Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
"A Strange Change Toy" Spiders and Capsules, late 1960s to 1970s |
Object Name |
Toy |
Description |
"A Strange Change Toy" Spiders and Capsules, late 1960s to 1970s. Ten pink "time capsule" pieces made of irradiated plastic produced by the Raychem Corporation as part of "A Strange Change Toy Featuring the Lost World" toy set. The set was sold by Mattel, Inc. and included a machine with a heater and integrated compressor device, tweezers, instruction sheet, a 3-D molded plastic "Lost World Landscape", and an illustrated map. The square capsules expand into toy figures when heated. They can also be re-compressed back into squares and expanded again. Two spider figures (A-B) have eight legs, a head, torso, and an abdomen. The head has two mandibles and a protrusion coming from the mouth. The bottom of the head is embossed with two circles. Ten dots in two rows are embossed along back of the torso. The abdomen has a tear-shaped indentation and two oblong indentations to the right and left of the tear shape; the bottom has a pattern of horizontal and vertical lines. Each leg has four molded joints, and the spider's front right leg is bent underneath the body. Eight compressed square capsules (C-J) are embossed with Mattel's logo on both sides. One side also has a number embossed at center. The numbers range in the 50s and 60s. |
Date |
late 1960s to 1970s |
Creator |
Mattel, Inc., El Segundo, CA |
Role |
Manufacturer |
Catalog Number |
2016.001.005 |
Dimensions |
H-0.5 W-3 D-2.5 inches |
Dimension Details |
1.25 x 1.25 x .125 (capsules) |
Collection |
3D - Toys |
Inscription Text |
"MATTEL INC, / M / TOYMAKERS" (embossed in center on both sides of squares); "4582-054-8" (embossed in right indentation on spiders' abdomens); "54" (molded into one capsule); "55" (molded into three capsules); "61" (molded into four capsules). |
Notes |
These toys were designed by Raychem and to be produced by Mattel. Unfortunately, they were deemed unsafe for childeren because of the chemincal components and were never mass produced. The plastic squares transform into the spider figure when heated. "Raychem was founded on January 1, 1957. It grew rapidly by creating proprietary new products based on Radiation processing of polymers to meet critical and difficult industry needs for electrical circuit integrity in harsh environments. Included in these initial products were irradiated wire insulation and heat shrinkable tubing. Markets included Aerospace, Military, Automotive, Telecommunications and Electrical Power Generation markets. "In 1968, Raychem acquired Chemelex leading Raychem to extend its radiation polymer processing technology to polymers filled with conductive carbon creating a family of "Self Limiting Heaters". This technology was further extended to produce resettable switches forming the enabling technology for the "Polyswitch" Division. "As Raychem grew into a world class Material Science Company, additional technologies explored, developed and taken to market were Heat Recoverable Metals, Piezoelectric Materials (Elographics), Silicone Gels (Geltek) and Liquid Crystals (Taliq). "Each year, Raychem devoted between 8 and 10 percent of sales into Research and Development resulting in thousands of new products based on the technologies listed above. Research and Product Development labaratories, in addition to Menlo Park and Redwood City were established in Swindon, UK, Kessel-Lo, Belgium, Ottobrunn, Germany, Pontois, France and Japan. "Manning these laboratories were an extremely creative and talented group of scientists and engineers who found innovative ways to use technologies to create new products." [http://blog.heatshrinksleeves.com/2015/09/raychem-history.html 12/31/2015] |
Search Terms |
Radiation Chemistry Raychem Corporation Raychem Corporation Products Toys |
Subjects |
Radiation chemistry Spiders Toy industry Toys |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Chet Sandberg |