gable ends.
Snap in 2 outside doors.
Set house aside.
Snap oval window into bird tower (Bag 3) and set aside.
[Illustration: Window and Vertical Trim installation]

And thus ends page 2.

Nothing earth shattering as far as I can see, but boy would it have ever been nice to have had these instructions the first time I attempted to assemble the Mansion.  Those trim pieces are a doozy!

What do you think?  Does anything jump out at you?  And on another subject, anyone giving or hoping to get Precious Places sets this holiday season? 

Rugs, Rugs, Rugs

So, here's a question I could really use some help answering... You know how some of the furniture sets have rug stickers (lithos) pictured on the front of their boxes?  Well, what I'm trying to figure out is, which of the furniture sets came with rug lithos?

Here's what information I have so far...

Of the eight Precious Places furniture sets, five of them have rugs pictured with the furniture on the front of their boxes.  These sets are the Bedroom, Bathroom, Baby's Nursery, Living Room and Canopy Bedroom.  The website ThisOldToy.com (TOT) includes the rug sticker in the parts list for each of these sets, but says about the lithos: "This rug is pictured in the Fisher-Price dealer catalogue, but we are not sure if it was ever included in the sets sold in stores."

When I first began collecting PP several years ago (and was addicted to reading the TOT parts lists), I thought that I ought to investigate whether there were any rug stickers out there, so that I could add them to my collection if they existed.  There seemed to be a pretty simple way to answer the question, i.e. just buy an unopened furniture set and see if there was a rug litho in the box.  So that's what I did.  I found a fairly inexpensive, never-been-opened Living Room furniture set on eBay, bought it, and with great anticipation, I opened it... only to discover that there was no rug sticker in the box.

"Case closed," I thought, "Furniture sets did not come with rug lithos." 

And so for a couple of years, I had no reason to look any further into the mystery of the rug lithos.

Then one fateful day last August, I noticed this picture on a completed eBay listing:

 

Unfortunately, I didn't see the listing until after it was over, so I didn't get a chance to bid on this item, but as the picture clearly shows, there was an octagonal rug included with the Living Room furniture.  I contacted the seller who told me that a) it was indeed a rug sticker, b) she believed it originally came with the Living Room set and c) it could not possibly have come with the Mansion, since these were her childhood toys and she'd never owned the Mansion.

This got me on the hunt for rug lithos and what do you know, they are rare, but some of them can be found.  So far, I've got two in my collection, those from the Baby's Nursery and Canopy Bedroom sets.

Baby's Nursery Rug:

Canopy Bedroom Rug:

Now, you might be thinking to yourself, "That Canopy Bedroom rug sure looks familiar."  And you'd be right.  It is the same rug litho that was included with the Mansion set itself.  But I have four reasons to be fairly certain that the one I have originally came with the Canopy Bedroom set.  

1) It was sold in an eBay auction with the Canopy Bedroom furniture

2) It is just the rug sticker by itself and as far as I know the Mansion lithos always came on a large sheet like this:

3) I later saw another Canopy Bedroom set listed with the same rug litho.

4) Most importantly, the rug litho has the numbers 5177 on the edge and that is the Fisher Price item number for the PP Canopy Bedroom set.

So put it all together and it means that I am nearly 100% positive that the Living Room, the Baby's Nursery and the Canopy Bedroom each have a rug litho that was included with some (but not all) sets sold in stores.  

Why wasn't a rug litho sold with every furniture set?  I really have no good answer to that question.  It is possible that only sets produced in 1990 had a rug litho.  Or maybe only sets sold in a certain location (the United States, Canada or Europe for example) had rugs.  I have so little information to go on, it's quite likely that we will never know the answer to the 'why' question.

One question I am still hoping to answer (and here's where I could really use your help) is...

Did the Bathroom and/or Bedroom sets also come with rug lithos?

I have not as of this moment, been successful in locating a rug litho (or picture of one) for the Bathroom or Bedroom sets.  It would be really helpful to me if anyone out there has more information.  Do you have any new in the box furniture sets?  If so, did they come with rug stickers (lithos)?  

I'd really love to get as much information as possible about these stickers so that we can all know what to look for when we're bidding on furniture sets!  Post your comments, please!!!!

Instruction Sheets: The Magic Key Mansion - Page One

As I'm sure you already know, the website ThisOldToy.com is a fantastic resource for all things Precious Places.  There is no way I could ever have put together the database of parts that they have so kindly published for all of us collectors out there.  However, one thing they are lacking is pictures of all the different instruction sheets for PP sets, so I thought I'd start a  new series of posts and give you as much information as I can get a hold of regarding those instruction sheets.

I do not yet have all of the instruction sheets, but I have a couple, and most importantly, I recently acquired the instruction sheet for the Magic Key Mansion.  Because it is a large, four page document, I'm going to split up the instructions into a mini-series of four posts (one for each page).

So, without further ado, here is the Magic Key Mansion Instruction Sheet, page one:

And because I know it's hard to read such tiny print, I've taken close-ups of the top and bottom halves of the page.  Here's the top (click on the picture to view a larger image):

Since it's still hard to read, here's what the top of the page says:

Fisher-Price

Instructions                                                            Magic Key Mansion

ADULT ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

(2 "D" batteries are required, alkaline recommended.)

CAUTION: This product contains small parts which may pose a choking hazard to children who still put objects in their mouths.  Keep all plastic bags out of children's reach.

PARENTS, PLEASE READ THIS FIRST!

No tools are required for assembling the Magic Key Mansion; however, the assembly instructions are very specific and need to be read carefully and followed exactly.  Because there are many pieces we suggest using a large clear work surface.

DO follow the steps in order.  Use the check-off boxes as you progress from step to step.  The pictures will help you recognize the various pieces.  DO take time to make sure all the snap-fits are secure.  When you have completed the mansion you should be able to lift it by the floors or by the base, but not by the roof!

IMPORTANT! FOLLOW STEPS IN ORDER!

Check off steps as you complete them.

IMPORTANT! APPLY LABELS BEFORE ASSEMBLY!

Labels are to be applied to the GREEN BASE (not bagged) and to the BEDROOM and BATHROOM FLOORS (found in Bag 5).

Step-By-Step Assembly Instructions

Find Label Sheets.
Find Green Base (Not Bagged).
Apply Labels To Base.
(Bedroom And Bathroom Floors Also Require Labels.)

To Apply Labels:
Refer to label diagrams to apply labels correctly.
Be sure the areas where labels will go are clean and dry.
Remove labels from sheet and apply as indicated.
Carefully position each label and press in the center, smoothing outward toward edges to get air bubbles out.

Okay, me here again.  This is what the diagram on the bottom of the page looks like closer up (click on the picture to view a larger image):

Besides the amusingly schizophrenic use of bold, CAPITALS, and even an occasional underline, the most interesting part of this first page to me is that there is no mention of a label (or litho) for the Magic Key.  You would have to assume that with these "very specific" instructions, they would have mentioned the litho if there was one.  I'd like to be wrong, but it seems to me that it is yet another strike against my hope of ever finding the Magic Key Mansion's Magic Key litho.

I really am disappointed that the instructions don't say anything about a litho, I was so hoping they would, but I am still excited to share more of these and other instruction sheets with you.  So, stay tuned for more posts in my Instruction Sheets series!

In Search of the Mansion Key Litho

As I discussed in my previous post All About Key Lithos, as far as I can tell the Magic Key Mansion was sold to the public without a litho for its key.  However, I was looking through the pages of the 1989 Fisher Price Toy Fair catalog and I noticed this image:

If you look very closely at the key in the girl's hand, you'll see that it does have a litho.  I tried to get a closer look, but it is impossible to tell exactly what the litho looks like.  However, it doesn't look to me like any known litho from another set.

Obviously, since the mansion in the photo isn't the same as the one sold in stores (it has different colored parts and the gingerbread trim has actual holes in it) this is NOT proof that a litho for the Mansion ever existed.  Still it gives one hope, doesn't it?  Maybe someday I'll run across a Mansion key that actually has a litho.  I haven't given up yet.  Let me know if you see one somewhere!

All About Key Lithos

I just received this question from an anonymous reader, and since it was a topic I was planning on writing a post about anyway, I'm answering the question here, rather than in the comments section of another post.

Here's the question:

Do you have any idea how many keys there are in total? I know I don't have them all but I am confused by the number of blank ones. Some of them I have I know are missing lithos but are there some that really are blank?

To answer your first question, there is one key per Precious Places set: 4 shops, 2 cottages, the Gazebo, the Mansion, 8 furniture sets, 6 outdoor scenes, 9 figures, and 4 mother & baby sets. That makes a total of 35 keys.

However, as far as I can tell, the Dining Room set was never sold to the public, so chances are you'll never get that key, which would make the number of available keys 34.

Of the 34 remaining sets, 28 definitely had key lithos. These are the 4 shops, 2 cottages, the Gazebo, the Canopy Bedroom, the Playroom, the 6 outdoor scenes, the 9 figures and the 4 mother and baby sets. (You can find pictures of some of the key lithos on my blog in other posts and more on ThisOldToy.com.)

That means that the sets that are not known to have had lithos are the remaining 5 furniture sets and the Magic Key Mansion. (To read my post discussing the furniture set lithos, please click here.)

Now why the Mansion wouldn't have a key litho is beyond me. It's the crowning jewel of the Precious Places village, was the most expensive set when it was sold in stores and clearly is the set with the biggest 'wow' factor. However, ThisOldToy has no picture of a litho, I've never seen a litho for it on eBay and both of the Mansions I personally own came to me with a plain pink key... thus I am sadly forced to conclude that the Magic Key Mansion's Magic Key didn't have a litho.

That said, I'm always happy to be wrong about things like this and if anyone has seen a key litho out there for the Magic Key Mansion, I would love to know about it. Please leave me a note in the comments section of this post.

So to summarize: as far as I can tell, there were 34 Precious Places sets (each with one key) that were sold to the public. To the best of my knowledge there are 28 different key lithos available, which means that there were 6 sets that came without a litho for the key. Hope this helps!

The Magic Key Mansion and the Mysterious Hanging Basket Part 2

In my previous post The Magic Key Mansion and the Mysterious Hanging Basket I wrote about this flower basket from the Bedroom furniture set:

The basket had always confused me because I couldn't find any place to attach it to the Magic Key Mansion bedroom ceiling. However, in the comments section my post, I had two readers who offered their suggestions as to where the basket might go, and I wanted to share those suggestions with you.

My first anonymous reader said this:

I have the Baby Cottage Nursery (it's a 2 story house with little side yard attachments) and there is a hole in the ceiling of the little victorian outcropping upstairs and I'm confident the flower basket was intended for this space, not the Mansion. :)

When I read this, I had to laugh. Of course there is a hole in the ceiling of the Baby's Nursery Cottage, it's where the little mobile goes, but why couldn't you switch it out for something else? I can't believe I never thought of that! And even if you don't want to remove your mobile, you could hang the basket in the turret of the Country Kitchen Cottage. They used the same molds for both townhouses, so there is a hole in the ceiling of that set as well.

Naturally, I had to try it out, and what do you know, the basket fits nicely in the hole and it looks really cute too!

My second anonymous reader had this to say:

I know the hanging basket goes with the Mansion because when I was little I owned the mansion and the hanging basket came with it. I think the basket went on the outside of the house under the roof on the porch. If you look under them there are little spaces to wedge the basket into.

When I read this suggestion, I was very excited. How adorable would the front porch of the mansion look with a basket of flowers hanging from the ceiling? I think we could all agree that the answer is super adorable!

However, after examining both of my Mansions, I was unable to find the little spaces to which the commenter referred. The only slots I could find underneath the porch roof are the slots for attaching the gingerbread trim. Of course, the commenter may have a slightly different Mansion than either of mine. I have noted in several posts that various small things seem to have changed over the brief Precious Places production period, and it certainly is possible that we have just discovered another one.

Also, I wanted to clarify that, according to all of my research, the only furniture the mansion originally came with was the grandfather clock and the piano that is attached to the living room wall. In fact, I have the box for the Magic Key Mansion and it says right on the front "Furniture Sets Sold Separately".


While most people probably did buy the furniture sets to furnish the Mansion rather than the Cottages, it is interesting to note that they were marketed as being for all the PP buildings. To illustrate, here is a picture of the back of the Living Room furniture box:


While I still wish there were a spot to hang the basket in the Mansion bedroom, it is nice to know that there is at least one spot where the basket can easily be hung and look great! And thank you to both of my anonymous commenters for your suggestions!

New in the Box Magic Key Mansion

So was anyone else watching the new in the box Magic Key Mansion that was for sale on eBay this weekend? Final sale price: $250.99! Wow! I knew it would go for quite a bit since I've never actually seen a new in the box Mansion up for auction, but that was even more than I expected. If the winning bidder is out there reading this, I would love to hear from you. Did you find any surprises? Anything the Precious Places collecting community needs to know about? Let me know!

The Magic Key Mansion and the Mysterious Hanging Basket

As most of you probably know, this is the flower basket from the Precious Places Bedroom furniture set:



The top of the basket has a sort of two pronged plug that looks like it is intended to attach to something. Question is: what is it supposed to hang from?

If you look inside the bedroom of the Magic Key Mansion, there is no obvious place to attach anything to the ceiling. There is the ceiling fan of course, and I tried to see if you can unscrew the fan and put the basket in its place, but the fan didn't come off easily and I didn't want to force it.

My best guess about this (and it is only a guess) is that the basket was intended to attach somewhere in the Mansion's original design, but before the Mansion actually went into production, that attachment point was removed.

It's pretty clear that the Mansion underwent some changes between the prototype and the actual set that was sold to the public. To illustrate, here is the picture of the Mansion off the back of the Living Room furniture set box:



As you can see from the photo, this mansion has several differences from the Magic Key Mansion that was sold in stores, most notably, the covers for the attic rooms and the center support on the base. If those large things were changed, it is possible that something small, like a place to attach a hanging basket, was also removed.

The other thing to consider in this case is that the Bedroom set was only in production for one year, after which time the Canopy Bedroom replaced it. The Canopy Bedroom has no pieces that look as though they ought to hang from the ceiling, and perhaps part of the reason the Bedroom set was replaced by the Canopy Bedroom was because of the hanging basket that doesn't hang from anything.

Just some guesses and speculation on my part. What do you think? Have you ever figured out what to hang the Bedroom flower basket from? Please leave your ideas in the comments section of this post. Thanks!

Magic Key Mansion Door Frame

In a previous post I discussed what I believe to be errors on ThisOldToy.com (TOT) in regards to the Tip Toe Gymnastics Show. In this post, I will be addressing the question I have about the parts list for the Magic Key Mansion.

Before I delve into my question, I must first commend the author(s) of the TOT list. The Magic Key Mansion came with far more pieces than any other PP set and they have done a beautiful job of cataloging the parts.

That said, I question the TOT Magic Key Mansion parts list on whether part number FPT17146 really exists. TOT says the part is a, "Small white 3-sided decorative door frame that snaps onto the inside front door opening on the FPT17129 mansion walls. The back of the door frame has 4 small raised pegs (2 on each side that snap into the 4 tiny holes around the inside front door opening. Measures 1-3/4" wide, 3" tall, 1/4" thick (including pegs)." Another way to put would be, it is a door frame that goes on the inside wall of the kitchen around the front door and fits into the tiny holes pictured here:



I have a couple of reasons to doubt that it exists. First of all, I have personally bought two Magic Key Mansions on ebay and neither one came with this part. Secondly, I have asked at least a dozen ebay sellers of Magic Key Mansions whether their listing came with that part and I have yet to have a seller tell me their Mansion does have it. Thirdly, TOT does not have a picture of the part, so it doesn't seem they've found it anywhere either.

Why, you might ask, if the piece doesn't exist, would TOT have it on its parts list? I think that perhaps someone saw the holes in the kitchen wall and assumed there ought to be a door frame that fits over them. Makes sense, but I think an equally reasonable explaination would be that those holes are merely the back sides of the the holes for the door frame that does go on the outside of the Mansion front door.

So here's where you get to chime in. Do you have a Magic Key Mansion? If so, does it have a white snap on door frame around the inside of the front door? Please let me know. I'm interested to find out if I am right about this or not. Thanks!