Copies of 6 inch "Goldmarx" figures. Someone had repainted a knight purple.
Copies of 6 inch "Goldmarx" figures
Someone repainted the end knight a metallic baby blue-green
Miniature copies of Warriors of the World Vikings, approximately 25mm scale
Copyright 2008 T. Sheil & A. Sheil All Rights Reserved
Small Scale Knights and Vikings
Tanks were not the only armor to make a place in the small scale world. The popularity of HO sized soldiers and troops led to expansion on small scale into other genre and eras. Medieval figures were a natural choice. Knights, Vikings, castles and accessories became available. In a few years, the ranges had expanded to include a variety of castles, catapults, and men at arms.
From the rough plastic castings of Giant to the elegant, hand-painted tiny knights by Marx, the Middle Ages were well-represented in the diminutive realms of small scale soldiery.
Marx Small Scale
The Louis Marx Company's entry into small scale came in its usually format: the playset. The toymaker had take its toy soldiery up a notch by offering handpainted plastic figures in the 6" Goldmarx and 65mm to 75mm Warriors of the World ranges. Small scale, promoted as "HO", made its appearance via playsets that included troops, structures and accessories. Eras covered included the Middle Ages, Wild West, Civil War, Charge of the Light Brigade, American Revolution and World War II. Soldiers were in the 25mm to 30mm range.
The Medieval Playsets came with a castle, siege gear, catapults, small accessories and two armies. Depending on the set, they were either knights and Vikings or Gold Knights versus Silver knights. There were two different castles available. Several of the knights were miniature copies of 6 inch Goldmarx figures. The Vikings were miniature versions of their Warriors of the World counterparts.
The playsets were fun, but Marx was never a stickler for historical accuracy. Within the set were knights representing different centuries of the Middle Ages, from a Crusader to early 16th Century figures. The Vikings were like the characters in a Prince Valiant cartoon. Nonetheless, they were beautiful sets and command very high prices on the collector market.
The figures displayed here were packed in with some Merten miniatures we had gotten via Ebay. Many lost weapons and a few were damaged.
(If anyone can spare a few figures, we would like to complete our set of 25mm Vikings and add to the Knights, as well as feature other items such as castles and accessories.)
Copies of 6 inch "Goldmarx" figures. Someone had repainted a knight purple. | |
Copies of 6 inch "Goldmarx" figures | |
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Someone repainted the end knight a metallic baby blue-green | |
Miniature copies of Warriors of the World Vikings, approximately 25mm scale | |
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Giant of Hong Kong
Though the 1960s, Giant was perhaps the most prolific maker of small scale toy figures. They produced Cowboys, Indians, Civil War figures, World War II soldiers, Napoleonics, Romans & Greeks, Vikings Knights and Mongols. Their Medieval sets often came wit ha snap-together castle and a few accessories. Giant made foot and mounted figures for its Medieval range. That included Knights, Mongols and Vikings. Another accessory was a small Viking ship.
Many Giant figures were miniature copies form other makers. Many of the Knights were copies of Crescent figures. The Romans were copies of Marx "Warriors of the World" and the Greeks were from the Herald "Trojan" series. The Mongols look to be their own adaptations of the Knights. While a few of the Vikings were obvious copies from the Aurora Viking Ship model, most foot and all mounted Norsemen look to be original.
The Giant sets were cheap, sold on blister cards or in header bags. Today, they command very high prices on the collector market.
Miniature clones of Crescent brand foot knights | |
Center knight based on Crescent figure. End pair are adaptations of Crescent poses | |
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First knight copied from Crescent, the others are adaptations of the first. |
Vikings
This set of Vikings came our way some years ago. many have horned helmets and their historical accuracy is questionable. Then again, they were made by a company somewhere in eastern Europe, most likely Russia or the Ukraine. More than a few poses were inspired by Marx Warriors of the World, 54mm and 6-inch figures.
2nd and 3rd figures are inspired by Marx 54mm Vikings |
First third and last figures inspired by Marx Warriors of the World; fourth and fifth by Marx 6" and 54mm figures |
3rd and 4th figures are similar to Marx Warriors of the World poses. The last is a close copy of a Marx 54mm figure |
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Can you help? We are looking for more pieces for the Giant and Marx ranges. Conact us at thortrains@comcast.net
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