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Vintage

ACTIONman

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BACK TO THE BUNKER

 

 

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

vintagehands1.jpg (2589 bytes) This shows three different Kung Fu grip type hands. 

From left to right: Hasbro's GI Joe,  Palitoy's ACTIONman, and Geyper's "Geyperman."  

vintagehands3.jpg (6137 bytes) This is a picture of two different types of Geyperman hands.  The
difference between the to (the color difference being incidental) is the types of pegs used.
classichands.jpg (3841 bytes) The GI Joe classic hand has an identifying feature in that the thumnail is inverted. On the right hand, the thumbnail is where the fingerprint should be. Though originally a mistake, it was decided to keep the error as a way of identifying knock off figures that had been directly copied from GI Joe.

Heads

vintagehead2.jpg (3710 bytes) 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.
vintageamblackbeard.jpg (5703 bytes) ACTIONman with black beard
vintageamblackhair.jpg (5575 bytes) ACTIONman with black hair and no beard
vintageamblond.jpg (6223 bytes) ACTIONman with blond beard
vintageamph.jpg (5127 bytes) ACTIONman with black painted head
vintageamblndhead.jpg (5069 bytes) ACTIONman with blond painted hair
vintageamblndnobeard.jpg (5342 bytes) ACTIONman with blond hair and no beard
vintEE.jpg (7140 bytes) ACTIONman Man Eagle Eye. The back of the head is shown, inset.

 

Body's

vintageamphbd.jpg (9231 bytes) 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).
vintageambody.jpg (8832 bytes) ACTIONman Flocked Hair Body
vintagegeyper1.jpg (7812 bytes) 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.  

 

Trade Marks

vintagegeg2stamp.jpg (3256 bytes) This is the manufacturers stamp on the back of a Geyperman figure. 

vintageambuttmarking.jpg (2340 bytes) "MADE IN ENGLAND
     BY PALITOY
UNDER LICENCE FROM
   HASBRO (c) 1964"