Going, going, gone for $853

What originally sold for less than $10 when released, this Ben Hur playset was just sold on Ebay for $853. In my opinion, this is the most detailed of all the sets Marx released, showing the company at its creative peak (therefore, the high auction prices). When the playset is displayed, it is quite captivating (see pics below from playsetaddict.com- who I hope to interview one day soon)

The Flintstones Playset

Here are some great pictures of the Flintstones playset. The person selling it on Ebay really went through a lot of trouble to show the set in detail. Apparently, one of the hard-to-find pieces of this set are the green antennas that go atop the houses. I guess they were easy to lose when kids played with them. You can buy recast antennas from the same mold, and these will be in blue. Vintage ones are always green (as are the rest of the signage, stools, and cart). Fred's car broke easily, so there is a high-priced market for one of those in good condition.

The Presidents

In an "oh my God" moment I came across this old display for the Marx Presidents while perusing a great reference site for Marx Disneykins. What an amazing display! (I certainly would never have had the patience to paint those figures when I was a kid). There is an article here about how this set came to be. From the Flubber Gallery- All photographs by Abby Weissman

David Levinthal- Small Wonders

One of the haunting photographs of David Levinthal, from his collection The Wild West 1837-1889. Another book of his, entitled Small Wonder: Worlds in a Box was published by the National Museum of American Art in 1995. Here is the archived description of the original Smithsonian show. You can read how he was influenced by Marx playsets.

What This Country Needs is a Good $ensible Line of Playsets!

Doesn't the ad title just say everything? From the 70's, and found here at toyadz.com

Farm Sets

A great site to buy hard-to-find figures and accessories for playsets is toysoldierhq.com. I visit regularly and pick one or two items to add, and get sad when the thing I really want is out of stock. The site is a bit hard to navigate, but here is the link to the main Marx page of items for sale.

The following pics are from that site, but were shared by Tom Loback to show how some of the odd accessories were assembled with the barns.

More Restoration

Here is a stunning example of restoration work done to Marx trucks by Remember When Restorations. The difference in the condition between the before and after is amazing. Be sure to read the "Anatomy of a Restoration."

Box Restoration for Playsets

I thought this was very interesting: a two-person company (Anthony Restorations) that restores old toy boxes, book covers, and more. Most of the work is actually hand-painted, so these are not done with computer graphics.

Mystery Space Ship

One of my favorites to look at is the Mystery Space Ship gyroscope set. Great graphics on the box. Here's a description from a place that had it for sale:

item: Mystery Space Ship; Marx,1962.
description: One of my favorite space toys, bar none. "As seen on TV", the "Gyro-Powered" space ship is an absolute wonder and does everything that it claims to. This played with set is complete with all parts (instructions are somewhat rough) and a very displayable box. This is a must-have for any space toy collection...don't miss it!

Super Siamese from Super Circus

This beautiful photo, found on Flickr, shows the Siamese Twins, who were unfortunately relagated to the sideshow at the Marx Super Circus.

Fighting Knights

From the JC Penney catalog from 1970 (found here). Includes the Fighting Knights Carry-All.

The Old Marx Factory

From Flickr: "The only reminder that Marx Toy Plant even existed in Glen Dale, WV. There is a Museum in Moundsville dedicated to Marx. If you remember John & Jane West & Twiggy dolls, Mr. Marvel the jumping horse, little army soldiers & calvary soldiers, they were all made at this factory. Many of the Mattel toys were. "

Marxchivist

Some of the photos used in this blog banner are from the superb Marx Flickr collection of a guy named "Marxchivist". Lots of great detail, color, and a sense of fun. This photo is of the Modern Farm Set, put out in the 195o's.

Operation Moonbase

A picture of the set from the 1962 Sears Christmas Catalog.

Miss Kitty Lost Her Head

This is strange: Miss Kitty has been decapitated but shows minimal wear?? From Ebay: YOU ARE BIDDING ON A VINTAGE MARX PLAYSET VINTAGE GUNSMOKE MISS KITTY MISSING HEAD FIGURE IN NICE CONDITION WITH MINIMAL WEAR. For $75 I'd hate to see what maximum wear looks like.
























With her head - but no umbrella- she's worth $20 more.

The Rarest Playset?

I take this collectors word for it that this is the rarest tin building Marx made for a playset, and one of the rarest playsets ever: The Alaskan Trading Post. With his Buy It Now price of $699 I assume he knows what he's talking about. I only wish he had better photos to document this set that is apparently so rare.

Playset bags

These are something serious collectors search for to fully complete a set (and hence, a more valuable toy): the paper bags that accessories came in. These 1960's Western playset bags are listed on Ebay with a $19.95 Buy It Now price.

Operation Moon Base - 1962

I love the graphics of this box- especially the contents list. Beautiful. Notice on the list that it includes "exploding terrain". Very cool. There are more pics of this (sold) set at "Time Warp Toys".

Have You All of Them? - Marx history

The history of Marx & Co, and playsets from Scoop: " Louis Marx & Company was an American toy manufacturer from 1919 to 1978. Founded in New York City by Louis Marx and his brother David Marx, the company grew to become the largest toy manufacturer in the world by the 1950s. The success of the company was due in large part to their basic policies, which were “Give the customer more toy for less money” and “Quality is not negotiable”. Marx's toys included tinplate buildings, mechanical toys, toy guns, action figures, dolls, doll houses, toy cars and trains, and of course the very popular Marx Playsets. All the Marx boxes were imprinted with the slogan, “One of the many Marx toys, have you all of them?”" Read the rest...

Auction Prices: Flintstones Bedrock Express

This Flintstones Bedrock Express Playset was purchased for $550.00. It is one of the most perfectly realized playsets available. As the box says, “Handcar, Plastic Scenic, track, houses, the works!” from Scoop

Blue & Gray Set: Price keeps going up!

This is a nice story, from Ebay (as the price goes beyond $1300!): "This is my original Set, It is displayed on a replica of the Montgomery Ward Store display in 1961. 25% of the set was missing from my son playing with it as a youth. It took 6 months & hundreds of resurch hours to bring this set back to its glorious, original state." EVERYTHING" is original and complete, all 330 pieces."

Auction Prices

From Morphy Auctions: "The power of postwar playthings in the current marketplace was driven home repeatedly with the prices paid for boxed playsets. A Marx Untouchables playset based on the popular TV G-man show brought $2,475 (estimate $200-300), a Sears-issued Battleground Europe playset with World War II theme made $2,750 (estimate $1,000-1,500); and a Marx Rifleman Ranch, based on the Chuck Connors TV series, achieved $3,575 (estimate $700-1,000). The big winner, however, was a Marx Johnny Ringo Western Frontier playset. In spite of its lacking several accessory pieces, the rare set estimated at $2,000-3,000 ignited a bidding war, finishing at an unbelievable $6,500."

Galaxy Command

A view of the Galaxy Command playset at the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum

Playset: Fighting Knights Carry-All

Click the text for the link to thortrains.com and the great pics for this set. And for accessories for this set, click here.

" Marx made a variety of castles. Its most enduring and popular one was the carry-all castle, a tin-litho toy that was also its own carrying case. Into this portable set would be packjed an assortment of knights, Vikings and accessories. By the time of the carry-all sets, Marx's figure quality was at its apex. Some of the finest, detailed miniatures graced the later playsets. Of course, Marx saw that every detail was in place."

Book: Marx Western Playsets

taken from an Ebay link:

Marx Western Playsets - The Authorized Guide

Written by Jay Horowitz, while he was the owner of Marx Toys, Inc.
This unique 192 page hard covered book reveals for the first time the true factory records and information about those famous Marx Playsets loved by generations of American children. Relive the rermarkable artistry of the figures, details, superior quality, and real play value. Who in America would not recognize western sets such as the famous Fort Apache. This book includes:

Never-before-published original Marx photos;
Factory Specification Sheets
Product Glossies
Color photos
Introduction by Charles Marx
History of Louis Marx & Co., Inc.
Background on Louis Marx and brother David
Index of Marx Western Playsets
How to Manufacture a Playset
Glossary of Plastic Manufacturing Terms
Other interesting information taken from the Marx Archives.

And here is a listing of other places to buy it

Black Beauties

Some great mini-dioramas using Marx horses from different playsets.

Beautiful Boxes

These box photos were found here with an article on collecting.

Closeup: Anvil on Log

There is something about this tiny plastic figure that is very satisfying to look at. It's only about 54mm high but the detail is phenomenal.

This anvil was used in a variety of Marx playsets, including the Alamo, Fort Apache, and Ranch sets. Recasts (re-issues or duplicates) are floating around, and it is very difficult to distinguish the originals from the recast, unless they are in "un-Marx" colors.

You can buy this one for $3.00 here....

INSTRUCTION SHEETS

For non-Marx playset collectors, it might be hard to understand that these simple two-sided (or more) paper instructions can add at least $80 to the value of a vintage set. Pictured first are the assembly instructions for a valuable Wells Fargo Western Town (the instructions alone are selling for $65 at marxtoyconnection.com )

Not only does their purchase go towards the collectors' goal of putting all the pieces of a set together, but their contents listings prove critical for collectors and researchers to help document the released accessories that came with certain sets. It can be potentially confusing to create a definitive contents list of sets due to the release of special editions, different colors or revised molds used in different years.