Pages

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Marx 34 Pc Village & Construction Set - Garage

In February of 2011 Toys & Stuff featured the scans for this garage and today we finally have pics of the built-up toy! See the scans here: Garage scans  The garage measures 2 3/8" (6cm) H x 2 3/8" (6cm) W x 3" (7.6cm) L

Something kind of interesting came to mind when editing the photos. First of all, understand that this toy was designed in the early 1950s - perhaps earlier. We know it's a garage because you'll notice the car showing through the windows. The toy reflects American architecture of the period and as such the garage is a separate structure, unlike the modern house where the norm is for the garage to be integral with the house. Now, look at the pics and imagine, if you will, that this is a photo of a real garage (you'll have to mentally edit out those clunky tabs though). Our garage was mostly likely designed for the old Model T's. How so? Notice the doors. They open outward vs. rolling upwards and they are narrow. Now take a good look at the length. If this were a real garage it would be too short to accommodate the longer, wider cars of the '50s. Homeowners of the '50s who maintained these old garages would have had to alter them to accommodate the newer cars. I know, because during the 1970s I parked my car in one of these old-timer bays! Our neighborhood was largely built around the turn of the 20th century and our house didn't have its own garage, so we rented one from a neighbor lady who didn't drive. It was a 2-car garage but the two bays were separated by their own sets of doors similar to the ones in this toy with a wall separating the two parking bays. At some point in the past an addition was built onto the back of the garage which looked like a lean-to attached to the wall and was just high enough to fit a car's hood when one pulled in. The garage was so narrow - and still short enough - that I had to park my '75 Olds Cutlass at and angle. The front of the car had to be turned towards the right as I pulled in allowing me to exit out of the left side driver's door and any passengers had to exit the vehicle prior to me pulling into the garage!

On to the pics. Enjoy!