FUN FACTS, HISTORY, ATTRIBUTES (ie size, year of production, color,scarcity, etc) WHAT FOLLOWS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING SPECIFIC in this listing.
Marx Statue 1967 Thor Marvel Super Heroes Gray VERY FIRST ISSUE Mail Order
The 1960s was a different time - when toy companies didn't market and license everything in sight. And these companies didn't have a need to as the 'generic' toys did fairly well. All things changed when Marx was one of the leaders in recognizing the marketing potential of licensed characters. In the mid-1960s (long before Randy Bowen began producing statues), Louis Marx began licensing the various super-heroes that populated the (still quite young) Marvel universe. One of the items produced was the set of roughly 5" Marvel statues. they included Thor, Hulk, Spiderman, Captain America, Iron Man, and Daredevil. The first issues were mail-order only and all the figures were molded in one color - solid light grey. In the early 1970's, they were mainly manufactured in red, orange, blue, and green translucent colors (although a few more 'solid' colors appeared mainly in foreign - ie non-US - markets - Canada had solid silver). It is critical to note that in the late 1980s to the present, there's been a large amount of reproductions that have entered the market. Initially, these later produced items were not dated - so were easily distinguishable from the originals. Later, however, they appeared with original "vintage" dates. Be sure to know your source as many of these are on the net advertised as 'genuine'. Originals can be identified by the 'flexible' plastics that were used.
Email:oldtoys@LandLCollectables.com
