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Marx 1975 Johnny West/ Best of the West Catalog

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    Museum Robot
    • May 9, 2007
    • 5788

    Marx 1975 Johnny West/ Best of the West Catalog

    Like G.I. Joe, Johnny West was one of the few hold over action figure lines from the 1960’s. This durable (hell indestructable) cowboy figure line was looking a little strange on a shelf now populated by Superheroes, Aliens and talking apes but he managed to kick around for at least one more year. The line […]

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  • Mikey
    Verbose Member
    • Aug 9, 2001
    • 47242

    #2
    Oh man !!!

    One of my top fav toy lines of the 70's !!!

    I had EVERYTHING - including all versions of their wagons and horses

    This is the first time I've ever heard of (or seen) a Sam Cobra water pistol ???

    Note to self --- Find, buy and admire a Sam Cobra water pistol before you die

    Thanks for giving my collector's heart a super kick in the trousers !!!

    Comment

    • Earth 2 Chris
      Verbose Member
      • Mar 7, 2004
      • 32498

      #3
      I think these would get even more love than they do if they didn't disintegrate now. My grandfather collected horses, and had a Thunderbolt horse on display for years. After he and my grandmother passed, I was surprised to find he had a Chief Cherokee in the box, rarely if ever displayed. I was excited until I opened it up to find the Chief in pieces. I still display the horse and the box, with the broken chief inside.

      I don't understand the Jeep thing either! Plus, why is Sam Cobra called "Sam Cober" on the water pistol package?

      Chris
      Last edited by Earth 2 Chris; Jan 4, '21, 2:13 PM.
      sigpic

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      • Falstaff13
        Persistent Member
        • May 28, 2008
        • 1251

        #4
        This was a great line that always had amazing accessories, and these wagons are some of the most beautifully produced for all western lines.
        Hugh H. Davis

        Wanted: Legends of the West (Empire & Excel) and other western historically-based figures. Send me an offer.
        Also interested in figures based on literary characters.

        Comment

        • apes3978
          Permanent Member
          • Nov 19, 2005
          • 4901

          #5
          To this day, I still regret selling my collection.. We had so much fun with that stuff...

          In regard to Earth 2 Chris' post about the stuff disintegrating, I never had that trouble with any of my stuff... I stored it for several years in a storage shed with *no* climate control, exposed to extremes in heat and cold (but it was never exposed to direct rain, snow, sunlight). When I went to sell it, everything was as it had been all those years before, intact and nice condition-No issues with any of the stuff falling apart...

          Those figures were extremely durable.

          Comment

          • Mikey
            Verbose Member
            • Aug 9, 2001
            • 47242

            #6
            Anybody else (back in the day) think Josie West was the spitting image of the Space Ghost girl ?

            Was thinking about customs even back then

            Comment

            • TrekStar
              Trek or Treat
              • Jan 20, 2011
              • 8354

              #7
              Those water pistols look neat.

              Comment

              • Werewolf
                Inhuman
                • Jul 14, 2003
                • 14616

                #8
                Originally posted by Earth 2 Chris
                I think these would get even more love than they do if they didn't disintegrate now.
                Yeah, they are wonderful toys but do not age well. My Mother had a large collection of these and all the rubber accessories melted on display in an airconditioned room. Any rubber parts (saddles, vests, etc.) looked to have chemically reacted to harder plastic of the dolls and horses. The additional accessories that were not in contact with anything else also got all sticky and gooey. It was kind of a depressing mess.
                You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...

                Comment

                • PNGwynne
                  Master of Fowl Play
                  • Jun 5, 2008
                  • 19444

                  #9
                  I've admired Marx' figures, I'd like a custom James (Wild Wild West) West and secret agent Mike Hazard.

                  The disintegration of some figures, especially of certain colors, is well-documented--but I did not know about concerns with the accessories. They seemed so durable to me.
                  WANTED: Dick Grayson SI trousers; gray AJ Mustang horse; vintage RC Batman (Bruce Wayne) head; minty Wolfman tights; mint Black Knight sword; minty Launcelot boots; Lion Rock (pale) Dracula & Mummy heads; Lion Rock Franky squared boots; Wayne Foundation blue furniture; Flash Gordon/Ming (10") unbroken holsters; CHiPs gloved arms; POTA T2 tan body; CTVT/vintage Friar Tuck robes, BBP TZ Burgess Meredith glasses.

                  Comment

                  • J.B.
                    Guild Navigator
                    • Jun 23, 2010
                    • 2881

                    #10
                    I was in pretty bad shape after having my tonsils removed, so on the way back from the hospital my Dad drove to my favorite toy store, Toyville, and told me to pick whatever toy I wanted. Here's Johnny!


                    Had I not been so loopy, I may have gone for one of the stupid expensive Corgi's that were behind a locked glass cabinet, but I'm glad I chose Johnny.
                    You are transparent; I see many things... I see plans within plans.

                    Comment

                    • Mikey
                      Verbose Member
                      • Aug 9, 2001
                      • 47242

                      #11
                      The Canadian/Mexican color variations always had me super jealous.

                      I would have KILLED for a molded white Sheriff Garret

                      Not to mention a blue Sam Cobra

                      Comment

                      • Earth 2 Chris
                        Verbose Member
                        • Mar 7, 2004
                        • 32498

                        #12
                        In regard to Earth 2 Chris' post about the stuff disintegrating, I never had that trouble with any of my stuff... I stored it for several years in a storage shed with *no* climate control, exposed to extremes in heat and cold (but it was never exposed to direct rain, snow, sunlight). When I went to sell it, everything was as it had been all those years before, intact and nice condition-No issues with any of the stuff falling apart...

                        Those figures were extremely durable.
                        So what's the story on these falling apart? I know very little beyond the basics about the line, but I have seen more crumbling than intact in my toyshow/antique mall hunts over the years.I picked up a big bag full of 60s figures/accessories at an antique mall in Knoxville TN about 20 years ago, with Marx figures, including Johnny and a gold knight. Both were just in pieces.

                        Is it humid climate? Is it a certain run of figures that are prone to disentegrating?

                        Chris
                        Last edited by Earth 2 Chris; Jan 5, '21, 1:15 PM.
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                        Comment

                        • apes3978
                          Permanent Member
                          • Nov 19, 2005
                          • 4901

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Earth 2 Chris
                          So what's the story on these falling apart? I know very little beyond the basics about the line, but I have seen more crumbling than intact in my toyshow/antique mall hunts over the years.I picked up a big bag full of 60s figures/accessories at an antique mall in Knoxville TN about 20 years ago, with Marx figures, including Johnny and a gold knight. Both were just in pieces.

                          Is it humid climate? Is it a certain run of figures that are prone to disentegrating?

                          Chris
                          I wish I had an answer for you, seriously...

                          Reading about it in this thread is the first I'm reading ("hearing") about these falling apart/disintegrating-In addition to your post, I'm now reading a few more and I'm pretty confused by it actually... I have no doubt about what you (or the others) were saying, I was just posting my own personal experiences with the figures.

                          As I said, when I sold mine, they had been in a storage shed with no climate control, so exposed to the various hot/humid and cold/sub-zero weather we get around here... Eventually they were moved into a spare room here in the house, but that was after years of the way they were stored in the shed. All I can say is my stuff was just as it had been before it went in to the shed. When I sold it, there were no issues with it, and the guy I sold it to was quite happy with it.

                          All of the stuff I had was from when it was marketed as "Best of the West", except for the later "Johnny West" version of Chief Cherokee and Jamie West, so I don't know if anything changed between lines as far as the plastic they used, etc... But at the time of sale, the "BOTW" and "JW" stuff was all in good shape. Now granted, I sold the stuff about 12 years ago, so what might have happened to the stuff in that time span is beyond me.

                          When I get some time, I *might* try to contact the guy I sold my stuff to, and ask him his experiences with the Marx stuff (he was a major collector, and had everything from all over, and I believe he dabbled in selling as well)... If I can dig up his contact info, I'll see what I can find out-But that may take awhile... In the meantime, I hope there are people on these forums who can tell us if their stuff became decrepit over the years. I am curious about it, because I always thought that the figures themselves at least were built like a tank, solid and indestructible.

                          Edited to add- My Jed Gibson figure was also from the "Johnny West" series of figures.
                          Last edited by apes3978; Jan 5, '21, 5:37 PM.

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                          • apes3978
                            Permanent Member
                            • Nov 19, 2005
                            • 4901

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Mikey
                            The Canadian/Mexican color variations always had me super jealous.

                            I would have KILLED for a molded white Sheriff Garret

                            Not to mention a blue Sam Cobra
                            Sheriff Garrett seemed to be a hard one to find around here-The only one I ever ran across was at a yard sale with *zero* accessories.

                            Since we had some extra "BOTW" figures that we picked up along the way at sales, etc. we would switch their heads onto the different bodies to create alternate figures. For instance, we had one of the bearded Knight figures- We took the head off the body, put it on an extra white Geronimo body we had, and we had an instant "Mountain Man/Fur Trader". And I remember we had two of the brown bodied Chief Cherokee figures, so we swapped out the Chief Cherokee head and put a Geronimo on the body, so we had Geronimo with a brown body, etc.

                            Comment

                            • apes3978
                              Permanent Member
                              • Nov 19, 2005
                              • 4901

                              #15
                              One more thing about the figures and how well, or badly, they held up thru the years- Did any of you guys see the episode of Me-TV's "Collector's Call" from this last season, I forget the guys name, but I think the gist of his huge toy collection was that he wanted every day to be like Christmas or something like that... Anyway, one of the things they featured on the show was his original Marx "Best of the West" store display, complete with figures and horses, and all of the stuff looked to be in excellent shape.

                              I don't know when it would have been filmed, but I would imagine maybe a year before it aired, so recorded probably sometime in 2019.

                              Comment

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