Marx Lane
| An Inventory of Marx Playset Figures and Accessories Manufactured from 1951 to 1979 Appendix D-1 Disney Cartoons |
Contents of this web site may not be reproduced or duplicated for use on the Internet or for commercial purposes without permission by Eric Johns.
 Table of Contents
(click on name to move to section)
|
| Playset Figures |
| 60mm Television Playhouse Figures |
| Other 60mm figures |
| Disneykings |
| 35mm Disneyland Figures |
| Playset Accessories |
| Disney Television Playhouse |
| Disneyland |
| 6-Inch figures |
| (see also Disneykin figures in Appendix D-4) |
| Back to Main Table of Contents |
| Please note: For the most part, figures on this page are shown in approximately proper proportion when compared to other figures. The primary exceptions to this are 1) 6-inch figures, which are decreased by about half and 2) some photos which I have obtained from other people. In addition, due to size, many accessories shown are not scaled in this manner either, smaller items being increased in size and larger items decreased. |
This page and my other cartoon pages were created in 2011, all on one web site page. Much information and many photos have been added since then, but you can still find many missing photos, and I am sure some of you will identify missing or even incorrect information. I welcome your comments, corrections, additional information and photos, and anything else you may wish to share with me and others who may read this page. You can reach me by e-mail at info@marxwildwest.com.
Playset Figures
Marx made two Disney playsets and also sold separately a wide variety of figures representing Disney cartoon characters. The first playset -- The Disney Television Playhouse -- was released in 1953 and based on Walt Disney's television show. Plastic Figure and Playset Collector magazine (PFPC), Issue 7, includes an article on this set.
The second set was the company's Disneyland Play Set, which came out in 1961. Articles on this set can be found in PFPC Issue 10 and in the more recent Playset Magazine, Issue 22.
The large 6-inch Disney figures shown near the bottom of this page are from the 1960s, when Marx sold these large figures in many themes. Besides the Disney figures on this page, Marx sold very small painted figures called Disneykins. These are covered in Appendix D-4.
60mm Figures - Disney's Television Playhouse Set
Marx' first Disney figures came in the company's 1953 Disney Television Playhouse set. The set included 35 figures, which are those in the first three figure groups below. Geppert's Guide refers to these figures as 60mm scale, which I assume is meant to suggest that they are generally about 60mm tall. They are certainly not in a 60mm scale (unless mice grow six feet tall), but then how does one determine scale for cartoon animal characters? During my work to put this page together, I found that most of the "normal-sized" figures (excluding dwarfs, fairies, crickets, etc.) are closer to 54mm tall.
Besides the figures, the set included various hard plastic accessories and a large tin litho stage. These accessories are shown later on this page.
The Television Playhouse figures were manufactured initially in vinyl, and later in soft plastic. They were also sold individually and in figure sets, along with other similar Disney character figures that were never in playsets; these other figures are also shown below. Colors were generally pastels of cream, white, blue, green, and pink. They are relatively common today, and most can be had in good condition for $10 to $20, and occasionally a bit less.
Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Dumbo - 60mm
PL-462
Snow White, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland - 60mm
PL-462
Peter Pan - 60mm
PL-503
Similar Disney Characters Sold Separately - 60mm
PL-647
Figures in the group below are sized properly to go with those in the Television Playhouse set above, but were produced after the set was released. As a result, they were sold individually and perhaps in small boxed figure sets, but were not included in any playset.
Various Disney Characters - 60mm
Babes in Toy Land Figures
Though not among the figures that I would usually relate to Disney, Marx sold "Disney" Babes in Toy Land soldiers in two sizes, approximately 60mm scale and approximately HO scale. From what I have found about them, figures in both sizes were sold individually and labeled Disneykins, though only the HO scale figures were properly sized to other Disneykin figures (see Appendix D-4).
The photos below show 60mm scale figures, along with an example of the box they were sold in. Richard O'Brien's book Collecting American-Made Toy Soldiers shows only the four poses listed below. The figures were painted hard plastic.
Disneykings
About the same time that Marx released its popular Disneykin figures (see Page D-4), it also issued a set of 20 Disneykings. Like Disneykins, these were sold individually in attractive boxes and
made in Hong Kong. 
Unlike the small Disneykins, these were the 60mm figures shown above, molded in hard plastic and rather well painted. These figures are shown here smaller than actual when compared to other 60mm figures on this page. Thanks goes to Russian collector Denis Reylev for providing most of the photos below.
In addition to the figures shown above, a group of new Disney Robin Hood figures in about the same size was introduced in 1973, about the same time that Disney's animated cartoon movie Robin Hood was released. As shown in the photo to the left, all characters are portrayed as animals. Though close in size to the Disneyking figures, collectors today often refer to the Robin Hood group as Disneykins. Marx never advertised it as such. You can find a bit more information on the group with the Disneykins on Page D-4.
Many of the unpainted Marx 60mm Disney figures shown above were also manufactured and factory-painted by the company's European facilities, often in a soft plastic. And apparently, after the demise of Marx, some were made using Marx molds by such European companies as Heimo. As a result, various other Marx Disney poses -- in addition to the true Disney Kings shown above -- will occasionally pop up for sale on Ebay or elsewhere. It is not always easy or even possible to confirm their origin, though they are often of good quality and well-painted.
And I suppose there were kids who painted their unpainted figures to confuse us all....
35mm Figures - The Disneyland Play Set
The figures below (including animals) populated the 1961 Disneyland Play Set. Some of the human figures were also in others sets, such as the Sears Store set and airport sets. They are generally referred to as 35mm scale -- much smaller than the 60mm figures shown above -- but I find that some of them are 40mm or more tall. Mickey and Minnie are both 35mm tall, which is about 1-3/8 inches.
The figures in the Disneyland set came in a cream colored soft plastic, but they can be found in other colors also, such as light gray. Five of the six cartoon characters are down-sized versions of the poses in the Television Playhouse set. To the best of my knowledge, the small animal figures were never used in any other playset, but the cartoon poses were used in the Disneykins group (see Page D-4).
Disneyland Playset Figures
PL-
Cartoon Characters and Park Visitors
Animals
Although I do not believe these animals have been used in other sets in this scale. However, I see a few that appear to be down-sized versions of larger Marx animals. Note that the "flat bottomed" animals are intended to be placed in the lake that is on the set's playmat. I am not aware of any other Marx animals made in this fashion.
Playset Accessories
The Disney Television Playhouse Set
Undoubtedly, the most impressive item in the Playhouse set is the magnificent tin litho stage. Besides an impressive proscenium, the stage has a colorful background piece that features picutures of Disney characters included in the set. It measures about a foot high, 6-1/2 inches deep, and 18 inches wide.
The set included a 24-page book of skits that the figures can act out, using many of the 20 small accessories included in the set. These range from the burning house that Dumbo jumps from in his circus act to such mundane items as a lawn mower. The items are in hard plastic and are slightly larger than accessories in almost all other Marx play sets. A contents list of the playset parts is in PFPC Issue 7.
I have been told that some of the accessories below are re-issues, but I am unable to tell the difference between the originals and the re-issues. Both are made well-made in the similar hard plastic blue and red colors. PFPC states that some accessories came in gray, but I do not recall seeing any in this color (those below that appear gray in the photos are actually blue).
The Disneyland Play Set
With 35mm figures, the Disneyland accessories were scaled appropriately smaller than the Playhouse items. Most of the accessories, of course, were found only in the Disneyland set. When laid out on set's playmat, you had quite an impressive layout!
Buildings and Structures (shown half-size compared to figures)
Attractions
Terrain
Parade Floats
Vehicles
Play Mat
6-Inch Disney Figures
In the early 1960s, Marx came out with several small groups of larger soft plastic figures in many playset themes about five to six inches tall, though there were never any real playsets made in this scale. The 12 Disney figures shown below were produced in many bright colors of soft plastic and were among the most popular Marx figures in this size. They are so big, bright, and garish, I have found that most people either love them or hate them...there is no in between. Living just 15 minutes from Disneyland, I feel obligated to have all 12 on display in my toy room, but I keep them in the background, because my wife hates them!
Marx made two Disney playsets and also sold separately a wide variety of figures representing Disney cartoon characters. The first playset -- The Disney Television Playhouse -- was released in 1953 and based on Walt Disney's television show. Plastic Figure and Playset Collector magazine (PFPC), Issue 7, includes an article on this set.
The second set was the company's Disneyland Play Set, which came out in 1961. Articles on this set can be found in PFPC Issue 10 and in the more recent Playset Magazine, Issue 22.
The large 6-inch Disney figures shown near the bottom of this page are from the 1960s, when Marx sold these large figures in many themes. Besides the Disney figures on this page, Marx sold very small painted figures called Disneykins. These are covered in Appendix D-4.
60mm Figures - Disney's Television Playhouse Set
Marx' first Disney figures came in the company's 1953 Disney Television Playhouse set. The set included 35 figures, which are those in the first three figure groups below. Geppert's Guide refers to these figures as 60mm scale, which I assume is meant to suggest that they are generally about 60mm tall. They are certainly not in a 60mm scale (unless mice grow six feet tall), but then how does one determine scale for cartoon animal characters? During my work to put this page together, I found that most of the "normal-sized" figures (excluding dwarfs, fairies, crickets, etc.) are closer to 54mm tall.
Besides the figures, the set included various hard plastic accessories and a large tin litho stage. These accessories are shown later on this page.
The Television Playhouse figures were manufactured initially in vinyl, and later in soft plastic. They were also sold individually and in figure sets, along with other similar Disney character figures that were never in playsets; these other figures are also shown below. Colors were generally pastels of cream, white, blue, green, and pink. They are relatively common today, and most can be had in good condition for $10 to $20, and occasionally a bit less.
Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Dumbo - 60mm
PL-462
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| 1. Mickey Mouse | 2. Minnie Mouse | 3. Monty and Morty (Mickey's nephews, figures are identical) | 4. Pluto |
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| 5. Donald Duck | 6. Daisy Duck | 7. Huey, Dewey, and Louie (Donald's nephews, figures are identical) | |
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| 8. Dumbo Figure is commonly top heavy and tends to fall forward without support. Look closely when buying; feather is often missing. |
9. Timothy Figure shown is a little rough; small part to left of his left foot is end of his tail! |
10. Ringmaster A portion of the whip is often broken off. |
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| 11. Clown | 11. Fireman clown |
Snow White, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland - 60mm
PL-462
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| 1. Snow White | 2. Sneezy | 3. Dopey | 4. Sleepy |
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| 5. Bashful | 6. Grumpy | 7. Doc | 8. Happy |
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| 9. Pinnochio | 10. Jiminy Cricket | 11. Geppetto | 12. Figaro |
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| 13. Blue Fairy It appears that this figure should be holding a wand, but I have never seen a figure with one. |
14. Alice in Wonderland | 15. White Rabbit Figure shown is an example of facory-painted figures made in Marx' facilities in Germany and Holland. |
16. Queen of Hearts |
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| 17. March Hare | 18. Mad Hatter |
Peter Pan - 60mm
PL-503
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| 1. Peter Pan | 2. Wendy |
3. Tinkerbell |
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| 5. Captain Hook Figure is hard to find with unbroken sword. I believe this was a molding problem. |
6. Smee |
Similar Disney Characters Sold Separately - 60mm
PL-647
Figures in the group below are sized properly to go with those in the Television Playhouse set above, but were produced after the set was released. As a result, they were sold individually and perhaps in small boxed figure sets, but were not included in any playset.
Various Disney Characters - 60mm
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| 1. Bambi | 2. Flower |
3. Thumper |
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| 4. Goofy |
5. Lady Figure has a little nose problem. |
6. Tramp |
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| 7. Panchito | 8. Jose Carioca |
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| 9. Pecos Bill | 10. Brer Rabbit |
11. Toby Tortoise |
Babes in Toy Land Figures
Though not among the figures that I would usually relate to Disney, Marx sold "Disney" Babes in Toy Land soldiers in two sizes, approximately 60mm scale and approximately HO scale. From what I have found about them, figures in both sizes were sold individually and labeled Disneykins, though only the HO scale figures were properly sized to other Disneykin figures (see Appendix D-4).
The photos below show 60mm scale figures, along with an example of the box they were sold in. Richard O'Brien's book Collecting American-Made Toy Soldiers shows only the four poses listed below. The figures were painted hard plastic.
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| Example of box Size of photo is reduced compared to other photos. |
1. Standing, rifle on right shoulder | 2. Marching with rifle at right side Photo courtesy of Russian collector Denis Rylev |
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| 3. Walking, playing trumpet Photo courtesy of Russian collector Denis Rylev |
4. Walking, playing drum Photo courtesy of Russian collector Denis Rylev |
Disneykings
About the same time that Marx released its popular Disneykin figures (see Page D-4), it also issued a set of 20 Disneykings. Like Disneykins, these were sold individually in attractive boxes and
made in Hong Kong. Unlike the small Disneykins, these were the 60mm figures shown above, molded in hard plastic and rather well painted. These figures are shown here smaller than actual when compared to other 60mm figures on this page. Thanks goes to Russian collector Denis Reylev for providing most of the photos below.| 15 of the 20 figures below are courtesy of Russian collector Denis Reylev | ||||
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| Mickey Mouse | Donald Duck | Goofy | Pluto | Daisy Duck |
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| Donald's nephew | Minnie Mouse | Bambi | Snow White | Dopey |
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| Alice | March Hare | Mad Hatter | Pinocchio | Figaro |
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| Geppetto | Pecos Bill | Panchito | Blue Fairy | Captain Hook |
| 15 of the 20 figures above are courtesy of Russian collector Denis Reylev | ||||
In addition to the figures shown above, a group of new Disney Robin Hood figures in about the same size was introduced in 1973, about the same time that Disney's animated cartoon movie Robin Hood was released. As shown in the photo to the left, all characters are portrayed as animals. Though close in size to the Disneyking figures, collectors today often refer to the Robin Hood group as Disneykins. Marx never advertised it as such. You can find a bit more information on the group with the Disneykins on Page D-4.Many of the unpainted Marx 60mm Disney figures shown above were also manufactured and factory-painted by the company's European facilities, often in a soft plastic. And apparently, after the demise of Marx, some were made using Marx molds by such European companies as Heimo. As a result, various other Marx Disney poses -- in addition to the true Disney Kings shown above -- will occasionally pop up for sale on Ebay or elsewhere. It is not always easy or even possible to confirm their origin, though they are often of good quality and well-painted.
And I suppose there were kids who painted their unpainted figures to confuse us all....
35mm Figures - The Disneyland Play Set
The figures below (including animals) populated the 1961 Disneyland Play Set. Some of the human figures were also in others sets, such as the Sears Store set and airport sets. They are generally referred to as 35mm scale -- much smaller than the 60mm figures shown above -- but I find that some of them are 40mm or more tall. Mickey and Minnie are both 35mm tall, which is about 1-3/8 inches.
The figures in the Disneyland set came in a cream colored soft plastic, but they can be found in other colors also, such as light gray. Five of the six cartoon characters are down-sized versions of the poses in the Television Playhouse set. To the best of my knowledge, the small animal figures were never used in any other playset, but the cartoon poses were used in the Disneykins group (see Page D-4).
Disneyland Playset Figures
PL-
Cartoon Characters and Park Visitors
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| 1. Mickey Mouse |
2. Minnie Mouse |
3. Pluto |
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| 4. Donald Duck | 5. Professor Ludwig Von Drake | 6. Goofy |
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| 1. Boy riding donkey | 2. Woman with little girl | 3. Woman with purse |
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| 4. Woman with shopping bags | 5. Man with package under arm | 6. Woman with package under arm |
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| 7. Woman with hat box | 8. Astronaut Photo courtesy of collector Phil Webb |
9. Cowboy Pose is similar to 60mm Matt Dillon in Marx' Gunsmoke Play Set. |
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| 10. Wild West lady with umbrella Pose is identical to Miss Kitty in Marx' Gunsmoke Playset. |
11. Indian chief | 12. Man in derby hat |
Animals
Although I do not believe these animals have been used in other sets in this scale. However, I see a few that appear to be down-sized versions of larger Marx animals. Note that the "flat bottomed" animals are intended to be placed in the lake that is on the set's playmat. I am not aware of any other Marx animals made in this fashion.
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| 1. Matterhorn goat |
2. Elephant |
3. Giraffe |
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| 4. Rhinoceros |
5. Hippotamus, with flat bottom |
6. Water buffalo, with flat bottom Photo courtesy of collector Phil Webb |
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| 7. Water buffalo, with flat bottom, head turned |
8. Lion |
9. Lioness |
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| 10. Alligator |
11. Gorilla | 12. Tiger |
Playset Accessories
The Disney Television Playhouse Set
Undoubtedly, the most impressive item in the Playhouse set is the magnificent tin litho stage. Besides an impressive proscenium, the stage has a colorful background piece that features picutures of Disney characters included in the set. It measures about a foot high, 6-1/2 inches deep, and 18 inches wide.
The set included a 24-page book of skits that the figures can act out, using many of the 20 small accessories included in the set. These range from the burning house that Dumbo jumps from in his circus act to such mundane items as a lawn mower. The items are in hard plastic and are slightly larger than accessories in almost all other Marx play sets. A contents list of the playset parts is in PFPC Issue 7.
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| Stage for Disney Television Playhouse Set |
I have been told that some of the accessories below are re-issues, but I am unable to tell the difference between the originals and the re-issues. Both are made well-made in the similar hard plastic blue and red colors. PFPC states that some accessories came in gray, but I do not recall seeing any in this color (those below that appear gray in the photos are actually blue).
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| Tree This tree is found only in the Playhouse set. As most Marx trees, it is flat, but detailed on both sides. It stands four inches high and is shown slightly smaller in scale than other items shown in this section. |
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| Burning house front 5-1/2 inches tall shown smaller in scale than other accessories shown here |
Firemen's safety net 3 inches in diameter |
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| Bucket or circular stand 7/8 of an inch in diameter on the widest end PFPC says this is a bucket (perhaps for Dumbo to land in when he jumps from the burning house). It looks like more of a display stand to me. I'm not sure. |
Wagon 2-1/4 inches long |
Lawn mower 2 inches long |
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| Rake 2 inches long |
Watering can 2 inches wide |
Hedge with gate 4-3/4 inches wide shown smaller in scale than other accessories shown here |
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| Table set for eight 2-1/4 inches wide, 7/8 of an inch tall |
Banquet table 5-1/4 inches long, 1 inch tall |
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| Table with birthday cake 2-1/8 inches wide, almost an inch tall one candle missing at back of cake |
Bench 2-3/8 inches long |
Chair 1-1/2 inches tall |
Throne 1-3/4 inches tall |
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| Bed 2-3/8 inches long, 2-1/4 inches wide |
Treasure map 1-3/4 inches wide Map is shown larger in scale than other accessories shown here. Words on the map are House, Dead Tree, Bush, Boulder, and Treasure. |
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| Pick and shovel 1-1/4 inches tall as shown Pick and shovel are made together as one item. |
Lantern 3/4 of an inch tall |
Treasure chest 1-1/4 inches wide top of chest does not close |
The Disneyland Play Set
With 35mm figures, the Disneyland accessories were scaled appropriately smaller than the Playhouse items. Most of the accessories, of course, were found only in the Disneyland set. When laid out on set's playmat, you had quite an impressive layout!
Buildings and Structures (shown half-size compared to figures)
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| Disneyland Entrance Flag is missing off top of clock tower. |
Sleeping Beauty's Castle (Tower has been warped, but it's an interesting effect!) Photo courtesy of Ebay gijeff61 |
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| Drug Store | Penny Arcade |
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| Gift Store | Sunkist Shop |
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| Ice Cream Store | Store |
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| House | Crystal Palace |
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| Shoe Store | Candy Store |
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| Frontier Land Entrance |
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| Wells Fargo Office | Sheriff's Office |
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| El Dorado Saloon | General Store |
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| Tomorrow Land Building |
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| Tomorrow Land Roof Photo courtesy of Ebay gijeff61 |
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| Dumbo Ride Booth |
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| Fantasy Land Booth - High Point | Fantasy Land Booth - Low Point | Fantasy Land Booth - Tent Point | Fantasy Land Booth - No Point |
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| Tepees (about 2-1/4 inches tall) |
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| Bridge Photo courtesy of Dan Brogan, Ebay brotoys1 |
Table with Umbrella |
Attractions
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| Rocket Launcher | 2-Stage Rockets | Ready to launch |
| Photos of rockets courtesy of collector Phil Webb | ||
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| Satellite Launcher | Satellite Disks | Ready to launch |
| Photos of satellites courtesy of collector Phil Webb | ||
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| Matterhorn Bobsled Photo courtesy of Dan Brogan, Ebay brotoys1 |
Autorama Car |
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| Jungle Boat | Mike Fink Keel Boat |
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| Dumbo Ride Photo courtesy of Dan Brogan, Ebay brotoys1 |
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| King Aurthur's Carousel Photo courtesy of collector Phil Webb |
Terrain
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| Vacuum Form Adventure Land/Frontier Land terrain piece Photo courtesy of Ebay gijeff61 |
| Recent Price Lines I have noticed | ||||
| Vacuum Form Adventure Land/Frontier Land terrain | $80 | Sept 2011 | Ebay | |
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| Vacuum Form Matterhorn Photo courtesy of Ebay gijeff61 |
| Recent Price Lines I have noticed | ||||
| Vacuum Form Matterhorn | $80 | Sept 2011 | Ebay | |
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| Northern Trees |
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| Disneyland Trees Note the bird sitting on the top branch of the tree at left. |
Parade Floats
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| Dreadnaut Boat | Puppet with Cannon |
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| Toy Soldiers Marching | Horse |
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| Soldier with Cannon |
Vehicles
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| Main Street Car | Main Street Omnibus |
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| Horse-Drawn Trolley Photo courtesy of collector Phil Webb (Back legs of horse are broken.) |
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| Locomotive with tender (about 5-1/2 inches long) |
Train Car (about 2-1/2 inches long) |
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| Stagecoach Photo courtesy of Dan Brogan |
Play Mat
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| Left side of Disneyland play mat | Right side of Disneyland play mat |
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| Complete Disneyland play mat | All photos of Disneyland play mat courtesy of collector Phil Webb |
6-Inch Disney Figures
In the early 1960s, Marx came out with several small groups of larger soft plastic figures in many playset themes about five to six inches tall, though there were never any real playsets made in this scale. The 12 Disney figures shown below were produced in many bright colors of soft plastic and were among the most popular Marx figures in this size. They are so big, bright, and garish, I have found that most people either love them or hate them...there is no in between. Living just 15 minutes from Disneyland, I feel obligated to have all 12 on display in my toy room, but I keep them in the background, because my wife hates them!
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| 1. Mickey Mouse | 2. Minnnie Mouse |
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| 3. Goofy | 4. Donald Duck |
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| 5. Pluto | 6. Bambi |
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| 7. Snow White | 8. Dopey |
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| 9. Peter Pan | 10. Tinkerbelle |
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| 11. Pinocchio | 12. Jiminy Cricket |