Marx issued what we now call Marx 45mm soldiers in the 50's. These well known, classic poses were later copied by Payton and Remco (at least) in the 60's and a dozen more companies over the years. You can still find copies of the old Marx soldiers in "made in China" army/toy sets in some discount toy stores across the country today!

How can you determine if the 45mm soldiers are MARX or PAYTON or another later brand? The 45mm (and 60mm) never had a Marx logo like the 60's 54mm Marx soldiers and others. Original Marx 45mm Army soldiers can be distinguised by a few key characteristics.* Original Marx seated soldiers always have longer legs than the Payton and later issues. The Payton seated shorter legs fit the Payton Jeeps and Payton Trucks. (Based on Pyro trucks). If they do not have 'stands' they are Marx. Originally the Marx soldiers were issued in vinyl/rubber and if they are vinyl/rubber they are surely Marx. Marx later issued them in soft plastic/polyetheylene and added bases/stands. The Marx bases/stands are always thin compared with later Payton/Remco/etc issues which had a thicker base.  Remco also used Marx copies in their Whirlybird helicopter set and a few other toys in the 60's. I can't see any difference between Remco and Payton and they may be from the same source (Payton?). Several companies from everywhere copied the Payton soldiers beginning in the late 60's and continue to this day. Several Marx 'camp poses' apparently were never copied by Payton or others. (Man with shovel, nurse and others are always Marx).

The later (late 60's and on) issues tended to have softer detail. Another characteristic of the later copies is they became more flat as copies were produced and molds became more worn. (Copies of copies) The stands also became thicker and had bumps and molding stumps etc that were never on the earlier issues. Sometime in the 70's-early 80's the copies and most soft plastic soldiers also became stiffer as the oil-based plastic formula changed (less oil?....).

*Finally, currently there are several 'reissues', apparently from the original Marx molds, that are virtually identical to the original Marx except they are issued in tan (or other colors) and are in the newer 'stiff plastic' that identifies all new issue polyethylene soldiers. Many of the original, but not all, of the old camp issues have been reissued in the new plastic and color and should be easy to identify.