Most Wanted List Revisited

Last December I published my Precious Places Most Wanted List that detailed the five sets that are rare to the point that I thought they might be non-existent.  Since I wrote that post, I've gotten more information, so I thought it was time to revisit the list.

5) The Pretty Penny Wishing Well - Aqua Well with Pink Roof

 

Current Status: More rare than pink well with aqua roof, but definitely findable
Since writing my first list, two or three aqua wells with pink roofs have turned up on eBay including one that had a pink watering can.  (I still have yet to see a purple ladle though.)

4) Wendy and Her Ice Cream Cart with Aqua Wheels

Photo courtesy of eBay seller kcaparso22

Current Status: The picture says it all, this set is out there!  
Unfortunately my eBay app failed to remind me to bid at the end of this auction, so I missed the chance to actually own this set.  Grrrr..... But it is nice to know that it does indeed exist.

3) The Mother and Baby Pony in Pink 

 

Current Status: Still unsighted.  No further information available.

2) The Dining Room

Current Status: Still unsighted, but...

I've had one particular commenter give me good reason to hope that this set may yet turn up.

Anonymous commenter on 7-7-11 said:

"... about the dinning room set. i remeber my dad taking me to zellers in canada. i had the choice of the dinning room set or the purple bedroom set. i chose the bedroom! however knowing what i know now i woulda chose the dinning set lol!"

This is the first information I've gotten from anyone who remembers seeing the set in a store.  It's a promising sign, don't you think?

1) All the County Fair Sets

Current Status: Still unsighted by me, but...
Had a recent conversation with another collector who told me that about twelve years ago there was a Ferris Wheel prototype set for sale on eBay.  She didn't remember much about it except that it was definitely listed as a prototype (the seller said she got it from a friend who worked for Fisher Price) and that it sold for hundreds of dollars (no surprise there).

I also got information from an anonymous commenter on 8-4-11:
"I got news for those of you interested- I have spent the last hour on the phone with fisher-price and they said the county fair sets WERE sold to the public!! Only for a limited time and they are not sure how many but they ARE out there!! Also none of the precious places sets had more than 26,000 made and there are 4 sets that I have not found on any lists but that fisher price told me exist and were sold but in a smaller amount. They are number 5192 combo scene, 5179 special furniture, 5210 special kit and 6563 sign- that was all the info they had and they said they were promotional items. Also the dining room was also mass produced so those of you looking don't give up!!"

All this gives me just a glimmer of hope that whether prototype or mass-produced set, I may yet find one or (can I dare to dream) two of the County Fair sets to call my own.

(PS. If the winning bidder of the Ferris Wheel prototype set is out there, please contact me!  I'd love to know more about it.  You can reach me here: PreciousPlacesCollector@gmail.com)

Wendy and The Irony of It All

Funny how I said in my last post that I've never spent more than $50 including shipping on any single Precious Places set and then a couple of days later this set is posted on eBay for $49.99 plus shipping:

Photo courtesy of eBay seller kcaparso22

It is the ultra-rare Wendy with Aqua colored wheels ice cream cart, a set that I've never seen on eBay before.  Not only that but it is new in the package, never been played with!  

But the excitement doesn't stop there, not only is it Wendy with Aqua Wheels, and new in the package ta boot, it comes with Amanda's personality card, which is just weird enough to make me want it even more!!!!

I feel that my principles are being sorely tried at the moments.  Part of me says, anything that you see on eBay will come up again another time at a better price and besides, when have you ever seen a single figure go for $50?!?  That's sort of insane for a figure set.  I mean, you can sometimes get a nice Mansion for less than that!

But the other part of me really just wants it no matter how much it is.

To bid or not to bid, that is the question....

Precious Places Most Wanted List

Here is my top 5 list of Precious Places sets I still need for my collection:

5) The Pretty Penny Wishing Well - Aqua Well with Pink Roof

Okay, so I know it's rather greedy of me, but even though I have a complete Wishing Well set (pink wishing well with aqua roof), I still want the variation with the aqua well and pink roof.  I haven't seen it on eBay recently, but I think I saw it once a long time ago, maybe...  Hopefully it will come up again soon so I can be sure it does truly exist.

4) Wendy and Her Ice Cream Cart with Aqua Wheels

In my attempt to get every Precious Places piece in every color, one particular figure has been the most difficult to find, and that is Wendy and her Ice Cream Cart with aqua wheels.  The particular cart I'm looking for is featured prominently on Wendy's personality card, but does it ever appear on eBay?  No, it does not.  Why not?  This may be one of the great mysteries of the universe.  Hmmmm...

3) The Mother and Baby Pony in Pink 

I've got a complete Mother and Baby Pony set with a white baby pony, but I cannot for the life of me seem to locate the pink baby pony.  She's on the front of the Mother and Baby Pony box and ThisOldToy lists her as a variation, but I haven't seen her.  Have you?

2) The Dining Room 

I agree with ThisOldToy where they say this set is so rare that they've never seen any of the parts to the set.  Where oh where art thou, my elusive Dining Room furniture set?

1) All the County Fair Sets

Now I know these were never put into mass production, but there must have been at least one prototype made of each set since they took pictures of them.  What research I've done indicates that there were probably several prototypes at some point.  Where are the prototypes now and how can I get one?  I haven't been able to make much progress in getting answers to those questions.

If you have any of these sets, please contact me.  I would be more than happy to buy them from you.  And even if you don't want to sell them, please still contact me so that I at least know they exist!!!

Wendy's Aqua Wheeled Cart

So here's something I've been wondering for a while:

Did Wendy's Ice Cream Cart really come with aqua colored wheels?

I know that it came with purple wheels (with a purple roof and yellow lid), because I have that one:



I also know that it came with yellow wheels (with a yellow roof and purple lid), because I have that one too:



So I know for sure that Wendy's cart came with yellow and purple wheels.

However, on Wendy's Personality Card she is pictured with a cart with aqua colored wheels, which agrees with ThisOldToy.com (TOT) where they say that she comes with a cart with aqua wheels.

The thing is though, I have never actually seen an aqua wheeled cart for sale on eBay or anywhere else for that matter. So I started wondering, did Wendy's cart actually come with aqua wheels or was that only how it was made for her personality card photo?

Anyone out there have an aqua wheeled ice cream cart? Please let me know if you do so I can keep a look out for it and add it to my collection.

Wendy's Personality Card

I noticed that on thisoldtoy.com (TOT) they don't have pictures of all of the personality cards for the Precious Places figures, so I thought I'd do a few posts filling in the gaps. First up, Wendy and Her Ice Cream Cart.

Front of Card:



Back of Card:



Just in case you can't read the print in the picture, here's what Wendy's card says:

Wendy and Her Ice Cream Cart Meet Wendy! Wendy is very popular. She sells ice cream in the Precious Places Village. Wendy sells all kinds of delicious ice cream - vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, even cookies and cream! The tinkling of the bell on Wendy's cart is the favorite sound in Precious Places on hot summer days. All the kids come running when they hear the bell. Wendy loves to see all the kids smile as they eat their ice cream. Birthday: November 18 Favorite Ice Cream: Double scoop cone of chocolate ice cream with pink sprinkles! Yum! Copyright 1989 FISHER-PRICE