"Country roads, take me home
To a place, I belong,
West Virginia, mountain hollows,
Take me home, country roads."
Remember these memorable words sung by John Denver? My family and I traveled thousands of miles over the years...camping in our family's 18' L x 9' W tent all up and down the Rockies from British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, to Arizona and New Mexico. I remember the good and the bad.....singing favorite songs at the campsite, marveling at the Milky Way while camping at Golden Gate State Park in Colorado, playing cards outside in a remote National Forest campground until we realized there was frost on the table, being in a tornado while trying to set up camp in northwest Iowa etc. etc. I'll always cherish these memories.
Here is a vintage play set that brings back those memories for me---the Fisher Price #992 Car and Pop-Up Camper play set. Manufactured between 1980-84, this set is 100% COMPLETE and is in VG+--VG++ condition.
The play set consists of a red and white station wagon with a fold-down back seat, a yellow and green 4 passenger boat that rests on top of the station wagon, a pop-up tent camper with fold-down steps and built-in kitchen and sleeping quarters, and a yellow storage container that fits on top of the tent trailer when it's collapsed.
The station wagon's lithos are in EXC++-NEAR MINT condition. There are no rubs, scratches, marks, or stains on either of the station wagon's lithos. After repeated inspections, I can only spy two, minuscule bubbles and one, vertical indentation on the right hand litho. These basically came to my attention via touch. They are not prominent at all. As far as the plastic surfaces are concerned, the station wagon exhibits the following "flaws:"
1. Some light surface scratches, tiny indentations, and scuffs on the hood, upper frame, rear fold down seat, trunk area, and sides of the vehicle;
2. One, 1/4" L x 1/8" W scrape on the left hand side of the vehicle; this is hard to spot since the paint has not been displaced; and
3. Some minor yellowing, due to age, on the lower side edges and front and back bumpers of the station wagon.
The pop-up tent trailer is in VG+++-EXC condition. The camper lithos are sharp and vibrant with no fading, rubs, creases, marks, or tears being apparent. The only thing of note are a few, isolated small bubbles on the table, cutting board, and fruit bowl lithos along with the remnants of two black marks on the plastic to the left of the fold down door. I am uncertain whether or not these marks will come off during the cleaning process. My gut is telling they probably won't come off as they appear to have "leached into" the plastic. The fold down door remains slightly ajar when closed; it does not, however, flop open on its own. There is a hairline crack below one of the hinges on the right hand side of the piece. I will be fixing this with either Rubber Cement or Krazy Glue so it does not progress. The hinge itself is unaffected by this crack. Last, but not least, the cloth tent is intact and possesses its original canary yellow color.
The yellow/green boat is in GOOD-VG condition with moderate scratching and scuffing being seen on the bottom of the boat. These have not displaced the paint. They are seen when the bottom of the boat is held up close to a light source. There is one scratch, @ 1 1/2" L, that is seen on the right rear portion of the boat. There are also several indentations, from a child's tooth, on the front, left-hand edge and at the "water line" on the left hand side of the boat. There are also several prominent teeth marks on the right, forward platform of the interior of the boat.
The yellow storage container is in GOOD-VG condition. The litho exhibits some moderate soiling, considerable edge wear, several scrapes and punctures, and some fading and generalized rubbing. The hinge is fully intact. Due to the amount of wear on the car top carrier litho, I'm offering the buyer a reproduction or replacement litho free of charge. Once this litho is applied, this storage container will warrant a NEAR MINT designation.
NOTE: THESE ARE THE ORIGINAL LITHOS. I DO NOT USE REPLACEMENT LITHOS ON MY SETS. IF A LITHO IS MISSING OR DAMAGED EXTENSIVELY, I OCCASIONALLY OFFER THE BUYER A REPLACEMENT LITHO. HOWEVER, I USUALLY DO NOT APPLY THESE LITHOS MYSELF. I LEAVE IT TOTALLY UP TO THE DISCRETION OF THE BUYER WHETHER THEY WISH TO UTILIZE THESE. I WILL, UPON REQUEST, REMOVE AND REPLACE DAMAGED LITHOS IF THE BUYER ASKS ME TO DO SO ON THEIR BEHALF.
These reproduction lithos are the finest replacement lithos out there. The lady that makes these lithos is in Canada and has been making these for over 8 years. She uses a heavy duty True-Block paper with a peel off sticky back along with a professional grade printer. She calibrates her printer to match a set of unused, vintage FP lithos she procured from a former FP employee. These replacement lithos are as close as you can come to the real deal. Her replacement lithos are water resistant. You may see other competitors out there. However, the ink on their lithos is not water resistant and the paper is of inferior quality. It's totally up to the buyer if they wish to take advantage of this offer. All the buyer needs to do is peel off the sticky back on the reproduction litho and apply it to the clean, metal roof. That's it!
The accessories for this ENDEARING set include:
1 HTF red motorcycle (NEAR MINT-MINT---as "good as it gets!" Shall we "hit the road?");
1 VHTF lime green picnic table w/steak litho (EXC++-NEAR MINT--may be a possible scrape to the litho on the edge of one of the plates; I basically found this via touch);
2 HTF lime green picnic benches (1 EXC; the other, VG-VG+--with some indentations on the end of the bench and on the bottom of the bench leg; these were definitely caused by a child's tooth);
2 VHTF lime green lounge chairs (GOOD-VG--one has pronounced bowing on the back of the chair along with some "nibbles;" the other has some "nibbles" on the back edges of the chair and a couple of teeth marks on the foot of the lounger);
1 VHTF yellow 3 legged or Y shaped grill with hot dogs and steak litho (EXC++- light rubbing on the outer perimeter of the litho);
and 4 ALL PLASTIC LITTLE PEOPLE. These include:
1 tall, green bodied Dad with heat stamped hair (EXC-EXC++--tiny indentation on the right cheek; does not appear to be caused by a child's tooth; coloring still intact; facial features and heat stamped hair are bold and distinct);
1 tall, blue bodied Mom with blonde pony (NOTE: I just now spotted an indentation between the Mom's eyes; therefore, you will not be receiving the Mom in my photos; instead, I will be inserting a Mom in MINT condition);
1 HTF, short red bodied girl with blonde bob and bangs (EXC++-NEAR MINT-tiny amount of edge wear on the bottom of the piece);
and 1 HTF yellow bodied boy with red cap, smiling face, and freckles (EXC++--"hint" of a couple of possible "nibbles" on the brim of the hat; I'm not sure if these are indeed due to a child's teeth).
Most of the accessories fit inside the storage container while the family is traveling (e.g. picnic benches, lounge chairs, picnic table, and grill). How my Dad would have appreciated this. I can recall him struggling to cram our tent, camp stove, cookware, clothes etc. into our trunk. Later, we acquired a car top carrier. Sadly, we soon had that stuffed as well:(
NOTE: I'm being super "nit-picky" in all of my descriptions. I do not want any of my customers to be disappointed in their purchases from me.
This is an engaging set and a hard one to find with all its pieces. This set would be suitable for a beginning Fisher Price collector or some lucky child. It'd also be a UNIQUE toy to have on hand at Grandma and Grandpa's house when the grandchildren come for a visit:).
I will be thoroughly Q-tip cleaning this set and all its accessories using a variety of cleaning products prior to shipping it to its new owners. I utilize Dawn Antibacterial Dish Soap, Goo-Gone, Soft Scrub, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, Shout etc. etc. I spend a minimum of 1 1/2 hours cleaning each and every set I sell (except for those listed in My Rough Room). My sets are IMMACULATE.
These play sets are NOT a part of the recent Fisher Price recall for toys imported from China. However, these sets are NOT designed for children that are still mouthing their toys or below 3 years of age. Adult supervision is strongly recommended.
This set weighs approximately 2- 2 1/2 lbs. UNWRAPPED. My zip code is 47905 (INDIANA). Due to this set's size and weight, I will probably be shipping it via the USPS Priority Mail.
