End of toy era: After 70 years, View-Master 3-D scenic reels from parks to Elvis discontinued

Star Tribune - AP ^ | 03/11/09 | DOUG WHITEMAN

[Borges]

Amber LaPointe's introduction to one of the country's greatest tourist attractions came from small square pictures on a white wheel.

"It was like you could look into a world away," said the 28-year-old from Toledo, Ohio. "My only image of the Grand Canyon was from the View-Master."

The iconic reels of tourist attractions, often packaged with a clunky plastic viewer and first sold to promote 3-D photography, are ending their 70-year run after years of diminishing sales.

Collectors like Mary Ann Sell of Maineville, Ohio, are dismayed.

"The whole summer I was 5 years old, before I went to school, I traveled the world via View-Master. It was great, and now kids won't have the opportunity to do that," said Sell, 57, who owns upwards of 25,000 scenic reels.

Scenic discs are no longer a good fit

for the Fisher-Price division of toy maker Mattel Inc., a spokeswoman said, and the company stopped making them in December. Fisher-Price, based in East Aurora, N.Y., will keep making better-selling reels of Shrek, Dora the Explorer and other animated characters, spokeswoman Juliette Reashor said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

[NavyCanDo]

I purchased one for my son 2 years ago when he was 5 hoping he would get the same enjoyment out of I did when I was a kid. He didn’t. Oh, he’s played with it, but not even close to the amount of time I did so many years ago. They just have too many other cool toys today to play with, not to mention video games.

[Fresh Wind]

My favorite was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and the giant octopus.

[Free Descendant]

First Pluto and now this!?

[musicbymuzak]

I like old military stuff, so I’ll be checking it out :)