Lion trolls, along with the Giraffe trolls, are the most common of the animal trolls. I find their wonderful, wide smiles and playful expressions incredibly endearing :-).
The lion in the middle is a Limited Edition Lion. Dam had ceased making animals. In the 90's, Dam briefly produced a limited number (only 400 each) of 4 animal trolls (lion, large horse, elephant, & cow) that were based on their old, 1960's animal molds. They were only sold to Fan Club members at the time. They are slightly different than the older animals - the only one that had real mohair was the horse (the others had fun fur), and their airbrushing is slightly different. The L.E. lion has a shorter mane than the older lions as well. L.E. animals came with a round, gold tag with the DAM logo on one side, and "Limited Edition" on the other.
The lion at the top is not technically a Dam troll, but the Dam lion was used to create his mold. He is a very neat lion, even though he is not a true Dam.
Body Types
I have found that there are two body types in the Lion troll - they are very similar, but they do have their differences. Both body types though have an articulated head, and have mohair on both their heads and the tips of their tails.
Type 1 (white haired lion): higher rump (like a puppy in play), with a higher flagged tail. I have noticed this body type is often the lighter color of lion, with orange airbrushing on the paws.
Type 2 (brown haired lion): body is lower to the ground, with a more relaxed position for the tail. L.E. Lions are of this mold.
Type 1: Back feet are closer together, front feet more apart. His feet are also in a staggered position, more so with the front feet, as if he has just taken a step.
Type 2: Both front and back feet are generally spaced evenly apart.
Type 2: Both front and back feet are generally spaced evenly apart.
(Further illustrating the difference in the feet)
Type 2: The head is more straight forward.
*The Type 1 lion that I own is of harder vinyl, whereas the others (Type 2) are of softer vinyl. The general rule is that trolls produced in Europe were made of softer vinyl - so it makes me wonder if there are differences in body type because Type 1 might have been made in America, and Type 2 might have been made in Europe. I am not sure of this, but it is my hypothesis ;-).
Dam Stamp
Right paw: "DAM Patent"
Left paw: "Made in Denmark" (in a circle)
"Gjol" (in the middle)
*Not every Dam lion has a foot stamp.
Lovable Uglies Lion troll
The small lion in the middle is a lion troll made by Lovable Uglies, and produced in Japan. They have a rabbit fur mane and tail puff, and were made of thinner plastic. They have red lips, and a black nose. They came with red, heart-shaped tags.
two of the things I regret selling in a yard sale my giraffe and lion trolls
ReplyDeleteAw, I'm sorry to hear that Rose :-(
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI have a donkey, lion and cow (and a giraffe and elephant somewhere in my attic) that I bought in 1970 or 71. The lion is the high-rumped white haired lion, hard plastic, articulated head, no stamp on the foot. The donkey and cow are both stamped and the donkey has a date, 1964 I think? What did the stamps look like for the first run of troll animals? I'm curious whether these are originals. My memory is that either the giraffe or the elephant actually said "Dam Things Original" on the stamp, but I could be wrong. There is no stamp on the rest of the body of any of them. Should I assume American made since they are hard plastic? Thanks for any info.