We take a look at the Battleground Playset by Marx with a demonstration of the exploding machine gun nest. Also featured are a variety of six inch Marx figures.
One Christmas, my dad who landed on Omaha Beach with the 29th ID helped me unwrap this gift that was sitting under our Christmas tree. He helped me put the accessories together and explained the different vehicles, canons, and weapons. Best Christmas of my life. I miss you, dad.
Amazing how none of this stuff survived my childhood. We didn't get much for Christmas but one year I woke to a set up of the small battleground playset set up in front of our fireplace. My best friend across the street got the guns of Navarone playset and we combined and played for many years until we grew out of them and used them for BB gun target practice and M80's. Wish I knew then what I know now I would have saved all of my toys. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Glad you enjoyed the video. Yeah, it would have been good to save all the toys. At one point, my Mom was going to throw out all the old games we had but asked me about it first. I took as many as I could but should have taken them all.
Woah, after watching this video I literally told the exact same story to my girlfriend about my childhood experience with these plastic army men. Good times.
Wow . . . thanks for the compliment. I'm not sure why this particular video resonates with so many people. I guess a lot of kids of that time had that set and it was produced for quite a few years. One of the most common sets along with "Fort Apache". Glad you enjoyed the video - thanks for watching. Stay safe. By the way, love the user name.
My older brothers set up about a hundred soldiers on a ping pong table in the basement to have a battle. It took over an hour. I accidentally bumped into the table and knocked a bunch over. They wanted to kill me! I hightailed it outta there! Playing soldiers was a big part of our childhood. I’ll never stop playing with toys no matter what the wife says😂. Really enjoyed the video. Thank you.
Hey Paul, nothing wrong with that. I think it’s good to hang on to being a child as long as you can and hope you never lose at least some of that sense of wonder.
I was sneaky. My nephew was 14 years younger than me. Sometimes I had to watch him while his mother, my sister worked. Of course I'd used the excuse that I had to entertain the youngster. So whenever someone saw use having a nice battle with of scores of Marx solders they thought I was just being a very nice uncle.
Boy, the memories these bring back! The Marx Civil War set and World War II set, along with the Alamo set, were the delight of my youth! I purchased so many of these six inch figures at Woolworth's for ten cents each! My backyard was a huge battleground, and my BB gun was the weapon! Some of the greatest memories I still hold of these. Thanks for reminding me how far today's toys have drifted from this.
Glad you enjoyed the video Michael. And hey, thanks for letting me know how much those six inch figures originally sold for. As I mentioned, I never even saw any of them when I was a kid.
Hi Jerry, The Wards and Sears Christmas catalogs were great to look through in the 60's and early 70's. There were so many great things to look at and so much of it we would have wanted to have. I don't really remember going to a store and seeing any of this stuff at the time so that added to the mystique. My Mom would let us look through the catalog and pick out things we would like for Christmas. We must have been somewhat selective because I remember getting everything I wanted plus more. I feel very lucky to have had such a childhood. Best, Mark
Lol, great video, I loved the army men. I'm a Brit but I always collected these sets as a kid and then moved on to airfix. I joined the army at 16 and a half as a boy soldier and served 23 years retired as a colonel. These toys clearly rubbed off lol. I remember all these toys, we were so lucky weren't we?
Thanks for the video! I was born in '69 so was too young to have these figures new, but I remember playing with my older brother's For Apache set (or what pieces were left), and it made a big impression on me. When I became a father I picked up with big plastic mountain with cave openings and a bunch of army men. My son and I would have rubber band wars - such great memories.
You may be younger but it's cool that you became acquainted with the Fort Apache figures and that they were memorable. Also nice that you could share some fun with your son.
Star Trek phasers. I had the phaser rifle too. You could shoot around corners by tilting the gun sideways, curving the flight path of the discs. Great fun for firefights with my friend Ted!
When I was a child ,I used to play with them every days. I still love them, but with the high school, I can't continue this passion. Thank you. From Italy
I'm glad you finally found it Nite Wolf. Glad to hear you found it enjoyable. There are quite a few Toy Room episodes to watch if you have the time. Thanks for watching.
Brings back great childhood memories! All of my friends had a collection of army men from various sets that were handed down. Playing war was a great rain day staple!
It's always good to have a passion. By the way, you might be interested in a music video that I created for one of my original songs. I used some of my old Super 8 films, TV/movie clips and new video of myself lip synching to the song. czcams.com/video/iaEfFKKKb_s/video.html
I am from the Netherlands, and lately I wondered of what brand some of my very big cowboys and indians were. Know I know, Marx! Today for collecting they are very rare. But very well made indeed. I gave away my pieces, but I remember a friend of me had a lot of those giant cowboys. He lived in a house with a large garden, lots of space to play in! Well, that was a long time ago. In the early 70's.... sometimes I desire to have a Timemachine. I would go back then, to do it all over. I guess I am not the only one.
Nice to hear from the Netherlands. I think there are a lot of people that would like to have a time machine and go back to that time of play. It was a great time in life.
My buddy had that battle set with the Germans and Americans. I had a similar one that was based on Iwo Jima. It came with the same green Americans, but also tan Japanese soldiers. They were much more detailed than the later Vietnam era soldier sets that came out in the '70s.
I had my BATTLEGROUND mixed with my more generic plastic soldiers, in a bucket at my Grandmothers. She gave them to a little boy who moved in next door to her. Years latter, after she passed and we cleaned the house to get it ready for sale, I went down to the bottom of the back yard where the sand pit was...Right away I saw a "survivor". The crawling US soldier with a Tommy Gun. He is on a shelf n my den to this day. I got 2(yes. TWO) of the deluxe Battleground sets on my 6th birthday in 1973. My Father bought both boxes Murpheys had. I played with those soldiers for years. To this day, I paint toy soldiers.
Me too! I still have a lot of my old soldiers 50+ years later. I now paint 28mm, but still collecting 54mm. Great hobby, always will be! Happy new year and greetings from France!
@@gunner678 Im 53(my name is John, btw. I use my wife account, because, well, somewhat anti-tech) I paint 54mm historicals but my "passion"(as if a 53 year old man can be so) is Games Workshops BLOOD BOWL. I quite like the game, but I LOVE the 28mm miniatures. There are many different companies making the figures these days, and I own over 1,500(yes. FIFTEEN HUNDRED) and have about 600 painted...yeah, I gotta stop buying new figures...But the idea of fantasy characters playing football...Just tickles me. What do you paint, Matt?
Great that you found a "survivor" in the sand pit John. Bummer that your Grandmother gave the plastic soldiers to the boy next door but hopefully, he had a lot of fun with them too. Sounds like you and Matt have a great hobby. Happy New Year to both of you!
They were still selling these in the 70's and early 80's where I lived at JCPenney's and TRU. I got the WWII one and my brother got Fort Apache or something.
I got the Battleground Playset for Christmas back in the 70's. It was a really cool surprise because it wasn't anything I knew of or had asked for. Even as a kid I could tell everything was nicely detailed and most of the soldiers were unique and not repeats. Had a lot of my toys at my parents house for a long time. Then my dad suddenly got the urge to clear the basement out and hired people to take everything or throw it away. It was weird because he was too old to even go down there and he wasn't renovating it. I Found my Space 1999 flashlight gun that they had dropped in the alley on the way to the dumpster. I should have taken it all myself before that because it was probably worth something even back then. None of it was mint though.
That certainly does sound like a nice surprise. Something you didn't even know existed. Yes, nice details and not a lot of repeats. It's a shame that your Dad decided to get rid of all the toys. Even though they weren't in mint condition, I'm sure you would have liked to have them as a touchstone to good memories. At least you have the Space 1999 flashlight gun.
I thoroughly enjoyed that. You have a passion for these old 60s toys like mine. Unfortunately, I dont have the money to suit my love of them! lol -- I had Fort Apache too. I used Lincoln Logs to build a barracks for the cowboys. There were always Indians on the end tables, couch, coffe table, and chairs looking down on the fort from "high up in the canyons". -- Say, do you remember a toy that used a fan to fly a balloon "space craft"? It used the principle of blowing fast moving air above the balloon that lowered the air pressure, causing the balloon to rise. I loved that toy. I got good enough to fly it up to land on top of the TV. I have never seen that toy again, but it could have been Marx.
Hi Bill, Good to hear from my neighbor down South. Glad to hear that you enjoyed the video. Yeah, it's kind of crazy how much some of those toys (or even empty boxes they came) in go for. Loved hearing about the play with Lincoln Log Barracks and the "Canyons". That's the kind of thing we always did when playing. I don't remember the toy you mentioned but I did a search on it and this must be a TV commercial for what you are talking about. It was made by Topper (I have a Topper episode about the Tiger's). I still can't figure out how it works. Very cool toy. Enjoy the commercial: czcams.com/video/wmLMrMdIy5c/video.html
Hey Jeff - Cool that you had that set. Too bad there isn’t a television commercial for it on CZcams but there are some other neat vintage toy commercials.
great trip down memory lane. and now i finally know what the karate guy and barbwire guy really were. i too thought one was for barb wire and the karate guy was just a mistake and was suposed to be holding a big gun.
Thanks CF. Glad you enjoyed the trip. It's really funny to me how many other kids (now adults) were also confused by these two figures. Yeah, I suppose it looked like "karate guy" could have been holding something big. Happy 4th of July!
Man I love ❤️ this!!! I’ve got a Toy Room too! Full of Aurora Monster Models, Tin Toys, Mechanical Banks from the 60s and lots of odds and ends lol I just turned 66, and luckily never grew up 😆 I subscribed and am now in search of your other vids 👍 Thanks for posting this Mark Cheers 🍻
It sounds like you have a great Toy Room of your own DJ. It's always good to keep the spirit of play in your life. I'm glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for subscribing. I have 21 TR episodes so far so there should b plenty for you to watch. You might enjoy this episode: czcams.com/video/3dRO8KX5FYA/video.html
I think the astronauts are neat. The copyright date on the underside of the base is 1970. Those Star Trek guns were really fun. I'd like to get a mint one with the original Star Trek packaging.
Great memories you have. I was in awe of the soldier play sets. I remember the set you could order in the back of the comics. It looked massive. Never did get one though. I think I had the fort Apache set. Those 6 inch Marx figures are fantastic. I love the sculpts. Great detail. I have about 15 or 20 of them. I sure like the campus cuties.Never heard of them. The painted Marx figures are quite something. ..If I ever start collecting again, I might pick up a couple but I think my collecting days are over..Thanks for posting the video
I think I may have seen one of the sets from the back of comic books at an antique shop. They were very much less impressive in reality than they appeared in the comic book ads. They were small and sort of flat so that they didn't have much bulk and expense associated with production and shipping. I remember my cousins getting a Fort Apache set on Christmas Eve and I remembered it being cool. The six inch figures are well done and interesting. I have a couple of Flintstones TV-Tinykins in their original packaging that I don't think I had when I made the Battleground video. I don't see too many of the painted figures around much anymore. Glad you enjoyed the video. Happy New Year!
I had a similar play set but it was a Desert Fox play set,with soldiers and tanks and trucks,etc.My family will still get me a bag of green army men for Christmas as a gag gift on occasion.I loved them !
I’m guessing the Desert Fox play set may have come after the set we had? Anyway, I’m sure it was just as cool for you as the one we had. That’s neat that your family get’s you the gag gift of army men. Happy Holidays to you!
Birthday #10 received Marx "D-Day beachhead invasion" from SEARS (from Mom & Dad). So many hours of fun, many of the items you mentioned PLUS - projectile shooting German 88 artillery piece AND P39 Airacobra. Also blue French army guys and tan British army guys. All long gone, they "live now, only in my memories."
Man you sure brought back some memories with this video. I got the basic set without the Germans a couple of years later they sold the Germans in a bag and that's how I got the Japanese figures. My favorite set was the civil war set. My dad and I played with that set for hours (no brothers). I had several 6" figures the cowboy getting shot was one of favorites. Thanks for the memories!! (quote)
Ok Bob Hope. Glad I could bring back some hopefully good memories. Germans and Japanese in a bag? I'm sure they sold the figures in different ways. Sounds like you had some good playtime with your Dad. Happy New Year!
this was really informative! i have so much marx stuff from my childhood including a bunch of 6 inch vikings and a lot of dinosaurs. i never even thought they might be worth something. other than to me that is.
Great video. I was born in 67, so many of these toys preceded me by years. But friends with older brothers sometimes had them, and we played with them a great deal. The toys and the memories lead you to collect them, my mania went a little astray. Interested in the hardware represented by the toys I started to collect cartridge cases, then live common ammunition. This lead to collecting inert ordnance. I now have a house full of empty grenades, mines, rockets and shells, all rendered safe and harmless unless dropped on a toe. Funny how our toys helped shape our interests as adults.
Hey wolf, I understand the romanticism and attraction to toys that were produced in an era previous to your own. I am a boomer and love the old "toy" guns of the 60's but I have no interest in "real" guns or weapons. Still, I respect your collecting of real historical weapons as long as they are inert and of no physical danger.
Terrific video! The Battleground box you have brought back memories... my brother and I took WEEKS to save up enough allowances in the early 1970s to afford the whopping $4 price tag at Woolworths for a Battleground playset. I recall my brother and I had made a deal to go halvsies on the Battleground IF I'd pony up half the cost for a Marx prehistoric playset. But I welched and my Mom pitched in 'my half' so my brother could have the prehistoric playset (and, if I recall correctly, 'my half' was deducted from my allowance for a couple weeks. That learn me!). Fun memories... and yes, it took YEARS for my brother and me to figure out the guy carrying his wounded comrade. In fact I don't think we figured it out until many years later when we teamed up again with allowances to get the incredibly pricey ($19!) Navarone Playset.
Glad you enjoyed the video Richard. Thanks for sharing your own memories about the Marx figures. It’s always fun for me to hear about other stories related to vintage toys. $4.00 certainly was a lot of money in the early 70’s. I teamed up with my younger brother too to buy some things together. It took me a lot longer to learn the truth about the “crazy karate guy” and his friend. You must have been super-rich to be able to be able to by a $19.00 playset! Happy Holidays to you.
I got the deluxe set as a kid in the 1960's and had endless hours of fun playing with it in the HUGE sandbox my bricklayer grandfather built for me. I don't know if it was an add-on or another separate set but there were airplanes with it as well...P-51s and P-47s for the US and Bf 109s and Fw190s for the Germans...
It must have been to have a sandbox to play with the soldiers. My friends across the street had a sandbox in their back yard next to the alley. They made a home movie of the soldiers in the sandbox and I think they had a model airplane on a line that they lit on fire.
My brother and I got the disc guns for Christmas. We were having a shootout in the living room when a disc from my gun swerved off to the left towards the Christmas tree, and hit one of my mom's prized pink icicle ornaments, smashing it to pieces. Scared of getting caught, I hid the pieces down in the garbage. My mom knew just how many there were, and quickly found the pieces.
@@MSchussler I think someone else made a copy of the guns a few years later. I seem to remember even being able to buy a package that just had 100 or so extra discs, but can't be sure. I got the Carry All Fort Apache for Christmas as a kid, and it was my favorite toy. I've been looking on eBay, reminiscing, wishing I could find a complete one in good condition that was affordable. While searching I came across someone selling what looked like a Marx Civil War Andersonville Prison set, complete with Union prisoners, some tents and such, and Confederate guards. This begs two questions. First , was there such a Marx set? Second, why Marx or anyone else make such a set? I can't believe there would be a lot of market demand for such a set. What kind of kid would want one?
An old college roommate of mine live in Ohio and I think an Ohio toy company made a version of the gun into the 80's, He mailed me a couple of them at the time and it was one of those that I used for the video. I imagine it might be hard to find a good condition Carry All playset in good condition at a reasonable price. I don't really know that much about Marx playsets but from looking online, I'm guessing that the Andersonville Prison set is not a vintage Marx set and is being made now for adult hobbyists. I agree that I don't think there would have been a market for it in the 60's/70's.
I had a toy chest in the basement with some toys left over my older brother who left me a western fort a few metal soldiers. I had those large 6 inch soldiers who were Japanese and German and American in various fighting positions.
I always loved the old bubble lights that my Mom used to put on the Christmas tree. I had a lot of replacement bulbs from sets I got many years ago but I suppose I will run out of those at some point and have to try to get some more. I don't know if anyone still makes them or not.
I’ve found a lot of the American soldiers, including the “karate man” and the “cluber” on eBay. Along with a stretcher and the German motorcycle man for cheap, I’m happy that I found them! At least for cheap!😀
I didn't have a Give a Show Projector when I was a kid but I was aware of them and would have liked to have one. My vintage friend gave me a good condition set a few years back as a gift. If you're ever in Minneapolis, visit his shop called appropriately enough, "Time Bomb".
We had three of those disc-shooting guns when I was a kid. My brother, father, and I played with them a lot. I am pretty sure I also shot my toy soldiers with them too.
I don't remember ever seeing the Zebra pistols but I just looked up a picture of them. It looks like they shot little pellets. It looks like they would have been fun.
I had to laugh when you showed the panzer that had been blown up by firecrackers. My brother and I used to blow up model airplanes with firecrackers and bb guns in the 60's. Unfortunately, some of those kits are quite valuable today. Like you I am pursuing my lost toys and have done really well in replacing them. All the best, Will
Glad I could get a laugh out of you Will. I think a lot of kids destroyed their toys in one way or the other. And yes, a lot of models/toys turned out to be valuable. Happy New Year!
Still have my Marx Fort Apache, Battleground, Moon Base (the most complete and a massive set), and Cape Canaveral playset. Also have my Hot Wheels, Mighty Matilda carrier, Barracuda Sub, and Whirlybird copter. Loved the Battleground playset the best, Ive always wondered why most of US soldiers carried carbines, not M1s? I took me years to figure out the "karate" figues was carrying a wounded soldier. Also have my 1967 Schwinn Stingray II (Coppertone w/ white seat with metallic flecks. Original tires, including the redline Slik.
Hi Robert - I guess my brother and I weren't the only ones confused byt was some of the soldiers were supposed to be doing. Boy, we must be about the same age. I had the Barracuda Sub and it was pretty cool. I also had the Remco Jet with the pilot and ejection seat/parachute. It was pulled by a little orange tractor. I wouldn't know anything about what kind of weapons the soldiers were carrying or should have been carrying. I still have my old blue Stingray hanging up in the garage. Have a ggod week, Mark
I wanted that set so bad. My parents bought me the scaled down set. I did have a lot of the things, no germans though. I remember circling the army set in the JC Penny catalog. You were lucky kid! I spent many hours playing with that play set.
My father tried every state we had friends, no go got the same scaled down set. I have learned since the sixty's that the only made a couple hundred. Boy all the tanks American and German, what fun my brothers and I would have had.
Yes RC, we were lucky kids. My brother and I only had one Marx playset but it was a good one and we had lots of other neat toys. The Christmas catalogs from Wards etc. were so great to look and our Mom let us pick some things out of them and gave us even more stuff than we asked for. Thanks for watching.
I think the set we had was a ward's exclusive Robert. I don't know how many of them they made. The scaled down set must have been much more common though. I could never find the large set like we had but did find some of the more rare pieces on eBay.
I had this back in the early 60's and loved it. Also, the Civil War, Alamo and Fort Apache sets. Yes, I was a little warmonger. Fun to see these pieces again. Thanks for the nostalgia.
Thanks for saying that and thanks for watching it again. I had lunch with my cousin and a friend on Tuesday and they asked me what my most popular video was and it's this one. They wondered why and I guess I can't really figure that out either. I think it could be that a lot of people had army men or at least can relate to it. And, there's a bit of subtle humor to it. Anyway, I hope you have a great Halloween.
You realize these boxes of complete Marx Civil / Indian / Alamo / WW2 playsets cost about $10 at Sears in the early to mid 1960s ? I bought additional plastic bags of Marx German / Russian figures (maybe 50 in a bag?) for a buck or less at K-mart or Kressges. $10 back then is worth about $90 in today dollars. My pops got rid of my Marx sets when I was about 12 or 13........... "You're too old for playin' with these!" Thanks pops. As this narrator mentions, it can cost $40 to buy a rare single Marx composite figure. I still like painting and war gaming HO scale figures to this day.
Yes, your humble narrator realizes that the Marx playsets cost around $10.00 or less when they were originally sold. Bummer that your Dad got rid of the Marx sets you had. Pretty ridiculous to think that your Dad thought you were too old at 12 or 13 to still be playing with anything. Hey, never stop playing.
You mentioned putting soldiers in a glass aquarium for display. I put soldiers in big glass jars. Instead of match books or a big candle sitting on sand, I just fill soldiers up to the top. I would have several manufacturers for variety and many colors for contrast to view them easier. You can even decorate rooms with them and color coordinate with the different colored armies and themes. You can use red, white and blue revolutionary war soldiers in jars to decorate for 4th of July parties. Black, white and orange knights in jars for Halloween. Lime green for St. Patrick's day etc. The vintage one's make great conversation pieces on coffee tables. I have a Lionel train going around my ceiling. I put all of the artillery pieces on flat cars.
I hadn't really thought that idea out that well and the big glass jars make more sense and what you've done with it is fantastic! Funny you mention matchbooks. I have a huge vintage matchbook collection that was in a giant round - glass terrarium. Unfortunately, one of the cats knocked it over and broke it. I put the matchbooks away somewhere and I'll have to think about possibly bringing them back for display again. Anyway, I love the idea of using the colors of the plastic figures to create holiday themes. You must be an artist. The train sounds neat and you must have an interesting home. Too bad CZcams doesn't allow for pictures . . . it would be nice to see some of the jars you put together. Have a good one - Mark
I always though it was a karate guy until you put barbed wire guy on his shoulders! I previously put him on the guy with the pistol and arm raised! I didn't realize there were different Battleground sets! I always wondered why the German tanks were missing from myset! Hah!
It was certainly satisfying for me to solve the mystery of the karate guy and "stuck on barbed wire guy". Yep, there were different versions of the Battleground set.
The early version of the BGPset had howitzer that actually had spring loaded ability to shoot it's ammo. We know what happened to cool stuff like that. It took me 3 or 4 Christmases asking for a BGPS before I got one in the mid 70's. It got played with a lot before it mysteriously disappeared. (was more than likely sold off by my mom in a neighbors garage sale.)
Hey John - Yeah, the set my brother had came with a howitzer that shot the little shells. I had kind of forgotten about it but there was also a plastic sheet camouflaged canopy that you put on top of some posts. Super bummer about the set most likely getting sold off at a garage sale. I’m lucky that my Mom kept most of our stuff for us.
I knew the early BGPS had firing howitzers because an older cousin had that set. Some lawyer must have argued it would put a kid's eye out because by the time I got my set in the mid 70s, the firing mechanism was no longer included. Also, the pill box, sandbags, broken door etc of my cousin's playset was molded in a sand colored plastic rather than the standard brown. I bet those are rare and worth a fortune now. I live in the house I grew up in and I sometimes have an urge to go on an archeological dig in spots where I knew I played with the soldiers to see if I can find one still hidden among the tree roots. Those soldiers were dear to me and I was pretty good about picking them up so I don't think I would find anything, but ya never know...
Hey man I really enjoyed that. Being in the UK we didn’t have any of them, just airfix soldiers. Great series I’ve subscribed and look forward to some mo re visits to your toy room. Thanks ,
I had the Marx battleground set but it wasn't the deluxe edition. Also their Cape Canaveral set. I saw a Marx standard battleground set on ebay recently for $500.
It would have been fun to have the Cape Canaveral set. Wow! That's a lot to ask for the Battleground set. It's amazing what even individual figures can go for. Happy Holidays to you.
I know where the guy sweeping came from. I had a 3 story garage with an elevator and ramp. There were several figures I remember the broom guy. I also remember oil and tire displays.
You were lucky to have so many sets Feliks. A guy that collects Marx told me that the Battleground and Fort Apache were the most common sets. I almost got a mint Flintstones set many years ago and I thought that was a fun one.
Feliks Gailitis - I had those sets also. Not the deluxe battleground set, but the common set. I also had Fort Navarone mountain set. That was my favorite. Sadly, I don't have any of them any longer. I know I used to take a hot needle and put "bullet" holes in several of my soldiers. Sadly, it never occurred to me that I would want them when I got older.
We used to "play army" in the vacant lots and allys (?) of Philly rowhouses but when it was raining we would go to my friend's basement where he had a big sandbox where we played with the figures and used rubber bands to "kill" them.
Hey Paul - It sounds like you had a lot of fun playing with army men in the vacant lots and alleys of Philly. Rubber bands would be a good way to "kill" the soldiers. Thanks for watching.
The Japanese side didn't get any tanks or trucks, but they did get a Zero fighter plane. I think the Americans got a Mustang, on top of some tanks and trucks. My buddy's set came with German tanks and trucks as well as American. There was also an 88 mm cannon or two for the Germans.
I have a 1950s Marx flip over tank made of tin. It doesn't work any more but my dad said he will fix it. Just thought I would tell you. Great show. Keep up the good work.
Wow! The memories of our youth. I had the blue and gray set played with them for years. I also had the nuclear sub I think that was by Ronco? That was one of my al, time favorites.
Yes, the great memories of our youth. Do you mean the Remco Barracuda Atomic Submarine? I have fond memories of that being around the house when I was a kid and that submarine was always fascinating to me. Oddly enough, I've had a dream several times where a reproduction of this sub was made and I got one. I still have the beat up remains of the sub we had in the 60's in my basement.
I want a Marx soldier set for my birthday too, but my mom says I can't because they're too violent. However, I talked her into letting me get the knights. By combining them with knights from other sets, I bet I'll wind up with a whole Medieval army! One day they'll be worth money, so I hope she doesn't give them away when I leave for college................
I don't know where the Moms are getting all these Marx figures from. Are they getting vintage figures or are new ones being made with the old molds? Anyway, Moms always right and if she feels the army men are too violent that's cool and I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun with the Knights and the Medieval Army.
I had 2 different versions of this play set. One was just a battle field set (the one you have) and the other was the Guns of Navarone set. Played with these and my other army soldiers for hours with various neighborhood friends any survivors (not lost) went to my kid brother who was 12 years younger than me and I am sure they are all lost or cleaned out by mom long ago. The guys with no weapons in their hands were supposed to be given weapon, binocs and maybe other stuff from the sprue of supplies that came with your set (I don't remember what all came on them its been over 40 years now). The "club" is a rifle Grenade or perhaps a mortar round its really too small to be sure.
It looks like the two sets had the same soldiers but the Guns of Navarone set had a cool playmat and mountain structure. Too bad there are most likely "no survivors" from the sets that you had. Yes, the club is a mortar shell and there was a hard plastic brown piece that was a mortar that may not have been a perfect match in scale.
Yup the mortar rd was too small for that mortar as I remember it. I think the most likely thing that might be floating around at my parents house would be the tank that came with the set. It was like a stylize M41 Walker Bulldog but the last time saw it was in the 80's so.....
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed watching it. I guess you must have found out from watching the video that I got the German motorcycle and sidecar in an eBay auction.
I didn’t wade thru all the comments so maybe this is redundant. The guy sweeping and other figures with that group came from the Marxville series of plastic buildings which was created to compete with Plasticsville for use with train sets. The sweeper was part of the factory bldg. I had that one.
Nobody else commented on those figures so it’s nice for me to know what they were from. My brother and I had a couple of the Plasticville buildings. We had an HO train layout downstairs and we built a mountain for the train to go through. The Plasticville stuff was too large for our HO set of course. Thanks for the info and thanks for watching. Have a great week. Mark
One Christmas, my dad who landed on Omaha Beach with the 29th ID helped me unwrap this gift that was sitting under our Christmas tree.
He helped me put the accessories together and explained the different vehicles, canons, and weapons. Best Christmas of my life.
I miss you, dad.
Quite a piece of history. That's cool that you got to spend some time "playing" with your dad with this set and bonding.
Did you notice a tear in your old daddy's eye? Did his prayers for you get answered?😢
Amazing how none of this stuff survived my childhood. We didn't get much for Christmas but one year I woke to a set up of the small battleground playset set up in front of our fireplace. My best friend across the street got the guns of Navarone playset and we combined and played for many years until we grew out of them and used them for BB gun target practice and M80's. Wish I knew then what I know now I would have saved all of my toys. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Glad you enjoyed the video. Yeah, it would have been good to save all the toys. At one point, my Mom was going to throw out all the old games we had but asked me about it first. I took as many as I could but should have taken them all.
Woah, after watching this video I literally told the exact same story to my girlfriend about my childhood experience with these plastic army men. Good times.
Top ten best videos I’ve ever seen. Thank you. My childhood.
Wow . . . thanks for the compliment. I'm not sure why this particular video resonates with so many people. I guess a lot of kids of that time had that set and it was produced for quite a few years. One of the most common sets along with "Fort Apache". Glad you enjoyed the video - thanks for watching. Stay safe. By the way, love the user name.
My mom got this for me one Christmas. Best gift ever! Played with it fir years. Then my nephews did too. Thanks!
It was a pretty cool set. That's nice that your nephews had some fun with it too. Glad you enjoyed the video - Thanks for watching.
Thanks for this video of these toys. I also had many of these Marx toys which I enjoyed very much. Good memories.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the video, Mark. It's always nice to know that there is another Mark that likes Marx toys.
My older brothers set up about a hundred soldiers on a ping pong table in the basement to have a battle. It took over an hour. I accidentally bumped into the table and knocked a bunch over. They wanted to kill me! I hightailed it outta there! Playing soldiers was a big part of our childhood. I’ll never stop playing with toys no matter what the wife says😂. Really enjoyed the video. Thank you.
That's the spirit Jimmy! Don't ever stop playing with toys. Just try not to knock other people's toys over. :)
@@MSchussler LOL
I loved the army battle toys. I was slow to grow out of being a child - I played with them well into my teens.
Hey Paul, nothing wrong with that. I think it’s good to hang on to being a child as long as you can and hope you never lose at least some of that sense of wonder.
I was sneaky. My nephew was 14 years younger than me. Sometimes I had to watch him while his mother, my sister worked. Of course I'd used the excuse that I had to entertain the youngster. So whenever someone saw use having a nice battle with of scores of Marx solders they thought I was just being a very nice uncle.
@Herbert Norkus Bummer that they got throw away.
@@Crazeyfor67 That's a good way to play with them in a new way.
I am a teen right now and I play with them a lot
Boy, the memories these bring back! The Marx Civil War set and World War II set, along with the Alamo set, were the delight of my youth! I purchased so many of these six inch figures at Woolworth's for ten cents each! My backyard was a huge battleground, and my BB gun was the weapon! Some of the greatest memories I still hold of these. Thanks for reminding me how far today's toys have drifted from this.
Glad you enjoyed the video Michael. And hey, thanks for letting me know how much those six inch figures originally sold for. As I mentioned, I never even saw any of them when I was a kid.
I loved looking at all the big Christmas catalogs from all the department stores and dream about all those cool playsets, trains and GI-Joe.
Hi Jerry, The Wards and Sears Christmas catalogs were great to look through in the 60's and early 70's. There were so many great things to look at and so much of it we would have wanted to have. I don't really remember going to a store and seeing any of this stuff at the time so that added to the mystique. My Mom would let us look through the catalog and pick out things we would like for Christmas. We must have been somewhat selective because I remember getting everything I wanted plus more. I feel very lucky to have had such a childhood. Best, Mark
@@MSchussler hi Mark, I still have an unopened Marx Cape Canaveral reissue set. It was my favorite in the 60s. Thanks for your post.
@@davidgreen5099 Are you ever going to open it? Have a Happy new Year!
@@MSchussler saving it for the grandkids!
Had that set. Looked forward every Christmas for the catalogs. Spend hours looking at them.....
Lol, great video, I loved the army men. I'm a Brit but I always collected these sets as a kid and then moved on to airfix. I joined the army at 16 and a half as a boy soldier and served 23 years retired as a colonel. These toys clearly rubbed off lol. I remember all these toys, we were so lucky weren't we?
They had the sets in England? Interesting that you joined the army as a boy. Yes, we were lucky to have these toys.
Thanks for the video! I was born in '69 so was too young to have these figures new, but I remember playing with my older brother's For Apache set (or what pieces were left), and it made a big impression on me. When I became a father I picked up with big plastic mountain with cave openings and a bunch of army men. My son and I would have rubber band wars - such great memories.
You may be younger but it's cool that you became acquainted with the Fort Apache figures and that they were memorable. Also nice that you could share some fun with your son.
I miss those disc guns. Haven't seen one in a long time. Those discs were all over my grandmother's house.
They were great guns to have. You would lose a lot of discs. I suppose my Mom vacuumed up a number of them.
@@MSchussler I have one. The rubber band inside isn't as taught as it once was, but when you pull the trigger it will still launch the discs.
@@gallery7596 At least the disc still launches. we sometimes put pennies in then and didn't work well at all.
Star Trek phasers. I had the phaser rifle too. You could shoot around corners by tilting the gun sideways, curving the flight path of the discs. Great fun for firefights with my friend Ted!
My grandmother got me that play set as a boy in the 70’s by far my favorite set as a kid. Brings back many fond memories
That was a nice Grandmother. Glad I could bring back some good memories.
When I was a child ,I used to play with them every days. I still love them, but with the high school, I can't continue this passion.
Thank you. From Italy
I'm sure you'll always have good memories of playing with the toy soldiers. Good luck with high school. Thank you from America.
Why I haven't found this channel yet is beyond me. Happy I'm here now.
I'm glad you finally found it Nite Wolf. Glad to hear you found it enjoyable. There are quite a few Toy Room episodes to watch if you have the time. Thanks for watching.
My birthday 1972, I received the Fort Apache set and the Army set. I played with them for hours and hours.
Sounds like you had a good birthday in 1972.
@@MSchussler It was a memorable one for sure.
Brings back great childhood memories! All of my friends had a collection of army men from various sets that were handed down. Playing war was a great rain day staple!
Playing with army men on a rainy day would be a great thing to do!
Blue and Gray play sets are my passion.
It's always good to have a passion. By the way, you might be interested in a music video that I created for one of my original songs. I used some of my old Super 8 films, TV/movie clips and new video of myself lip synching to the song. czcams.com/video/iaEfFKKKb_s/video.html
I am from the Netherlands, and lately I wondered of what brand some of my very big cowboys and indians were. Know I know, Marx! Today for collecting they are very rare. But very well made indeed. I gave away my pieces, but I remember a friend of me had a lot of those giant cowboys. He lived in a house with a large garden, lots of space to play in!
Well, that was a long time ago. In the early 70's.... sometimes I desire to have a Timemachine. I would go back then, to do it all over. I guess I am not the only one.
Nice to hear from the Netherlands. I think there are a lot of people that would like to have a time machine and go back to that time of play. It was a great time in life.
I got "Battle Ground" for Christmas one year. Maybe 1967. I played with it a lot.
It sounds like 1967 might have been a good year.
Thanks for the cool memories!
And thank you for watching!
I used to watch this guy all the time when I was 8 and I’m now a teenager it’s so cool to see him again!
Congratulations on becoming a teenager! Have fun.
My buddy had that battle set with the Germans and Americans. I had a similar one that was based on Iwo Jima. It came with the same green Americans, but also tan Japanese soldiers. They were much more detailed than the later Vietnam era soldier sets that came out in the '70s.
Pretty cool that you had a set with the tan Japanese soldiers. They are much more rare.
I had my BATTLEGROUND mixed with my more generic plastic soldiers, in a bucket at my Grandmothers. She gave them to a little boy who moved in next door to her.
Years latter, after she passed and we cleaned the house to get it ready for sale, I went down to the bottom of the back yard where the sand pit was...Right away I saw a "survivor". The crawling US soldier with a Tommy Gun. He is on a shelf n my den to this day.
I got 2(yes. TWO) of the deluxe Battleground sets on my 6th birthday in 1973. My Father bought both boxes Murpheys had. I played with those soldiers for years. To this day, I paint toy soldiers.
Me too! I still have a lot of my old soldiers 50+ years later. I now paint 28mm, but still collecting 54mm. Great hobby, always will be! Happy new year and greetings from France!
@@gunner678 Im 53(my name is John, btw. I use my wife account, because, well, somewhat anti-tech) I paint 54mm historicals but my "passion"(as if a 53 year old man can be so) is Games Workshops BLOOD BOWL. I quite like the game, but I LOVE the 28mm miniatures. There are many different companies making the figures these days, and I own over 1,500(yes. FIFTEEN HUNDRED) and have about 600 painted...yeah, I gotta stop buying new figures...But the idea of fantasy characters playing football...Just tickles me.
What do you paint, Matt?
Great that you found a "survivor" in the sand pit John. Bummer that your Grandmother gave the plastic soldiers to the boy next door but hopefully, he had a lot of fun with them too. Sounds like you and Matt have a great hobby. Happy New Year to both of you!
@@shirleylyn11 I guess when u start to have a hobby with them u cant stop
They were still selling these in the 70's and early 80's where I lived at JCPenney's and TRU. I got the WWII one and my brother got Fort Apache or something.
That's cool - Thanks for watching.
I got the Battleground Playset for Christmas back in the 70's. It was a really cool surprise because it wasn't anything I knew of or had asked for. Even as a kid I could tell everything was nicely detailed and most of the soldiers were unique and not repeats. Had a lot of my toys at my parents house for a long time. Then my dad suddenly got the urge to clear the basement out and hired people to take everything or throw it away. It was weird because he was too old to even go down there and he wasn't renovating it. I Found my Space 1999 flashlight gun that they had dropped in the alley on the way to the dumpster. I should have taken it all myself before that because it was probably worth something even back then. None of it was mint though.
That certainly does sound like a nice surprise. Something you didn't even know existed. Yes, nice details and not a lot of repeats. It's a shame that your Dad decided to get rid of all the toys. Even though they weren't in mint condition, I'm sure you would have liked to have them as a touchstone to good memories. At least you have the Space 1999 flashlight gun.
When I was a little shaver this was top of the heap!
It certainly was a fun set to have.
really nice memories! thank you
Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching.
I thoroughly enjoyed that. You have a passion for these old 60s toys like mine. Unfortunately, I dont have the money to suit my love of them! lol -- I had Fort Apache too. I used Lincoln Logs to build a barracks for the cowboys. There were always Indians on the end tables, couch, coffe table, and chairs looking down on the fort from "high up in the canyons". -- Say, do you remember a toy that used a fan to fly a balloon "space craft"? It used the principle of blowing fast moving air above the balloon that lowered the air pressure, causing the balloon to rise. I loved that toy. I got good enough to fly it up to land on top of the TV. I have never seen that toy again, but it could have been Marx.
Hi Bill, Good to hear from my neighbor down South. Glad to hear that you enjoyed the video. Yeah, it's kind of crazy how much some of those toys (or even empty boxes they came) in go for. Loved hearing about the play with Lincoln Log Barracks and the "Canyons". That's the kind of thing we always did when playing. I don't remember the toy you mentioned but I did a search on it and this must be a TV commercial for what you are talking about. It was made by Topper (I have a Topper episode about the Tiger's). I still can't figure out how it works. Very cool toy. Enjoy the commercial: czcams.com/video/wmLMrMdIy5c/video.html
I really loved my civil war play set by Marx back in 1962, l would like to see the old t.v. Christmas commercial for it.
Hey Jeff - Cool that you had that set. Too bad there isn’t a television commercial for it on CZcams but there are some other neat vintage toy commercials.
Alas... the closest I ever got to a Marx Blue and Grey playset was every year seeing it pictured in the Sears Christmas catalog ...
Jeff , my cousins got the Civil War set for Christmas . I got Bridges and Girders. All the fun in 62.
I loved this great memories. I had a German mountain with two yellow cannons on the front. And a elevator on the inside.
Hang on to your memories. I've seen pictures of the set you mention and it looks like a fun set.
Yea me too
That was the "guns of navarone" playset.inspired by the movie i reckon..classic right?
Bring back memories of all my toy soldiers playing in my back yard in the dirt
Nice to hear that the video could bring back good memories of playing with army men. Thanks for watching.
great trip down memory lane. and now i finally know what the karate guy and barbwire guy really were. i too thought one was for barb wire and the karate guy was just a mistake and was suposed to be holding a big gun.
Thanks CF. Glad you enjoyed the trip. It's really funny to me how many other kids (now adults) were also confused by these two figures. Yeah, I suppose it looked like "karate guy" could have been holding something big. Happy 4th of July!
Man I love ❤️ this!!!
I’ve got a Toy Room too! Full of Aurora Monster Models, Tin Toys, Mechanical Banks from the 60s and lots of odds and ends lol I just turned 66, and luckily never grew up 😆 I subscribed and am now in search of your other vids 👍 Thanks for posting this Mark
Cheers 🍻
It sounds like you have a great Toy Room of your own DJ. It's always good to keep the spirit of play in your life. I'm glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for subscribing. I have 21 TR episodes so far so there should b plenty for you to watch. You might enjoy this episode: czcams.com/video/3dRO8KX5FYA/video.html
Holy Cow!!! I had several of the 6" Marx Astronauts when i was a boy in 1970 I think.
I also had the Star Trek Disk Launcher in the 60's .
I think the astronauts are neat. The copyright date on the underside of the base is 1970. Those Star Trek guns were really fun. I'd like to get a mint one with the original Star Trek packaging.
Great memories you have. I was in awe of the soldier play sets. I remember the set you could order in the back of the comics. It looked massive. Never did get one though.
I think I had the fort Apache set. Those 6 inch Marx figures are fantastic. I love the sculpts. Great detail. I have about 15 or 20 of them. I sure like the campus cuties.Never heard of them. The painted Marx figures are quite something. ..If I ever start collecting again, I might pick up a couple but I think my collecting days are over..Thanks for posting the video
I think I may have seen one of the sets from the back of comic books at an antique shop. They were very much less impressive in reality than they appeared in the comic book ads. They were small and sort of flat so that they didn't have much bulk and expense associated with production and shipping. I remember my cousins getting a Fort Apache set on Christmas Eve and I remembered it being cool. The six inch figures are well done and interesting. I have a couple of Flintstones TV-Tinykins in their original packaging that I don't think I had when I made the Battleground video. I don't see too many of the painted figures around much anymore. Glad you enjoyed the video. Happy New Year!
I had a similar play set but it was a Desert Fox play set,with soldiers and tanks and trucks,etc.My family will still get me a bag of green army men for Christmas as a gag gift on occasion.I loved them !
I’m guessing the Desert Fox play set may have come after the set we had?
Anyway, I’m sure it was just as cool for you as the one we had. That’s neat that your family get’s you the gag gift of army men. Happy Holidays to you!
Cool beans! Lots of memories. Awesome collection! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching Scott. I'm glad it brought back lots of memories.
"the germans lost the war but they won the fashion show" Lemmy Kilmister
Rip lemmy
Lemme was a walking hero, among plastic people.
Hugo Boss designed SS uniforms.
Ha! Great Lemmy quote.
Birthday #10 received Marx "D-Day beachhead invasion" from SEARS (from Mom & Dad). So many hours of fun, many of the items you mentioned PLUS - projectile shooting German 88 artillery piece AND P39 Airacobra. Also blue French army guys and tan British army guys. All long gone, they "live now, only in my memories."
That sounds like a great Birthday. I don't know that I've seen the French and British figures. At least they all live in your memory.
Marx battleground Europe playset...
VERY COOL!!!
Man you sure brought back some memories with this video. I got the basic set without the Germans a couple of years later they sold the Germans in a bag and that's how I got the Japanese figures. My favorite set was the civil war set. My dad and I played with that set for hours (no brothers). I had several 6" figures the cowboy getting shot was one of favorites. Thanks for the memories!! (quote)
Ok Bob Hope. Glad I could bring back some hopefully good memories. Germans and Japanese in a bag? I'm sure they sold the figures in different ways. Sounds like you had some good playtime with your Dad. Happy New Year!
I had the guns of Navarone marz set. It had the British soldiers. Very cool.
That sounds like a cool set. It would have been nice to have some British soldiers.
this was really informative! i have so much marx stuff from my childhood including a bunch of 6 inch vikings and a lot of dinosaurs. i never even thought they might be worth something. other than to me that is.
Thanks for watching Aaron. Yes, some of the Marx figures are worth quite a bit. But what's most important is what it's worth to you.
Great video. I was born in 67, so many of these toys preceded me by years. But friends with older brothers sometimes had them, and we played with them a great deal. The toys and the memories lead you to collect them, my mania went a little astray. Interested in the hardware represented by the toys I started to collect cartridge cases, then live common ammunition. This lead to collecting inert ordnance. I now have a house full of empty grenades, mines, rockets and shells, all rendered safe and harmless unless dropped on a toe. Funny how our toys helped shape our interests as adults.
Hey wolf, I understand the romanticism and attraction to toys that were produced in an era previous to your own. I am a boomer and love the old "toy" guns of the 60's but I have no interest in "real" guns or weapons. Still, I respect your collecting of real historical weapons as long as they are inert and of no physical danger.
Terrific video! The Battleground box you have brought back memories... my brother and I took WEEKS to save up enough allowances in the early 1970s to afford the whopping $4 price tag at Woolworths for a Battleground playset. I recall my brother and I had made a deal to go halvsies on the Battleground IF I'd pony up half the cost for a Marx prehistoric playset. But I welched and my Mom pitched in 'my half' so my brother could have the prehistoric playset (and, if I recall correctly, 'my half' was deducted from my allowance for a couple weeks. That learn me!). Fun memories... and yes, it took YEARS for my brother and me to figure out the guy carrying his wounded comrade. In fact I don't think we figured it out until many years later when we teamed up again with allowances to get the incredibly pricey ($19!) Navarone Playset.
Glad you enjoyed the video Richard. Thanks for sharing your own memories about the Marx figures. It’s always fun for me to hear about other stories related to vintage toys. $4.00 certainly was a lot of money in the early 70’s. I teamed up with my younger brother too to buy some things together. It took me a lot longer to learn the truth about the “crazy karate guy” and his friend. You must have been super-rich to be able to be able to by a $19.00 playset!
Happy Holidays to you.
Great presentation! Thank you for the memories.
Thanks for the compliment Kirk! And, thanks for watching.
I got the deluxe set as a kid in the 1960's and had endless hours of fun playing with it in the HUGE sandbox my bricklayer grandfather built for me. I don't know if it was an add-on or another separate set but there were airplanes with it as well...P-51s and P-47s for the US and Bf 109s and Fw190s for the Germans...
It must have been to have a sandbox to play with the soldiers. My friends across the street had a sandbox in their back yard next to the alley. They made a home movie of the soldiers in the sandbox and I think they had a model airplane on a line that they lit on fire.
My brother and I got the disc guns for Christmas. We were having a shootout in the living room when a disc from my gun swerved off to the left towards the Christmas tree, and hit one of my mom's prized pink icicle ornaments, smashing it to pieces. Scared of getting caught, I hid the pieces down in the garbage. My mom knew just how many there were, and quickly found the pieces.
Great story Don. Your Mom sure was a detective. It was pretty hard to fool Mom. Those guns were fun though.
@@MSchussler I think someone else made a copy of the guns a few years later. I seem to remember even being able to buy a package that just had 100 or so extra discs, but can't be sure.
I got the Carry All Fort Apache for Christmas as a kid, and it was my favorite toy. I've been looking on eBay, reminiscing, wishing I could find a complete one in good condition that was affordable.
While searching I came across someone selling what looked like a Marx Civil War Andersonville Prison set, complete with Union prisoners, some tents and such, and Confederate guards. This begs two questions. First , was there such a Marx set? Second, why Marx or anyone else make such a set? I can't believe there would be a lot of market demand for such a set. What kind of kid would want one?
An old college roommate of mine live in Ohio and I think an Ohio toy company made a version of the gun into the 80's, He mailed me a couple of them at the time and it was one of those that I used for the video. I imagine it might be hard to find a good condition Carry All playset in good condition at a reasonable price. I don't really know that much about Marx playsets but from looking online, I'm guessing that the Andersonville Prison set is not a vintage Marx set and is being made now for adult hobbyists. I agree that I don't think there would have been a market for it in the 60's/70's.
I had a toy chest in the basement with some toys left over my older brother who left me a western fort a few metal soldiers. I had those large 6 inch soldiers who were Japanese and German and American in various fighting positions.
Ahhh . . . the old Toy Chest or Toy Drawer or Toy Box. Sounds like you had some treasures in the basement.
And you illuminate your figures with Christmas bubbler lights. They're kinda hard to find now, too.
I always loved the old bubble lights that my Mom used to put on the Christmas tree. I had a lot of replacement bulbs from sets I got many years ago but I suppose I will run out of those at some point and have to try to get some more. I don't know if anyone still makes them or not.
I’ve found a lot of the American soldiers, including the “karate man” and the “cluber” on eBay. Along with a stretcher and the German motorcycle man for cheap, I’m happy that I found them! At least for cheap!😀
Hey . . . you're lucky to get the German motorcycle guy for cheap.
Great collection
Thanks Eltenda and thanks for watching.
Give a Show Projector was great toy.....decades before cell phones and CZcams.
Oh yeah, I loved that !
I didn't have a Give a Show Projector when I was a kid but I was aware of them and would have liked to have one. My vintage friend gave me a good condition set a few years back as a gift. If you're ever in Minneapolis, visit his shop called appropriately enough, "Time Bomb".
We had three of those disc-shooting guns when I was a kid. My brother, father, and I played with them a lot. I am pretty sure I also shot my toy soldiers with them too.
I think that was just about the best toy gun there ever was. Glad to hear you were able to make it a family affair.
The Zebra and Zebra II pistols were favorite toys of mine, and available well into the 90s!
I don't remember ever seeing the Zebra pistols but I just looked up a picture of them. It looks like they shot little pellets. It looks like they would have been fun.
Oh, I see. Thanks for the explanation Marshall. I "Star Trek" guns that we had then.
Great vid!! Love it makes me smile
Thanks - Glad you enjoyed the video. It's good to smile. Have a great week.
I liked the exploding gun nest. CAPS can be found at any "dollar" type store. Look for the cap pistol. There will be exploding caps included.
Yeah, that exploding gun nest was always my favorite part of the Battleground set Larry. Thanks for watching.
I had to laugh when you showed the panzer that had been blown up by firecrackers. My brother and I used to blow up model airplanes with firecrackers and bb guns in the 60's. Unfortunately, some of those kits are quite valuable today. Like you I am pursuing my lost toys and have done really well in replacing them. All the best, Will
Glad I could get a laugh out of you Will. I think a lot of kids destroyed their toys in one way or the other. And yes, a lot of models/toys turned out to be valuable. Happy New Year!
Still have my Marx Fort Apache, Battleground, Moon Base (the most complete and a massive set), and Cape Canaveral playset. Also have my Hot Wheels, Mighty Matilda carrier, Barracuda Sub, and Whirlybird copter. Loved the Battleground playset the best, Ive always wondered why most of US soldiers carried carbines, not M1s? I took me years to figure out the "karate" figues was carrying a wounded soldier.
Also have my 1967 Schwinn Stingray II (Coppertone w/ white seat with metallic flecks. Original tires, including the redline Slik.
Hi Robert - I guess my brother and I weren't the only ones confused byt was some of the soldiers were supposed to be doing. Boy, we must be about the same age. I had the Barracuda Sub and it was pretty cool. I also had the Remco Jet with the pilot and ejection seat/parachute. It was pulled by a little orange tractor. I wouldn't know anything about what kind of weapons the soldiers were carrying or should have been carrying. I still have my old blue Stingray hanging up in the garage. Have a ggod week, Mark
@@MSchussler just heading back to Jacksonville after swing this a KSC.
MOV_9830.mov
Hope it comes thru, it’s today’s SpaceX 8 launch.
@@robertrock8778I don't think you can attach files through this interface. Hope it was a good launch.
Thanks for your video! That was a fun show! You're a good broadcaster
Thanks Audie! I’m glad you enjoyed the show - thanks for the compliment. Have a great weekend.
I wanted that set so bad. My parents bought me the scaled down set. I did have a lot of the things, no germans though. I remember circling the army set in the JC Penny catalog. You were lucky kid! I spent many hours playing with that play set.
My father tried every state we had friends, no go got the same scaled down set. I have learned since the sixty's that the only made a couple hundred. Boy all the tanks American and German, what fun my brothers and I would have had.
Yes RC, we were lucky kids. My brother and I only had one Marx playset but it was a good one and we had lots of other neat toys. The Christmas catalogs from Wards etc. were so great to look and our Mom let us pick some things out of them and gave us even more stuff than we asked for. Thanks for watching.
I think the set we had was a ward's exclusive Robert. I don't know how many of them they made. The scaled down set must have been much more common though. I could never find the large set like we had but did find some of the more rare pieces on eBay.
I had always thought the mortar soldier was a bazooka feeder as a kid. Cool
You were closer to knowing what he was doing than we were.
I had this back in the early 60's and loved it. Also, the Civil War, Alamo and Fort Apache sets. Yes, I was a little warmonger. Fun to see these pieces again. Thanks for the nostalgia.
There were a lot of war-based toys back in the 60's. Glad that you enjoyed the nostalgia. Thanks for watching.
I know I've been to this clip before, but it's a favorite! 😃
Thanks for saying that and thanks for watching it again. I had lunch with my cousin and a friend on Tuesday and they asked me what my most popular video was and it's this one. They wondered why and I guess I can't really figure that out either. I think it could be that a lot of people had army men or at least can relate to it. And, there's a bit of subtle humor to it. Anyway, I hope you have a great Halloween.
I thougth I was the only one who keep and appreciated these toys. 😢
It turns out that there are a lot of us Mariano. Thanks for watching.
You realize these boxes of complete Marx Civil / Indian / Alamo / WW2 playsets cost about $10 at Sears in the
early to mid 1960s ?
I bought additional plastic bags of Marx German / Russian figures (maybe 50 in a bag?) for a buck or less at K-mart or Kressges.
$10 back then is worth about $90 in today dollars.
My pops got rid of my Marx sets when I was about 12 or 13........... "You're too old for playin' with these!"
Thanks pops. As this narrator mentions, it can cost $40 to buy a rare single Marx composite figure.
I still like painting and war gaming HO scale figures to this day.
Yes, your humble narrator realizes that the Marx playsets cost around $10.00 or less when they were originally sold. Bummer that your Dad got rid of the Marx sets you had. Pretty ridiculous to think that your Dad thought you were too old at 12 or 13 to still be playing with anything. Hey, never stop playing.
Remember the Colonial Soldiers set? It was tiny, I think the characters were maybe 1". There was a set of blue colonials and red British.
I'm not familiar with that set but it sounds like you had fun with it.
You mentioned putting soldiers in a glass aquarium for display. I put soldiers in big glass jars. Instead of match books or a big candle sitting on sand, I just fill soldiers up to the top. I would have several manufacturers for variety and many colors for contrast to view them easier. You can even decorate rooms with them and color coordinate with the different colored armies and themes. You can use red, white and blue revolutionary war soldiers in jars to decorate for 4th of July parties. Black, white and orange knights in jars for Halloween. Lime green for St. Patrick's day etc. The vintage one's make great conversation pieces on coffee tables. I have a Lionel train going around my ceiling. I put all of the artillery pieces on flat cars.
I hadn't really thought that idea out that well and the big glass jars make more sense and what you've done with it is fantastic! Funny you mention matchbooks. I have a huge vintage matchbook collection that was in a giant round - glass terrarium. Unfortunately, one of the cats knocked it over and broke it. I put the matchbooks away somewhere and I'll have to think about possibly bringing them back for display again. Anyway, I love the idea of using the colors of the plastic figures to create holiday themes. You must be an artist. The train sounds neat and you must have an interesting home. Too bad CZcams doesn't allow for pictures . . . it would be nice to see some of the jars you put together. Have a good one - Mark
I had all that as a kid in the 70s. Haha. I had the metal Fort Apache set too. I'm looking for one now in fact.
The metal Fort Apache set must have been popular. Cool that Peter Brady was in the commercial. Good luck in finding that set.
My brother and I had this battleground set. IT was 1970, I think.
That's a good year to have it!
I always though it was a karate guy until you put barbed wire guy on his shoulders! I previously put him on the guy with the pistol and arm raised! I didn't realize there were different Battleground sets! I always wondered why the German tanks were missing from myset! Hah!
It was certainly satisfying for me to solve the mystery of the karate guy and "stuck on barbed wire guy". Yep, there were different versions of the Battleground set.
Great video
I know what I'll be looking for now in my travels 😊🇺🇸
Glad to hear you enjoyed the video Larry. Thanks for watching. Good luck in finding what you can of this set in your travels.
I had battleground and guns of Navarone set so much fun I also had a knight castle set with vikings attacking best times as a kid
You were lucky to have multiple Marx playsets as a kid. Happy Holidays!
Man, I wish I had those growing up!
They were a lot of fun but I'm sure you had some nice things too.
The early version of the BGPset had howitzer that actually had spring loaded ability to shoot it's ammo. We know what happened to cool stuff like that. It took me 3 or 4 Christmases asking for a BGPS before I got one in the mid 70's. It got played with a lot before it mysteriously disappeared. (was more than likely sold off by my mom in a neighbors garage sale.)
Hey John - Yeah, the set my
brother had came with a howitzer that shot the little shells. I had kind of forgotten about it but there
was also a plastic sheet camouflaged canopy that you put on top of some
posts. Super bummer about the set most
likely getting sold off at a garage sale.
I’m lucky that my Mom kept most of our stuff for us.
I knew the early BGPS had firing howitzers because an older cousin had that set. Some lawyer must have argued it would put a kid's eye out because by the time I got my set in the mid 70s, the firing mechanism was no longer included. Also, the pill box, sandbags, broken door etc of my cousin's playset was molded in a sand colored plastic rather than the standard brown. I bet those are rare and worth a fortune now.
I live in the house I grew up in and I sometimes have an urge to go on an archeological dig in spots where I knew I played with the soldiers to see if I can find one still hidden among the tree roots. Those soldiers were dear to me and I was pretty good about picking them up so I don't think I would find anything, but ya never know...
Hey man I really enjoyed that. Being in the UK we didn’t have any of them, just airfix soldiers. Great series I’ve subscribed and look forward to some mo re visits to your toy room. Thanks ,
Thanks Jag Betty. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks also for subscribing.
Have a good week, Mark
I had the Marx battleground set but it wasn't the deluxe edition. Also their Cape Canaveral set. I saw a Marx standard battleground set on ebay recently for $500.
It would have been fun to have the Cape Canaveral set. Wow! That's a lot to ask for the Battleground set. It's amazing what even individual figures can go for. Happy Holidays to you.
10:52 I had the Donald the Demon figure on shelf in my bedroom. Brings back memories of over 50 years ago.
Yeah, my older brother had one of the Nutty Mads that was up at the lake. Nice to bring back good memories.
Great video
Thanks Arem. And, thanks for watching.
I had quite a few of those growing up in the 60s and 70s.
Quite a few is a good thing.
Army Men are some of the Best toys ever :')
Yes, Army Men are one of the classic toys. You might enjoy one of my G.I. Joe videos: czcams.com/video/IAO_YMZ7VZQ/video.html
@@MSchussler thanks from the link
@@DragonixBeys DUDE U ARE SO RIGHT. MOST of my channel is based around army men atcully have i about 92 vids but you are SO SO RIGHT
@@coolsshow2388 👍
I know where the guy sweeping came from. I had a 3 story garage with an elevator and ramp. There were several figures I remember the broom guy. I also remember oil and tire displays.
That sounds like a pretty cool set. Thanks for the info on that figure.
Very nice!
Thanks for watching.
I had the Battleground set, and also their Fort Apache, Knights and Castles, and their Civil War sets.
You were lucky to have so many sets Feliks. A guy that collects Marx told me that the Battleground and Fort Apache were the most common sets. I almost got a mint Flintstones set many years ago and I thought that was a fun one.
Feliks Gailitis - I had those sets also. Not the deluxe battleground set, but the common set. I also had Fort Navarone mountain set. That was my favorite. Sadly, I don't have any of them any longer. I know I used to take a hot needle and put "bullet" holes in several of my soldiers. Sadly, it never occurred to me that I would want them when I got older.
Yes, best not to put bullet holes in your toy soldiers.
Love the wounded soldiers in the beginning never saw them before..cool thanks for this
You're most welcome. Thanks for watching!
I had tons of the 6" high soldiers, cowboys/indians and the astronaut guys...
You're a lucky dude Michael. Like I said, I didn't even know they existed when I was a kid.
We used to "play army" in the vacant lots and allys (?) of Philly rowhouses but when it was raining we would go to my friend's basement where he had a big sandbox where we played with the figures and used rubber bands to "kill" them.
Hey Paul - It sounds like you had a lot of fun playing with army men in the vacant lots and alleys of Philly. Rubber bands would be a good way to "kill" the soldiers. Thanks for watching.
The Japanese side didn't get any tanks or trucks, but they did get a Zero fighter plane. I think the Americans got a Mustang, on top of some tanks and trucks. My buddy's set came with German tanks and trucks as well as American. There was also an 88 mm cannon or two for the Germans.
Hey, a Japanese Zero would be kind of cool.
love the video
Thanks Jeanene! I hope you have a lovely Sunday evening and a great week.
I have a 1950s Marx flip over tank made of tin. It doesn't work any more but my dad said he will fix it. Just thought I would tell you.
Great show. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Vincent. The tank sounds like a cool artifact to have. I hope your Dad is able to fix it.
I hope so too.
Wow! The memories of our youth. I had the blue and gray set played with them for years. I also had the nuclear sub I think that was by Ronco? That was one of my al, time favorites.
Yes, the great memories of our youth. Do you mean the Remco Barracuda Atomic Submarine? I have fond memories of that being around the house when I was a kid and that submarine was always fascinating to me. Oddly enough, I've had a dream several times where a reproduction of this sub was made and I got one. I still have the beat up remains of the sub we had in the 60's in my basement.
@@MSchussler Yes! That was the one, god I loved that toy.
It was a pretty memorable submarine.
Im dying for Marx, the detail is beautiful! My mom is getting me it when its my bday!
The detail certainly was beautiful for the Marx figures. I hope your Mother gets you some real nice figures for your birthday.
I want a Marx soldier set for my birthday too, but my mom says I can't because they're too violent. However, I talked her into letting me get the knights. By combining them with knights from other sets, I bet I'll wind up with a whole Medieval army! One day they'll be worth money, so I hope she doesn't give them away when I leave for college................
I don't know where the Moms are getting all these Marx figures from. Are they getting vintage figures or are new ones being made with the old molds? Anyway, Moms always right and if she feels the army men are too violent that's cool and I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun with the Knights and the Medieval Army.
Mark Schussler recasts are available for many of the Marx figures and accessories from www.hobbybunker.com out of Malden, MA. Very reasonable prices
Mark Schussler I’m Asian diabetes, this is my alt. So I got the Japanese, 31 soldiers!!
I’m currently going to get the Russians.
I had 2 different versions of this play set. One was just a battle field set (the one you have) and the other was the Guns of Navarone set. Played with these and my other army soldiers for hours with various neighborhood friends any survivors (not lost) went to my kid brother who was 12 years younger than me and I am sure they are all lost or cleaned out by mom long ago. The guys with no weapons in their hands were supposed to be given weapon, binocs and maybe other stuff from the sprue of supplies that came with your set (I don't remember what all came on them its been over 40 years now). The "club" is a rifle Grenade or perhaps a mortar round its really too small to be sure.
It looks like the two sets had the same soldiers but the Guns of Navarone set had a cool playmat and mountain structure. Too bad there are most likely "no survivors" from the sets that you had. Yes, the club is a mortar shell and there was a hard plastic brown piece that was a mortar that may not have been a perfect match in scale.
Yup the mortar rd was too small for that mortar as I remember it. I think the most likely thing that might be floating around at my parents house would be the tank that came with the set. It was like a stylize M41 Walker Bulldog but the last time saw it was in the 80's so.....
@@gordonlumbert9861 Well . . . maybe you can find the tank. Even having one piece from a set like that can be a fun little reminder.
Nice video!
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed watching it. I guess you must have found out from watching the video that I got the German motorcycle and sidecar in an eBay auction.
@@MSchussler Yeah,i saw ur vid while i was in class withoud audio so i wasnt able to hear the context,then i re watched the vid ,anyway thank you!
Fun stuff! I still have a few Marx Germans. The Crazy Karate Guy, I never knew he carried the other guy. I need to see if I still have those guys.
Hey Sparky, Funny how it seems that others didn’t know what “the crazy karate guy” was up to. I hope you find your army men.
I didn’t wade thru all the comments so maybe this is redundant. The guy sweeping and other figures with that group came from the Marxville series of plastic buildings which was created to compete with Plasticsville for use with train sets. The sweeper was part of the factory bldg. I had that one.
Nobody else commented on those figures so it’s nice for me to know what they were from. My brother and I had a couple of the Plasticville buildings. We had an HO train layout downstairs and we built a mountain for the train to go through. The Plasticville stuff was too large for our HO set of course. Thanks for the info and thanks for watching.
Have a great week. Mark
this is BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Cossack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
fantastic video :-)
Thanks Damian! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I've given you a subscribe also, look forward to seeing more soon
Thanks also for the subscription Damian! More to come . . .
Excellent
Man ,these were the days.I,ve lost most of these,however ,im workin on that.
Well Gene, I hope you're able to find as many lost pieces as possible.
@@MSchussler thanks , i found a couple so far :D
I had the Guns of Navarone. Many of the same poses. I also had the astronaughts.
I'm sure those were fun sets too.