I tell you what, dinosaur toys have come a long way since the late '50s when I was a kid. Toy companies are basing their replicas on the latest scientific research and making their miniature critters more realistic. But for those of us brought up in the '50s thru '90s pre-historic creatures were solid color, more-or-less anatomically correct monsters doing battle with our Little Green Army Men or just playing Caveman vs. Dino. But for me, nothing says dinosaur like a pastel mint green or gray Marx toy - and that distinctive plasticy odor (aroma). Today we'll look at their Triceratops in both colors. Enjoy! Opa Fritz
Triceratops (meaning: three horned face) were herbivores living in the Late Cretaceous era ca68-66mil years ago. For purposes of setting up a display of any kind, its Late Cretaceous contemporaries were: T-Rex, Hadrosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Edmontosaurus, Torosaurus (similar but smaller than Triceratops), Ornithomimus, Dakotaraptors. Of course, not all of these toys were offered back in the day, but it's good info to know.
Early Marx Triceratops's were in shades gray, green, brown, and marbled (but no mettalic) changing to all colors of the rainbow in the '70s when Marx reissued them using a waxy looking non-lead based plastic. They measure 3 3/8" (8.57cm) L x 1 1/4" (3.17cm) H
The first Marx issue of the Triceratops was in 1957. In 1958 they started revising their sculpts and some revisions are - for me - a real bear to spot. The original sculpt had thicker horns, while the revised sculpt had more slender horns. I'm gonna call the green guy an original, because - viewing them in person, up close,side-by-side - the gray one does appear to have more slender horns. My search for original vintage Marx dino's goes on and I hope to have a complete set before long, but then again Weinachten is just around the corner so maybe things will have to wait a little.
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