Information articles: Did You Ever Notice?

This page is where we point out interesting features of various plastic village items.

To contribute your own special observations to this series please email the webmaster by clicking here with the information (and pictures if possible) and we will put it together, and post it here.

Color me crazy! from Glenn Bowman

See Glen's pictures below for a mind-boggling array of color variations that you may have never considered, or at least may have never given much thought to.

There are many normal variations of colors for the schoolhouse roofs, and New England ranch house roofs. There are examples of pastel variations compared to non-pastel similars that are usually lumped together with the pastels; variations of the police department roofs, and variations of the red accessories for the police department AND, for you real collectors, we have an example of the difference between a "turquoise" ranch house and the truly rare "aqua" ranch house!

A little something for everyone here. Enjoy!

Click on a thumbnail picture to see the full-size image. You can press N to see the next image, P to see the previous image and X to close the enlargement box. You can also click on the right edge to see the next image or click on the left edge to see the previous image.

Assorted New England Ranch House Roof Colors.

Nine variations of Schoolhouse Roof Colors.

Turquoise, blue and AQUA ranches.

Pastel blue and light blue Capes.

Pastel blue and light blue ranches.

Yellow ranches - the difference in the yellows doesn't show up particularly well here, but it does exist.

Police Department roofs showing color and antenna base variations. The roof on the right is "shinier", has the convex base and is later than the example on the left.

Police Department doorway with dull and shiny red variations. Shiny red is in the doorway and on the right (small base). Dull red is on offset and on the left (earlier).

The good ole Fire Department (and Police Department) from PCA Charter Member Tom Fritsch

We all know the Fire Department, a very common item. Did you know that there are 2 different shapes of siren bases and 2 different types of roofs? One for the convex siren, and one for the square-bottom sirens. There are similar roof types for the Police Department too! You may have heard that there is a gray siren for the fire department. Consider this: do you think the gray siren was designed for the fire department, or the police department? Wouldn't it make more sense for it to go with the gray-walled police department. We're not certain of the origin, are you?

Two different shapes of siren base - convex and square.

Different siren colors but which goes with the fire department?

Police Department roofs showing siren base variations.

Fire Department roofs showing siren base variations. Photo by Tom Fritsch.

From Glenn Bowman came an update that there are at least 3 base types for the fire department siren. 1 is convex, but the flat version comes in 2 varieties:

Three base types for the fire department siren - convex base, flat base 1 and flat base 2.

Side views of the three different fire department sirens - convex base, flat base 1 and flat base 2.

The Police Department Antennae from PCA Member Josh Erling

The late 1990s re-issue of the Police Department has an antenna that more closely resembles the Apartment House TV antenna. Did you notice?

Two different Police Department Antennae close-up.

Police Department Antennae on their respective roofs.

Boxes in transition: Plasticville Citizens 1915-200 box.

Things like this drive the PCA box committee nuts. We found the 1915-200 Citizens in two different boxes! Usually, either the catalog number or the price suffix changes when the box changes, but not this time. However, there was a minor change in the name from "Citizens" to "Citizens with Paint (24)".

Plasticville Citizens 1915-200 box.

Boxes in transition: The Plasticville Frosty Bar.

Here's an example of a transition piece. The transition is from the lettered series of Plasticville such as FB-1 to the numbered series of Plasticville, in this case, 1401. Usually we see the numbered series in Type 4 boxes or higher (see my box guide for type definitions) and the lettered series in a Type 3 or lower box. My guess is that the 1401 Frosty Bar was made before the new box type was finalized and so was released in the Type 3 box. The tops of the FB-1 and the 1401 are identical but the sides have the different catalog numbers and the bottoms either show other Plasticville items in letters or numbers. The 1401 box has the number "1401 79" where the 79 refers to the suggested retail price. Later in Plasticville boxes, we see examples where the box stays the same, but the catalog and price numbers change e.g. 1704 and 1811 Barns with prices of 129 and 149 respectively.

Here are some pictures of the two Frosty Bar boxes. The 1401 seems to be somewhat rare in this box. Do you have one? Let us know!