Rogues' Roundup! Marx knights and Timmee Fantasy Guys

Back with another toy review, and this time, I'm covering Medieval and/ or fantasy themed figures. Our entries are knights by Marx and Legendary Battles from Timmee, both in reissue. One is a recent acquisition, the other has been in my collection for some time. Both are of further interest as part of the evolution of fantasy toys. Here's a lineup of the rogues.

"Some of you may die, but it's a chance I'm willing to take."

As might be expected, these sets of figures have very different histories. The Marx knights appear to have been released in 1965, in "army man" and 6 inch sizes as well as the relatively rare 70mm/  3 inch size seen here. The Timmee figures were released as late as 1986, as a presumed knockoff of Masters of the Universe (though by then the MOTU franchise would already have been in decline). These were also released in 70mm size, allowing extra detail. Here's some pictures of the figures with each other and other figures, including a Timmee nuclear guy I've had lying around for literal decades. (I know he's part of the firefighter set, but you can't tell me he doesn't look like it.)

"Sorry, that's not magic, it's gamma radiation."

If some of the Timmee battlers seem suspiciously familiar, it's because at least one was copied from a series of authorized Marvel figures. The Marvel line originally had a gimmick where they coud be moved with string that ran through their hands, which would have had to be entirely replaced. Just how many were directly copied isn't entirely clear. One sculpt is quite clearly a copy of Dr. Doom (top left), and the Viking guy is clearly influenced by Thor. The ogre (middle left) certainly shares a sculpt with a Hulk figure, though the weight of evidence indicates that both were based on an earlier caveman figure. It has been speculated that the cat-creature and sorcerer (bottom left and center) are based on Marvel figures, but I am not convinced. My own suspicion is that it is based on Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials, specifically the Tran from Alan Dean Foster's Icerigger.

For a little extra fun, here's a pic of the knights with a couple dragons we previously met in my post on patchisaurs, from my own investigation originally released by Fleetwood toys for the nominal movie tie-in line for Sword And The Sorcerer. 

"What do you mean `endangered species'???"

Finally, here's a tribute to the Timmee battle mountain, with the Truckstop queen since we haven't heard from her in a little while.

The lineup is Marx reissue Amtrack landing craft, Gundam bear, Click Chicks mermaids, Action Fleet rancor and the Polyfect anime space jet transformer, and a Hoth playset, probe droid, pterosaur and ninja around the background and edges.

That's all for now! Here's the links.

Secret Fun blog post on Legendary Battles and their Marvel predecessors.

Little Weirdos post on LB.

Marx Wild West guide to Marx knights/ Medieval figures.

Giant Robot Review: Anime-style robot/ space-jet???

One of the reasons I decided to try blogging again is that I have been taking and posting pictures of new and vintage toys I have collected, and gotten enough encouragement to consider trying to be a toy blogger. This flagship entry is for a specimen I acquired just today at the somewhat notorious discount store Tuesday Morning. It was the only one of its kind in sight, and priced $5.99. After determining that similar items were going for over $20 (but not a lot more) online, I bought it and took it home.

The item in question was sold with the name “Power Driven”, apparently for the figure only. Casual research failed to identify an English name for the toy line, but showed that the toy was made or at least marketed by a company called Polyfect, known for importing Transformers clones and knockoffs of moderate quality and general sturdiness. While unequivocally advertised as a transforming robot, the look of the specimen was rather different, more akin to Voltron or the now semi-obscure Shogun Warriors credited with introducing the giant/ transforming robot toy concept. I purchased it, brought it home, and then opened the package to assess the transformation, “alt mode” and overall quality.

It quickly became apparent that the ability to transform was a secondary consideration at best, in the tradition of the Shogun Warriors. The robot looked kinda cool, the alt mode looked like a kinda space-jet-thingy with clunky bits sticking out (though still marginally better than the Shogun Warriors). The more subtle details were all against it. A number of components are awkward in either mode, especially ludicrously oversized “shoulder pads” that provide the only concealment of the stumpy arms in the alt mode. Several of the steps are counterintuitive, and fiddly enough to break the thing if done wrong. Two red plastic pieces on the feet that look like stickers were cracked straight out of the package. Finally, the two halves of the space-jet simply do not fit. Still, the thing is solid enough that there is little risk of coming apart during casual handing, and the robot mode is interesting enough to make up the shortcomings of the alt mode.


What is most interesting about an item like this is that such things are still being made. In a time when far too many “real” Transformers are too expensive and complicated to consider giving to kids, this has the right balance of durability and complexity to have value both for responsible older kids and the adult collector. And even at online prices it is no more expensive than many “name brand” items. If you can find it, you could certainly do worse than a quirky mid-sized giant robot like this.