Can someone explain the Marx monsters to me?

[tylerh]

Hi All -
I have seen these all over ebay, etc.. for years -  They all seem pretty cool - But I was wondering -
When and how were these sold? Just in a loose bin?

Also, are some colors more rare than others? AND, I hear the molds were still used in Mexico until maybe not even that long ago - How do you tell the vintage from the new?

I would love a set, but I just dont know where to start!

[frankenstein73]

Yes they were sold in bins, (and they are very cool!)marx had a whole slew of 6" figures from nutty mads and monsters, to soldiers of the world. most of the prices that are left stamped on mine are 19 cents. The original monsters came in two colors orange and teal (blue) and have two round indented molded stamps on the bottom one saying UNIVERSAL PICTURE CO. INC  with a C in a circle. and the other says LOUIS MARX & CO., INC. and the roman numerals MCMLXIII, however some have a blank spot where th numerals should be. Most of the mexican knockoffs i have just have blank stamps on the bottoms, no words. and they come in any color imaginable. I have not seen copies that look even close to the color of the marx plastics though. Thes were also released on card in america in glow in the dark plastic. i think they were released by uncle milton maybe, ill check on that. I will put all of mine together tonight and take some pictures so you can see the difference.

[zombiehorror]

They were also sold like this apparently~



I also posted a picture quite a while back that listed green, yellow and rose as 3 other original Marx colors though these colors seem to be very, very hard to come by!  Most monster kids of the 60's only remember teal and orange!

Two threads on the Marx Monsters:

http://www.universalmonsterarmy.com/forum/index.php?topic=1070.0

http://www.universalmonsterarmy.com/forum/index.php?topic=2159.0

A-ha, found the picture, this is the listing of the 1964 Marx catalog for the Cinema Creatures~



And I've found at least one instance of a person on the web that recalls these vibrant variations!

http://www.universalmonsterarmy.com/forum/index.php?topic=1070.msg124737#msg124737

[Mike Scott]

A-ha, found the picture, this is the listing of the 1964 Marx catalog for the Cinema Creatures~

Would love to see one of those 10x24 window streamers!!

[Wicked Lester]

I really like the teal and am still trying to get some but I keep getting outbid late in the auction. What I would REALLY like are the Mexican repros which seem to be harder to find and sometimes more $ than originals depending on the color.

[Mord]

Being one who had those as a kid, the teal ones are hands down the coolest. They repros are very nice, but they sometimes lose a little detail in the re-casting process.

[frankenstein73]

Well heres some pix. I have normally have them scattered throughout my collection, but brought them all down for a reunion. I have been picking these up for quite a while. not ever really searching they just turned up at estate auctions and garage sales, and antique stores. and i bought the few uni mexi monsters i do have on ebay about 9 years ago.


these are the original monster colors. I have heard of other colors but personally have never seen them, ill believe it when i do i guess.


and here are some mexican copys and glow in the dark. I didnt get into the remakes as much, they just arent the quality, or have that nostalgic factor.



and here are all my marx figures together. Nutty mads, cowboys, indians, russians, germans, and even some cavemen, and a bunch more. I love the sculpts on these they are amazingly detailed. these are all original colors no recasts besides the green uni monsters, the black mummy, glow uni monsters, and dark blue uni monsters, the nutty mads had the most color variations mine are all original. be carful there are a bunch of remakes of them floating around too within the last ten or so years, thats when i noticed them popping up.

[Wicked Lester]

GREAT collection Frank73 , but I'm REALLY diggin the bright lime green repros. NIIIICE!

[Mike Scott]

Damn! That's a lot of Marx toys!

[zombiehorror]

Man nice collection frank73!!  I really want to get a set of all the various colors of Marx repros....someday...someday!  I really dig those dark blue ones.  Those lime ones are very close to what I believe the Vile Green ones mentioned above look like (the originals may be a few shades darker), I can also see the "repro" flaws on Frankenstein's and the Wolfman's head.

[Zardoz]

That Marx collection is awesome.
and yes I also remember buying them at Woolworth in the 60's out of a bin
But as I recall I was paying much less than $1.99
more like 69cents apiece maybe they were closing them out?

[zombiehorror]

and yes I also remember buying them at Woolworth in the 60's out of a bin
But as I recall I was paying much less than $1.99
more like 69cents apiece maybe they were closing them out?

That ad is for all 6 monsters plus a paint set (6 jars of paint), all for $1.99!  As frankenstein73 stated most of the original prices left on the Marx Monsters show them as .19 cents originally.

[Street Worm]

*btm pic, lower r.h. corner* - that Caveman with the rock over his head
was one of my favorite figures when I was a kid... love that color, too~ 

[Unknown Primate]

Same here, Street Worm!  I wonder how hard the cavemen are to track down?  Like to have the whole clan!

[Wicked Lester]

Same here, Street Worm!  I wonder how hard the cavemen are to track down?  Like to have the whole clan!

There are several auctions on Ebay right now for them. Not that tough to find. Just depends what you want to pay.