Marx Playsets

In the realm of plastic toy soldiers, Marx Playsets are probably the most sought after toy soldiers. An intact, near mint, Marx Playset is a rare find since the little boys who owned these sets put them to good use. Finding some of the rarer sets, even in pieces and in fair condition, can be quite a challenge.

The heyday of Marx Playsets was in the 1950's and 1960's. Just about every boy in that era would have a Marx Playset circled in the Sears Christmas Catalog. Just ask anyone who was a kid back then. They'll tell you about the Marx Daniel Boone playset they asked Santa to bring. Or maybe they'll recall the Marx medieval castle playset with a real moat that could hold water until your little brother poked a hole in it. Perhaps they'll mention the Marx Civil War playset with light blue Union soldiers and gray Confederates. They could mention the popular Marx dinosaur playsets or Marx Western playsets.

Marx Playsets consisted of action figures, usually military, and accessories like cannons and diorama elements. The attraction of these playsets were that they were easy for kids to set up. Once setup they could lead to hours of make-believe fun.

Today, these kids are adults and enjoy collecting Marx playsets in order to recapture some of those happy childhood times. You can often find these vintage Marx playsets and individual pieces on online auctions sites like eBay. There have been some modern reissues as well but for the serious collector only the originals will do.

Do you have a Marx Playset story to add?

History of Toy Soldiers

As you begin to collect vintage toy soldiers you will discover the fascinating and interesting History of Toy Soldiers. Models and toys based on military forces have been around since the dawn of human civilization, having been found in archeological digs in Egypt and China. Production of tin soldiers for the toy market began in the 1700's in Europe. However, these military figurines did not become a popular child's toy until the late 1800's when mass production techniques made the cost of toy soldiers practical for the rising middle class.

William Britain of England developed a new method, called hollow casting, in 1893. This technique allowed his company to produce high quality toy soldiers faster and cheaper than his competitors in Germany. With the hollowcasting technique, the toy soldiers were lighter and more fun for kids to play with.

These early toy soldiers were made primarily from lead, a highly toxic element. However, people did not understand how dangerous it was at that time. Many other companies like John Hill & Company, Manoil, Barclays and others used lead alloy to manufacture their toy soldiers. Others, such as Elastolin and Lineol, used various non-metallic composites to create their lines of toy soldiers. These composites were usually some sort of sawdust and glue.

Plastic toy soldiers begin to enter the market in the late 1930's, however, WWII delayed their introduction on a mass scale until the 1950's. One of the first American companies to manufacture plastic toy soldiers was Beton. Plastic toy soldiers really took over the marketplace when the dangers of lead and lead alloys became clear to the public. This put many older toy manufacturers out of business when they couldn't adapt quickly enough to the change while it brought new opportunities to some.

One company that took great advantage of this shift was the Louis Marx and Company. Marx playsets were a staple of Christmas catalogs in the 1950's through 1970's. They made toy soldier playsets from many eras including the US Civil War, Indian Wars, Medieval times, the World Wars and others. They also made some collectible sets like US Presidents, Jesus and the Apostles and Queen Elizabeth.

W. Britain also made a successful transition by releasing plastic toy soldiers. Instead of selling these new figures under their established brand name they used new brand names, Herald and Deetail, to market these lines of toy soldiers. They retained the W. Britain name to produce collectible metal figurines for the collector market.

Another English company that did well in the plastic toy soldier market was Airfix. They produced a line of quality sets that were much admired by hobbyists. Their designs were often duplicated by Asian manufacturers as they entered the plastic toy soldier market in the early 1970's. These cheaply made bagged army men are still with us today.

Metal toy soldiers weren't completely abandoned in the 1970's though. Companies like Ral Partha and Grenadier made metal figurines for the table top wargaming and fantasy role playing gaming crowd. These highly detailed metal toy soldiers remain popular today. Collectors enjoy painting them to match their tastes.

In the 1990's collecting toy soldiers increased in popularity as a hobby. Companies like W. Britain started making higher end, highly detailed, toy soldiers for this growing market. These new toy soldiers, if you can still call them toys, are known for the fantastic details and historical accuracy.

It will be interesting to see where the history of toy soldiers goes from here.

Vintage Marx Toy Soldiers and Playsets

Marx Playsets remain among the most popular toy soldier sets in the vintage toy soldier market today. These playsets from the Louis Marx Company appeared in the 1950's and were available up until the 1970's when the company fell into disarray after it was sold off upon Marx's retirement. Collecting Marx toy soldiers and playsets has been a popular hobby ever since.

If you're in your 40's like me or if you're older, you probably remember perusing Christmas catalogs for the Marx playsets. One year I got a Civil War Marx Playset that I treasured for years. Marx Playsets had great details, such as wounded soldiers, stretchers, cannons that fired and spring loaded buildings that would blow up.

Marx sets were usually war related from various periods such as the American Civil War, WWII and medieval times. However, there were also Marx western playsets that were quite popular as well. The highly details Marx playsets allowed kids to setup their own miniature battlefields and have fun creating pretended battles. These sets were great fun to play with either by yourself or with friends. When you were a kid did you do your own gruesome sound effects? I did.

Marx playsets during their heyday were mostly plastic with some metal parts. The toy soldiers themselves were a soft plastic while accessories like buildings, cannons, and so forth were either hard plastic or metal. Often a plastic terrain sheet was included with the set for a more realistic look. Marx originally sold toys made of metal before WWII but they switched to plastic after the war as a cost cutting move.

Collecting Marx playsets is a fun hobby for those of us who remember them from their childhood and for younger people with a taste for the nostalgic. There are even reissues being sold today, some that even use the original molds, but vintage Marx toy soldiers and accessories are what are considered valuable to serious collectors.