Miniature Giants Part 10: More cowboys!

 

In my latest round of online impulse buys, I was reminded that it had been a while since I checked on Marx figures, with my last acquisition being the Mexican Scooper astronaut figure. I looked up a few things and ended up making a couple purchases. For today, I'm covering the second of these to arrive, two more specimens from the Wild West line. It was a nice acquisition, with a few surprises I'll get to momentarily. As usual, here they are with the Truckstop Queen.

"If you boys are done, I need to pay for my gas."

While this pair came together, the first thing that stands out is that they are quite different, not just in color but in the plastic (already a driving force in my interest in Marx figures). The darker-colored figure was unsurprising, as the plastic was almost exactly the same color and texture of Western figures I had previously obtained and confidently accepted as "original". He was also more roughed up than usual, complete with a very prominent scratch on the face, though nothing seems to have been broken off. One more detail is that they didn't completely sculpt the top of the cowboy hat, presumably because of the usual issues with the molds. Here's a comparison shot of the new arrivals with what I'm satisfied to be a 1960s figure, and a closeup of the old-timer.

"Why so serious?"

The other guy was something different than I had seen before. He's made of a harder plastic with a slightly rough surface, which seems to bring out detail more sharply. It immediately made me think of the Mexican figures, enough that I got somewhat suspicious. However, the figure has the Marx imprint, and I was quickly satisfied that this wasn't quite the same as the "clacky" plastic on the Japanese soldiers. Here's a comparison with the Mexican copy and original rifleman.

And another with the maybe-'70s Indian that started all this; not the same, either.

What this made me think of is the bagged Mexican cowboys and Indians that apparently lasted into the '80s at least. The examples I've seen photographed have figures that are tan and a darker brown or red (something to bear in mind when buying based on online pics), but they would have had either the Plastimarx imprint or the plain "Made In Mexico" sticker. So, the odds are this is a Marx figure, and there were 15 years between the 1964 date for the mold and the 1979 bankruptcy of the company for a figure with a different (and almost certainly cheaper) kind of plastic to have been made. And, as with most of these mysteries, anybody who would have known probably wouldn't have cared. At any rate, here's one more lineup pic with the Ukrainian cowboy thrown in.

While I'm at it, one more shot of the old-timer with the Truckstop Queen plus the Duchess. It the pose was fully upright, he might be as tall as they are.

"Leave the gun at the door, and you can come to my place for coffee..."

And finally, the one you knew was coming...

"That's what you get for showing French films in this town!"

That's all for now, more to come!