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Marx Twistables
Trumptonalia.
All the examples I've ever seen appear to have retained their flexibility and rigidity ... and all their limbs.
Which is maybe no surprise as they clearly 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.And it's hard to imagine kids not liking them.
A simple but clever idea too.Because,to some extent,they mirrored the construction of the original models.
So it's very handy if you ever fancied having a go at your own stop motion remake.
And if you can find a nice survivor they look good as static display items too.
Maybe a Roger Varley for the chimney sweep in your life ?!
And 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.
Because with no real need to hang onto it for storage purposes,it 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 these are unopened examples are almost certainly unsold stock.
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 all the character names,simply because some may not be immediately apparent.
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 Dr Mopp
Nothing for Farmer Bell.
But how DO you accessorise
a farmer who specialised in
arable,poultry and dairy ? .....
A straw bale ?
A carton of eggs ?
A dollop of cow poo ?
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 rascal ! )
A few interesting things to note ....
1) None of the female characters are featured.
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 .... because there are 2 continuity errors :-
- Mickey Murphy has Peter Hazell's post sack.
- and 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.
3) Blame should also be apportioned to Louis Marx for their failure to produce one of the most obvious props of all ... a milk bottle for poor old Thomas Tripp the Milkman !
If we accept the fact that a flagon of cider for Windy was probably always going to be unlikely !
4) Sadly,Marx also decided to "stick" rather than "twist" and didn't produce a follow-up Trumpton 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.
