Merlin's Carousels

 This range of carousels were manufactured by Peter Petz of Germany.  Peter Petz exhibited his range of larger rides at the 1987 Amusement Trades Exhibition, where a representative from one of the big London department stores asked if he could manufacture a miniature coin operated carousel for their toy department.  By the following year, Petz had produced a range of small carousels which could work under coin operation, free play or "display running", where they would start and stop automatically at regular intervals.


Merlin's Classic, manufactured 1992 - Manning's Amusements, Felixstowe, October 2017

There were several variations of the Merlin's Classic and Merlin's Nostalgic Carousels, with designs suitable for anywhere between 3-6 riders.  As far as I can tell, the main difference between the Classic and Nostalgic is that the Merlin's Classic carousels were made to represent steam powered carousels, while the Merlin's Nostalgic had a traditional mirrored column in the centre.  There were also at least two different styles of horses.


Merlin's Classic - Blackpool Pleasure Beach, August 2018.  Sadly, the motor was broken on this unit so it didn't move.  But it's a good example of the other kind of horse offered by Peter Petz.

All of the carousels were hand painted and finished by Peter Petz himself.  Something I have always considered a nice touch is the year painted on the rounding boards which is 100 years earlier than the actual year of manufacture.  (For instance, if a carousel has the year 1892 painted on it, it was actually made in 1992).