MGM...A Variation Mecca!

Some of the MGM characters, Ton and Jerry, were sold in the United States many moons ago, but then went on to be sold only in Canada and overseas.  There are not too many characters, but the variations on this group of dispensers is immense.  The differences can be confusing, but like any Variation, a lot of fun.  Many of the characters have similar changes to them.  

Let's start with...

Shown above is Tom "A."  What makes him "A" is this.  He has no hair, eyes painted orange and a MGM 1980 copyright on the back of his head.  Once we get done reviewing Tom you'll see why these characteristics are important.  Well, maybe you will, and maybe you just won't care.   Oh, be honest.  You know by the time you finish this you'll be a MGM fanatic!

This is Tom "B."

This guy is pretty easy to spot.  Just look for the plastic face pieces (Multi-piece Face).  You may be wondering why there are so many pictured.   The ones shown above are all different.  Most of these are orange, WF, spineless dispensers and the biggest difference is the inner sleeves and buttons.   They all are the prettiest shades of pastel yellow and blue.  The norm, however, is a red stem.  These, too, will have the MGM copyright and no hair.

Here's a couple more B's.

These I like just because they're different.  The pink is a 3.4 Austria.  The blue is a 3.9 Yugoslavia.

This is where it gets confusing.

This is Tom "C."  He looks awfully familiar to Tom "A", huh?  He really is pretty close.  His eyes will be more of a yellow and he will have either the MGM or the Turner Ent. Co. copyright.  Another way to tell, not 100%, is that this Tom will have two "stratzenfurters."  Never heard of it, have you?  Look on the back of the head and you'll see two small posts.   These are there so that when Tom flew down the conveyor belt at the factory, he wouldn't roll around.  The mis-informed call these conveyor belt stabilizers.   Not me.  I call them stratzenfurters.

Here's what I mean...

Tom A has no stratzenfurter.                                  Tom C with MGM copyright has two posts.

Tom C with Turner copyright has two posts.        Tom D with thumb tab, as most collectors call it.

Speaking of Tom "D."

He, too, looks like A and C, but he has hair.

Pretty nice "doo", huh?

Tom C on left.  Tom D on right.

That lesson on Tom was pretty confusing.  But, now that you understand the concept, you'll easily rush through the rest of the MGM.  Jerry has a similar story.

Shown above are the four Jerry's.  From left is A, B, C, and D.  See a pattern?  The only change to it is the hair.  I'll show you.

This is Jerry A.

If you remember, Tom A did not have hair, but Jerry A does.   It's just "small" hair.   Now the pattern will continue.  Next comes Jerry B.

Do you remember what the key was to Tom B?

That's right, Multi-piece face.  Same goes with the Jerry B's above.

The other thing to look for with Jerry B is the snout colors.

There are two, pink or white.  Shown above, from left, is three pinks, and a white.  The blue on the far left is a no spine.

That wasn't the best comparison photo above.  Here's another.

Pink is on the left.  Yeah, I know.  That wasn't the best photo either.

Now we're on to Jerry C and D.

Once again, they look just like the A.  The big difference, as with Tom, is the hair and copyright.  Jerry C, left, has the small hair and Jerry D has the "catch a wave" kinda hair.  Also, the Jerry C can come with either the MGM copyright or the Turner Ent. copyright.  Tom D will have the Turner Ent. copyright.

Here's a pic.

That's Jerry D on the left, and C on the right.

Tuffy, also called Mighty Mouse

This is Tuffy A.  He is like Jerry except they skipped the Tuffy A and went straight to B.  Make sense?  The first Tuffy is the Multi-piece face.

Look close.

Here's two Multi-piece faces.  A little different configuration, but they're both A's.  A little different whisker paint and the one on the right has a painted tongue.  Not all will have this.

Here's a very unique Tuffy.

This guy is called the removable ear Tuffy.  Instead of painting the ears, they are actually plastic inserts.

Here's a shot from the back.

The posts on the ear inserts stick through the ears.  Jerry can also be found like this.  I've been keeping an eye out for that one.  There's a joke there somewhere.  Not to confuse the issue, but I will, the Tuffy above sometimes gets its own designation.  Some may call it Tuffy B or C.  For simplicity, we'll call it an "A", but with removable ears.

So, you've seen A.  Now let's hit B and C.

Looks like Tom C, huh?  This is B with small hair.

And this is C.

He has tall hair.

Here's a close-up.

In addition to the hair, the copyrights, MGM vs. Turner, and paint will also vary.

Droopy Dog

There is something about this guy I love.  It must be his face.  Isn't he funny looking?  And some cool Variations too.  Shown above is Droopy A.  What makes Droopy A Droopy A is his ears.  His ears are movable.   Ha is most commonly found on a blue footed stem, but can be found NF, as well.

Here's Droopy B.

This guy has ears that are painted.

A comparison shot for your viewing pleasure.

Can you tell which is which?

Here's a shot of three that have some real unique stems.

Shown here is a 2.6 footed, 3.4 footed and 3.9 footed stem.   All are spineless.

Here's another MGM!

This is Spike.  The ones above are called Spike A.   Like many other Pez, these A dispensers have painted eyes.  When we get to Spike B, you'll see stencil eyes.

But first...

This is Spike with a green head.  He's pretty hard to come by.

Ok, back to Spike B.

See the eyes?  Also, you may notice a little difference in the whiskers.  The newer models will have them, the older ones (far left) will not.

Spike C

Not much to report except a bit of a face change color.

Last, but not least, we have Barney Bear.

This guy has an uncanny resemblance to Icee Bear.  That's because they used the same mold.  I have Icee Bear listed under the Holiday section, though.  As with Icee, the big difference with this guy is in the eyes.

Right between the eyes.

Look at the one on the left.  He has a bit more of an ivory face piece.  Also, see how the complete area between his eyes is painted black?   The one on the right only has a small splash between the eyes.  When you get around to seeing Icee, it will go from a splash to nothing at all.

Wanna see more?  Click       Didn't understand that lesson?