Struthiomimus, the ‘ostrich mimic’, was named in 1917 for a species (S. altus) originally referred in 1903 to the closely related genus Ornithomimus. Despite the history of ornithomimosaurs spanning back to the late 1800s, they are relatively rarely made as toys. This was true for all small theropods prior to Jurassic Park making Velociraptor a household name in the 1990s. Their spindly bodies make them a challenge to produce in materials robust enough to retain their shape and be played with without putting them at risk of being snapped or damaged. This was even more of a problem in the days when lanky species as Struthiomimus were restored naked, without plumage. And, since they are such small-bodied creatures, when sculpted to scale with their more gigantic relatives, small theropod toys would either end up being tiny, or companies would deviate and sculpt them in a different scale (as Invicta did when they added a small theropod to their lineup in the late 1980s). I think this is what makes this vintage 1961 Struthiomimus model so re-Marx-able, even by modern standards it’s impressively dainty.
This diminutive model is 5.5 cm tall and 8.5 cm long, making it one of the smallest dinosaur figures produced by Marx. The slender build means it has very little mass. The tail, neck, legs, and toes, are incredibly narrow, yet they hold their shape. The waxy plastic lends itself well to a model like this, being both strong but flexible under pressure. The tail touches the ground to help support the figure in a tripod pose, but the stance doesn’t feel too forced as it matches early reconstructions of Struthiomimus and its relatives. Other Struthiomimus figures, such as the Tyco version from the 1980s, don’t have this excuse.
The face has an almost quizzical appearance from certain angles, with the left ‘eyebrow’ slightly raised in suspicion. But in right profile view the face is more placid, with a slightly cute bulging cheek and dimple. For a figure over 60 years old this attention to detail and sense of character is an impressive achievement. The eyes are finely sculpted and the nostrils are also visible.
The feet have three individually sculpted toes, each terminating with a distinct claw (although the fourth hallux toe is missing). This contrasts to the three fingers of the hands, which are loosely sculpted in a single conjoined mass. The wrists have the old-fashioned pronated orientation resulting in ‘bunny hands’ or, in this case, they seem more reminiscent of ‘puppy paws’ to me.
The texture of the skin is more or less smooth all over, with a little bit of fine texture on the neck. These days the sculpture would be decorated by feathers, but that wasn’t the case in the 1960s. Still, there’s something slightly ‘feathery’ about the texture on the neck, although I doubt that was intentional. Marx figures were produced in a variety of monochrome colours. This chocolate brown version is particularly satisfying. I’ve always been fond of monochrome figures because I grew up with Invicta toys, a toyline surely inspired to a greater or lesser degree by their Marx forebears.
The name “STRUTHIOMIMUS” is neatly embossed on the left underside of the tail, along with the height “8′ TALL”, written on the right underside of the tail (so upside-down relative to the genus name). The mould lines are clearly visible but they have been positioned to minimise their impact, subtly extending down the spine, and following the contours of the limbs and flanks.
Marx really pulled something special out of the bag with this impressive Struthiomimus sculpture. The only company that rivalled Marx at the time in terms of ambition and attention to detail (with the addition of paint) may have been Starlux, but those toys tend to be brittle and prone to breakage, whereas Marx figures have like this one have clearly stood the test of time.
There aren’t many Marx figures left to feature on the Dinosaur Toy Blog now so I anticipate our Marx review series will be complete soon! They are obviously out of production but the Marx Struthiomimus was mass produced so it is relatively easy to pin down on Ebay.
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