Isn't it funny how some things can make such an impression on you that other things are swept from your mind? Here's one such example of just what I'm talking about. Imagine, if you will, that it's Christmas Day, 1966. My brother and myself had snuck downstairs in the very early hours to see whether 'Santa' had fulfilled our expectations in the 'gifts' department. Then we returned to our beds, each clutching a toy as we couldn't bear to be parted from them. I well-remember my sleepy sibling dozing off snuggled next to the articulated action-soldier he had received. Thing is, it wasn't ACTION MAN (by Palitoy) - it was TOMMY GUNN (by Pedigree).
I can no longer recall what presents I got that year - it's a complete blank. It's entirely possible (likely even) that I remember some of the toys, but I just don't associate them with that Christmas. My one, big, over-riding recollection of that event is my brother's delight when he first cast his eyes on Tommy, and him holding him fast as he dropped off to sleep. Oh, and also the smell of the plastic, which was quite distinctive. Yet another of those smells which instantly whisks me back to childhood. Luckily for me, my brother was a little older than me and soon outgrew his appetite for such things, so Tommy relatively swiftly passed into my hands.
Surprisingly, Tommy Gunn was better than Action Man in a few respects. His face looked more natural (modelled after a real person apparently) and his skin tone seemed a bit more realistic at the time, though, curiously, he now appears a tad over-tanned. (Perhaps a result of the 'ageing' process over the decades.) Same goes for his physique, which wasn't quite as 'stylized' as Joe's (to give A.M. his 'real' name.) Also, his equipment was more detailed and in scale. Tommy had close-fitting, flexible boots with real laces - Joe had oversized ones in a thicker plastic with moulded laces. Tommy's grenades had pins which could actually be pulled out - Joe's didn't. In fact, although never quite as popular as Action Man, Tommy Gunn was probably the superior toy in all ways but one, which was this:
Action Man had swivelling ball-joints at the top of his thighs, allowing him to sit with his legs folded, or to rest either foot on the opposite knee. Poor ol' Tommy's thighs were one-piece* affairs which didn't allow for such a relaxed position, although in every other way his joints were the same as Joe's. Apparently, Pedigree had made a bid to Hasbro (the company behind G.I. JOE, who was Action Man in everything but name) for the rights to the figure at the same time Palitoy did, but failed. Instead, they decided to produce their own version and Tommy Gunn was the result. The figure enjoyed reasonably good sales from 1966 to '68, but never attained the same heights of success or popularity as his better selling rival.
(*The thighs on the earliest versions were two pieces glued together to make one, which allowed no swivelling where they met. It may be that the seam was originally intended to be moveable, but then changed at the last moment for reasons of cost or simplicity. The thighs were later amended to one piece parts with no join.)
(*The thighs on the earliest versions were two pieces glued together to make one, which allowed no swivelling where they met. It may be that the seam was originally intended to be moveable, but then changed at the last moment for reasons of cost or simplicity. The thighs were later amended to one piece parts with no join.)
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Here in the US, Marx created a GI Joe knock-off in 1964-65. It was called Stony (short for Stonewall Smith). The head and hands were flesh colored, but the body was OD green and entirely from injected plastic. I think the head turned and the arms moved, but the legs were not movable. Oddly, it did not seem to be less expensive than GI Joe, although it was basically a generic brand. They later brought out an improved version with more joints articulated (i.e., the legs could move), but it never really caught on. The "GI" craze had worn off. Marx then brought out Johnny West (a cowboy), Chief Cherokee, and other Western figures, but Westerns were losing their popularity by the late 1960's. Marx always seemed to be one step behind the latest trend.
If I remember correctly, Stony Smith and Johnny West had the same head. Marx must've thought there was a resurgence of interest in Westerns in the '70s, because they reissued ol' Johnny and his pals. I wonder if they did any better than in the '60s? I've got Johnny, Chief Cherokee and Thunderbolt the Palomino horse in my collection.
I had Tommy Gun, still do, it is in my Mum's cupboard. I had to get the Action Man uniforms for him and he looked very stylish. No scars on Tommy!
I'd reclaim him from that cupboard as soon as possible - you know what mothers are like. "Something for the church jumble sale, Vicar? Here's some old toys of Simayl's." Tommy Gunn is worth a pretty penny these days.
Ah, Tommy Gunn, what a fella he was. I agree kid that he was more distinctive than old Acky Man, although I had plaenty of Palitoy's Fighting Men as well. I was interested to read how Zodiac got the moulds. I had thought I got my Tommy Gunn from Zodiac but by the mid Seventies I was a fully fledged teenager and beyond the sway of mere plastic figures. I must have got my Gunn in a Sixties toy shop in Preston. he did have a squwishy head didn't he?
I wouldn't have said that his head was squishy exactly, Woodsy, unless you're talking about the Zodiac version. Pedigree's Tommy head wasn't 'hard' plastic as such, but it would have taken some force to squeeze it in. Having said that, maybe age has toughened the plastic and it was softer back in the day. I've got a couple of Pedigree Tommy's, a couple of Zodiac ones, and a couple of Captain Scarlets - which was the pedigree Tommy with a different head. Great days.
Just spotted and followed the link here from Woodsy's Moonbase. I enjoyed your memories and pics about this top quality vintage pal. A pleasure to read, Kid. I do like Pedigree Tommy Gunn. He was/is a very accurate 1/6 British soldier of the period. Yep, the attention was always in the wonderful detail. Two of my own fave pieces of kit are the set of '58 webbing and the tiny compass. Never had the later Zodiac version though. Wonder how they compare? All the best, Tony K
The Zodiac Tommy was made of lighter and cheaper plastic, TK, with a flesh tone that more resembled the original Action Man. I don't know if there was any difference in the quality of equipment 'though, as I don't think I've seen anything but the original stuff. Interestingly, on the original TG, the thigh had a top that looked as if it might have been designed to turn (similar to Action Man's thigh), but it was glued in place. When the body was later reused for the Captain Scarlet figure, the thigh was one piece. (In fact, maybe even some of the later TG's by Pedigree had this one-piece thigh.)
The Sunday Post did an article on Action Man a number of years ago and interviewed (and maybe printed a photo of) a (British) person whose face was supposed to have been used as the basis of AM. Their dates were all wrong, and Action Man's face was almost certainly not based on a British person, if anyone. It's pretty clear that they had Tommy Gunn in mind and had simply confused the two figures. (I 'phoned and told them, but they didn't seem much interested.)
Thanks for the info on Zodiac TG, Kid. I'm afraid my knowledge of Zodiac TG is sketchy at best, although I think they may have produced a talking SAS figure, possibly an astronaut and an alien? I'm not 100% sure though?
I didn't know about the flawed Sunday Post piece. Sadly sounds like a shoddy piece of journalism which could cause confusion for collectors new to the scene. Well worth highlighting it to raise awareness and hopefully redress the balance :)
I think The Sunday Post piece will be long-forgotten by most people by now, TK, and it's well-known for getting its facts wrong. (Did you know that 'Man In A Suitcase' was an American TV show? According to The Sunday Post a few weeks back that is. As we all know, it was a British ITC show.) Zodiac produced a talking figure sure enough, which I've got. I was told it was Tommy Gunn, 'though the face was ever so-slightly different, so maybe it was the SAS figure you mention.
You really know your Tommy Gunn Kid. Its a fascinating story. Has there ever been a book written on him? BTW TK has a lovely guest post about about Stoney Smith this Saturday morning on Moonbase. Right up your street I reckon.
Thanks for the compliment, but I don't feel I know enough about TG, Woodsy. I've tried to find out more, but there doesn't seem to be a lot out there - not when I last looked anyway. I don't know if there's ever been a book about him, but Action Man was the pre-eminent action figure of the '60s, and TG seems to have languished in his shadow. I'll be visiting Stoney Smith on Saturday. Johnny West was obviously an ancestor of ol' Stoney, 'cos he bore an uncanny resemblance. Do you think they shared a birth Marx?
The figure which I have in mind which may (or may not) be the Zodiac SAS figure, had black flocked 'realistic' hair, similar to the 70s/80s Action Man range... plus the classic pull-cord talking mechanism. I found one at a car boor in the late 80s. He was dressed in the iconic black overall and boots. Sadly, all accessories had long since gone. At the time I really didn't know who he was. Some years later I saw a similar one listed on eBay as a 'Tommy Gunn SAS soldier by Zodiac'. Of course the seller may have been mistaken, though I tend to think not.
Were you aware of the Zodiac alien and astronaut figures, Kid ? I wonder if they were even marketed under the brand name, Tommy Gunn? I'm under the impression that the alien (or possibly aliens) are the more difficult to find of the Zodiac range? Any info is helpful :)
Typo - That should be car boot, not car boor... sorry kid.
That sounds like the figure I have, except its overalls aren't black. In fact, I can no longer recall if I got it clothed or dressed it myself, but the dealer I bought it from described it as a Zodiac talking Tommy Gunn figure.
The astronaut figure I don't recall, but there was something about the words 'Zodiac' and 'Alien' which, together, rang a bell, so I looked up my 'Action Figures of the '60s' book and there's an alien figure in there called Xodiac. Not the one you're looking for unfortunately.
Somebody really needs to write a book about Tommy Gunn. Here's a couple of links I just found:
tommygunncollector.wikifoundry.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Gunn_(toy)
Excellent TG links Kid, Thanks you.
Just before I go Kid, I found this link. It seems to shed light on our discussion. Hope you find it interesting, all the best, Tone.
http://www.visibleinnards.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=439
Thanks for that, TK - interesting stuff. I noticed that someone claimed TG's thighs were superior made because they were one piece, whereas AM's were two-piece - a sort of 'ball-joint' fitting into the thigh. However, it was this design that allowed AM to sit cross-legged, or with one foot resting on his other leg's knee. This was the one thing in which AM was better than TG, because it made him more poseable in this regard.
I suppose we all encountered the same toys, same experiences, as we grew up. Ah, Tommy Gunn! I remember the slight disappointment when I received mine, hoping for Action Man instead. Tommy has long disappeared into the mists of time, although I think I may have one of his green elasticated gaiters floating around somewhere...
When I bought a replacement - probably getting close to 30 years ago now, which is far longer than either me or my brother had the original - it was as if I'd just opened a cupboard door (did I say this in the post?) and there was my/our actual toy from childhood (not a doppelganger), like it had been waiting patiently for me to find it again. Ah, memories.
Tommy Gunn's are highly collectable now, I have a complete set of all the Pedigree figures and uniforms, including my childhood ones. There is a lot of mystery around the actual hard facts of production by Pedigree and the subsequent Zodiac range. The bible for TG collectors is the limited edition book by Simon Mole published in the 1990s. He had an extensive range of boxed, carded and loose TG items which was sold after his death, to a collector in the US I believe. I'm always looking to purchase any Tommy Gunn equipment if anyone has any!
Thanks for commenting, HH, and I'll have to see if I can track down a copy of that book.
HH, I take it you're Harry Hyndman, who wrote the new book Tommy Gunn Collectors Guide? I just ordered a copy from Amazon earlier and can't wait for it to arrive.
I am indeed. It seemed far too long since anything credible had been written on Pedigree Tommy Gunn, so I went ahead and wrote the book myself. I hope you enjoy it! There is also a Facebook page for Tommy Gunn collectors and fans - it covers what little we know about the Zodiac TG range too. Search for "Tommy Gunn 1966" on Facebook. It's a good place for making new discoveries (yes they still happen even now) and dispelling myths.
I'm wishing my life away until it gets here, HH. I have a couple of Pedigree Tommy Gunns, a few Zodiac ones, and a couple of Pedigree Captain Scarlets. As I said, can't wait.
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