Action Man, Action Man - Appearance, Action Man - History, Action Man - New Era, Action Man - Origins, Action Man - Small Scale, Action Man HQ - focusing on the "vintage" 1966-1984 figures
Action Man is an action figure originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom by Palitoy Ltd of Coalville, Leicestershire from 1966 until 1984. The figure was originally based on the United States G.I. Joe figure but with a British military theme.
Military styled Action Man made a brief resurgance in the early 1990s but since 1996 Hasbro has used the name without any military theme as a modern adventurer complete with arch-enemy.
Action Man - History.
Action Man - OriginsIncluding:
Action Man - Origins.
Palitoy (a British subsidiary of General Mills) licensed a copy of GI Joe from Hasbro. Initially Action Man, his equipment and accessories were all straight copies of GI Joe, but after a while he developed independently. The range of accessories favoured the British themes, although American outfits and equipment were produced. One of Palitoy's innovations was the flocked hair which crossed over to the GI Joe line.
The first Action Man figures were Action Soldier, Action Sailor and Action Pilot. They were accompanied by outfits depicting the participants ...
The original Action Man had a completely moulded painted head. The first innovation was a form of flocking giving the effect of a short "fuzzy" hairstyle. The Sailor (a very Royal Navy looking type) sported a similarly produced beard. This innovation crossed back over the Altantic and was introduced for GI Joe within a couple of years.
Gripping hands were the next feature to be introduced; the hard moulded hands of the original were replaced by rubber. The early rubber is prone to breakdown while l ...
