As I mention in my show report I mention I got some Marx Merry Men in odd colors. Friar Tuck is in blue. Little John is in a pink. The merry men were dark green, yellow and orange. The other things is the figures are in a soft plastic. When I first got the figures from Mexico they were in a various colors in a stiff plastic. I wonder if these figures were made as party favors.
Great find I should say as I don’t like the stiff plastic at all.
Correct (fiesta bag sets for piñatas) from late 90’s,still in some stores in MCFD.
Soft material-plastic are by (” law”) in Mexico, Colombia ,Spain the toy plastic type used for party favors small toys x piñatas refill as les dangerous for small kids. Stiff are “prohibit” in piñatas fillers.
In late 90’s-(98-99); party supply chain retail stores(FACTORY CARD AND PARTY OUTLET) carry them in stock, probably from Mexico as they supplied from them a lot till in 2005 when AMSCAN monopolized and control all party supply in US as main distributor making all in China.
Erwin
I thought they might be as I remember the Dinamicos catalog had party favors. It is shame everything is now coming from China.
I have them in a nice soft plastic from Canada. Instead of the MarX symbol, the word CANADA is stamped in it’s place.
Bill
I thought they might be that but they are not marked on the bottom.
I was able to pick up some of the original Marx issue at the Texas Show. Bring back memories.
The light waxy green ones marked CANADA first came as premiums in boxes of Kelloggs Sugar Smacks. I contacted Kelloggs and they told me late 1969 was when the promotion ran. The figures are slightly downsized (pantographed) copies of the Louis Marx 54mm Robin Hood play set figures. The mold had 14 cavities making one each of the six character poses and one each of the 8 merrymen poses. Who made the mold is unknown but in the 1970s or 80s, Rubenstein an American Promotions Company got access to the figures in; dark green red, blue & yellow and sold them in small header card bags. Rubenstein has sold ex cereal premiums made in molds in England, Mexico and the USA. They last sold small header card bags of ex premiums in 2000.
Kent
As I mention in the post the figures were in odd colors and they did not have the made in Canada stamp as that was the first thing I went to look for. A strong contender for making the Robin Hood is RL who did many of the premiums for various companies. RL did do a Robin Hood set that was copy of the Marx except for the Maid Marian which was a copy of the Dom Sioux Indian woman.
Plastic Warrior did a series of articles on the Soldiers of the World as you said it was very popular. I enjoy in the 1980’s picked up the Soldiers of the world figures at PW shows and bringing them back as the colors were different from the Rubenstein.
I found a pretty big haul of bagged Soldiers of the World in blue and cream last year sometime. They were in the same lot as the RH Canada figures. Unfortunately, the header cards were gone, but the figures were still in poly bags. 2 or 3 bags of RH and several of the Soldier of the World. The collection was from a Polish merchant sailor who passed away. There was plenty of European plastic. He must have bought soldiers in every port, as he had Atlantic, Airix, Elastolin, Britains, loads of Greek stuff and all of those bagged sets I mentioned.
He had a large collection of painted metal that I did not purchase.
I still have yet to sort through that entire collection.
I do have pix of the SOTW. I don’t remember if I sent them to you, Paul. I can resend if you wish.
Why do I never have great luck like this? Am I not living right or something?
I spoke to the nephew of the Polish sailor and he remembered the Robin Hood and SOTW figures from when they were in England. He said that his uncle came home with a shopping bag full of figures and gave some to him. That’s why he remembered them.
He actually remembered the Canada stamp on the base. He said he found it odd that figures sold in England should say Canada on the bottom.
He got kind of misty about it and I offered him the RH figures to remember his uncle by.
He said no, that he had the memory and that was enough for him.
Anyway, the point was that both the RH and SOTW were bought in England.
Don, don’t feel bad; I, too, live in a toy soldier wasteland.