Jane West by Louis Marx

Jane West the Movable Cowgirl by Marx!

The secret behind the success of the 1960s and 70s Best of the West action figures was surely the loving attention to detail which toy makers Louis Marx & Co. lavished upon its flagship line. Cast in solid poly-plastic with vinyl accessories, the most striking thing about these figures today is the exquisite molding – every last fold and crease, shirt cuff, trim and button, is faithfully reproduced, with each figure issued with, quite literally, dozens of individual pieces of equipment and clothing.

Launched in 1965 with cowboy Johnny West, the head of what would become an entire extended Western family, at 12 inches in height the Best of the West

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Johnny Apollo by Marx

Johnny Apollo Astronaut – the Movable Spaceman by Marx!

It’s an amazing thought, yet when toy making giants Louis Marx & Co. first launched the Johnny Apollo action figure in 1968, man had yet to land on the moon! Astronauts, of course, were all the rage, with the Soviet Union and the US neck and neck in the Space Race, with our Johnny here named in honour of the US Apollo program which would succeed in putting the first humans on Earth’s Moon the following year in 1969.

Molded in heavy, highly detailed, white poly-plastic, Johnny Apollo was so solidly built that it is still possible to find loose figures in excellent condition almost 44 years after his initial release.

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