Plastic Figure Showcase Treasures Plastic Warrior Elsewhere we are back with some more interesting items that I have acquired recently. Some will end up in the collection while others will be available on Ebay.
Plastic Figure Showcase Treasures Plastic Warrior Elsewhere Photos
This was one of the first figures I picked up for myself at the Plastic Warrior Show. I always have been pose fan due to my stories I did as a child. In my stories he could be a deputy backing up the sheriff. I believe he is made in France.
Jim of France did a wide range of Disney figure in different sizes. Here we have Redstick from the Davy Crockett series. He is 3 1/2 inches high and is on Ebay right now. 
Dulcop American and German officers, these figures are variation of the Airfix poses. One thing I disliked was that makers did was having the German officer was usually with officer’s hat instead of a helmet
Here we have a Lafredo figure from Spain. As I have mention before you get a wide diversity of figures from other countries at the Plastic Warrior show. Also many times you can get these figures at a lower cost than if you tried buy them in their native country.
Marx six inch French kneeling with submachine gun. This is first show that I did not see any of these figures. A friend had this one aside for me. 
Timpo British army standing firing with one foot on a rock. I had first seen this figure at least forty years ago in a catalog.The pose was so neat and different I ordered it with some other figures. I have another one now up for sale on Ebay. 
Starlux Vercingetorix he was a Gaul chieftan that fought against Julius Caesar.
Plastic Figure Showcase Treasures Plastic Warrior Elsewhere In the U.S.
Finally three Reisler pioneers, these are their unpainted version that they did toward the end. They had to make this way or the toy stores would buy from China. I wonder how many of those toy stores are left. Peter Evans just told me of a wonderful toy shop I got to visit in Chester has closed. From this store, I got a nice wooden castle..
I like the Red Stick figure with Buffalo headress, made to go with Walt Disney’s “Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier”. Unfortnately, at three and one half inches high it works as a stand-alone figure, but doesn’t fit with Marx or other frontier figures — unless you want to fantasize you’ve got some giant Creek Indian walking around.
The 6-inch Marx French figure kneeling with submachine gone is so typical of the well-sculpted figures Marx did — it’s what makes Marx so head-and-shoulders taller than most of the other plastic manufacturers of the time. At our downtown Woolworth’s in Ogden, Utah — many years ago — I got figure after figure of the 6-inch Marx WWII Germans, Japanese, Cowboys, 7th Cavalry, and Knights. Unfortunately, I never saw at that time the 6-inch WWII British, Scots, or French that Marx also did. Now, I see one or two of the poses scattered around at the shows, but they’re so expensive I always have to pass. I’m assuming the Marx 6-inch WWII British, Scots, and French got released in Europe, but not here in the U.S.
The cowboy looking up could be a sheriff about to be shot by Billy the Kid as he makes an escape; anyone remember that scene where he is looking down from the top floor of a building at the sheriff?
Were the French still using puttees in WWII ?
Indeed they were. The Osprey Men At Arms series “French Army, 1939-1945” depicts on the front cover three French military personnel from the period — two of whom, one an officer and one an enlisted infantryman, are both wearing puttees.
Which is exactly why the 6-inch Marx French Infantryman shown above is 100% accurate in showing him as having his lower legs wrapped in puttees.
Funny though, he looks like he is firing the post War French Mat-49 machine gun.
So funny, but, unfortunately, wrong — dead wrong.
So were the belgian,Dutch ,japanese ,Indian WW2 colonial forces ,Chinese army Polish and many Russian forces as well too till wll 1945.
WW2 German alpine units as well Romania,Hungary ,Bulgaria also used it .
Italian were supplied with it as well boots.
Pretty much most armies minus British and Germans plus american and later Russian used then till end .
It has some advantage over long boots and short too believe or not .
best
Puttees had a diverse interesting uses. Among others, they stopped snakes,incest ,small animals from biting your ankles, and prevented those really irritating bits of gravel ,branches ,mud ,water dropping into your short boots when tramping about or in trenches warfare .That is why was massive implemented in WW one first plus more cheaper produce than long tall boots such jackboots and even medium laces boots such US made in 1940s
Faced with a narrow stream, you could run through and the puttees would stop most of the water from going into your boots.
If you were in water for long periods puttees/DMS still held an advantage over the current high leg boots in that they held less water.
Puttees could also be improvised into bandages, slings and all manner of strops, etc.
They were there to make up for the 3 or 4 inches of leather that wast there. It cover great against winter weathers,frostbite else plus give your leg-feet much more flexibility than any tall boots.
They also stopped the trouser elastics cutting off the blood flow to your feet. Yet it has another opposite effect in lower areas.
Putties were used to seal off the tops of DMS boots which were far too short.
In negative effect They were a pain to be fully prepared or dress and made your ankles swell as you often did not realize even with a fracture you had it so serious .
It also often cause blood arteries and circulatory problems if used in extended period with out noticing it
Best
And Marx ww2 french 54 mm 6 poses have then as well and correct done,in fact it is one of best marx WW2 sets made in weapons as well as both the rare french MAS 38 and Berthier rifles are depicted.Too bad few poses but more action poses than other set per amount poses done .
Best
Has anyone reading this done some interesting conversions from the Marx 54mm WWII French figures? How about the British, Russian & Japanese figures?
In my case….
I have plenty marx french conversations done, they come good. Some Japanese , germans too. U use OWN brand extras to mix w marx and blend perfe bin scale thickness and body.
Not try British yet but three poses are hard to convert as very bad poses.
What happen w marx is the figures are poor in gear and ammo as if disarmed and clothing to tide as if wet…
I don’t like most then…x my like today…
After so many other brands around I stop wasting my time on using then.
My thoughts.
Lafredo scale figure is hard to find ,larger are more common.Lafredo tall and small indians cowboys were copied in HK with almost identical detail but in smaller versions ,i have few of then .
The first cowboy pose is interesting nice pose ,i like it .
Best
What machine gun is the Marx 6 inch French soldier using? Don Perkins? Anybody have thoughts on that?
It is a MAT 49 bad depicted and of course post WW2.
Yet from 1945 till 1952 some french units and most colonial french troops used it w adrian and old uniform still .It was used in early stages of Indochina and Algeria wars as well .
The weapon was used by vietnamese and many others around world, depicted in one of Mars brand new Vietnamese sets.
Best
Adrian helmet I mean.sorry
Tom Black, sorry I took so long to respond to your call-out, but I was determined to get the lawn mowed and some other lawnwork done before the projected torrential rains hit last evening down here in the Great State of Indiana.
As I look closely at the photo, I think the weapon is the 1939 German-made MP38 (Maschinepistol 38) — a 1939 pre-war weapon supplanted later in the war by the more economical (to produce) MP40 (Maschinenpistole 40). Obviously it was captured by the French early on!! The MAT 49 didn’t really go into production until 1949. As you hilariously pointed out, this is all quite “funny”.
Granted, as Erwin notes, it’s somewhat questionably sculpted, since, as has been mentioned numerous times, Marx was making its product for children, rather than adult collectors looking for absolute accuracy down to the nth degree. But overall, I think Marx, under those circumstances, adhered pretty well to historical detail.
And after all, Tom, we’re all “allowed” to have our own “opinions”, regardless of how misguided they might be. My own opinion is that the import of your opinion wasn’t “funny”, but continues to be “dead wrong”.
Nevertheless, I’m happy to let you continue on in whatever opinions you wish to cling to. You can defend them to your dying breath, as long as you will extend to me the same privilege.
Of course, the weapon Marx intended could, in fact, have been the French-made MAS-38 SMG, which was introduced ultimately just before WWII broke out as the M1938.
It really looks similar to the weapon held by the Marx 6-inch WWII French infantryman, allowing for some sculpting simplifications by the Marx sculptor.
Hi Don,
What is meant by the term dead wrong, is the meaning different than plain old ordinary wrong?
I could explain, but I don’t think you would understand.
?
The Marx 120mm / 6 inch ranges of French, British and Highlanders were designed by Pommeroy and Stadden and made at the Marx factory in Swansea, South Wales.
They were sold mainly in the UK, mainly through Woolworths.
Based production mark gives a date of 1964.
The uniforms are mainly accurate ( don’t worry too much about the machine gun. They were designed as toys and it looks good) The British having non of the glaring errors the Painted 6 inch and 54mm suffer from.
The Scots depict various Highland and Lowland Regiments from 1880 to 1916
When RADO of Hong Kong, released ex Marx stock in the early 80s two more Scots figures appeared, an officer and charging soldier. These were obviously designed to be part of the painted ranges but were never put in production.
Don the MP 38 barrel does not have any holes in it as represented in obvious cooling gas scape coil cover system as the MAT 49 has ,please look closely at photo .
here is MAT 39
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAT-49
The MP 38 has not resemblance to it in barrel or forward magazine loading chamber as this has .
Besides what is the point depicting a french with a german designed MP38 versus depicting with a real french weapon,more posible is fact that artist look at country army photos to do its soldiers ,possible as figure was sculpted much after war it was coping a post WW2 weapon ,typical mistake made by MARX artist even in US infantry figures sets
You could had been correct as u had in pass many times .I just simple took freedom in my early hours awake to respond.
best
Erwin, I think you are correct. It’s the more logical explanation.
I’m no expert on uniforms but I do have the complete set of of the Marx 6 inch French and engraved into the base it says they are WW1 French Infantry, not WW2.
Well that make sense as one kneeling has a long trench coat apparently but then contradict as light submachine gun as that were never issued or used by french in ww1.
I think the highlanders poses are more WW1 too ,but i don’t recall well their uniform .So wherever they are are a mix i guess
I can easily believe it, since the uniform looks just like the Airfix HO scale WWI French Army figures.
And the weapon used by the Marx contract sculptor was therefore interposed back 45 years or so instead of just 20 (assuming these 6-inch figures came out around 1965).