MARX HISTORY TRAIN TUNNEL TOY COLLECTORS MARVEL THE MUSTANG BATS & BOATS EISENHOPPERS TOY POETRY BALL POINT PEN WHITE HOUSE Rock 'Em Sock 'Em

BATS AND BOATS Marx made a toy called the BIG SWAT in the 1960's . It is a blow molded toy ball bat. The dimensions are 31 inches long and 4 3/4 inches in diameter at the end. It had molded tape grips at the handle. The pictures should show this. You are looking at the MASTER. The master is made by sculpters from sketches made in the design room.  The entire project started from someone who had an idea that LOUIS MARX approved for production. This master is made from red oak and the tape on the handle is masking tape. Look at the area that has the name on it. It is a piece of aluminium that was made by a pantograph machine and then inlaid into the surface of the bat. NOW !!!!!  the reason this toy is very hard to find is as follows  ??????   We talked to a MARX employee that was involved with the production of the BIG-SWAT. It is hard to see but the aluminum insert was set too HIGH in the master. When they blow molded it the outside oval edge was too thin. It wasn't caught and the toy was shipped to stores. Most bats would only withstand a few swings before  ----------------------- THE BIG SWAT PIECE WOULD FRACTURE AND FLY OUT  !!!!! OH-WELL  back to the drawing board !!!!!!!!   Bud,Kobie&Dan   Check out the photos below here... HI THERE MARX TOY COLLECTORS AND EVERYBODY !!!!!!!!   We go to the extreme when we want to tell a story. The pictures you are looking at are of the MARX tug boat with whistle. We took a perfectly good toy and sawed it in half to show a view not too many people have seen. Maybe the last time this toy was inspected in this fashion was on the engineering department's desk???? The toy was first molded in Erie, PA. and later Glendale, WV. We are showing the MASTER with the toy. A master is hand carved wooden prototype of a toy to be made. Before the program gets this far, it must start from an idea, drawn on paper by design people, approved by engineering and then sent to the final person for approval --- Mr. Louis Marx--!! If O.Kd, it then goes to the model shop where a MASTER is made. This master is then used to build the molds for production. Blow molding is a process where a given amount of hot plastic is pushed , under air pressure, into a cavity. The pressure forces the plastic to the inner walls of the mold. It is cooled and removed from the mold, ie...A plastic milk jug is blow molded. In a picture you can see the wheels, axles, the plastic pull string and the little boat. The boat has the WHISTLE in it. When you squeeze the toy it makes a tug boat sound---TOOT-TOOT !! MARX made many different toys of this style. Some where--tug boat--duck--bear--train--dog and others. Each toy had the proper sound of the object !! It was produced in the 1960s and 70s.   We hope you enjoyed this story and if you have questions or corrections, PLEASE WRITE!!!!   Bud,Kobie&Dan  If you have a BIG SWAT or a Tug Boat please let us know....click here.