 | ||||
Marx Twistables
Trumptonalia.
Any good ?
Well,all the examples I've ever seen,or heard of,appear to have retained their flexibility and rigidity.....and all their limbs. And they probably had to be over-engineered to withstand the wear and tear of the "1001 positions" mentioned on the header card.With those humungous feet ensuring they stayed upright for the majority of the time too.
They're also colourful and very good likenesses.
So,all-in-all you'd have to think kids would've found them a really engaging bit of kit.
A clever but simple idea too.Because they were based on the construction of the original models used to make the tv series.So it's very handy if you ever fancied having a go at your own youtube remake of Camberwick using the same stop motion animation.
Availability ?
It's still surprisingly easy to find good examples floating around today.
Although really good ones with all their clothing and accessories are obviously at a premium.And finding any still in their original packaging is another matter entirely.
In fact,whilst I don't normally mention prices (for reasons outlined on the Q & A page),a May 2006 ebay auction for a set of 12 loose ones fetched a stonking 521.50.
Admittedly that was for a full set and in very good condition but none had their original packaging.
So you can only imagine what sort of a premium 12 unopened ones would go for.
And "imagining" is probably as near as we'll ever get to finding out unfortunately.
But loose ones can certainly be picked up for much less than the 44 pound a piece average price that those worked out to (with the p+p included).
Not that you'll find any Trumpton characters though,because Marx decided to "stick" rather than "twist" and didn't produce a follow-up set.
Which is particularly odd when you consider the 12 Camberwick ones were still on sale as late as 1970 [and maybe even later,as the 1970 catalogue is the latest one I've been able to source so far]
And finally .....
A couple of those real rarities mentioned earlier. And not only do they still have their original packaging,but they've also never been opened.
What makes packaging that much harder to find for items such as these is that,once opened,there was no real need to retain it for storage purposes,so most just headed straight for the bin.
Which is why the vast majority of old jigsaws and board games do still have their boxes of course.
And why it'll probably come as no surprise that the 2 below were unsold stock
As ever, if you can fill in any gaps or supply better pics,there's a prompter at the top of every page on site. And all help is very gratefully received.
A set of 12 seperate "twistable" Camberwick Green characters produced by Louis Marx in 1967.
The photo below shows them in the company's 1967 Trade Catalogue.And I've added the character names,just in case.
A few interesting things to note....
1} None of the female characters get a look-in. Possibly deemed a little inappropriate in 1967 for a lady to be twisted in every conceivable direction ? Because I'm struggling to think of any other reason.
2} The photographer clearly wasn't a Camberwick fan. Spot the 2 continuity errors :-
- Mickey Murphy has Peter Hazell's post sack.
- Farmer Bell has Mr.Carraway's fishing rod & bag.Farmer B did go on the fishing trips,but only Carraway used those items in the series - and,as confirmation,both are missing from an unopened Farmer B packet,further down this page.
3} Blame can also be directed towards Louis Marx for failing to produce one of the most obvious props of all - a milk bottle for poor old Thomas Tripp the Milkman. And only "the most obvious" if you accept that a flagon of cider for Windy was probably always going to be unlikely !
Thomas Tripp Captain Snort Paddy Murphy Doctor Mopp
Mr.Crockett Peter Hazell Roger Varley Mr.Carraway
Farmer Bell Windy Mickey Murphy PC McGarry
A Gladstone bag for Doctor Mopp
Nothing for Farmer Bell.
But how DO you accessorise
a farmer who specialised in
arable,poultry and dairy ? .....
A sack of wheat ?
A carton of eggs ?
A dollop of cow poo ?
Ok kids,and your vote goes to ?!
a larger print version of the text here
11 of the 12 are featured in this photo. Young Paddy Murphy is the only one missing [ the little scamp ! ]
