Here's a question for any collectors of action figures out there. In the above photo is a recent replacement for a REDBOX figure I originally owned back in 1971. I remembered his face as being the exact same as PALITOY's ACTION MAN, though without the scar, but as you can see, it isn't so. Perhaps I'm confusing him with a different figure I bought the year before (in 1970), but what I'd like to ask you all is this: Did any of you ever have a cheaper version action figure with a face that was the double of Action Man, but like I said, without a scar? If that rings any bells with you, please let me know.
Incidentally, that's the same figure in both sides of the photo (achieved via computer trickery), before and after I'd painted the hair and eyebrows and given him some clothes. I thought I'd done him proud, but he'd the cheek to ask me for 50p for a cup of tea (guv'nor), too. Never happy, are they?
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Hi Kid, I was wondering if you could help? I'm drawing a strip (Futant for Pat Mill's new Space Warp anthology) and the main character's boss has a 'priceless' collection of mainly British sci-fi toys. In the interests of authenticity, I was wondering which toys to feature prominently on the shelves. The kind of collectibles that would mark her out as a real expert. I know nothing about collecting rare toys, so I thought of you and your entertaining blog that regularly features articles on such ephemera. If you have time, and don't mind, would it be possible to let me know the kind of thing I could draw that would pique the interest of a real collector? By the way, the character who collects toys isn't a parodic stereotype or subject to ridicule, so no worries there. I think a draft of the script is available online at Pat's blog if you want to check. Anyway, thanks for your time. - Mike D
Sci-fi toys? H'mm, people's perceptions of what qualifies as 'sci-fi' may be different, but I'd say toys from Gerry Anderson's TV shows like Fireball XL5 (parachute toy), Thunderbirds, and U.F.O. wouldn't go amiss. Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet (which came in tin, plastic, and self-assembly versions), Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still, Star Trek Enterprise, The Tardis from Dr. Who, The Daleks (Bump'n'Go), etc. So that would cover Dinky, Quercetti, JR21, Aurora, Marx, etc. I'd also include some 'sci-fact' toys, like the Lunar Module by Airfix or Monogram, not forgetting Mattel's Man In Space - Major Matt Mason and his equipment. That's all I can think of off-the-top of my head at the moment, but I'll add anything else that occurs to me as I go along. Hope that helps to start you off.
Oh, and the Aurora model kits based on Lost In Space, and the Dinky toys based on Space: 1999 as well.
Wow. Many thanks for your help, Kid, much appreciated. I'm off to look for reference via the magic of Google. You've also reminded me that I asked Santa for that Dinky Eagle Transporter at least twice back in the 70s, and the old sod never delivered!
No bother, MD. The Marx Daleks, some Dinky and JR21 Gerry Anderson toys, and the Quercetti XL5 toy are on the blog somewhere. Just type their names (separately) into the blog's search box. And Santa didn't always deliver what I wanted either. I've got an idea that he was sleeping with my mum, so there was no excuse for him not indulging my toy wants.
Offhand, the only G.I. Joe (UK: Action Man) knockoff I remember was Marx's Stony (or maybe Stoney). The face did not resemble Joe/Action Man, though. IIUC, Marx later used the same head for the Johnny West action figure.
A classmate of mine had some action figures called (IIRC) the Fighting Knights. I think they were by Marx, and the heads may have been the same as Stony and Johnny West.
There was also Ideal's Captain Action from about 1966-67 or so. Superhero costumes instead of military uniforms.
I think the scar on Hasbro's GI Joe was intended as a distinctive feature for copyright purposes. So I can easily imagine another toy company making a copy without the scar to get around that.
Re science fiction collector's items, I would assume that British fans would naturally want a toy Tardis, some Daleks, and the vehicles from Gerry Anderson's shows.
There was an MPC Fireball XL5/Space City set that was marketed in the US around 1964
or '65. It included a toy model of the spaceship itself (with detachable Fireball Jr.), a cardboard HQ building/control tower, and soft plastic figures of the main characters. My impression is that it was not widely distributed in Britain, so it might be something of a Holy Grail for collectors.
FWIW, Aurora also made models of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of the Giants, and The Invaders, although I don't know whether those kits (or those TV shows) were popular in the UK.
Regarding the heads of the Knights, TC, someone once told me that they were based on Sean Connery and Roger Moore, but I don't know if this is true or not. Perhaps the faces resembled the actors, but it may not have been intentional (but then again, may have). I don't really consider the Marx figures as Action Man/G.I. Joe knock-offs as such, on account of their main clothes being part of the figure, not separate items (though some small accessories were separate).
I know about the MPC XL5 set, and have white metal recasts of the figures, but I don't know if it was available in Britain or not. I think the Aurora models based on the Irwin Allen TV shows were available here, but couldn't say whether they were popular.
MD may find the info about the MPC Fireball set of interest, but the Quercetti Fireball parachute toy is perhaps better known.
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