#985 Play Family Houseboat

	Fisher-Price Original Little People
See a list of all Original Little People Parts, Pieces, and Figures sold in the sets.

#985

Play Family Houseboat

Years Made:

Fisher-Price Toy Department
Department 7: Playsets

1972-1976

Aisle A:

Original Little People

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Description: The first Little People playset intended for water is one which is also commonly mistaken as the first all-plastic Little People set. That's not true, as four of the figures included came with wood bodies or all wood in early years. As it is not the first all plastic set, it does contain the first all plastic Little Person...the white boat captain.

The lithographs on the boat and furniture were made of a special water-resistant type vinyl material that held up pretty well when submerged (a feat which didn't happen on the Houseboat's followup, 1979's #932 Ferry Boat). For this reason, the appropriate grill for the houseboat does not have the regular paper litho used, and all of the furniture pieces are made of shiny soft plastic, rather than hard plastic. The Houseboat follow-up, 1979's Ferry Boat, was discontinued one year after it was introduced due to bleeding lithos. Fisher-Price did not attempt another large-scale boat until 1989 with the #2524 Cruise Boat, a lightweight plastic boat with no bleedable lithos, only "S.S. Tadpole" heat-stamped on the side.

Accessories:

1972 Fisher-Price Dealer Catalogue Cover:

Houseboat and Flap:
- B985 - Houseboat
- F985 - Blue flat squared plastic flap that forms the upper "deck" for the #985 Houseboat, and doubles as the houseboat carry handle.
FPT903 - White top, Blue base 1-seat boat.
2 each - FPT606 - Yellow U-shaped life preserver / life vest (fits around the neck of Original Little People figures).
Furniture:
- FPT188 - Red large rectangular "picnic table" style table with a LOBSTER DINNER LITHO on the surface.
- 2 each - FPT147 - Small dark red plastic single-seat captain chair that has a seat back that extends 3/4 of the way around the seat with a DOT mark on back. Click here to see the difference between triangle back verses dot back chairs. *See "Variations" below.
- FPT19405 - Round yellow plastic "backyard BBQ" style grill with SEPARATE SPINDLE (STRAIGHT) LEGS. Has a thick water-resistant type vinyl lithograph on top of a steak, hamburger, and a hot dog. Has a small plastic handle off to one side.
- 2 each - FPT786 - Dull yellow plastic slatted "beach" lounge chair with short arm rests on the sides and a raised backrest (2 slats high). The bottom of the chair has a WIDE rectangular mold WITH a reinforcement rib on inner edge, click here for an example. Click here to see the difference between bright yellow and dull yellow.
5 Original Little People Figures - All figures, except the all-plastic captain, and all-wood dog have either a wood body and a wood head or a wood body and a plastic head:
- ENPP - Tall white captain wearing a blue cap with a M-shape above the bill. This is the first all plastic Little People figure made by Fisher-Price.
- FNWW or FNWP - Blue mom with fancy eyes, and a blonde ponytail.
- GMWW or GMWP - Red girl with a blonde bob with bangs.
- EUWW or EUWP - Yellow boy smiling, freckles, "" eyebrows, and wearing a red baseball cap facing forward.
- HVWW - Black straight-sided dog wearing a yellow collar. The collar has "dots" on the outside edges.

1972 Fisher-Price Dealer catalogue - Same as above except the dog:

IPWW - Black regular-base dog with a metal rivet between his ears and wearing a yellow collar. The collar has "dots" on the outside edges.

1973 Fisher-Price Dealer catalogue - Same as above except the dog:

HWWW or HWWP - Black regular-base dog wearing a red collar. The collar has "lines" on the outside edges.

1974 Fisher-Price Dealer Catalogue:

Houseboat and Flap:
- B985 - Houseboat
- F985 - Blue flat squared plastic flap that forms the upper "deck" for the #985 Houseboat, and doubles as the houseboat carry handle.
FPT903 - White top, Blue base 1-seat boat.
2 each - FPT606 - Yellow U-shaped life preserver / life vest (fits around the neck of Original Little People figures).
Furniture:
- FPT188 - Red large rectangular "picnic table" style table with a LOBSTER DINNER LITHO on the surface.
- 2 each - FPT147 - Small dark red plastic single-seat captain chair that has a seat back that extends 3/4 of the way around the seat with a DOT mark on back. Click here to see the difference between triangle back verses dot back chairs. *See "Variations" below.
- FPT19405 - Round yellow plastic "backyard BBQ" style grill with SEPARATE SPINDLE (STRAIGHT) LEGS. Has a thick water-resistant type vinyl lithograph on top of a steak, hamburger, and a hot dog. Has a small plastic handle off to one side.
- 2 each - FPT786 - Dull yellow plastic slatted "beach" lounge chair with short arm rests on the sides and a raised backrest (2 slats high). The bottom of the chair has a WIDE rectangular mold WITH a reinforcement rib on inner edge, click here for an example. Click here to see the difference between bright yellow and dull yellow.
5 Original Little People Figures - All figures, except the all-plastic captain have either a wood body and a plastic head or a plastic body and a plastic head:
- ENPP - Tall white captain wearing a blue cap with a M-shape above the bill. This is the first all plastic Little People figure made by Fisher-Price.
- FNWP or FNPP - Blue mom with fancy eyes, and a blonde ponytail.
- GMWP or GMPP - Red girl with a blonde bob with bangs.
- EUWP or EUPP - Yellow boy smiling, freckles, "" eyebrows, and wearing a red baseball cap facing forward.
- HWWP or HWPP - Black regular-base dog wearing a red collar. The collar has "lines" on the outside edges.

1975 Fisher-Price Dealer catalogue - Same as above except the dog:

HYWP or HYPP - Black regular-base dog wearing a yellow collar. The collar has "lines" on the outside edges.

1976 Fisher-Price Dealer Catalogue: Same as above except All figures have a plastic body and a plastic head:

ENPP - Tall white captain wearing a blue cap with a M-shape above the bill. This is the first all plastic Little People figure made by Fisher-Price.
FNPP - Blue mom with fancy eyes, and a blonde ponytail.
GMPP - Red girl with a blonde bob with bangs.
EUP P - Yellow boy smiling, freckles, "" eyebrows, and wearing a red baseball cap facing forward.
HWPP - Black regular-base dog wearing a red collar. The collar has "lines" on the outside edges.

Variations: The captain chairs sold in this set were available in 2 shades of red (dark red and bright red) and with either a DOT (older) or TRIANGLE (newer) on the back of the seat. All possible variations are listed below:

FPT148 - Small dark red plastic single-seat captain chair with a TRIANGLE mark on back. Click here to see the difference between triangle back verses dot back chairs.
FPT147 - Small dark red plastic single-seat captain chair with a DOT mark on back. Click here to see the difference between triangle back verses dot back chairs.
FPT1222 - Small bright red plastic single-seat captain chair with a TRIANGLE mark on back. Click here to see the difference between triangle back verses dot back chairs.
FPT1223 - Small bright red plastic single-seat captain chair with a DOT mark on back. Click here to see the difference between triangle back verses dot back chairs.