A-Z Challenge - M Is For Marx Action Figures

 

What do you collect? Myself, it's action figures. That is why I dedicate this post to a singular toy company and the cool action figures they produced, starting in the 1950s. Marx made such an amazing line of toys that are treasured to this day due to their quality and variety.

 

Founded in 1919 in New York City by Louis Marx and his brother David, the company's basic aim was to "give the customer more toy for less money," and stressed that "quality is not negotiable" - two values that made the company highly successful.

 

Unlike most companies, Marx's revenues grew during the Great Depression, with the establishment of production facilities in economically hard-hit industrial areas of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and England. By 1937, the company had more than $3.2 million in assets ($42.6 Mil. in 2005 dollars), with debt of just over $500,000.

 

Marx was the largest toy manufacturer in the world by the 1950s. In 1955, a Time Magazine article proclaimed Louis Marx "the Toy King," and that year, the company had about $50 million in sales (Time Magazine 1955). Marx was the initial inductee in the Toy Industry Hall of Fame, and his plaque proclaimed him "The Henry Ford of the toy industry."

 

Check out some of the Marx toy commercials on You Tube. The date back to the very beginning of television when advertisers realized that children were now consumers and worked hard to capture the attention of kids dazzled by a new medium. They used the distinctive voices to hammer home how great their products were. The one for the Great Garloo is my particular favorite. They made robots, toy guns, toy robot guns, games, tin farm machinery, animals, spacemen, cavemen - you name it, Marx made it.

 

  

 

Marx Toys made terrific action figures through the 50s and 60s. I loved how you got the most amazing set of accessories - everything you needed for hours of play adventures. Mike Hazard even came with his own pipe which surprised me because I had no idea he was a pothead.

 

 

These figures were cheap to make because of a new post war process that could press plastic into any shape and color imaginable.

 

These Knight figures are magnificent and also come with multiple weapons and helmets so you can outfit the figure several different ways. They also came in four colors - black, silver, gold, and blue. I have several of the reproductions that were released a few years ago that used the original Marx molds to insure authenticity. You could even get armor for the horses. When I taught Junior High Social Studies I brought in my Silver Knight to demonstrate all the parts that went into protecting a man in battle. The figures were historically accurate. Marx even included a handy info sheet that could be easily turned into a test paper with a little white-out and a photocopier.

 

The Marx Noble Knights and Vikings hit in 1968 and were gone by 1973. This series included Sir Gordon the Gold Knight, Sir Stuart (obvious spelling mistake) the Silver Knight, Odin the Viking Chieftain and Erik the Viking along with horses for all. An interesting note here is that the UK produced Sir Cedric the Black Knight made only in Swansea, South Wales. Reportably, only 10,000 Black Knights were produced making it one of the hardest to find today. The Gold and Silver Knights also had different names in the UK; Sir Percival and Sir Roland respectively.

 

 

A few years ago I was able to pick these following Noble Knights off EBay for a steel. Oh those were the days. The price tag was 40 dollars for both.

 

 

My all time favorite - The Black Knight. Beautiful design and articulation. The many pieces were sturdy and could take being roughly played with. They are small and got lost easily so mine stays in the box which conveniently also displays nicely.

 

These two Vikings are also reproduction figures from my own collection. Since they used the same molds from the 1960s to replicate what you could get in 2001, I felt these were as close as I could get to the originals without breaking the bank. Plus how many 12 inch fully armored Knight or Viking figures do you see around anywhere?

 

The Vikings are cool but seem to be an afterthought since only two figures were made. Again, you can seriously outfit a Viking for battle. He came with sword, axe, bow, arrows, spear, sword, dagger (what? These guys weren't farmers) and several cool horned helmets. Oh and there is a goat horn too.

 

 

Of all the lines that Marx did, the Best of the West were by far the most popular. Cowboys and Indians...what else do I need to say? You had so much gear that you could stage some pretty cool looking scenes if you had enough of the characters.

 

When they were released they retailed for less than ten dollars. That amazes me and makes me a little sad. If I could go back to the year of my birth I could own the entire collection for about 150 dollars and that includes all the people, horses, costumes, buckboards and teepees.

 

With Marx you always felt like you were getting value for your dollar. So much gear came with each figure and pieces get lost easily. As collectibles, a mint character with box and accessories can fetch prices that can start at $500. This shows the respect a mint character carries with collectors who study such things.

 

 

 

During this time, Marx realized they would need to take a different approach if they were going to become truly competitive in the action figure marketplace. In 1965, Marx focused on producing a 12" cowboy action figure named Johnny West. Also in 1965, along with Johnny, an Indian named Chief Cherokee and a horse named Thunderbolt with full tack were introduced.

In 1966, Marx introduced cowgirl Jane West, her range horse, Flame, and a junior version of Thunderbolt, named Thundercolt. Additional new series items offered that year included a wild mustang, a teepee, a corral and a jeep and trailer set.

 

 

  

 

Stonewall 'Stony' Smith was Marx's battle soldier. Again, a ridiculous number of accessories come with him as you can see. The hardest part of playing with a Marx figure was trying to find a way to have the figure carry all of the stuff that was in the box. I never wanted to have to leave anything behind. I needed a St Bernard pulling a snow sledge to take all the gear I wanted to carry on mission.

 

 

In 1964, toy manufacturer, Louis Marx and Company, sought the means to compete against Hasbro's newly-introduced G.I. Joe action figure line. Marx was able to employ their state-of-the-art plastic injection technology to produce a 12" articulated action figure. Originally, this military figure, packaged under the name Stony Smith, did not have articulated knee joints. In 1965, bendable legs were added. The Stony Smith action figure came with molded-on plastic clothing and a full arsenal of equipment accessories. In 1966, realizing that their figure was not doing well against Hasbro's aggressive marketing campaigns, Marx produced a fully articulated figure with removable clothing. Originally marketed under the Stony Smith brand name, Marx later repackaged this figure under the names All American Fighter and Buddy Charlie. Despite Marx's efforts, none of the military figures did well in the action figure marketplace.

 

For me the greatest part of these toys was the soft plastic that they made most of the extras out of. I love that PVC smell so much. It's smells better than lavender, better than steaks on the bbq.

You can learn everything you need to know about these Marx figures by going to the Vintage Toy Room or Plaid Stallions. Everything italicized is from Wikipedia.

The Safari Adventure Series included Buck Hunter the leader, Sgt. Kogo the guide, and Kim the photographer. These figures are 7” tall, have cloth clothing, and a dial on their back to raise and lower their arms.   Safari animals include a gigantic Elephant, jar smacking Crocodile, chest beating Gorilla, roaring Lion and Tiger, and head rearing Rhinoceros. The series included two vehicles: the Pursuit Truck and a Jungle Jeep, both capable of pulling the Capture Cage. Both vehicles came with a number of accessories including winch with hook. The 24” Lookout Tower and 14” Capture Cage added hours of play value to an already unique and exotic series.

Now as a treat for those of you who have stuck with this long post so far, I present the real prize. A Christmas 1967 picture of 18 month old Calvin and his first action figure. Of course it was a Johnny West from Marx.