Odds Ends Conversions Conte Collectibles, we start this post with some interesting conversions some did. Next, we have a preview of Conte Collectibles Set Two. I will also share some figures.
Odds Ends Conversions Conte Collectibles MPC Conversions
Conte Collectibles Roman Set Two
Collection Time
Is the miner/trapper figure original reissue?
It has alot exsess.Never seen Marx like that.I have the reissue and are very good quality in powder blue color.
My thoughts
It is a reissue. I forgot to add last night.
The original light gray trapper with the fur was exclusive to the Alaska playset only made for one year in 1959. The miners and trappers came with Johnny Ringo, Gunsmoke, and at least one Roy Rogers set, but did not contain this figure with the fur. If I remember correctly, the trapper carrying the fur was replaced by the miner with the pan on the stick (which I do not believe came in the original Alaska set) in the other Western sets. I’m pretty sure about this. For this reason, he is the most rare and usually sells for $200+ range on eBay auctions. For some reason, he has a lot of flash in newer recasts. The butterscotch set from the cereal box sets were pretty clean, but did not have the small separate pack. The light blue, harder plastic recasts that came in the later Goldmine set along with the black pack horse set and MPC town front are pretty clean, but no small pack. CTS recasts in gray, beige, and brown are pretty clean. If you can find the guy with the lantern complete with separate pack, it’s usually $125 and up. Watch out for hard resin recast packs. A big time dealer tried to slip a recast by me in the mail once once, claiming he “didn’t know they were ever recast.” I think the same guy will also sell you the Brooklyn Bridge!!!! LOL!!!
Interesting, it is amazing what people will pay.
In late 1971 Marx called for a new mold to be made combining PL-833 the standard 54mm cowboys and PL-1014 the Miners, trappers & cowboy mold. PL-833 had 18 cavities with two each of the 9 standard poses (a seated wagon driver pose that replaced the mounted bandit in PL-833A was not used). In the new 32 cavity PL-1528 mold only one mounted sheriff and one cowboy with bullwhip were included for a total of 16 cavities. All 13 Miners and trappers & cowboys from the variety of mold group variations Marx Used were included with three duplicates. The 4th figure usually seen in duplicate, walking with rifle and lantern was not included nor was the HTF small bag that had been carried by the man with lantern. This new 32 cavity mold was then used the rest of the 70s and has been reissued in light blue, metallic blue, gray, tan brown and perhaps other colors. See page 150 in Jay Horowitz’s MARX WESTERN PLAYSETS
Something happened to this mold cavity between the Gold Rush play set and the later recasts. The other cavities seem to be fine – why this one? Sometimes you can’t even make out the face.