Mini-Marx Truck and Trailers

[AJR]

Not the most collectable of themes but I seem to have been drawn in.
Eleven to collect plus an odd Lanz Tractor and Trailer that seems to have been thrown in as an afterthought.
They are rather crude but do have a certain charm about them.
The twelve models are shown on the back of the boxes.
Two that I have saved from chopping up are the box trailer and the tanker.

Please add to this thread if I have left anything out.

[AJR]

There are some variations.
The truck cab on the earlier castings has a flat roof and less detailing on the grille.
The later casting has marker lights on the roof and more detailing on the grille.
Neither has glazing and the lack of interior means you can see straight through the cab to the ground.

[AJR]

Earlier releases also had larger diameter and larger width wheels.
This meant that the wheels stuck out from the arches quite considerably.
The axles were also over long which made the problem worse.
Later releases had much smaller diameter wheels with less width, fitting the arches better.
The later wheels were very similar to the Matchbox Cooper-Jarrett models.
Front wheels under the cab on the later versions are borrowed from the car range.
The later flat / box trailers can be recognised (not the tanker or tipper) by tail light detail moulded into the rear end.
This is missing from the earlier castings.
The tanker trailer can still be picked out though .. the earlier version having a cast "MADE IN HONG KONG" along the left hand side of the walkway.
This has been removed from later castings.

Late wheels to the left / early wheels to the right

Late wheels to the left / early wheels to the right

Late wheels to the left / early wheels to the right

Late wheels to the bottom / early wheels to the top
Note tail light detail on the later trailer

[AJR]

Comparing the tractor / cab unit wheels from underneath.
The thinner front wheels on the later version against the thicker front wheels on the early versions.
Rears can also be compared, as can the over long axles on the earlier versions.

[AJR]

I came by mine as a job lot and I intend to customise them by adding glazing and a cab floor / baffle.
The wheels that stick out on the earlier versions are annoying so I'll be addressing that, starting with one of the tankers.

Oh dear, stick out wheels and over long axles

Comparison between newer type wheels (which still do stick out slightly)
and my custom "singled" older wheels with 1.5mm spacers that don't stick out

[AJR]

An idea I've had to prevent the over wide wheels protruding from the front arches is to remove the front axle brackets and refit brass brackets further inboard.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Great article and if I may add the following -

For those that do not read Roman Numerals...
MCMLXIX in the first picture translates to 1969.

This range of metal diecast models were made by The Elm Tool & Machinery Company Ltd. in Hong Kong who made a lot of toys in metal and plastic for Louis Marx in the US.

ELM is more well known for their plastic friction powered toy vehicles which proudly display the ELM logo on their underside such as on this Land Rover.

In 1972, the Louis Marx company was purchased by Quaker Oats Co., Stamford Conn. and many product lines were cancelled and production stopped.

By 1973, only plastic toys were in the inventory for marketing under the MARX name so this range of trucks is one of the last products made by the original Marx company.

ELM by the way has been tagged as...Excellent Louis Marx!

Ghosthunter.

[Squid]

Eleven to collect plus an odd Lanz Tractor and Trailer that seems to have been thrown in as an afterthought.

The tractor in the drawing on the back of the box sure does look like the Matchbox 50B.

Searching eBay for "Mini Marx" yields all manner of oddities (including the equally crude yet charming Marx Mini Blazers). These little trucks were apparently just called "Mini Marx die-cast trucks."

[AJR]

There are a few later uses for the Mini Marx trucks but in plastic and with glazing added.
The coupling however is changed with the pin now being on the tractor unit fitting into a hole in the trailer.
Bachmann did some HO / OO accessory packs (one of which being the Van Lines example below)
and Airfix did an NCL version in their Dr X railway set.
There may be others lurking in dark places.