"Action Man" is the UK version of the US action
figure, "GI Joe." I (Simon) have fond memories of
hours spent in my youth losing various bits of Action Man kit
in the woods around my house. Although they were great fun,
there were two major problems with ownership of such a toy.
The first was that the extra gear was so expensive that
kindly old relatives would take it into their heads to knit
clothes for them instead of buying the highly priced
uniforms. I imagine I had the only SAS Commander to be kitted
out in nice brown trousers and a matching cardigan - ideal
for those covert operations at the Bingo. The other problem
was that the articulation and balancing of the figure was
such that he could only be caused to stand by striking the
most improbable poses - arms outstreched, knees turned inward
and rifle stowed niftily behind head. When out on guard duty
my Action Man looked like the sudden and unwilling victim of
an insane and invisible proctologist. (The picture to the
left is obviously a vile forgery.)
Action Man first saw the light of day in January 1966 when Palitoy Ltd, of Coalville, Leicester, unveiled their 12" Action figure. It had been a close run thing. Pedigree Toys, the long standing doll manufacturer in the UK, had been working hard to produce a "British" version of the GI Joe figure that had been popular in the USA. Pedigree's "Tommy Gunn" was a well articulated figure with a range of amazingly well detailed accessories. Seemingly, Pedigree couldn't match the speed at which Palitoy hurtled across the Atlantic to grab the license from Hasbro. The result was that both figures hit the starting line at around the same time. To be fair to both the competitors, it was a terrific gamble, in the mid 1960's, to introduce what was essentially a doll in soldier clothing. The decade of the 1960's was noted for a great deal of liberation but the notion of boys playing with dolls was still a strange one to a great many people. Pedigree were already into a market leader with their Sindy Doll for girls, competing with Barbie for the hearts and minds of British girls so the thought of competing in a risky market may have influenced the backing that they received. To the detriment of the British toy industry, Tommy Gunn was shelved soon after the start. One can only guess at what would have happened if the two figures had been allowed to develop in competition. Maybe, the gear would have been even more detailed than ever. It seems that Tommy Gunn had access to source material from the MInistry of Defence as his kit was always the most detailed and accurate)
In 1984, Action Man was finding it hard going against the influx of Star Wars toys and computer games so he wandered off into the wilderness to find himself. He returned in 1993, a changed man.
(Source: Action Man Collectors Page)
