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You're looking at two LOUIS MARX bump 'n' go DALEKS from the early '60s, which I acquired recently. Both come with the original boxes, though the one belonging to the second Dalek is a little bit battered, but not beyond improvement. I already have the DAPOL re-releases from the early '90s, but they were replicas of later versions, which had narrower waists and smaller, slightly more accurately shaped eye-stalks. Even amongst the early versions there were slight differences, because I've seen silver ones with blue bases and silver appendages, and heard that modern 1.5 'C' batteries don't fit the compartments properly, if at all. However, I haven't found that to be any kind of a problem, and the batteries fit perfectly, with absolutely no squeezing, straining or pushing involved. (Perhaps it depends on what make the batteries are.)
Anyway, thought you might like to see them - and they're both in perfect working condition. Not bad for over 50 years old. Did you have a Marx Dalek when you were a lad? Then tell us all about it in the comments section right away.
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20 comments:
I never had any Marx Daleks, or any Doctor Who toys. In fact, I've never seen any Doctor Who merchandise of any kind IRL. The show has a following in the US, but it's more of a cult, rather than widespread popularity with the general public.
In fact, I was an adolescent when I first heard of it (articles in Famous Monsters of Filmland and Starlog), and a young adult when I first saw some episodes. As I recall, it was syndicated in the US starting in the early 1980's.
Never had a Marx Dalek, TC? "Oh, the deprivation!" British childhoods in the '60s just wouldn't have been the same without at least one of the various forms of Dalek toys that Marx produced.
I had all the originals. The first one I got was a black one, but I swapped it with a lad over the road for his first Dalek Book (annual). I figured that I could always get another Dalek, but I'd never get the chance again to get the book, which I'd missed. And I NEEDED the book, as it was the prequel to my "Dalek World"!
Anyway, I did replace it and throughout '66, I also went on to buy the silver one too, plus black & grey, big & small friction drives and the black, red & grey rolykins.
I was Dalek-mad! ( Guess I still am, really!)
There's an original black one on eBay at the moment, JP - only £320. Better snap it up quick. By the way, did you enjoy your 'Dalek Chronicles' mag you bought a year or two back?
Looking good Kid. Great pic of it too!
To be honest, Moony, I just used the sellers' pics - I haven't had a chance to take my own yet. I'm sure they won't mind as their Daleks are now mine anyway.
I certainly did, Kidda. But NOTHING can ever beat those back pages of TV 21!
Maybe someone will get around to publishing a TV21-sized hardback volume containing all 104 Daleks pages, JP. Sooner rather than later, obviously.
In the '70s I watched Dr. Who regularly but I don't recall seeing any Who merchandise at all - apart from Dr. Who annuals, I had some of those.
You could still get the Marx Bump 'n' Go Daleks, the Palitoy talking ones, the Denys Fisher ones, bubble bath, and various other items in the '70s. In fact, there's never been a decade since they were first introduced that hasn't had some form of Dalek merchandise, CJ. You couldn't have been looking.
Beautiful things, never tire of looking at them.
Same here, AJ. I'd like to see the Dr. Who TV programme include some recognisable, full-size Daleks that are clearly based on the Marx design. There's been all sorts of other variants over the years so why not, eh?
So why are they called "bump 'n' go", Kid ? Is that just your nickname for them as it doesn't say that on the box.
They BUMP into something and GO in another direction, CJ - that's just how they were referred to by the public from practically day one, as far as I recall. The name may even have popped up in later ads, not quite sure.
No Daleks for me. I didn't even see a Dalek until I was in college and caught some Dr.Who in syndication.
My boyhood toy robots were the Zeroids.
Rip Off
I remember the Zeroids - always wanted them, never had any. A boy in my class in school did 'though, so I still consider them part of my childhood.
Kid, I was listening to Radio 4's 'Last Word' yesterday (about people who have just died in case you don't know it) and one of those featured was a Turkish author who had said "I don't believe people who say they can leave behind their childhoods". Just thought you'd like to know :)
And I'd say he was probably right, to a greater or lesser degree, CJ.
I don't know whether you'll recall, but we ran some of those Ron Turner Dalek strips from TV21 on the back cover of Doctor Who Monthly. Can't for the life of me remember which issues, possibly the numbers around the 80s. I do recall that we had to deal with Terry Nation's agent, Roger Hancock. Now there was a guy who knew how to charge ...
I DO recall, Al - and also the stories being reprinted in the weekly (I think) in black & white, a few pages at a time, under the title of either 'The Dalek Chronicles' or 'The Dalek Tapes'. Marvel later released a Special, containing all 104 pages in full colour. Not from the original art, alas, but scans from TV21.
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