LJN Cat's Lair serial numbers

While taking a look at the inside of the Cat's Lairs play set, I noticed what appears to be a serial number on the inside of the top. 0106. If these are indeed serial numbers it would be a great way to tell and find how early pieces were made in the production. Anyone else notice numbers in theirs?
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I just had a look at my lairs both numbers are different. I have a 0156 and 61661. Not sure what numbers are ... interesting find

"Thundergod, post: 110158, member: 25318" said:

I just had a look at my lairs both numbers are different. I have a 0156 and 61661. Not sure what numbers are ... interesting find

I appreciate you taking the time to take a look, Thundergod.
So far, 3 sets of numbers. 2 sets containing 4 digits and 1 set containing 5 digits. We can confirm that the number 0-1-5-6 are used. So far I am thinking the numbers are one of the following, 1.) Serial numbers for each Cat's Lair made 2.) Factory production codes, numbers could indicate which factory each Cat's Lair came from. 3.) employee/inspector code - (keep in mind i do not know how mass production works when electronics are involved so this one may not be relevant at all) If there was an employee in the production that attached the head or the electronics possibly this is there stamp indicating they worked on the item and tested it.
These are just ideas. I am open to other theories. I would love to get to the bottom of this. Because if these are serial numbers for Cat's Lairs, that would be pretty good info to have

Ahoy Cap'n! :) I asked a friend of mine who bought his Cats Lair brand new in box, but it does not have any serial number printed on the inside of the top. Maybe some were released without it?

"Wilycub, post: 110531, member: 25043" said:

Ahoy Cap'n! :) I asked a friend of mine who bought his Cats Lair brand new in box, but it does not have any serial number printed on the inside of the top. Maybe some were released without it?

Thank you for lookin into it, WilyCub! This just gets even more and more intriguing. I had also seen one ebay (just the head piece) that did not have anything printed on in. I thought it may have been just because it was exposed the ink eventually wore off. But a new in box Cat's Lair with no printing confirms they were also made without printing. Very interesting. I want to know what these are even more now.

"Cap'n Cracka, post: 110538, member: 1207" said:

Thank you for lookin into it, WilyCub! This just gets even more and more intriguing. I had also seen one ebay (just the head piece) that did not have anything printed on in. I thought it may have been just because it was exposed the ink eventually wore off. But a new in box Cat's Lair with no printing confirms they were also made without printing. Very interesting. I want to know what these are even more now.

I saw that unprinted Cats Lair head on EBay too and I too thought that perhaps it had faded over the years (great minds think alike, eh?) ;) Which is why I contacted my friend, knowing that he bought his new and unused. But since even it does not have the numbers means that perhaps some were made without the numbers printed on them.

The numbers are rather curious. My first thought was that perhaps they were serial numbers, but usually such numbers are engraved in the mold and so appear in the toys (like the info at the bottom of t he LJN figures). So maybe these numbers are some for the factories to keep track of how many pieces they made? Just a wild guess. Sorry I couldn't be of much help.

"Wilycub, post: 110539, member: 25043" said:

I saw that unprinted Cats Lair head on EBay too and I too thought that perhaps it had faded over the years (great minds think alike, eh?) ;) Which is why I contacted my friend, knowing that he bought his new and unused. But since even it does not have the numbers means that perhaps some were made without the numbers printed on them.
The numbers are rather curious. My first thought was that perhaps they were serial numbers, but usually such numbers are engraved in the mold and so appear in the toys (like the info at the bottom of t he LJN figures). So maybe these numbers are some for the factories to keep track of how many pieces they made? Just a wild guess. Sorry I couldn't be of much help.

Any and all info is a HUGE help, Wilycub. Right now, we are working with very little info so every piece helps. It makes it all the more interesting, to me at least.

If I remember, I'll try and look at my two tonight

I've spoke with Jordan over at Hollywood Heroes and his best guess as of now is some time of tooling stamp or a factory stamp that could be different from each factory that made it but he is going to investigate further.

Just an update to this. Still no further information but currently on ebay there is a Cat's Lair for auction with the number 10016 on the inside of the head. I believe these are the numbers. The second and last number are a bit smudged but that is what they appear to be.
That leaves us with the following...
0106 - Cap'N Cracka
0156 - Thundergod
61661 - Thundergod
10016 - (ebay auction)
9306 - (ebay auction)
9276 - (ebay auction)

*I will update this list as more numbers are brought to light. Just so we can keep a running record for when/if we find out what the numbers are exactly. If you wish to remain anonymous, that is perfectly fine. Please let me know and I will post the number only as long as you are alright with that. (ex. 0000 - Anonymous)*

I am sure I am in the minority that find this interesting but even if it is merely a factory stamp or something like that, I think it is cool finding the history of the piece. Being able to track it to the factory it was actually built is cool and interesting to me.

Ok, so i was just talking to another collector about this. He is also a GI Joe collector. Now this is not a definitive answer but he compared these to several electronic toys and to the GI Mobat. The Mobat came with a sticker on the motor with numbers on it. The numbers were usually assigned to the person doing the electronics or mechanical parts of the toy(s). Since all electronic and mechanical work has to comply with FCC regulations this was a way to track who did what in case something were to go wrong.
So odds are, all Cat's Lairs had stamps of numbers at the time of packaging but over the years the ink has faded away on most. Again, this is not a definitive answer as to what these numbers may be but I'd say its the best theory at this time as to what they are and why some still have the numbers and others do not.