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Action Man: 40th Anniversary

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The Hasbro Action Man: 40th Anniversary is a reproduction of the early period (1960s to 1970s) British Action Man figure as collectors set that was released in 2006. The updated release has some packaging changes and slight modification to the figures. Four different uniform sets were released in waves.

40th Anniversary reproductions; 2006-

In 2006, Hasbro authorised the reproduction of the original 60s-70s Action Man under the "Nostalgic Collection" banner. In a departure from normal retailing, the sets are not sold through general release; there is only one authorised retail agent in the UK, and one in the U.S..

The driving force behind the development of this line is Alan Hall, the writer of three Action Man collector's guides. To date, a wide range of figures and outfit sets have been produced in a format identical to the original, the packaging in a manner similar to the G.I. Joe 40th Anniversary reproductions of 2003-2005. The figure is a mostly faithful reproduction of the original, with the exception of the feet, which are the larger GI Joe variety. The body is held together in the same manner as the original, with rivets, wire hooks and elastic, with the precise details slightly varied. The figure is available in permutations of painted head/hard hand, flocked hair/hard hand, flocked hair/flex hand, flocked hair/eagle eyes/flex hand depending on the set.

The clothing and accessory items are all faithful reproductions of the original Palitoy items, down to the feel of the fabric used and the vinyl/plastics of most components; the boots are a flexible vinyl, in comparison with the hard plastic used for the GI Joe 40th reproduction boots. With the exception of the 1st issue releases, the clothing does not have the Palitoy tag.

Packaging

The first releases of the line were identical copies of the original, including all copyright and country of origin markings. However this was a copyright issue, and some packs had decals applied over. The newer releases all state "Hasbro © 2006 Used with permission reproduction pack". "Palitoy Regd" was also dropped from all Action Man logo graphics (see example box detail below), as this was also identical to the original issue. The large outer packaging has come in two variants to date; one with a large Union Jack background, the other with the wood grain typically associated with 60s Action Man and GI Joe.

Figures

The following are examples that illustrate the close reproduction values of the new body; one can also see the stress crack from a 40th body too tightly strung. The hands have a heavy wrist ridge that was uncommon on Action Man, with the exception of some very early issue figures, and bodies imported via Hasbro Canada to cover demands unmet by Palitoy production capacities[1]

Uniform sets

As with GI Joe's 40th anniversary releases, the sets have been released in "waves" of 4. The first wave consisted of Tank Commander, Chelsea Footballer, Frogman and Life Guards, each with the appropriate basic boxed Action Man. Wave two covered the Argyll and Sutherland Highlander, Cricketeer, Deep Sea Diver and Green Beret outfits. Wave three covered the French Foreign Legion, German Stromtrooper, Mountaineer and Royal Horse Guards (Blues) outfits. Wave four covered the Army Medic (US), 17th/21st Lancer, Astronaut (US), and British Parachute Regiment outfits. Wave five covered the Australian Jungle Fighter, Manchester United Footballer, Olympic Champion and Royal Marine Combat outfits. Wave six covered Adventurer's Base Camp, British InfantryMan, Polar Explorer and Soccer Player outfits. The various waves are interspersed with figures of all the 60s-70s variants; painted head/hard hand, flocked hair/hard hand, and flocked hair/flex hands. Whilst the vast majority of 1960s and 1970s Action Man were released for the 40th Anniversary in 2006, one of the rarer uniforms, the British Escape From Colditz Officer was never released in its own packaging. Instead, it appeared inside the superb Escape From Colditz Boxed set.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hall, A. (1999) Action Man - the ultimate collectors guide Vol.1. pg. 5

References

  • Leicestershire County Council
  • United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • Michlig, J. (1998) "G.I. Joe; The Complete Story of America's Favorite Man of Action" (ISBN 0-8118-1822-5)
  • Baird, F. (1993) "Action Man - The Gold Medal Doll for Boys 1966-1984" (ISBN 1-872727-36-0)
  • Hall, A. (1998) "Action Man - the ultimate collectors guide" Vol.1 (ISBN 1-901706-141)
  • Hall, A. (1999) "Action Man - the ultimate collectors guide" Vol.2 (ISBN 1-901706-29X)
  • King, K. (2000) "Action Man - the real story 1966-1996" (ISBN 0-9538870-0-6)
  • Le Vexier, E.; Gavigniaux, H. trans.(2004) "Action Joe - The Story of the French GI Joe" ISBN 2-915239-21-5
  • Action Man HQ - focusing on the "vintage" 1966-1984 figures
  • Geyperman - page on the Hasbro-authorized Spanish version
  • [1]- UK based collecting club for 12" dolls
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