1956 Marx Large Army Command Car In Original Box
Magnificent example of the largest tinplate coupe manufactured by Louis Marx. Produced in several versions, this is the Army Command Car in unused, unplayed with near mint+ condition. It comes complete with its original Military Policeman driver, original windshield, original working emergency light with "siren", plus its complete huge box. Of all the large Marx coupes I've found over the years I've only had one better and that was unopened store stock about 10 years ago. In fact I gave a presentation on antique toys to my town historical society a few months ago and this was the centerpiece of my discussion. The body, including the sealed silver, single plate chassis is made from heavy gauge tinplate. The front and rear fenders, plus the grille, bumpers, side molding, and cowl are all embossed. Despite its nearly 2ft. length its incredibly strong. The chassis and body edges are folded over. This strengthens the seal between the upper and lower halves as well as creating a smooth, safe edge. The lithography, including the interior has a smooth, yet faintly grainy appearance. This is true for all the large coupes and may have been due to the use of a different lithograph process. Deep, rich colors were used inside and out. It has a red and black double bench seat interior with detailed dashboard and silver plastic steering wheel. On the exterior, black striping denotes individual sections of the car such as the front hood, doors, wheel wells and rear trunk. The front of the car features a wide, "frowning" grille and bumper surrounded on either side by huge yellow headlamps. The red license plate "excitingly" displays three yellow stars. The toy name, Army Corp. insignia's, and other 1950?��s styling adorns the sides of the car, while a large U.S. Army, American Eagle shield emblem above three white stars decorates the entire rear trunk. Below this is the multicolored rear bumper lithography with double red taillights, government issue license plate, and the word "Deluxe" just above the trunk key hole. The chassis is embossed and painted silver tinplate. The single D-cell battery compartment still has its original metal and fiberboard contact levers. The light works beautifully, flashing automatically off and on as the vehicle moves. Simultaneously a whirring "siren sound" is produced. The windshield is transparent polystyrene and is original to the car. The tires have molded treads and are polyethylene plastic. In true Marx fashion the driver is molded and highly detailed plastic. His MP helmet is a separate part and is frequently missing. For that matter the soldier is usually missing too. The box was beautifully illustrated with a gigantic, panel wide drawing of the Command Car and driver shown from the side. The Army base with barracks and parading men, including a tank can be seen in the background. The wide, rear panel shows a three quarter image of the car. It takes up about half the panel. The rest includes the toy name plus its features. An identical, wide, front panel has a similar illustration with the addition of a schematic in the lower left corner. Diagrams show how to insert the battery, turn it on, and replace the emergency bulb. The endflaps on this box are really unusual. Due to the weight of the toy, one endflap completely locks into an accordion-type triangular combination of three flaps. It's almost impossible to open without tearing it and the main reason why this box didn't last very long once it released its contents. One set of endflaps is still sealed. Size: 20" x 9" x 6" Sold: Jul. 2008
Price Sold: $ 610
