Action Man
 Action
Man was another product from America, where he was launched under
the name GI Joe by Hasbro in 1964. The
backlash against the Vietnam War at the
end of the decade led to that character being discontinued.
The 1/6th scale Action Man "doll" hit the stores in
1966 (manufactured under license by Palitoy) and if you had one as a
kid, you will now be in your 40's to mid 50's . . . but it’s very
likely that you, like every young owner of an Action Man, also
simulated copulation between their scar-cheeked soldier boy-doll and
their sisters’ Barbie.
I am reluctant to call my old friend a "doll" because
as a kid I would not have been seen dead playing with a doll and yet
had so many wonderful adventures with my collection of Action Man
figures.
As a kid I coveted the accessories the rich kids had (including a
scale Scorpion tank). I couldn't afford them so I used to make jeeps
out of cardboard boxes and tanks out of biscuit tins - The TV show Blue
Peter often featured segments on making your own Action Man
accessories.
I think one of the reasons I have such a fertile imagination
today is due in no small part to my fantasy game play as a kid (in
which Action Man took a starring role). I remember the best Action
Man store around in about 1970 was in Mexborough in South Yorkshire.
 Every birthday (or Christmas) I would make a pilgrimage to the
shop to point out to my dad which uniforms and accessories I hoped
"Santa" would bring me. Funny thing, psychic old Santa
usually brought exactly the right gear!
Action
Man is still around, but there are really big differences between
the early and the recent Action Man figures. The recent figures have
larger heads with 'real' hair and have gripping hands.
Recent versions also wear blue trunks where the early figures are
naked under their clothes (even though they never had any
discernible genitals!)
I am a bit of an Action Man purist I'm afraid - In the late 60s
and early 70s most of the Action Man gear actually also existed in
the real military world. These days the legacy of Star
Wars looms large!.
Variations on a theme included Action Man with "real"
hair; Action Man with BLUE eyes (aha - Nazi Action Man?!),
"Eagle Eye" Action Man and Talking Action Man.
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