Diener Eraser Character Sets
Diener Industries created a spectacular variety of erasers, including real and imaginary creatures both friendly and fiendish. They came from earth and outer space in the past, present and future. Diener’s largest and most enduring product line was the Itty Bitty Charm Animals. They also made eraser versions of Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, Bugs Bunny and many more iconic cartoon characters in partnership with Hanna Barbera, Warner Brothers and other entertainment companies. Diener introduced additional lines to provide fun rubbery versions of inanimate objects such as cars, planes & sports equipment. They came in countless colors and were usually about 1-3/4 inches tall. A large number of themed character lines were sold individually or in prepacked sets. Lucky children received them as gifts from dentists, teachers, restaurants and the like. Some characters from Diener’s flagship Itty Bitty Charm Animals line were also incorporated into seasonally themed sets. The older lines typically had hand-painted details, while the newer sets introduced in the 1970s through the 1990s were unpainted, as were later editions of the Itty Bittys.
Itty Bittys Charm Animals
Itty Bittys Charm Animals were the largest and most enduring of all the Diener erasers. They featured cute, stylized animals, sometimes wearing clothing. A few were based on inanimate objects. Many of these were released in a minature version as part of the “Itty Bitty Juniors” line.
Itty Bittys Christmas Characters
Holiday fun comes in the form of Diener erasers shaped like Santa Claus, snowmen, elves, angels and reindeer. There’s even a festive Christmas tree. Diener served as Santa’s helper by providing great stocking-stuffers for decades.
Prehistoric Animals
Dinosaurs roam the earth again in the form of Diener erasers. The Prehistoric Creatures line was one of its first and most popular sets, available in full-size and junior size. They continued in limited production after Diener was sold to WinCraft in 1993.
Space Raiders
Alien robots and starships sent erasers skyrocketing into the Space Age with the 1977 launch of Space Raiders. Soon the Space Raiders became one of Diener’s all-time most popular lines. Each of the eight science-fiction characters had a futuristic name and its own space ship.
Space Creatures
Delightfully frightening “Space Creatures” emerged at Diener in 1979. The eight other-worldly oddities were inspired by sci-fi movies, TV shows and comics of the 1950s and ‘60s. Many were produced in hard plastic and distributed to children in McDonald’s Happy Meals.
Super Wheels
Eraser cars zoomed into the fast lane with the Super Wheels series from Diener. Based on real vehicles from the 1960s and ‘70s, these authentically detailed miniature replicas capture the look and feel of legendary cars from the golden age of automobiles.
