Marx Mold Modifications
Scroll through the entire listing or jump to a favorite figure: (this jump list is alphabetical. The figures below are listed in Chronological order.
| Bill Buck | Buddy Canadian | Capt. Maddox | Chief Cherokee | Daniel Boone | Erik | Fighting Eagle | General Custer | Geronimo | Jamie West | Jane West | Janice West | Jay West | Jed Gibson | Johnny West | Josie West | Mike Hazard | Odin | Princess Wildflower | Sam Cobra | Sheriff Garrett | Sir Cedric | Sir Gordon | Sir Stuart | Stony | The Girl from UNCLE | Zeb Zachary |
Stony [aka Stoney] Smith.
"Stony" has a complicated history. I will try to simplify it but in general Stony was first made as a 'non-articulated leg" figure and then made the successful transition to fully articulated and then was ALSO issued like the Buddy Charlie figures with the GI Joe like body and cloth uniform accessories.
Non-Articulated Stony started production in Erie PA, 1964 ( PL 1240 and 1241) with Plain Plastic loops in shoulders. Shoulder spring was 2 part... Shoulder balls were molded with spring attachment grooves. I believe that Stony Smith was the first 12 inch figure produced by Marx. All non-articulated Stonys carry the generic Marx Toys ejector stamp marking.
The Articulated poly plastic Stony came out very soon from Glendale. It's possible that Erie only did the Non-articulated version and Glendale started in March of 65 producing the Articulated version (PL 1255 - title on PL page is "Stoney", with an E, it's possible that this was intentionally added to differentiate it from the non-articulated version, or simply an error in spelling. This body had Plain Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls were molded with the spring attachment grooves. All of these torsos are marked 1965.
I believe that Stony Smith in the poly plastic was only made from 1965-67:
- Never seen with reinforced shoulder loops / hips
- Never issued with the closed hands
- Not a good competitor to GI Joe, Marx stood a much better chance with the Buddy Charlie bodies
- Last appearance in Christmas Catalog for Sears in 1967
The 'Fully' articulated Stony (Buddy Charlie body) was started in May 22, 1965. PL 1269 (Erie X-9492). Possibly only produced in Erie. This is believed to be in direct response to the popularity of GI Joe. The buddy Charlie body was constructed similar to GI Joe with many (21) articulation points held together with a series of metal hooks and elastic bands. This figure was only produced from 1965- sometime in 1967. Possibly realizing that they could not compete with GI Joe, Marx dropped out of the 'Soldier' figures. Interestingly though, the accessory sets lived on until their last appearance in the 1974 Montgomery Ward 's Christmas Catalog. This weapon, field gear set was issued in a green lithoed cardboard box made to look like a footlocker. I guess that Marx figured they could sell this to GI Joe kids too.
Daniel Boone
Started Production in Erie PA, 1964 with Plastic loops in shoulders. The legs were not articulated. Shoulder spring was 2 Part. Shoulder balls were molded without the spring attachment grooves. Daniel was only made for a short time (1964-5). These figures are all marked 1967 and no modifications to the molds exist. The head is a sculpt of the actor Fess Parker that played on the Disney Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone series. It's possible that Marx did not get 'permission' to use the sculpt after the fact and the figure had to be replaced. A modified head sculpt will show up later in the Marx history.
Johnny West
Production in Erie PA, 1965 (mold delivered to Erie on March 22, 1965 - PL 1266-1) with Plain Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls were plain without spring attachment grooves.
Duplicate mold PL 1266-2 delivered to Glen Dale on May 21, 1965 - Production now in Glen Dale.
Likely 1966-67, Added the reinforcing eyelet to the plastic loop in the leg and shortly after, the arm - Mold change not required - The insertion of the eyelet must have been a manual process - did the assemblers have a 'tool' for this? There enough examples in existence where the leg loop is reinforced the but arm is not. And since Chief and Geronimo never got the arm reinforced, it is my belief that the Leg was first and then the arm reinforcements were done.
Late 1969 - 1970, A change was made to the Johnny mold. A 'stop bar' was added to the interior of the torso leg hole, this prevents the legs from slipping inside of the hole and doing 'the splits'. Both of these torsos (with or without the stop bar) were used through 1974, and the torsos can be dated either 1965 or 1973.
2 Oct 1970 (See PL 1266-2 picture 1) - This was the time that Marx transitioned to the Clevis Pin design. Unlike Geronimo, the 'cup' around the hip joint was not grooved. Transitioned to the 1 part easy pull spring.
1973-1974 Transitioned to the 1 part, hard pull spring.
May 1975 (PL 1602 and 1603) Johnny West QD is born. This is a unique body mold but uses the left arm, and both legs from the regular mold. The right arm and torso were changed considerably.
Chief Cherokee
Started Production in Erie PA, 1965 (mold delivered to Erie on Apr 5, 1965 - PL 1274) with Plain Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls were plain without spring attachment grooves.
Duplicate mold PL 1274-2 delivered to Glen Dale on July 5, 1965 - Production now in Glen Dale.
Likely 1967, Added the reinforcing eyelet to the plastic loop in the leg (US Chief Cherokee shoulder loops were never reinforced.) - Mold change not required - The insertion of the eyelet must have been a manual process - did the assemblers have a 'tool' for this?
1967 - PL 1274-2 Picture 1, indicates a new Indian body on Apr 7th 1967. No new PL was created but this could be the date where they changed the upper arm mold to have the spring attachment groove and switched to the 1st ed Geronimo Torso (Narrow crotch version, no stop bar)
2nd Oct, 1970 ( date according to PL 1274-2 hand written notes) switched to the Clevis Pin Shoulder with no spring attachment groove and Clevis Pin Hips design and added the spring attachment groove in the left hip. Right hip too?? . Transitioned to the 1 part easy pull spring. Mostly stamped 1967. Note, this was a significant mold change but no new PL was created. This is also when they likely switched to the 3rd ed Geronimo Torso (Wider crotch with no stop bar). No US Chiefs exist with the stop bar in the torso (which is the 2nd ed Geronimo Torso). Both the Carmel and Cream Chiefs made after 1967 are stamped either 1967 or 1973.
1973-1974 Transitioned to the 1 part, hard pull spring.
Jane West
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, 1966 (PL 1325 and 1324) with Reinforced Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 Part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls were molded without the spring attachment grooves. These figures are all marked 1965.
In 1967 (PL 1323A) Jane got a new head. There's been a consistent rumor about the old head mold breaking - that's highly unlikely. It's more likely that market research showed that girls (and boys) wanted a prettier face. At about this same time, perhaps a little later, another change was made to the Jane mold. A 'stop bar' was added to the interior of the torso leg hole, this prevents the legs from slipping inside of the hole and doing 'the splits'. This torso (with the stop bar) was used through 1975, and the torsos can be dated either 1965 or 1973.
The addition of the spring assist groove in the shoulder and hip balls was likely done in 1968 or early 69.
Jane seems to be the first figure to get the 1 part easy pull spring. I believe this occurred in 1969 but did not require a mold change.
In late 1970 Marx transitioned to the Clevis Pin design and removed the spring assist grooves in the shoulder and hip balls.. This design (except for the springs) continued through the life of Jane which ended production in 1975 with the JWA figure). The heavier 1 part spring may not have been adopted for Jane, or if it was, it is very difficult to tell the difference between the (2?) one part springs.
Mike Hazard
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, 1966. The molds (PL 1307, 1308, 1309 and 1311) were delivered to Glen Dale in Nov/Dec of 65 but I doubt they could have gotten them into production before '66, however, the ejector stamp is dated 1965 - but they may have just used the Johnny ejector plug instead of retooling a new one.
Only one version of the Hazzard mold was created. This body had Plastic loops in the shoulders and Reinforced Loops for the Left hip. Again, the reinforcement was done after casting so it is not a 'mold' feature (the Mexican version of Hazzard does not have the reinforcing eyelet in the hip). The Right hip has the attached spring perch. All US Hazzards use the 2 part shoulder spring. The Arm and Hip balls are molded without the spring assist groovethe and no stop bar was ever molded into the torso leg hole. These figures are all marked 1965 and no modifications to the molds exist.
It is likely that the US version of Hazzard was only made in 1965-66. The other modifications made to the other figures post 1966, like reinforcing the shoulder loop, do not show up for Hazzard.
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E
Produced for one year in Glen Dale PA, 1966-7 with Reinforced Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 Part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder balls were molded without the spring attachment grooves, the left hip ball had the spring attachment groove. These figures are all marked 1966 and no modifications to the molds exist.
It is believed that only 10,000 Girls were made by Marx. If true, then production likely was only done between May and December of 1966. Perhaps licensing conflicts killed April Dancer, or it was commissioned as a 'store' exclusive or just to the UK market as they were just starting their production of Marx licensed figures.
Bill Buck
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, 1967 with Reinforced Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 Part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls were molded without the spring attachment grooves. Bill Buck was only made for one year (1967). These figures are all marked 1967 and no modifications to the molds exist.
Captain Maddox
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, 1967 (mold delivered to Glen Dale in January, 1967 - PL 14-12) with Reinforced Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 Part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls were molded with the spring attachment grooves. This construction was used until sometime in 1970 [According to Glenn Ridenour @ Fun House Toy Co. 55,000 Maddox figures were made in 1968]. These figures are all marked 1967.
In late 1970 Marx transitioned to the Clevis Pin design. All the spring attachment grooves were removed and they transitioned to the 1 part easy pull spring. This design (except for the springs) continued through the life of Capt. Maddox which ended production in 1975 with the JWA Royal blue figure)
In 1973 Marx transitioned to the 1 part Heavy pull spring.
US Capt. Maddox figures are dated 1967 or 1973.
Fighting Eagle
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, 1967 (PL 1274-A undated) with Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 Part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls were molded with the spring attachment grooves (double check this). This construction was used until sometime in 1969 or very early 1970 when production of these figures was suspended. All figures were molded in a orange/red color. These figures are all marked 1967.
In March 1973, PL 1274-2, (Corresponding to the 'Mod' era) Marx started production of FE again. These figures used the Clevis Pin design. The arm spring attachment grooves were removed and they transitioned to the 1 part hard pull spring. This design (except for the springs) continued through the life of Fighting Eagle which ended production in 1975 with the JWA figure). These figures are all marked 1970 and were molded in a coffee/dark caramel color.
Geronimo
Only 2 PL's address Geronimo. PL-1277 which states that PL-1277A (not seen) is for the Geronimo and Fighting Eagle heads / Hands and PL-1277B is for the Geronimo yellow headbands. PL-1422 is actually the headband mold and has a picture of the headbands on sprue dated Feb 17, 1967. There are obviously missing PL's showing the Geronimo body and modifications….
Started Production in Glen Dale PA in 1967, with Plain Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip plastic loop was reinforced, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls were plain without spring attachment grooves. All of these bodies are stamped 1967. This first edition torso is noticeably more narrow (1/8 to 1/4 inch) than the 3rd edition torso. And when the figure stands it leans to the figure's left. It appears that one leg is shorter than the other - The legs are the same size but the leg holes in the torso are not level.
Late 1969 - 1970, A change was made to the Geronimo mold. A 'stop bar' was added to the interior of the torso leg hole, this prevents the legs from slipping inside of the hole and doing 'the splits'. I call this the second edition torso. This is the most rare Geronimo Torso version. This was the time that Marx transitioned to the Clevis Pin design. Initially the 'cup' around the hip joint were not grooved. But a mold modification was then done that put a U shaped depression in the edge of the cup. I think this was to speed up assembly as it gave the assembler more direct access to the clevis pin and made hooking the spring to the pin head much easier. Transitioned to the 1 part easy pull spring.
Shortly thereafter (most likey 1970-1972), the 3rd Edition Torso was created. This, I believe was in response to correcting the leaning problem. The torso crotch was widened and the leg holes were leveled.
US Geronimo torsos are only marked with the 1967 or 1973 ejector stamp markings. Often, the 1967 ejector marking is upside down.
1973-1974 Transitioned to the 1 part, hard pull spring.
The Kids
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, 1967 with Reinforced Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 Part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls were molded without the spring attachment grooves. These figures are all marked 1967 and no modifications to the molds exist.
In late 1970 Marx transitioned to the Clevis Pin design and the 1 part easy pull spring. This design (except for the springs) continued through the life of kids which ended production in 1975 with the JWA figures). The heavier 1 part spring was adopted for the BOTW series in 1973.
Zeb Zachary
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, 1967 (mold delivered to Glen Dale in January, 1967 - PL 14-12 - same mold as Capt. Maddox) with Reinforced Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 Part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls were molded with the spring attachment grooves. This construction was used until sometime in 1969. These figures are all marked 1967.
In 1968 Marx ended production of the Zeb figure. It is possible that a very small number of Zebs were made in 1968 but there would have been no mold changes or packaging changes to tell for sure..
US Zeb figures are dated 1967.
General Custer
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, 1968 (mold delivered to Glen Dale in January, 1967 - PL 14-12) with Reinforced Plastic loops in shoulders and Left Hip, Right hip had Attached Spring. Shoulder spring was 2 Part. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls (hips may not have been grooved - have to verifiy) were molded with the spring attachment grooves. This construction was used until sometime in 1970. These figures are all marked 1968.
In late 1970 Marx transitioned to the Clevis Pin design. All the spring attachment grooves were removed and they transitioned to the 1 part easy pull spring. This design (except for the springs) continued through the life of General Custer which ended production in 1975 with the JWA figure)
In 1973 Marx transitioned to the 1 part Heavy pull spring.
US General Custer figures are dated 1968 or 1973.
Noble Knights (Sir Gordon and Sir Stuart)
Both figures used the same molds.
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, January 1968. Initially the knight body mold was issued with the 2 part spring, Reinforced shoulder and left hip plastic loops, Attached spring perch on the right hip, grooved spring assist shoulders and hip balls. No stop bar was ever molded into the knight torso leg hole. All US knight bodies carry the 1968 ejector stamp date.
In late 1970 Marx transitioned to the Clevis Pin design and removed the spring assist grooves in the shoulder/hip balls. The figure now used the 1 part easy pull spring. This design continued through the life of the knights which probably ended production in 1972 (Last appearance in the Christmas Catalogs), although mail orders probably continued into 1973. This makes sense if you consider that this is the time that Quaker Oats was buying Marx and maybe management did not see the appeal of the Knights and Vikings.
Erik and Odin (Vikings)
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, Oct 1969, PL 1496 with Clevis pins in shoulders and Hips. Shoulder spring was 1 Part Easy pull. No stop bar in hip socket. Shoulder and Hip balls were molded without the spring attachment grooves. Vikings were made from 1969-1972. This design continued through the life of the vikings which probably ended production in 1972 (Last appearance in the Christmas Catalogs), although mail orders probably continued into 1973. This makes sense if you consider that this is the time that Quaker Oats was buying Marx and maybe management did not see the appeal of the Knights and Vikings. These US figures are all marked 1969 and no modifications to the molds were made.
Sam Cobra
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, 1972 just prior to the buy out by Quaker Oats. The molds for the head, body and accessories were created in 1966 when Marx was trying to produce the James West figure from the popular TV western: The Wild Wild West. [Head mold was later used for Capt. Maddox]. In 1972 Marx used the head from the Sir Stuart mold, retooled the body mold and modified accessory mold.
Since Sam was made after the 1970 transition to the clevis pin design and the original James West mold was made in 1966 with plastic loops, a little retooling of the body mold led to the original Sam. This body used the Clevis Pin design. With pins in shoulders and hips. The Arm and Hip balls were initially molded with the spring assist groove. No stop bar was ever molded into the torso leg hole. This is odd, because of all the figures, I think Sam could have benefited most by having a little more hip support. Marx used a generic, undated, 'Marx Toys' ejector stamp slug for Sam during his first year.
In 1973, likely corresponding with the BOTW issue Sam's mold was changed. The spring assist groove in the hip and shoulder balls were removed and the heavier 1 part hard pull spring was used. These torso's carry the conventional ejector stamp dated 1973, which was used until 1975 when the design was changed for the JWA Quickdraw body.
May 1975 (PL 1605 and 1606) QD Sam is born. This is a unique body mold but uses the left arm, and both legs from the regular mold. The right arm and torso were changed considerably.
Sheriff Garrett
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, June 1973 just after the buy out by Quaker Oats. Like Sam, Garrett started life as a different character. The mold for the body was created in 1966 when Marx was trying to produce the Jesse James West figure from the popular TV western: [Modified head mold was later used for Zeb Zachary]. In 1973 Marx created a new head mold and retooled the body mold to create Garrett.
Since Garrett was made after the 1970 transition to the clevis pin design and the original Jesse James mold was made in 1966 with plastic loops, a little retooling of the body mold led to the original Garrett. This body used the Clevis Pin design. With pins in shoulders and hips. The Arm and Hip balls did not have the spring assist groove (see the analysis in the Sam Cobra section). No stop bar was ever molded into the torso leg hole. Marx / Quaker Oats used the 1967 dated ejector stamp slug for Sheriff Garrett thoughout is production life which ended in 1975 with the JWA series.
Garrett was initially issued with the Easy pull 1 part spring but transitioned to the heavier Hard pull 1 part spring a year later.
It is now known that Sheriff Garrett was planned to be retooled as a Quick Draw figure in 1975 with the introduction of the JWA line. Probably as a result of costs, this idea never made it past the drawing board (literally).
Princess Wildflower
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, 1974. The molds for the body and head/hands (PL 1505A and 1563) were delivered to Glen Dale in May/July of 73 but the accessory mold (PL 1564) was not delivered until January of 1974. all Wildflower ejector stamps are dated 1974.
Only one version of the Wildflower mold was created. This body used the Clevis Pin design. With pins in shoulders and hips.. All US Wildflowers use the 1 part Easy pull shoulder spring. The heavier 1 part spring may not have been adopted for PW, or if it was, it is very difficult to tell the difference between the (2?) one part springs. Jane also used the same spring. The Arm and Hip balls are molded without the spring assist groove and no stop bar was ever molded into the torso leg hole. No modifications to the molds exist.
Jed Gibson
Started Production in Glen Dale PA, 1975. Although the head mold for Jed was received by Glen Dale in Feb. 1975, the accessory molds were not received until after April. So Jed likely hit the production line in May or June of 1975. Jed used the Capt Maddox molded body in a slightly different color. This body had the Clevis pin design with pins in the shoulders and hips. Shoulder spring was the 1 part heavy pull. Shoulder and Hip balls were molded without the spring attachment grooves. There was no Stop bar in the torso leg hole. Jed was only made for one year (1975). These figures are all marked 1973 and no modifications to the molds exist.
