Marx Lane

An Inventory of Marx Playset Figures and Accessories
Manufactured from 1951 to 1979

 
Wild West Page 7 - Uncommon and Other Miscellaneous Figures
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 for This Page


(click on name to move to section or other page)
This Page
40mm Rodeo Figures
60mm Davy Crockett
Annie Oakley
Rare Chubby Cowboys -- The Four Amigos
Sky King Cereal Premiums 
Wild West Cereal Premiums
Disneyland Wild West Figures 
8-Inch Scale Figures
Put-to-gether Cowboys  
Swoppets from Hong Kong
Romper Room Figures and Accessories
Snow Globes
Other Pages
Page 1 - 45mm Figures
Page 2 - 60mm Figures
Page 3 - 54mm Wild Figures
Page 3A - The Alaska Connection
Page 4 - Large Scale Figures
Page 5 - Figures Manufactured Outside the U.S.
Page 6 - Miniature Playsets
Page 8 - Horses, Cattle, and Other Animals
Page 9 - Forts, Structures, and Terrain Pieces
Page 10 - Accessories
Page 11 - Wonderland of Marx Playset Boxes
Page 12 - List of Marx Wild West Playsets
Back to Wild West Table of Contents
Back to Main Table of Contents


     This page includes a variety of Marx wild west figures that are less often seen.  Some are rare and expensive, and some were never sold in playsets, though clearly similar to playset figures.


40mm Rodeo Figures
PL-359 (cowboys 
and cowgirls), PL-360 (animals)

     In perhaps the company's biggest mystery among its wild west figures, Marx seems to have made a large group of rodeo figures in the early 1950's that were never sold to the public.  In 1990, PFPC Issue 6 shows a photo of 5 of the figures and asks readers to respond with any information they might have about them.  The magazine later reported that no one provided any information.  PFPC stated that the five were found by Gary Linden in a box he obtained in 1983 with remnants of the Marx bankruptcy warehouse sale.  

     
Ten years later, in PFPC Issue 69, Rick Koch displayed a photo of 10 rodeo figures and speculated that the group originally was intended to go with the Marxville O-scale Western Ranch House which was eventually released with the 45mm Cowboy group described in the next section of this web page.  Recently, Kent Sprecher has made an inventory listing of the known poses in this group, including 16 cowboys or cowgirls and 7 animals.  (Kent added the seventh item as part of the group in 2010 after seeing complete groups of re-issue figures from Mexico.)  More detailed information on this group is on his web site, along with his photo of the entire group (see photo with red background near end of this section).  For more information on this, see the 45mm Cowboy group below, as well as the section on the Ranch House on the web site's Structures and Terrain Pieces page.      

     The figures shown in Kent's photo came from a former Marx employee, who had more than 300 of them.  His photo includes every pose that the employee had, so we can only assume that they make up the entire group from the molds.  
Rick Koch's PFPC article states that existing rodeo figures are in cream vinyl, and I have seen a few via the Internet that are light brown.   Rick provided the excellent photo of the rope twirler and two bulls below.
 
      Based on Kent Sprecher's research, if you compare the rodeo group to the 45mm Cowboy group below, four of the poses in the rodeo group are the same as four in the 45mm Cowboy group (Poses 9, 10, 11, and 14).  Kent surmises that four poses were moved out of the rodeo group mold to the Cowboy group mold some time after the Cowboy mold had been placed in production.  A fifth pose -- the cowboy carrying a saddle -- is similar, but not the same.  

     The figures have some nice details -- such as the ropes on the bulls -- but overall they are clearly among Marx' earliest efforts.  The horses and bulls have unique "pod feet," small bases on each foot rather than one large base, to keep them upright.  Over time, the small legs warp and the animals become difficult to stand upright.  The horses' tails are also very fragile.

     The rodeo figures  are seldom seen for sale.  Both Rick Koch and Rich Delbert had a few of them on Ebay in early 2008, all in excellent to mint condition.  The standing horse pose went for $173, while a bull in the same condition slipped through for $28.  Several figures went to one bidder at a cost of $64 each.  In addition, Rick auctioned off the three figures shown in his photo above for an incredible winning price of $329.

    Most of the rodeo group is shown in the two photos below, 
provided by Larry Patterson of P&P Productions.  A few additional photos of these figures are shown in PM Issue 45.
Photo of the 11 of the cowboys and cowgirls in the group
Photo courtesy of Larry Patterson of P&P Productions.
Photo of the seven animals in the group
Photo courtesy of Kent Sprecher, Toy Soldier HQ

     To add to the mystery, an article 
in Plastic Warrior Issue 97 includes an article on the rodeo group and reports that it is "almost definitely English."  Unlike the figures above, these were made in white plastic and are painted.   Photos in the article show 10 of the cowboy poses plus three of the horses and one bull.  The photos include the four poses that were later moved to the 45mm Cowboy group.

     Although most collectors are sure these are Marx figures and were never sold in the U.S., the Plastic Warrior article states that the original owner of the painted figures said they were manufactured in 1957 by an English company called Kenure.  This was probably a few years after Marx created molds for this group and the 45mm Cowboy group.  Could Marx have sold the molds without having produced the rodeo figures for sale?  Did Ma
rx manufacture the figures and provide them to Kenure to paint and sell?  Was the original owner mistaken, so that Kenure was simply an outlet that sold the Marx figures?  So many questions and possibilities....

     And recent additional knowledge to me is that at least some of these figures were re-issued in Mexico in the early 2000's.  I first noticed these on Ebay in August 2009.  Having now purchased a few, I have to say that this is one time in which the re-issue figures are an improvement over the original Marx figures.  These are made in a nice white soft plastic that shows figure details very well.  And unlike the original vinyl figures, they can stand up!  The Mexican re-issues I have seen include only the seven animals, not the cowboys or cowgirls.  Kent Sprecher surmises that when four cowboy figures were removed to be added to a 45mm cowboy mold (see Page 1), the rest of the figure mold was discarded.  The seperate mold for the animals survived and somehow ended up in Mexico.  The four I purchased are shown below.
  
     I agree that these rodeo figures would certainly go better
with the attractive Marxville Western Ranch House than the the gunslingers and outlaws from the 45mm Cowboy group.  They are still a bit large for the house, however, and the company's 35mm civilian figures fit the house much better.  In fact, there is a farmer, farmer's wife, and a few farm animals in that smaller scale.  Unfortunately, we'll probably never know if this rodeo group was originally intended for the house, if so why they were dropped, or exactly how these rodeo figures are related to the 45mm Cowboy group shown on Page 1!    

     
I am lucky enough to possess four of original rodeo figures as shown below, which all came from Larry Patterson of P&P.  I also have another horse in the same pose which I purchased from Kent Sprecher.  The two figures are between 40mm and 45mm tall, and the horse is 47mm from top of ear to bottom of hoof (not base).  The cowboy and cowgirl have a few small stains on them which I have not yet had the courage to try and remove, but they are not actually as noticeable as they are in the photos.

1.  Cowboy sitting with left hand up 2.  Mounted cowgirl, looking to right 3.  Running horse

4.  Bull Cowgirl looking good on running horse

     Below is Kent's listing of the 23-figure group (calf not included), keyed to his photo also below.  This same list is in PM Issue 45. 

Top row -  
Second row -
Third row -
Bottom row -
Not pictured -

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60mm Davy Crockett
 PL-? 
 
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman.
This 60mm Davy Crockett figure has a square base with Davy's name inscribed on the front and "As Portrayed by Fess Parker" on the back.  Dates of birth and death -- which are on the back of other Wild West pedestal figures -- are on the bottom of the base.  According to veteran collector David Schafer, this figure is hard to find, because it came with the 60mm Famous Wild West American group sold only in Canada.  As shown on Page 2 in this Wild West Section, a different pedestal pose of Davy was sold in the U.S.  Canadian collector Brian Irwin reports that this figure was in 1959 Fort Apache playsets sold at Sears in Canada.  Brian recalls seeing five of the figures in his 30 years of collecting.  The Canadian figure is almost identical to the 45mm Davy Crockett included in many of Marx' Alamo playsets.

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Annie Oakley
  PL-?

According to the collector community, this cowgirl is Marx' Annie Oakley, though she was never so dubbed by the toy company.  The 60mm figure is rare, and for many years, no one could figure out what playset she came from.  According to an article by Jim Roth in PFPC Issue 23, he purchased at a toy show a boxed set of 60mm Western Ranch cowboys (see Page 2) which included this figure.  The photos below show the figure in that boxed set and in a header bag, both owned by collector David Schafer.  

The figure -- which has been found in cream, yellow, and chocolate colors -- apparently replaced the usual cowgirl pose included in the group.  It is a bit better sculpted and detailed than the other cowboys in the group, but based on the photos here, the real Annie was more attractive than the Marx Annie.

An Annie Oakley figure in good shape sold for about $150 on Ebay in March 2010.  If you absolutely have to have one, you can purchase a copy from P&P Productions for much less than the original will cost you.
Annie Oakley
Photo courtesy of David Schafer.
Annie Oakley
Photo is of copy made by P&P Productions.
Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley in a header bag of 60mm Western Ranch cowboys
Photo courtesy of David Schafer
Annie Oakley in a box of 60mm Western Ranch cowboys
Photo courtesy of David Schafer
Recent Price Lines I have noticed
$180 Sept 2011 Ebay from the collection of the late Tom Terry, publisher of the Plastic Figure and Playset magazine

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The Four Amigos - Rare Chubby Cowboys
PL-328


    Even more than Annie Oakley, these four 60mm mounted cowboy figures are rare.  The figure shown in the first photo below is claimed to have been found in a Marx Western Ranch Playset, along with the Western Ranch cowboys above.  I am unaware of any other claims that Marx ever sold these figures.

     The four poses known to exist are pictured in PFPC Issue 4, which states that the figures pictured came from Marx warehouse stock following the company's demise.  The four poses shown in PFPC are


1.  holding reins in right hand,
2.  holding pistol in right hand, pointing forward,
3.  holding pistol in right hand, pointing upward, and

4.  right arm relaxed at side, perhaps peacefully riding the range.
 
     According to the article in PFPC, Gary Linden found two of each pose in a box of figures from the warehouse that he purchased about 1983.  The figures are "somewhat of a cross between the chubby, crude 60mm ranch cowboys and town figures of the 1950s."  These are the Western Ranch group and the Town Cowboys group shown on Page 1 of this web site.  The figures are similar in quality to the Annie Oakley figure above.  The first figure below sold on Ebay in 2007 for $413; three figures (the pistol pointed forward and two "ranch hands" with no weapon) went for $355 in 2009.

     Based on what is known, this group of figures may have been intended to replace the original 60mm Western Ranch cowboys or to go with the early Marx western town playsets.  To me, the sculpting of these figures seems to be more related to the 60mm chubby cowboys described above than the later 60mm Roy Rogers cowboys described below.  However their legs are spread so wide apart that they fall off when placed on the horses for the chubby cowboys.  They do, however, fit nicely on the later 60mm horses with separate saddles made for the Roy Rogers cowboys, as shown in the photos below.  And although PL numbers cannot always be relied on for dating a group's date of release, Kent Sprecher points out that the PL-328 mold used for these four cowboys is very close to those later 60mm horses (PL-325 and -326).  Kent surmises that the figures were not used in ranch or town playsets because Marx did not want to incur the additional expense of including more horses in the playsets.  Of course, no one really knows for sure.

     Incredibly, the mold for these figures still exists, and Hobby Bunker recently has manufactured hard plastic re-issues of these figures in a reddish dark brown (as shown below).  While few collectors will ever see any of these originals, they can obtain 18 of the re-issued figures for just $9 from Hobby Bunker.
  
     A couple of thoughts now that these figures are readily available:  1) they'd make a great posse, with maybe a couple of similar poses tossed in for variety and 2) they also fit well on those beautiful Stuart horses which came with such ugly riders.
1.  Mounted cowboy holding reins
Photo courtesy of Razz.
2.  Mounted cowboy with pistol pointed up
Photo is of re-issue figure.
The Four Amigos in Re-Issue
(Riding horses made by Stuart)

3.  Mounted cowboy with pistol pointed forward
Photo courtesy of Lee Amos, Ebay lacon.
4.  Mounted ranch hands
Photo courtesy of Lee Amos, Ebay lacon.
Three of the original Four Amigos with duplicate range rider
Photo courtesy of David Schafer

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Non-Marx Sky King Cereal Premiums

For many years, a large number of collectors believed that these Sky King cereal premiums were made by Marx.  This belief, however, was not unanimous.  
In PFPC Issue 23 of 1993, veteran collector Rick Koch expressed doubts that these figures were done by Marx because 1) they are not as well sculpted as most Marx figures and 2) they are made of the same material as similar cereal premiums that are known to be copies of Marx figures.  With additional research since then, it is now well established that while they might have been created by sculptors who worked with Marx, they were not made by Marx.  They were given away by Nabisco as cereal premiums, though the actual maker of them is unknown.  So it is probably best to call them Nabisco.  They are not Marx.

Due to their one-time acceptance as Marx and to the above average quality of the figures, I have decided to include them here...for your and my enjoyment if nothing else.  Whoever made them, the 60mm soft plastic figures were based on the Sky King radio and television adventure series that was popular from 1946 until 1959.  The program combined the wild west with modern adaptations, such as airplanes, Geiger counters, and tape recorders.  Sky King was an Arizona rancher and airplane pilot who battled criminals and found lost hikers.  His trusty sidekick was his niece, Penny, and he was also helped out occasionally by his nephew, Clipper.

The figures were never sold in playsets or individually, but were available only through mail-in coupons on Nabisco cereal boxes.  Geppert's Guide reports that they were made in blue, red, yellow, and green translucent colors.  The figures have their names printed on tiny plaques on their bases, and the airplane has the name Songbird on each wing tip.  I would add that the group's horse is made with a hollow body, a cost-savings technique which Marx did not often use.  My own experience suggests that the colors used are closer to Tim-Mee production than Marx.  Looking at the figures closely, however, I'd say they are well sculpted, though figure details are hidden by the translucent colors.

Despite all that, they remain popular among collectors, are rather hard to find, and therefore can set you back $20 or $25 apiece, though you will pay more for the Songbird, certainly the most difficult of the figures to find.  It is well below the 54mm scale of the other figures with a 3-inch wing span, and Sky King's horse Yellow Fury is also a bit under-sized.  For the convenience of you who are interested in this unusual group, I have included the horse and airplane here with the human figures rather than list them elsewhere on the web site.

No matter who made them, they are neat figures to collect, and are the only Sky King figures that I am aware of.
1.  Sky King 2.  Penny 3.  Clipper
4.  Sheriff Mitch 5.  Yellow Fury, Sky King's horse 6.  Songbird, Sky King's airplane
Photo courtesy of Penny Seuss of www.ponylope.com
Recent Price Lines I have noticed
Songbird $44 March 2012 Ebay yellow, minor damage

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Non-Marx Wild West Cereal Premiums

Again, though many collectors called the white soft plastic figures below Marx for a long time, they have now been established as Nabisco cereal premiums that were not made by Marx.  Veteran collector Kent Sprecher notes that Marx records include no documentation of a mold to manufacture these figures, though they may have been created by a sculptor that Marx used.  Included in Nabisco Shredded Wheat cereal around 1960, the set consisted of at least nine historical Americans, including those shown below related to the American Wild West.  They are about 54mm scale with bases that have their names on the front.  However, because they are white, the lettering and the figure details are difficult to see.  The photos have been slightly darkened so that the names are visible, though they are still hard to see.

They are well sculpted, similar to Marx figures, kind of neat to collect, and once were believed to be Marx...so I have chosen to include them here, even though they are not Marx.  You can see additional figures in the group on both Revolutionary War and Civil War pages of this web site.
Daniel Boone Davy Crockett

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Disneyland Wild West Figures
 
     In 1961, Marx released a Disneyland Play Set.  The set included a variety of figures, ranging from Goofy to an astronaut.  The scale of the play set was 35mm.  For Disneyland's Frontier Land, the set included a group of three or four figures:  Matt Dillon and Kitty from Gunsmoke (though not so identified in the set), an Indian chief, and perhaps a man in a bowler hat.  A small teepee was also included.  The play set was short-lived, so the figures are hard to find.  However, the play set is still not high on collectors' priorities, so when found, the figures can be had relatively cheaply.

     Matt Dillon and Kitty appear to be simply reduced copies of the poses from the 54mm Gunsmoke group (see PL-1073), though Matt seems to be a bit older.  Figures in a light gray color were discovered in storage when Marx closed, and I obtained those shown below from Calvin Plowman.  I am not convinced that the man in a bowler hat is really intended as part of the wild west theme, but he sure looks like a wild west greenhorn to me (I think he owns the town bank)!

     
I have not seen any re-issues or copies of this group.

1.  Matt Dillon 2.  Miss Kitty
3.  Indian chief 4.  Man in bowler hat

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 8-inch Scale Figures

No, I do not regard these figures as playset figures.  They were never in playsets, and they came only with with a few personal accessories.  Kids had few other figures in this scale to play with.  However, at 6-1/2- to 8-inc
hes tall, they are too small to be action figures, which are generally at least 11 inches tall.  So I am including these here.

I have seen little published information on these figures, but Rick Koch has informed me that they were part of a six-figure
group that Marx manufactured to compete with the similar-sized Hartland cowboy figures.  Besides the four wild west figures below, the group also included Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming (they came together riding one horse) and Johnny Tremain from the Revolutionary War.  Each figure came with a horse (only one pose, as seen at right) and its own set of accessories.

Collector Greg Worms has added that due to Hartland's licensing agreement with Roy Rogers, the cowboy and Indian figures were sold only a short time as Roy Rogers and Brave Eagle.  Marx quickly changed names on packaging to Range Rider and Indian Brave.  Several collectors have told me that Marx also sold factory-painted versions of at least some of the 8-inch figures; I believe that the faces have been painted on all the Zorro figures I have seen.  As Marcia Miner wrote at the Yahoo Marx Playsets group, "
This is getting very interesting now...too much variation to keep track of!
"  Marx apparently made little in-road into the Hartland market for these figures, because Marx made only six figures while Hartland made more than 30.  (Though Marcia also notes that Marx made a seventh version by selling the Johnny Tremain figure in a box labeled Paul Revere.)

As pointed out to me by Paul Stadinger, Mike Jackson has a nice web site on the Hartland figures that includes a page with photos of Marx' Roy Rogers, Zorro, and Rusty figures (http://www.hartlandwesterns.com/hartland/marxsets.htm).  Note that Rusty's horse is in full stride, different than the others.
 
There is one major problem with these Marx figures.  Unlike playset figures, these 8-inchers are hollow hard plastic, assembled rather like a 2-piece model kit.  The accessories (several shown below) were made of soft plastic.  As we collectors have learned, when soft plastic is left in contact with hard plastic for a long period of time, it gradually eats into the hard plastic and leaves what looks like melt marks.  These marks are found on virtually all of these figures that are still around today.  You can see noticeable melt marks on the horse above where the blanket and bridle were left in place.  
 
I have seen re-issues of the horses for sale on Ebay.
Brave Eagle/Indian Brave
The figure is 6-1/2 inches tall and would be about 7 inches standing.  This one has several melt marks from the soft plastic accessories, though not seen in the photo.  For example there is a flat melt on each side of his head where the headdress rested.
Brave Eagle mounted
Photo courtesy of Penny Suess, Ebay Ponylope.  Accessories shown are feathered lance, quiver, and pouch, as well as horse blanket and reins.  A few other accessories are shown below, but I do not have a full list of them.  The horse is 9-1/2 inches tall.
Horse blanket with tie that goes beneath horse.
It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but the blanket is covered with intricate designs.
Quiver with arrows molded in.
Although arrows are molded into the quiver, there are openings at the top and bottom of the quiver that suggest separate arrows may also have come with the figure.  The quiver is molded only on one side.
Pouch, tomahawk, knife and knife sheath.
The pouch and sheath are molded only on one side, but the knife fits neatly into the sheath.
Shield - front and back
Clasp on back fits over Indian's arm
Lance and bow

Headdress for Brave Eagle Brave Eagle wearing headdress.
Like most figures that have separate clothing made of plastic or vinyl, it looks a bit clunky on Brave Eagle's head, but not as bad as most.

Roy Rogers/Range Rider (with accessories)
Photos courtesy of David Conrad, Ebay ddtytoys.
Roy Rogers/Range Rider Accessories with Bag
Photo courtesy of Rich Delbert, Ebay 44starstuff
Range Rider box and contents after Roy Rogers name was dropped
Photos courtesy of Greg Hall, Ebay ID gtohall
Zorro figure
Mint as mint can be with not one melt mark -- thank you Rich Delbert!
Zorro on horse with accessories
I do not recall where I obtained this photo from.  If it is yours, please let me know, and I will provide you credit for it.  Accessories shown seem to be hat, mask, cape, whip, and sword, as well as horse, saddle and reins.

Zorro cape Zorro cape from front
Right arm and head are inserted into the holes in the cape; do not try to force both arms into the cape!

Zorro mask and hat
Note the two small holes in the hat for a strap to hold the hat on.
Rusty from Rin Tin Tin
Photo courtesy of Gene Worms
Rusty on horse with accessories
Photo courtesy of Gene Worms


Rusty accessories - bugle, stirrups, rifle, hat, whip, saddle, belt with knife, canteen, and rifle scabbard
Accessory photos courtesy of Rich Delbert, Ebay 44starstuff
 
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Smaller scale figures with accessories

Marx also sold a very small number of individual cowboy and Indian figures that came with a variety of accessories.  These were manufactured in Hong Kong.  According to Mark Hegeman, Marx produced this type of figure in both 5-inch and approximately 54mm/60mm scale.  Other than these shown from Mark's collection, I have never seen any.


Issue 140 of Plastic Warrior magazine (late 2010) has a brief, informative article on these figures.  The author, Peter Evans, believes this type of figure was sold only in Great Britain and included a combat soldier, as well as the cowboy and Indian.  The article states that the figures are about 63mm tall with faces, hands, and hair painted on.  Accessories are "very well detailed," but due to their size "must have been guaranteed to be lost within the first ten minutes of play."  Evans also says that "Facial sculpting was exremely good, each one having a different face...."
5-inch cowboy with accessories in orignal package
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
5-inch Indian with accessories
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
Assembled 63mm cowboy with accessories
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
63mm cowboy on card
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
Assembled 63mm Indian with accessories
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
63mm Indian on card
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman


Put-to-gether Cowboys
   
Beyond the cowboy and Indian with various accessories shown above, Marx also made cowboys with changeable bodies.  In collector lingo, this type of figure is called a "swoppet."  These 60mm figures are mentioned in PFPC Issues 14 and 41, but until the 2008 Marx Convention I had never seen them.  Mark Hegeman presented them (as shown in photos) at the convention's show-and-tell session.  The figures come in pieces so that you can mix and match arms, legs, etc., making four cowboy figures.  

The photo of the set contents at right shows 
standard Marx 60mm standing horses with separate saddle and reins, but a small photo taken by Rick Koch in PFPC 41 also shows the 60mm running horse.  

These figures are not often seen.  I believe Mark has a few spare pieces for sale, but the set itself is part of his collection.  The only other Marx Put-to-gether figures mentioned in the two PFPC articles cited above are British lifeguards.  According to Peter Evans in Issue 140 of Plastic Warrior magazine (late 2010), Marx produced the guards in 1952 -- several years before the popular Britains/Herald Swoppets were introduced -- "...but Marx never followed up on this concept preferring to concentrate on one-piece polythene figures."

All photos were taken by Mark Hegeman; a very big thank you to Mark for sharing these and many other photos on this web site.
Recent Price Lines I Have Noticed
$312 May 2011 Ebay missing one of four cowboy hats







































Romper Room Figures and Accessories

     Another unusual type of wild west figures made by Marx were small 2-dimensional figures (or "flats") marketed in the 1950s under the label Romper Room.  Romper Room was a popular kiddie television show that first aired in 1953, so the toys must have had a connection to the show.  I have seen the figures cited as anywhere from 25mm to 35mm scale.

     I suppose Marx' Romper Room output may have included a variety of figure themes, but they definitely included a bagged set of 101 Western Frontier figures and accessories.  These pieces also were sold as a boxed Davy Crockett set, with the only differences being that this set had a Davy Crockett character figure, a totem pole, and a small 6-piece cabin.
 
     With flat figures in such a small scale, these "sets" are clearly not traditional Marx playsets and were intended for the television show's pre-school audience, despite their edible size.  The accessories are significantly smaller in scale than the figures.  The Western Frontier set pieces came in a brown plastic (as did the Davy Crockett character figure), while many of the Davy Crockett set pieces had attractive swirls of color (see photo of individual Indian below).

     They're neat little sets, but extremely hard to find today.
Romper Room figures
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
Romper Room accessories
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
Davy Crockett character figure
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
Totem pole from Davy Crockett set
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
Covered wagon accessory
Photo courtesy of  Mark Hegeman
Romper Room Indian
(Note swirled coloring)
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
Cabin parts from playset
(Note similarity to larger cabins made by Auburn and Ideal.)
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman
Bag of 101 Western Frontier Set pieces
(Pieces are darker than they appear in the photo.)
Photo courtesy of Mark Hegeman


And now for a special treat...

     At some point in time, someone at Marx decided that we had to have snow globes in a Wild West theme.  I cannot imagine that they sold well, which may explain why they are pretty much impossible to find today.  However, for your viewing pleasure, I present them below.  Merry Christmas!
Wild West snow globes -- a must for everyone's collection!
Photos courtesy of Mark Hegeman

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