VINTAGE MARX TIN WINDUP RED US ARMY SPARKLING AIRPLANE

1939 Marx, U.S. Army Sparkling Airplane in red This beautifully lithographed tin litho Sparkling Airplane by Marx was produced in several variations. This red colored version with U.S. Army on the fuselage was also known as the Army Pursuit Plane. I've seen this toy come in boxes marked as Army Pursuit or Sparkling Airplane. Both are correct. Actually having the box (at all) is a bit of a wonder. I've only seen a handful of them over the years. The irregular outline of the plane will usually destroy the box within a short period of time. The airplane is powered by strong spring wound clockwork motor with four step down gears. It's a fairly complex mechanism which allows the motor to unwind only when the front wheels make contact with the ground. This allows "da kid" to wind up the plane and not have it unwind before it’s set down on the floor. Each wing was lithoed with an early Army Air Corp. "star within a circle" insignia. These are trimmed with blue. Each wing also has eight blue vertical lines along with its 712 number designation. This is a vintage toy, shows wear, some rust, but it still winds up and rolls!