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Sunday, April 7, 2013

1979 "Scary Adventures" Maquettes

From guest contributor Kurt Raymond...



On May 14, 2011, a collection of original Snow White maquettes went up for auction at Profiles In History. The mockups were produced by the Walt Disney Studio model shop and were used in planning for the 1983 refurbishment of the Snow White’s Adventures attraction at Disneyland. The figures were constructed of Sculpy, and most included wire armatures on the feet for attachment to the model diorama.

In addition to the Witch, Snow White and the Dwarfs up for auction, there was the Witch's boat, a basket of apples, and her spell book on a dragon stand. Plus Grumpy's organ, a mine car, a chair, a rabbit, and a cupboard laden with pitcher, cups and bowls.

Snow White on the cottage stairs model.




The Silly Song scene.





Also part of the auction was the model shop’s binder, dated Feb. 22, 1979. A real treasure trove, it included 67 glossy color 8 x 10 photographs illustrating close-up detailed shots of all the areas of the ride diorama--the Dwarf Cottage (inside and outside), mine and castle, the Queen’s chamber, the dungeon, the haunted forest, the castle and cliff. Seven of the photos depicted Disney artist conceptual renderings for fixtures, animals and characters including range of movement for the animatronics. Each photograph was stamped “© Walt Disney Productions.”

Witch at cauldron.

Artwork copyright Disney. Images via Profiles in History.


More photos from the binder can be seen in this other Archive entry.

6 comments:

  1. Wow! I can't believe you did not buy these. ;-)

    You know, some people have elaborate model trains in their homes. Wouldn't it be great to have an elaborate Snow White's Scary Adventures (with moving cars) in your house?

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  2. These are really cool! I think these and that wax figurine from Madame Tussaud's are the coolest collector's items any Snow White fan would love to have! ;)

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    1. I agree Vlad. Rare one-of-a-kind items that are a real part of Snow White history.

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  3. The detailing is exceptional -- a couple of photos look like stills of the actual ride. What happened to the props in the scarier original attraction? There were four witch figures, a wriggly skeleton, etc.; just the things to put in the window under blacklight on Halloween.

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    1. Raimundo, Sadly, I think many of the props from the original ride may have be discarded and destroyed. Although I'm certain that at least a few must have be saved and are probably sitting in someone's home collection right now. Maybe they will contact me someday so we can post pics here on the Archive. :)

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