 BACK TO THE BUNKER
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A Brief History
ACTIONman, cousin of GI Joe,
was introduced in 1966 by Palitoy (under license from Hasbro). The name for this
action figure was inspired by the name of a popular British television series,
"Danger Man." The figure was great success and ran from 1966 to
1984. In the early years of production, many of the uniforms were the same as those
made by Hasbro for the GI Joe line; even the molds were the same. However, in a
short time Palitoy was able to
develop a product line with characteristics distinctive from the GI Joe product line in
the United States.
For example, it was the ACTIONman line which introduced "flocked hair" to the line in 1970.
This hair flocking process was adopted by Hasbro for the GI Joe line, "after"
Palitoy had introduced it. Other innovations were to follow such as the
introduction of gripping hands in 1978, and moving or "Eagle Eyes" in
1978. 1978 also saw the introduction of the muscle body ACTIONman figure.
Unlike the GI Joe line, the ACTIONman line was unrestrained by the stigma of the Vietnam war and was able to
continue with it's military uniforms (unlike GI Joe) as well as adventure type sets.
Some of the most sought after
ACTIONman sets are from the
Regimental Series and include sets such as the Life Guard, Blues and Royals, 17th/21st
Lancers, and the very rare Argyll and Sutherland Highlander.
As indicated, the product line folded in January 1984, as a simple matter of lack of
market demand. The forces driving the market at that time demanded smaller 4 inch
tall action figures, such as those produced for the Star Wars
movies. Therefore, figures produced during the 18 year run from 1966 to 1884 are all
considered by collectors to be "vintage" ACTIONman.
Hands
Heads
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Notice how the joints are riveted on the Geyperman figure. Also,
take particular note of the type of plastic used for the head of this figure. The
flocking is also very, very blond with no peppering.
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ACTIONman with black beard |
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ACTIONman with black hair and no beard
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ACTIONman with blond beard |
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ACTIONman with black painted head
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ACTIONman with blond painted hair |
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ACTIONman with blond hair and no beard |
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ACTIONman Man
Eagle Eye. The back of the head is shown, inset. |
Body's
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ACTIONman painted hair body. Note this guy
has chubby hands AND both knees
are sculpted. A rare early ACTIONman
painted hair.
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This is a picture of the ACTIONman eagle eye, muscle body figure. Note
that he is easily identifiable by the "ACTIONman"
caption on the front of his briefs (see picture inset).
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ACTIONman Flocked Hair Body
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This is a Geyperman figure. These figures never came with hard
hands, only Kung Fu Grip. Though not a "muscle body" like the later
figures, the torso of this figure is still made from hard, rather than soft plastic.
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Trade Marks
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This is the manufacturers stamp on the back of a Geyperman figure.
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"MADE IN ENGLAND
BY PALITOY
UNDER LICENCE FROM
HASBRO (c) 1964"
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