Make your own Marx Missile Launcher and Carrier car

Marx offered a Missile Launcher & Carrier car that was a neat item. Unfortunately, it was only available in 1957, 1961 and 1962, making it both rare and hard to find. If you want a similar-looking car, I have a less-expensive solution that’s an easy weekend project.

model flatcar with missiles and rocket on top — This Marx Missile Launcher and Carrier car is a spectacular piece, but it’s not easy to obtain. Learn how to make a similar piece much less expensively. James Ranck photo

A couple years ago, a friend brought over a Marx Cape Canaveral Play Set with its many accessories, including rockets and missiles. He wondered if I could find a way to mount them on several flatcars, also made by Marx, and brought along his Missile Launcher and Carrier as a sample.

four black plastic plumbing straps — These PEX pipe straps can be found in the plumbing department of a hardware store. James Ranck photo

Having a plumbing background, I went to my shop and pulled out some ¾” PEX pipe straps. It takes four straps per car for this project.

flatcar with two pipe straps glued on top — The author has glued on the first layer of PEX straps. James Ranck photo

I then removed the nails from each strap, and determined that they would need a 1/8” hole. After the straps were positioned on the flatcar where I thought looked good, I marked the holes and drilled them through. I then put a small dab of CA cement (super glue) under the nail heads and pushed them up and through the holes from the underside of the flatcar. The straps were then pushed down over the nails on top of the car. I added a little more CA to both the bottom of the straps and to the covered part of the nail. About half an inch or so of the nails projected above the straps, which turned out to be perfect.

flatcar with four pipe straps glued on top — Remove the nails from the second set of straps. Use a little CA cement and push the second layer of straps onto the top of the first layer. James Ranck photo

Remove the nails from the second pair of straps. I added more CA on the top of the straps mounted on the car, around the nails, and on the nails projecting from the straps, and pushed the second set of straps on top. Let everything dry.

Finally, it was a matter of adding the rockets on the new stanchions. My friend and I were both pleased with the results. If you want to go a bit further and get fancy, try spray painting the pipe clamps gray before installation to better replicate the original Marx version.

You can also use this idea for other loads, like a couple large culverts. Regardless of what you plan to haul, either an S or O gauge flatcar will work for this project. Enjoy!