MEN OF ACTION (WELL, TWO OUT OF THREE AIN'T BAD)...

ACTION MAN copyright HASBRO

Above are three Action Man figures, the first from 2018, the second from 2006, and the third from 2022.  The first figure is often referred to as the T-Rex Action Man because of his stunted arms, and to be honest, despite my previous protestations that AM is not a doll, because of this figure's severely limited points of articulation, it is actually nothing more than a doll.  The elbows, waist, wrists and ankles don't move, the head doesn't go up or down, and although internal joints in the knees allow the legs to bend, it's only by around a few millimetres, so the joints are rendered useless for all practical purposes.

The second figure is the same as the classic 1966 version, though incorporates the flocked hair and gripping hands of '70s AM (which were first introduced by Palitoy, not Hasbro), making it a composite of the best of the '60s and '70s.  One flaw I've found is that the legs don't stay in position when raised in a kicking gesture (perhaps the elastic isn't tight enough), but as these versions are more for display by adult collectors who won't actually be playing with them, it perhaps doesn't much matter.

The third figure is the latest Action Man available, being released only in October of this year.  It's claimed that it has 30 points of articulation, but I can't see as many as that.  Depending on how you count, it seems to have only between 20-25, but the arms and legs are far more poseable than any previous version.  What lets it down slightly is that the head can't really be posed looking up or down beyond a millimetre or two either way (so no sharpshooter posing), and despite having two joints in the torso, the waist doesn't move much up or down either.

However, it's a great-looking toy display item manufactured by Art + Science (under license from Hasbro), but I'm unsure as to whether they're still active as the item isn't listed on their site, and, despite having a 'contact' option, nor do they appear to respond to any enquiries.  I had to buy the third figure through an online shopping site (Booghe), and it was sent in a box an inch shorter than AM's box, which resulted in some damage to it, though the figure was unscathed.  I'm currently awaiting a replacement box which will hopefully be in pristine condition.

Anyway, just thought I'd let you know that ol' Action Man is still alive and well in the 21st century.

Posted in: Cartoons