From 1980 onwards, each box proudly announced that Action Man was 'Toy of the decade' for the 1970s. In March 2018, Action Man appeared in an advert for Moneysupermarket.com. [26] Michlig, J. (1998) G.I. Joe; The Complete Story of America's Favorite Man of Action, Section 11, p. 164 Action Man: The Official Dossier is an entertaining and comprehensive tribute to one of the most enduring icons of boyhood. Richly illustrated with photography and advertisements of Action Man in all his various guises, this book is perfect for both the new generation of Action Man fans and those who loved the originals. The books are chopped up into three volumes, each dedicated to three distinct timelines that pointed to changes with the production of Action Man figures. Volume I: 1966-1969 Some outfits and figure sets came with instructions for proper use and care, they illustrate the identical items offered for G.I. Joe at that time; the only variation is the absence of Marine items offered in the U.S.

The brief for the design was to eliminate rivets and elastic of the Hasbro design yet maintain full manoeuvrability of the manikin. A construction based on snap-together components (known as the "skeleton") covered by an outer moulding (the "muscles") was devised for the arms and legs which were assembled by hand (no jigs and fixtures needed). The assembled limbs were held in a two-part torso ("clam shell" design) which was sonic welded together (the only mechanical process involved). The biggest challenge to the designers was the design of the hip area. The final solution, and thus maintaining the full manoeuvrability of the figure, was solved by Designer Peter Mansell. Figures from the prototype tooling were produced with green underpants, whereas in production they were moulded blue. [18] The U.S. patent was applied for in November 1977. [19] Action Man "Sailor" figure appeared in 1966 using the Hasbro GI Joe box graphics and US sailor outfit. In 1970 the UK outfit and revised Palitoy box graphics were introduced. Michlig, J. (1998) "G.I. Joe; The Complete Story of America's Favorite Man of Action", Section 12, pp. 178–187

Action Man: The Official Dossier

The tooling that produced the components for the Hasbro designed manikin were wearing badly and delivering poor quality mouldings; this was because the tooling was, what is known as "family tools" (all components to produce the limbs of the manikin were moulded on the same tool), it meant that if one component was below standard the whole shot was potentially scrap. However what was happening in production was that the good components were used but there became an imbalance in the numbers of good components, so substandard mouldings were reworked to make them acceptable and good components were ground up with bad components and the sprues for remoulding. This was becoming very uneconomic. The mouldings for the new Dynamique Physique manikin were moulded on non-family hot-runner tools (no sprues to be recycled). That is a separate tool for each component. It was easy to maintain equal numbers of components to make up the figures and the quality was assured. Prototype tooling using the hot-runner system was organised by Alec Langton to prove the manufacturing and design, as well as provide sales samples and product for toy fairs. Action Man was a British toy line produced by Palitoy (later acquired by Hasbro) that was first introduced in 1966. The original figure was a licensed version of Hasbro’s American G.I. Joe line, but with a more realistic military appearance. Action Man figures were sold in a variety of outfits and accessories, ranging from soldier uniforms to sports equipment and adventure gear. The line was a massive success, with over 16 million figures sold in the UK alone by the end of the 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, Action Man figures were updated to reflect modern military and espionage themes, and the line was later revived in the 2000s with a new look and storyline.

Palitoy was quite particular about the level and attention to detail for their uniforms and accessory detailing; in some respects, some outfits were fairly simplistic compared to the actual outfit (certainly in comparison to the level of detail achieved with modern offerings from Dragon and other action figure companies) as can be seen in any of the product catalogs on offer from a variety of online vendors. [22] Palitoy created appropriate insignia, such as the British Royal Military Police Cap and other uniform. The standard dropped by the end of the 1970s for number of reasons, not the least of which being rising production costs. [23] With 1960s and early 1970s variations, often they were die-cast instead of plastic, the uniforms themselves were of heavy cotton and chevrons were typically embroidered and sewn on, rather than paper decals. Over the many years Action Man was in production, almost every item produced for the line had a multitude of variations. Hungry Hungry Hippos, Action Man, Monopoly headed to big screen", Los Angeles Times, 4 October 2012 The Action Man character was again rebooted by IDW Publishing in 2016 for a four-issue limited comic book series. The series was published to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Action Man, with the cover of each issue featuring the original Palitoy-era Action Man logo. [8] Appearance: 1966–1984 [ edit ] Figure construction [ edit ]

In 1975, Action Man was awarded a Ten Year Gold Award for his continued success, but nine years later, in January 1984, Palitoy announced Action Man’s retirement after 18 years in production. Fortunately retirement proved to be temporary, and in 1994 our hero gave up his pipe, slippers and cocoa to return to the fray. Less than a decade later, second generation Action Man was named UK’s No 1 Boys’ Action Figure.

A comprehensive look at the complete history and development of Action Man and his accessories, from the beginning of his career to his rightful place as a cult classic, this book will delight collectors, nostalgic first-generation fans – and their children. Le Vexier, E.; Gavigniaux, H. trans.(2004) Action Joe – The Story of the French G.I. Joe ( ISBN 2-915239-21-5

On Land, Sea, and in the Air: Action Man

Michlig, J. (1998) G.I. Joe; The Complete Story of America's Favorite Man of Action ( ISBN 0-8118-1822-5)