Marx Fantasia

My collection of 3/16" scale tin is small but growing. Still need hopper, reefer, flat and stock cars! Like you, I think it would be great if there were more variety, but I am glad Marx did what they did as the scale tin is my favorite O-gauge tin stuff.

I have seen off center cupola cabooses based on the 7" tin caboose, but with Type "D" trucks.

All the cars are almost perpetually on the bay, excepting the Pennsylvania stock car,
and a variation of the hopper with the end brace, both deemed as "rare". (I wonder how much money Marx saved when they elected to drop the brace?) They all
get more recognition, with escalated prices, than formerly. A flat car with no factory
railings is less common than ones with railings.  The other cabooses, common in some
sets, are not an extension of the dies of the two 3/16 cabooses, which I am not sure
I counted with the 21, as I am sure I did not include tenders.  I visualize extensions
of the two "northeastern" cabooses, the Reading and the NYC, which would have
opened up some more western roads.
The Flynns, with New Marx, pulled off a miracle in getting old technology, sheet
metal lithography, recreated, and, with the aversion to fakes in the hobby, may have
deliberately chosen not to exactly duplicate old dies.  I would have liked old dies but
new lithography.  (people can and do create new versions from the old shells, but
certainly not lithoed)
As a kid, probably biased, I preferred my one dimensional printed Marx to the bright
colored plastic mouldings of its competitors, which technology Marx later adopted.  That bias continues to this day, although I am modeling with "Lionel" compatible,
since I want a high rail layout.   Yet I would like to be looking for some of those nonexistent "Marx" versions I cited in my posting.

i'm not sure if Louis Marx ever envisioned his trains coupled as long consists traveling over room-size layouts.  add to this that most Marx and all 3/16" scale trucks use wheels which spin on axles, not axle bearing trucks.  even the best maintained consist will stall most Marx locomotives when a dozen cars are reached and the automatic tilt couplers will start failing when more load is added.

i have had luck pulling the ~20 standard 3/16" cars, but only with a K-line (traction tire equipped) #333 type, juggling the cars as the weaker couplers migrate to the rear of the train.

sure unit stock or hopper trains would be nice, but for me, the number of original cars is just about a perfect balance.

I feel the new cars you want  would be similar to Ford building new Model 'T,S'.  Nice to own, but still a repro.

Al

So...what did New Marx make?...since they did not exactly match previous Louis Marx

products, they weren't repros in the since that the five protoypes redone over and over by Lionel, and then Williams, and then....? that closely match what Lionel had

done before.  I would want to stay away from close repros of the orange ATSF

stock car, but Marx only made two stock cars, New Marx made several, none

of them orange ATSF, and since their stampings aren't the same, I don't consider

them repros (I would have been pleased if stampings were closer, but not if finish

was identical).   The Lionel/Williams/Joe Blow continuing recreations of old models

may have jeopardized the value of the early Lionel models they copied, New Marx has had no effect on old Marx prices, for it does not look the same, IMO.

not necessarily...  a repro is an copy of something made in the past, but it would be sad to see the exact same graphics that represent original Marx pieces.  there are plenty of holes in every Marx line which collectors would like to see filled.  New Marx had a good idea, but in my opinion, fell short of attaining the graphic artistry and finish of original Marx and the non-coasting drive in their locomotives was a horrible choice.

the market has certainly changed.  collectors today only account for a fraction of the appeal these toys had to the end users of the 1930's & 40's (i.e. kids) and let's face it, low end trains are a tough sell next to PS4, 1st person shooter games.

Remember this supplier?

http://fauxtoys.com/

I'ce seen the site, but it's been dead since before I first found it. Too bad they went out of business. It would have been great if they were able to expand into the scale tin cars too.

I'm thinking someday I may turn my drawing talent from making fake tin buildings on the computer and try doing something to redecorate scale tin cars.

I had not seen or heard of "fauxtoys" before the above posting.  Wonder if that was

litho or some new process?  I once was brash enough to approach a historical litho tin toy maker, not Marx, and before New Marx.  They were not encouraging.  And then

New Marx was announced, with the apparent rights, and I already thought I knew that one player would have a hard go at it.  Just another Marx fantasy... Demographics,

number of people who were familiar with Marx has dwindled, and now interest in

realism and iPhone electronics equals the MTH ad "Trains that do more things".

Not enough of a market for nostalgic re-creations.

I am guessing those printed "stick-on" sides were only available for the "6 inch" series...(don't really want to hear there were 3/16th versions and something else

to hunt, for I bet these are not often on the bay since I had never heard of them

before)

I have never seen any for sale on the bay or elsewhere after he closed up shop for health reasons. Once in a while I see cars for sale that were done with his stuff or were copied from it. Yes, he only did 6", but he made the graphics for my Rock Island set that were planned as a future addition to the product line. I was a test mule to see how they fit.

Steve

I have over the years, (70 of them) bought a lot of Marx starting with a set and added more sets and strays as time passed.  I have not listed all my purchases, but it did finally got the Pennsy cattle car at a local show. 

I have been buying new Marx when I can find it.   So I need to make a list.  I may post a list, and would like to see your list.

Loved the Godzilla show, very well done.  Wish I had that talent.

Al

The only new Marx I own (excepting a short passenger set that was delivered with

tab and slot couplers although it had been shown with tilt fork...to my considerable

annoyance) are two flat cars that look the most like duplicates (new roadnames) of original Marx flats. Today, the TCA Quarterly floated in with J.&D. Flynn's article showing a wall filled with New Marx, some maybe just prototypes,   which will give those interested something to hunt

My New Marx collection has a decent selection of the accessory items they produced, minus the bridges, have a couple, but they were not my thing. I have about 18 boxed sets and maybe another 150 pieces of rolling stock and engines, plus one street car. Only a handful of my collection is prototypes and samples..

Steve