c.1952 Marx, Revolving Beacon Tower in Original Box
Unusual plastic and metal tower with revolving beacon head. The beacon was made from light weight aluminum with plastic lenses. The top of the beacon was cut into a ventilator fan. A small pin inside the beacon rests on top of a flat bulb cover. As the heat rises from the bulb it strikes the fan which causes the beacon to revolve. Comes complete with superb original box and original insert. Although this toy was most likely never played with, the beacon mechanism looks like it was jerry-rigged to work properly. The pin inside the beacon should rest on top of a dimpled bulb. Instead, this unit uses a wide rubber ring which holds a flat bulb cover in place. The cover is knurled so the beacon remains centered while it rotates. An authentic old style large size round bulb is screwed into the socket, but again it's not the correct bulb. The original socket and bulb holder is still intact so if you have the correct bulb the other stuff can be removed to make it correct. In addition each beacon lens is held in place with three metal tabs. All three are there for the red lens, however the green lens has all of the tabs broken off. Looking inside the beacon I can see that the green lens was glued to the aluminum frame. It's all very clever and still spins freely, however it's definitely not the standard setup. The clip to attach the wiring is in place underneath the base. I have no way of actually testing it. The tower and railing around the beacon is all plastic. A metal rod in the center of the tower brings up the wiring to light the bulb. On the exterior of the tower is a metal ladder, probably also aluminum. The box is all amber with black text. A nearly full panel illustration of the tower is shown on two sides. Instructions for connecting are printed on another panel. The Marx logo appears on the last panel. The original insert (not shown) was ingeniously die to securely hold the tower in place inside the box. Size: 13". Sold: May 2006
Price Sold: $ 22
