-digit number. If your toy is a doll, the model number is printed onto the "care instructions" tag that is sewn onto the doll (normally on the bottom side; many times it's completely faded from use though). Once you have this model number, then go to our TOYS BY MODEL NUMBER area and select the appropriate model number range and find the particular toy that corresponds to the model number you have. NOTE: there are many instances where a Model Number was used more than once; for example, the #104 was first used in 1931 for the "Lookee Monk" pulltoy, then in 1971-72 for the game "Animal Scrabble Set", and finally again in 1981-on for the Music Box "Allouette".
So, let's say you've identified the proper Model Number, and it's an item that was made for a number of years.....such as the #991 Circus Train (1973-1986). Which year was "your" toy made? The best way is to look at the "date code" of manufacture that Fisher-Price started using in the early '70's. This is a small letter and number that is molded or stamped on the bottom or back of wood or plastic base toys. We have found that this date code works perfectly on all Little People airplanes, such as the #182 Airplane, #183 Funjet, the plane used in the #996 airport, etc. It also works perfectly on the Little People plastic barn bases, and on Little People train engines. This date code doesn't seem to work for ALL toys, though. We have a #944 Lift & Load Lumber Yard that has "S4" molded into the bottom of the base, according to the chart below, this means it was made in October 1974. This date is improbable since the #944 wasn't sold until 1979. Therefore, please be careful when using these date codes:
Fisher-Price Toys Date Code
*This chart was provided by Brad Cassity
If your toy has one of the letters mentioned in the chart above (A-X) and a number (0-9), then this date code may help you to identify the exact year and month that your toy was made. The letter represents the month, and the number represents the last digit of the year that the toy was made. Therefore, if you have a #996 Airport airplane and it has "D4" on the bottom, then that airplane was made in April 1974. Likewise, if you have a #915 plastic base barn and it has "T4" on the bottom of the base, then you know it was made in November 1984.
Please note that this date code system does not seem to apply to everything. If your toy is pre-1970, or it doesn't have a date code, then there is NO OTHER WAY to precisely determine the year that the toy was made.........unless the toy was made during a period in which one of the logos (below) was changed, or there was some significant visual change to the toy during those years (which is noted in our listings). Sorry, we know that's not the answer you want to hear, but it's true.
Also, beware: most toys that have the model number printed on a litho (or a sewn tag) also have a copyright date. The copyright date is NOT the date the toy was made; in fact, the copyright date normally proceeds the first year of production by 1-2 years (example: the 915 Farm has a copyright date of 1967 and it was introduced in 1968).
AND, to add to your confusion, consider this: as is standard within the auto industry, many toys are "introduced" during the calender year prior to their "model year". For example: the "1999" Chevrolet Camaro actually goes on-sale in September, 1998. This same practice is common in the toy biz: some (but not all) new toys are "introduced" during the previous calender-year. So a "new-for-1976" model toy may actually have been in the stores for the 1975 Holiday selling season (October-December).......since this season accounts for almost 50% of yearly toy sales, the manufacturers and retailers are always anxious to make the newest, latest, and greatest toys available during this buying frenzy. However, the toy never appeared in a "1975" catalog, only in the manufacturer's 1976 toy-line catalog (where it would be shown as "new for 1976")........which means, of course, that the "1976" catalog was actually produced sometime in 1975!
Think of it in this way:
In th