Marx Monsters

[Devlin]

I got a batch of broken Marx Warriors of the World figures (the 5" ones that are hard plastic, and painted), and down in among them was what initially assumed was a Napoleon Solo figure, but which upon closer inspection proved to be a battered blue-gray Frankenstein. http://instagram.com/p/sYViH8lbAx/

[Hepcat]

The plot thickens!

[Wicked Lester]

What does the bottom side of the base look like?

[horrorhunter]

According to that pic some of the base is missing. There may be enough base left to get some info. 

[freddie poe]

Ive said it once and ill say it again....i would assume Marx DID NOT care what color plastic they used on any given day. while they probably tried to stay uniformed  other substitute colors made their way into the mix. Scenario: Marx Factory early 1960's: "okay we are out of the teal blue plastic for the monsters...okay well.... use some other color until we get the teal back in ...."  I'm sure they did not say "halt production for the day..everyone take the rest of the day off...we are out of teal pellets..."  i bet there are many different colored Marx monsters out there (aside from the mexi-marx stuff) that are legit and from the original production run during the teal/orange era.

[Gory Glenn]

I had the orange ones when I was a kid (60's monster kid here). Just picked up a brand new complete set on eBay of the cream re-pops for a very reasonable price of forty bucks plus shipping. The seller had 3 sets and they were all gone within a few hours. I think the seller thought these were originals because of the date on the bottom and he had the year as 1963 in the listing details but the price was good even for re-pops. One thing I like about the cream ones is the sculpt detail is really visible even without paint. I really loved these things as kid.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-Studios-Monsters-Figure-Marx-Set-Lot-of-6-Model-vtg-Toy-Frankenstein-/391071987317?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b0db4f675

[Hepcat]

Ive said it once and ill say it again....i would assume Marx DID NOT care what color plastic they used on any given day. while they probably tried to stay uniformed  other substitute colors made their way into the mix. Scenario: Marx Factory early 1960's: "okay we are out of the teal blue plastic for the monsters...okay well.... use some other color until we get the teal back in ...."  I'm sure they did not say "halt production for the day..everyone take the rest of the day off...we are out of teal pellets..."

That would have been completely consistent with the attitude toy manufacturers had in those days to the "junk" they were producing for kids.

[Gory Glenn]

More complete reissue sets of these have come up for grabs from the same seller if anybody's interested.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-Studios-Monsters-Figure-Marx-Set-Lot-of-6-Model-vtg-Toy-Frankenstein-/391075548138?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b0deb4bea

[Earth 2 Chris]

After DECADES of admiring these figures from afar, I finally bought my first Marx monster (repro or otherwise) yesterday at the Columbus, OH toy show. I picked up a minty orange Phantom for $12. Mask intact and everything. I'm hooked!

Chris

[freddie poe]

I bought my first Marx monster when they first hit the toy stores and 5 & 10 stores of long ago (now they call them $1.00 stores).......... and 50 years later ...I'm STILL buyin' em! Yup! they are THAT good!! LOL

[freddie poe]

But, but, but,...I've NEVER bought a Mexi-Marx repro.....!! they dont mean a thing to me... it has to be the real deal or a rarity of the real deal.... the freaky mexi colors do not lure me in.....even though i like psychedelic colors! a purist at heart.

[John Pertwee]

But, but, but,...I've NEVER bought a Mexi-Marx repro.....!! they dont mean a thing to me... it has to be the real deal or a rarity of the real deal.... the freaky mexi colors do not lure me in.....even though i like psychedelic colors! a purist at heart.

I look at them as cheap paint fodder. A little cutting, sanding, and paint makes them come to life. I would never have an original painted up.

[Hepcat]

I bought my first Marx monster when they first hit the toy stores and 5 & 10 stores of long ago (now they call them $1.00 stores)...and 50 years later...I'm STILL buyin' em!

...I've NEVER bought a Mexi-Marx repro.....!! they dont mean a thing to me.... it has to be the real deal or a rarity of the real deal...even though i like psychedelic colors! a purist at heart.

Good man!

I look at them as cheap paint fodder. A little cutting, sanding, and paint makes them come to life. I would never have an original painted up.

Smart! If you're going to sand and paint them anyway, you actually don't want a vintage original! You want as cheap a repro as you can get.



But do the Mexican repops paint up as easily and nicely as the tan Uncle Miltons which were designed for painting?

[Mord]

 I used to have the original teal & orange ones as a kid. Then I found a set in the '80s but sold them when I got divorced (as well as my original Auroras). I wish I still had them, but am more than satisfied with the Uncle Miltons (& Polar Lights) repros. I love the toys themselves, not the status of having a rarity. Hey, anything that saves me a few grand is ok with me.

[horrorhunter]

But do the Mexican repops paint up as easily and nicely as the tan Uncle Miltons which were designed for painting?

The Uncle Milton repops take paint better than the original ones or Mexi repops from what I've read. I have the Uncle Milton Monster Studio and I never painted any of them myself, however, those Uncle Milton repops that came with the Monster Studio paint set are made from plastic which is a little harder (and more brittle) than the originals and I can see where they would be better to paint.

I picked up a set of the Mexi repops in weird colors a few years ago off eBay to complement my originals. I got 'em cheap...like 30 bucks for all six. I sure wouldn't pay much for repops, and I certainly bought all of the originals first. The originals in teal blue and orange are the real deal and those Mexican repops pale before them. I also bought all six in green which I believe to be by PlastiMarx (Mexican) from the '80s or '90s. I bought all six Uncle Milton Glows MIP new at TRU back in the early '90s when they first came out, and I picked up the Monster Studio off eBay a few years ago pretty cheap. I even bought several sets of the cream Uncle Milton repops out of Toy Shop from M & J Variety back in the late '90s. I guess you could say I'm a Marx UniMon freak.

Here's one for ya...all of my Phantoms have an intact mask except...the Uncle Milty Glow still in the package. The mask is still in there just bouncing around loose.