Progress, anyone?

Remember when you were a kid and Woolworths sold those cheap and nasty knock off figures with very limited articulation.  You know, the ones that all of us Action Man fans quite rightly turned our noses up at?  

Well why would today's kids with a massive range of much better,  more fully articulated figures available, go for this?  

Around the late 60’s I had one of these for Christmas.
Very similar to these new “kiddy” ones



Tbh honest I was gutted, I didn’t have any Vam of my own.

Not sure what will happen when these finally get on the shelf. I don’t think it will work but that’s just my non child opinion!

Exactly. Even some of the cheap knock-off figures, when I was a kid, had joints at the elbows and knees.

Sparklebudgie wrote:

Around the late 60’s I had one of these for Christmas.

Not sure what will happen when these finally get on the shelf. I don’t think it will work but that’s just my non child opinion!

I'll make a prediction. I think they'll turn up at a fiver in TK Maxx within a few months. Why would any of today's kids go for these? Firstly, the play value is extremely limited by the six (count 'em) points of articulation and lack of equipment.

Secondly, the military toy market was something of our era, with a generation brought up on ripping WWW2 yarns on TV and in the cinema in and in The Hotspur, The Eagle and The Valiant comics as well as those pocket sized Commando comics.

Today's kids are primarily interested in science fiction and superhero toys (if you can prise them away from their games consoles).

I have to agree, these figures are awful

I don't think I would be interested at a fiver each. Why make the uniforms a different size to other ACTION MAN models? something wrong somewhere

The company concerned should have grasped the nettle and aimed their new product at the adult collector. If that wasn't financially viable, then they shouldn't have bothered. Failure of this range can only damage the Action Man brand and put off any future manufacturers from attempting any sort of revival.

I think too many fans of our age group who were involved with this project, were looking at this entire endeavour through rose tinted glasses, imagining hordes of kids rushing to embrace dad's/grandad's favourite childhood toy, while totally ignoring the realities of today's toy market and the changed tastes of children.

This is just a sampling of the competition...

Spot the difference.

Why, over half a century later is the product so grossly inferior?

They are an abomination.....not fit to carry the AM name. And I'm fed up with crappy excuses about them being for a younger market. Kids aren't dumb...back in the day we would have known that these were crap and the kids today are much more clued up.

Reddragon wrote:

I don't think I would be interested at a fiver each. Why make the uniforms a different size to other ACTION MAN models? something wrong somewhere

I didn't realise the uniforms didn't fit the classic AM body. Not that I'd want the uniforms, but this is just another example of the manufacturers shooting themselves in the foot.

I promised myself that I'd just ignore these budget figures and not comment on them but every time I see them they irritate me more!

the_pauley wrote:

I think too many fans of our age group who were involved with this project,  were looking at this entire endeavour through rose tinted glasses, imagining hordes of kids rushing to embrace dad's/grandad's favourite childhood toy, while totally ignoring the realities of today's toy market and the changed tastes of children.  

A&S' answer to this is...
'They are aimed to wrestle ground from the superhero £15 - no articulation - figures at the 4-6 year olds market. This still is a lucrative healthy market and makes perfect sense to any businessman to tap into it.'

Makes perfect sense apparently! what with no movie tie-in or interest in the military within the target customer group?

It probably also made perfect sense to have T-rex arms so the uniforms can't even be used on VAM as well!

Anyone remember these cheapo figures from Argos?

More articulation.
Starting price was £19.99 if I remember correctly then discounted down to £9.99 they may have gone lower but grey matter struggling tonight. I’m thinking I paid £4.99 for the last few!






Even came accessorised

Yup...i bought a few boxes. A fiver for 4 figures with good articulation unis and equipment.

somekindajoe wrote:

I promised myself that I'd just ignore these budget figures and not comment on them but every time I see them they irritate me more!

A&S' answer to this is...
'They are aimed to wrestle ground from the superhero £15 - no articulation - figures at the 4-6 year olds market. This still is a lucrative healthy market and makes perfect sense to any businessman to tap into it.'

A&S are deluded if they think this. Star Wars, Marvel and DC action figures are tie ins to multi-million dollar movie/media franchises with their attendant omnipresent marketing campaigns and as such are instantly recognisable to (and desirable for) children.

When my friends bring their children round to see my Action Man collection, there is a mild, momentary curiosity, usually accompanied by "What are they supposed to be?"

Whereas with these two chaps (below) I have to fight to keep their prying grubby little paws off them.

Despite being from exactly the same era as Action Man (1966), they are immediately recognisable, and the appeal is completely different and still exists for today's children.

Great figures! Those classic Batman & Robin figures that is!

Rogue-Trooper wrote:

Yup...i bought a few boxes. A fiver for 4 figures with good articulation unis and equipment.

Those uniforms are far superior to these new cheapo (there's the rub!) Action Man uniforms.

For starters they have actual realistic looking pockets as opposed to the new Action Man figures with their cheap outline stitching to represent pockets. Why did they even bother with the expense of stitching? They could have just drawn the pockets on with a felt tip pen!

Blondeactionman wrote:

Great figures! Those classic Batman & Robin figures that is!

They are, but they cause endless grief for my friends with their kids' "DADDY! I WANT! I WANT!".

Firstly they are horrified when I tell them what they cost, but this is followed by an immediate wave of relief when I tell them that they are long since sold out and are hard to come by.

the_pauley wrote:

Blondeactionman wrote:

Great figures! Those classic Batman & Robin figures that is!

They are, but they cause endless grief for my friends with their kids' "DADDY!  I WANT!  I WANT!".  

Firstly they are horrified when I tell them what they cost, but this is followed by an immediate wave of relief when I tell them that they are long since sold out and are hard to come by.

I know that feeling! I have quite a few Hot Toys figures myself

Chad Valley figures head 1/6 scale head sculpts are just fabulous but they hands are way to stiff for my liking so I pop both hands into hot water to soften so they can hold their guns.

We're all gonna get banned from HQ

Rogue-Trooper wrote:

We're all gonna get banned from HQ

AMMO is a far better place anyway .

It gets worse. apparently much of the kit has been sourced from existing 'Worldpeacekeepers' equipment. The main difference being that the World Peacekeepers' series has far superior fabric uniforms and figures with 30 points of articulation.

So, essentially, Action Man, the original action figure that inspired a thousand 'knock-offs' has now been reduced to the status of an inferior 'knock-off' Well done A&S! 　

It gets worse.  apparently much of the kit has been sourced from existing 'Worldpeacekeepers' equipment.   The main difference being that the World Peacekeepers' series has far superior fabric uniforms and figures with 30 points of articulation.

So, essentially, Action Man, the original action figure that inspired  a thousand 'knock-offs' has now been reduced to the status of an inferior 'knock-off'   Well done A&S!  　

Not that expensive either.....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Military-Combat-Desert-Soldier-Action/dp/B019MLC3XY/ref=pd_sbs_21_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B019MLC3XY&pd_rd_r=617f5ed5-e1fe-11e8-a7a0-3b70a1ed8668&pd_rd_w=1pTez&pd_rd_wg=s29O7&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_p=18edf98b-139a-41ee-bb40-d725dd59d1d3&pf_rd_r=BKEDBV00812D4V4KZWGS&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=BKEDBV00812D4V4KZWGS

Sparklebudgie wrote:

Not that expensive either.....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Military-Combat-Desert-Soldier-Action/dp/B019MLC3XY/ref=pd_sbs_21_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B019MLC3XY&pd_rd_r=617f5ed5-e1fe-11e8-a7a0-3b70a1ed8668&pd_rd_w=1pTez&pd_rd_wg=s29O7&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_p=18edf98b-139a-41ee-bb40-d725dd59d1d3&pf_rd_r=BKEDBV00812D4V4KZWGS&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=BKEDBV00812D4V4KZWGS

These Special Forces guys are a real bargin-IMO - loads of equipment, good uni's and even a source of hands ( 3 sets per figure !)
They along with the Chad Valley guys have contributed to the Munrovian Uniformity project

I'm taking the long view on the knock off's - if it helps me get some "cheap kit" ( for . £5 of course in the bargain bin Especially now Mrs G has found my Paypal acount history !! ) I'm sure I can -make do and mend - how about short sleeve look ala the old VAM UN uni ?

Cheers
Gunner