Mid-Sized Marx: Evil Space Guys Unbagging!

 

As I write this, it's a brand new year, and I haven't made my first post. As it happens, I had content ready for a Mystery Monday post except, of course, it's Tuesday Wednesday. For catch-up, I'm making this a Mid-Sized Marx post, on something I already have a video up for. Here is my brand new (to me) bag of 4-inch Space Guys, now stars of their own meandering adventure, delivered straight from Mexico. To kick things off, here's a couple pics of the bag.

For the backstory, I found this listed for sale online, bag and all, from a seller south of the border. For all my usual disdain for packaging, I was very interested to find a set in the bag. I was all the more intrigued to see the same name and card art as the item that started all this, the day-glo Captain and Knife Guy (aka Jason... wow, I did not plan that). The name is Juguetes Dinamicos, a company listed as active, apparently specializing in Marx reissues. The artwork looks about right for the 1980s or early 1990s. The condition of the bag looks like something the original patchisaurs came in, except that you can actually see through the plastic. As can be seen, the condition was poor enough for arms and legs to stick right through (a fact already evident in the online listing). The upside is that this let me remove a couple without technically opening the bag. Here's a pic with the most famous of the lot, the Onion-Head Alien!

As evidenced by the fact that it has a name among collectors more than 60 years after the fact (more on that momentarily), this is a very popular figure. When I followed up the original pair with a set, this was conspicuously absent. At the time, I did not miss it. Like most of the Marx aliens/ robots (see the 35mm alien, very suspiciously resembling the improvised suit of Robot Monster), I did not find it a match for the style or quality of the vividly detailed human figures. Neither did it fit the grim visions that came to mind when I first considered a storyline for them. On first-hand examination, I was happy to admit that this was better than I had judged it to be. It's weird and psychedelic, like most Marx creatures, yet there a touches that now look more realistic and forward-thinking than the designers are remotely likely to have intended. I especially like the eyes, which look like they could be night vision goggles, set in a possibly mouthless face. I still don't get the webbed, scaly feet, which were clearly easily damaged (more on that in the video). All in all, this guy is definitely getting at least a small part in the adventure ahead (once I get through the impenetrable exposition). Here's pics of him in full glory, times two!

The most interesting prospect was getting more specimens of the figure that became Moxon, complete with the scar. I assumed that something so hideous (yet extremely difficult to photograph) had to be a one-time manufacturing defect. I expected to find the same underlying mold lines, not as pronounced. But nope, they all looked exactly the same, despite being molded in a clearly different color. Here they all are, as if one wasn't disturbing enough.

"Do you feel lucky? Too bad, this thing is solar-powered."

And here he is with the alien...

"You realize, for all you know, you're pointing that at my hat."

Now for the history. When I first wrote about these guys, I quite casually suggested that these figures were originally produced in the 1960s, perhaps as late as the middle of the decade. I have long since concluded that this is far, far too late. (The 1962 Moonship/ shuttle thingy was a pretty good tip-off how far Marx had progressed.) Per actual research at Marx Wild West, the Marx space guys were introduced from 1952-1954, starting with licensed Tom Corbett playsets. I am now completely satisfied that the 4-inch and 70mm Space Guys were introduced sometime in that time frame. There is also consensus that they were part of the Rex Mars line, usually considered the "generic" successor to the Corbett sets, which ended with the loss of the license in 1953. (The show itself continued until 1955.) The manner in which they were distributed remains a big null-gray Wall Of Nothing, with hard data limited to a near-hearsay report that the 4-inch guys were sold with "satellite" disc launchers. The plausible harmonized timeline is that these were indeed a late entry to a probably declining line, which is believed to have ended around 1957, or by more pessimistic accounts as early as 1955.

But because I must have revenge on those who completely rightly correct me, I have found two plot holes in this scenario. First, the proper authorities have long reported that certain Rex Mars sets were made in 1953 or as early as 1952, which means that it was never just a substitute for the Tom Corbett name. Second, there is the incredibly gigantic supply cabinet, previously featured in the accessories post linked to above, which was completely out of scale except with the 4-inch figures. This isn't conclusive, but it does strongly suggest that Marx was at least considering large-scale figures from the beginning. Here's a reused photo to show the astonishing bigness. Yes, this is almost as big as the Robby the Robot large-scale figure (aka Chopper).

Now, here's more pics. Here's the one I was looking forward to getting extras of, the one I think of as the Rifle Guy, which of course turned out to be one of the ones that the bag held only one of. I find the pose generic enough to turn into a troop build figure. He's also one of two (the other being the crouching guy, who didn't get his own pic this time) that I consider possibly Asian, or at any rate racially ambiguous. (If this discussion seems uncomfortable, I can always roll out the Japanese soldiers...)  Here is my pair, along with their 70 mm counterparts.

And here's the Captains! By the way, it turns out he's got his own "scar", which greatly varies in visibility.

And here's Jason!

Now, here's one more thing I've had a little fun with. I've tried matching up the 4-inch figures with 70 mm ones (see my round 2 post) that might represent the same characters. The best match turned out to be for my favorite, the Space Guy Who Doesn't Care, aka Harrison.

Another pretty good fit was for Jackson Lightower, aka Jax. Not getting respect is pretty much his personality.

"I still think this is a thermometer..."

And we're back to Jason. He's the tallest guy in the 4-inch set, which was enough to offer a decent match. I considered the TV Aerial Guy (I know, it's "supposed" to be an air hose) as an alternate match, but it's not quite there.

And that's enough for now. I haven't yet decided what I'm going to do with these. I'm glad to have gotten these, and as usual, I have no regrets about opening the bag. If it comes to that, I would recommend getting these if you can. That's all for now, more to come!