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Remaking a Contemporary Classic: The Mold-a-Rama Machine

CNC & Machining
Remaking a Contemporary Classic: The Mold-a-Rama Machine

Venice, California resident James Durand is a Disney โ€œimagineerโ€ and an inveterate tinkerer. And like a lot of makers I know, he is absolutely obsessed with the 60s-era Mold-A-Rama novelty vending machines manufactured by Philadelphia company Automatic Retailers of America (now Aramark) from 1962 to 1969.

If youโ€™ve never seen a Mold-A-Rama machine, check out the video, embedded above, that YouTuber ehisforadam shot at The Henry Ford Museum in 2010. It captures the experience better than any other video Iโ€™ve seen online. (Except the smell, of course โ€” almost everyone with a childhood Mold-A-Rama story mentions the distinctive scent of the freshly-molded toys.)

The first part out of Durand's "Mini Molder" vending machine, from an original Mold-A-Rama mold element.
First cast by Durandโ€™s โ€œMini Molderโ€ vending machine, from an original Mold-A-Rama mold element.

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Back in August, 2010, Durand undertook to build his own machine on the same principle, but without the original styling elements. Instead of the retro cabinet, Durandโ€™s โ€œMini Molderโ€ sports an extruded aluminum frame and clear body construction so that users can see how the whole thing works.

He writes:

Mold-A-Rama machines are very hard to find, cost $10-20K (if you can even find one for sale), are the size of a vending machine, and are horribly unreliable due to the crude equipment under the hood. My goal was to build an updated machine that was the size of a coffee table, so I could keep it at my house. This project has been a long time in the making. Several years (and countless design iterations) later I am ready to show it off to the world.

You can check out Durandโ€™s online build log at ashermade.com.

If youโ€™re going to be in northern California the weekend of the 17th, donโ€™t miss the chance to see the Mini Molder in action at Maker Faire Bay Area 2014.

 

What will the next generation of Make: look like? Weโ€™re inviting you to shape the future by investing in Make:. By becoming an investor, you help decide whatโ€™s next. The future of Make: is in your hands. Learn More.

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I am descended from 5,000 generations of tool-using primates. Also, I went to college and stuff. I am a long-time contributor to MAKE magazine and makezine.com. My work has also appeared in ReadyMade, c't โ€“ Magazin fรผr Computertechnik, and The Wall Street Journal.

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