Joe K. Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 Nice find, Mike. 2-XL has always been a favorite of mine, too. Here's a 2-XL web site that you might want to consider sharing these "type 1" blueprints with:http://www.2xlrobot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyMemories Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 Thanks Joe... Cool site (I'd been there before) and will see what I can do. While working on a non-space toy project (trains), I've unearthed a few more goodies from the collection. More classic original raygun technical drawings... by Marx! (other drawings to come soon!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 Wow, I like that radio repeater !! Who has one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Great pics! Classic toys! The Flash Gordon Signal Pistol is one of my all-time favorite space guns. Nice to see confirmation of the 1935 date. It's way older than I think most people first realized. Until a year or two ago, I'd heard some people say 1950s, while others would mutter, "No way -- definitely Forties!" Then I found a catalogue listing from the Marx auction of however many years back, and the toy was listed as 1935. It's nice to have solid evidence of the dates on both guns... Puts them for certain among the few pre-WWII space guns (along with the Buck Rogers XZ-31, 35, 38, and 44, plus the Nu-Matic Paper Popper).Thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe K. Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 And here's a very recent Timeline catalog sighting confirming that 1935 date for the Flash Gordon Signal Pistol:http://danefield.com/alpha/forums/1935-Fla...igna-t7020.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyMemories Posted December 4, 2007 Author Share Posted December 4, 2007 Doc- thanks! Yeah, that Flash pistol is pretty snappy... I don't know why so many people believe it came out later, it really has a 30's look to me at least. That's one of the good things about the tech. drawings; they do help to date things, and also many can place variations if modifications are structural in some way. Joe- Cool! Further verification of my belief that the finished drawings come pretty near production for Marx (Ideal's dates seem to be about 6 months to a year behind). I have some Marx factory documents that cover modifications in assembly processes, but from what I remember they only begin about 1946... I wish they went back to the 1930's... (and they're not all-inclusive for all of Marx's factories) More pics to come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH MIKE Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Flash Gordon Signal Pistol Patent:http://www.google.com/patents/pdf/DESIGN_F...GbiHSdhnHNL7iR8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyMemories Posted December 9, 2007 Author Share Posted December 9, 2007 Were you reading my mind, SH Mike?? I'd been recently thinking about doing something with Marx patents, and even thought some kind of space-related section here at the 'Drome would be cool and/or useful, but didn't know how to approach it... I've spent hundreds of hours going through toy patents (yeah, I'm nuts... it is fun) and to me they're pretty interesting. The application date makes sense for that Design patent (they'd want to protect designs ASAP to deter copycats). Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyMemories Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 Pics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 WHERE DO YOU FIND THIS STUFF????!!!!! :)The Shooting Man From Mars is one of my favorite toys. Is that a prototype? An unfinished casting? A mold? More info, please!!!!And, of course, you're killing me every time that Atomic Rifle prototype comes up... Seeing it at Botstock was amazing. I spend a lot of time drooling over every detail. Too cool.Keep posting your stuff! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyMemories Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Hey Doc! How are you, my friend? Congrats again on the very cool mold! I really wish I'd been able to make BotStock... Well... actually, I found the Man From Mars in my garage this past week I wanted to get the picture posted before I forgot where I filed it LOL but didn't have time really to add any text then. The Irwin Man From Mars up there is a test-shot that I got with a handful of other old Irwin test-shots/first-shots a while back including... shots for a strange kewpie-looking plastic doll (ugh!), a pistol (not space), another test for Man From Mars that I THINK is in yellow, but I'm not sure as I can't locate him at the moment, and some other misc. The stuff came from someone who worked in the toy biz for a long time. The mold the shots originally came from would have just been for the front and back body only (and sorry, I don't remember getting any helmets). I like him; he's weird but cool! Glad you like the super-cool Atomic Rifle prototype! It's one of my favorites too... I really never thought I'd have been fortunate enough to get something like that, but am thankful it worked out... As the weather is getting nicer here I can access some stuff more easily; I'll be happy to post more soon! I have a deal in the works which includes a few cool space items, so if it works out I'll post those pics too. Did I forget to tell you that I love this stuff? And hey... I drool every time I see pics of your collection too... you've got some great stuff! *A note to those that don't know the details- The Marx Corbett rifle above is all hand made/carved/sculpted and was a working true prototype (doesn't work now). It would have been shown (and demonstrated) to Louis Marx for approval, and then potential buyers at the showroom, and is likely the first model that was made. Sadly it was broken many years ago (see pics) but is still very cool. It was on display at BSV recently (thanks again, Joe!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fineas J. Whoopie Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Hey Toymemories - that Irwin spaceman is a mind blower!! I never realized that some of those plastic toys were molded like that, both sides in tandem. Looks like an old model kit. Do you know if the production pieces were molded in white and then painted? For some reason I assumed that they were molded in the dominant color (like red for the Irwin spaceman) and the accents were spray painted through a stencil. Anyway that piece is something else!I have to apologize for not getting home from botstock with a good pic of the Marx Tom Corbett Space Cadet Atomic Rifle prototype. It's a long story but I took some shots of it but they got deleted. I just think it's a shame that the Botstock V threads don't have a good pic of the prototype for posterity. We MOST definitely enjoyed seeing it - thanks again. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyMemories Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 Hey, Fin! Yeah, he's weird but cool... Usually as many parts that can be made together are all made in the same mold (I'll try and find a nice pic of a complete production mold of a toy for you) kind of like a model kit (well, really like a model kit when you think about it!) As far as I know your assumptions are correct and standard, most items are molded in the dominant color to help keep production costs down, and volume up in saving time. And... waddaya know? The yellow test-shot cousin turned up this weekend (I'll try and get a pic posted ASAP) minus the runner. No apologies necessary about the Corbett prototype pics! Can't we add the above pics to the BSV thread? You're very welcome, it was my pleasure to send it along! (well, honestly I was kind of like a parent whose child went away for a while... :unsure: little bit nervous wreck, a little afraid it would get gobbled up or smashed by USPS, but still happy to share!) I hope I can make BSVI... and finally meet you guys... and bring more stuff! ------- Ok, here is a pic of the Irwin spaceman test-shot in yellow; and also a pic of an old production mold (NOT mine) that made toy boats so you can see the way it's laid out (depending on planned production and what kind of numbers were to be made, they would try and make as many pieces in a mold as possible and practical to minimize molding time. More cavities=more expense and bigger machine necessary to run them; and the bigger the part the less cavities possible.) For example, real large items like Irwin's Dandy the Lion's head had one mold just for each half of the head! Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyMemories Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 Been too busy for too long... Came across a pic of my little buddy, the odd climbing robot, and had to post it And a spaceship blueprint for good measure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 "a spaceship blueprint..."Sounds like an artifact from a future that never was... :)Very cool stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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