Payton Products, Inc. Little Green Army Men - Pt 20 45mm GI's Pose 3

I really enjoyed collecting these over the years as they are a VFR-direct link to my childhood (which I'm apt to believe I never truly grew out of).

Ed

Payton - Marx Comparison

This time the Payton guy landed in the middle, flanked by Marx

Pose 3

Payton Products, Inc. Little Green Army Men - Pt 19 45mm GI's Pose 2

Most of the comparison photos I'll be posting were taken several years ago when I was in my acquisition and assessment period, trying to make sense of what is what.

Ed

Payton - Marx Comparison

At left is a thick base Payton followed by thin base and no base Marx. Notice that even with the thick base, the Payton is just a hair shorter than the Marx figures.

Pose 2

Payton Products, Inc. Little Green Army Men - Pt 18 45mm GI's Pose 1

For each figure in the series (except the K9) I'll post comparison photos of Payton and their Marx counterparts.

Ed

Payton Marx Comparison

(L) Payton (M&R) Marx

Even with bases, Payton figures are slightly shorter, but the Payton's are still classified as 45mm.

As a general rule of thumb Payton bases are thick, Marx bases are thin or the figures have no base at all.

Pose 1

Payton Products, Inc. Little Green Army Men - Pt 17 45mm GI's Overview

Of all the various components of the Payton Army line of toys, piecing together the 45mm figures took the longest. There were quite a few fits and starts to the process but after a couple of years I got the real gist of it. Payton's line of 45mm Little Green Army men are nearly identical to Marx BUT there are distinct differences. It's been said that perhaps Marx and Payton used the same tool-&-die maker for these and, if so, then it certainly shows.

Ed

Figure Sets

Marx complete set of 45mm GI's = 17 poses

Payton complete set of 45mm GI's = 11 poses

Bases

(L) Payton (M & R) Marx

ALL of Payton's figures had thick bases (except of course for the Prone Firing Rifle, Kneeling Firing Rifle, Seated figure, and K9).

Early Marx figures had no bases at all, while later versions had a very minimal base. Much later versions of Marx finally had thick bases.

Molding

(L) Payton (R) Marx

-On Payton figures, the creases in the uniform, as well as the pocket outlines and web belt, have much deeper folds and creases. 

-The Payton figures did not have camouflage netting molded into their helmets

-On the Marx figures, all of the creases/folds are shallow-to-nonexistent.

-Also, any Payton figure that is molded in a slightly hunched over pose tends to have a more pronounced 'hunch'.

I'll show comparison photos for each figure as they are posted (except for the K9 - Marx didn't make a K9 for their Little Green Army Men).

Payton Products, Inc. Little Green Army Men - Pt 16 Jeep & Modified Howitzer - Dark Green SP

Here we have the modified howitzer being pulled by the Jeep. As I said in yesterday's post, in real life this would have been an unlikely pairing but Payton's other vehicles weren't designed to haul the howitzer (or anything else for that matter) leaving only the Jeep to get the job done.

Ed