Trying To Catch Up on Things January 2017 it looks like this year is going to be busy for myself and web site. We already articles and and information to post. First up we have some photos from Clarence Causey with fireworks. Next we have questions from Greg Liska on some hard plastic Marx 54mm Civl War he found.
I have been busy trying to get my year in review done. Just got items in and I added some new figures to my regular collection and Superhero collection. I will be showing you some interesting conversions I found in a junk box. So stay tune.
Trying To Catch Up on Things January 2017 Tank Time
Clarence did some photos of his Timmee and Kmart Tank under attack. He used firecrackers for explosion effects.
Interesting effect we would not recomend trying this do to the danger.
Trying To Catch Up on Things January 2017 Greg Liska
We received the following email from Greg Liska:
Unless you know the answer to this right off, this question may be worth posting. I recently got a load of Marx ACW figures in a pawn shop in Atlanta. They were old, vintage and some were beat up but it was cheap so I couldn’t pass up on them. As I looked them over, I found 2 of the broken figures were actually cast in hard polystyrene (model) plastic. Predictably, the rifles were broken due to the stiffness of the plastic. They have a shinier finish to them as model plastic does, which was all that set them apart from the others. There is no trace of paint on either of them, no odd markings. The bases, size of the figure, everything, is all the same. I’m convinced they were cast in a Marx mold. The color is a very ‘Marx’ light grey like most Reb figures in the Marx sets. Not as light as a Heritage figure, well in range of most Marx Confederates. When were they ever cast in hard plastic?
My response to Greg was that yes they did make them in hard plastic. I had gotten a few of the figures in both union and confederate. the union were a dark blue. As to if I have any in the collection I doubt it.
The question where the hard plastic figures used? Do You Know>
Clarence did some photos of his Timmee and Kmart Tank under attack. He used firecrackers for explosion effects.
Just to clarify – these are 54mm figures, not the 60mm.
I like the pyrotechnic effect.Awesome!!!
I’m out of the MARX ACW ,not my area.
I will assume these are the true 58/60 mm as were bigger than centennial true 54 mm!!
I know they are call 54 mm often but definitely taller.
First time I ever heard-seen in hard plastic.Intersting!!! .
Wondering if they might be old Warriors of the World figures; but those were 60mm as I recall and painted.
Well WOW were painted unless prototype I guess.
But Marx WOW used the 16 poses of real 60+mm sets.
So will be odd have another set used.However these figures in question were not true 54mm either.
Could they be early reissues trial from original mold.??
I had a couple of the old Marx WoW figures and they were all painted – just trying to figure if somehow he’d gotten a special issue or not. As far as I know the “newer” 54mm poses were always done in soft plastic. Got me stumped.
admin ,no long ago this was post here by you.
http://www.stadsstuff.com/?p=5045
I knew I had picture of it somewhere.
I had a few of the limber seated figures and rider in light blue hard polystyrene and the Confederate shouting with raised rifle in a very dark grey
Hmm…nobody seems to know how they came about, but they’ve been encountered more than a few times. 2 others in private emails have told me they had encountered a few of these. I may ‘resurrect’ the 2 I have just because they are so different and add them to my 54mm unit. The poses I have are the marching pose and running w/ rifle wearing slouch hat.
Greg .You say so different?
Do you mean because plastic or do you notice an obvious mold differences.
The poses described by Peter Evans appear to be the other set (centennial) . I have a set reissued cloned in Spain sold in bags in 70 s of those in very stiff plastic.Were sold as set of 4 with caisson and brush paint to be pant too in hobby stores.They often show in todocollecion as marx copies kiosco figure s.I will check pack x maker .
But I had never see of these in the heritage sets mold as hard plastic.
Erwin – I meant ‘different’ only in that they were cast in hard plastic. Other than that, they look exactly the same as the sp ones. The poses Peter describes are not from the Centennial poses.
Thanks Greg.
Yes, Sorry. I miss call one mounted pose as Centennial I really do not remember those Marx detail much, however is the mounted poses used in caisson the one I got plain hard stiff plastic from Spain in a set of mounted with cannon/caisson . Not Marx cannon and caisson. Other.
Now there also a detail that need clarify .
Many call hard plastic the type used often (sample in RADO reissues of MARX 60 MM in 90s ,used too in US cavalry 60 mm .Also in 54 mm Mexico reissues done too and recently in the MARX FFL-Arabs done in MEXICO recast.
All are derivate type of hard polystyrene also used more common in KITS and later IMEX,Emhart,ATCA,Airfix reissues.
Most of then done you are still able to do “minor” tip bending in like sword or else with out brake it.
But…
I consider Hard plastic as “HARD” the type used in figures such Starlux,Michel where you can not even try bend a mm of tip swords or will brake right away.
Derivate of High-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyethylene high-density (PEHD)
Wile the stiff reissues and even stiff IMEX later done you are still able to do minor tip bending.
So as I do not have the figures neither see I like to know what are these MARX heritage poses you and Admin had found .
Also with so many trial reissues done from late 80 ,it may be the case too that were early reissued!?.
At the end there some early reissues out there that often could be pass as original as done over 25 years ago and not the later made in Mexico.
All any ways from MARX molds..
Just giving a thought only ,nothing more…
I’ve never seen 54mm Marx Civil War poses in hard plastic. I have no idea where they came from, prototypes maybe? I’ve seen it on E-Bay where some guy was trying to sell white hard plastic 60mm Arabs as prototypes. It may be something similar.
I think some of 60 mm MARX were done in plain hard plastic, I think cadets were !.
I saw the Arabs and same seller had also some sailors .I believe some how they are original test but who knows…
Short of sending these guys to a lab for analysis, the type of plastic these guys are as best I can tell is not like the later Imex stuff. It’s just like a Monogram model kit, which is known to me as plain ol’ polystyrene. No flex to it, 2 mm of bend would get a white crease if it’s the thicker portion, thinner portions just break, which is why I’ll need to replace the rifles on these guys.