BOXED FIELD COMMANDER

I bought this totally because it was my first Action Man that i had bought for me :)It was only cheap because the records were wrong as they were foreign ???????? I thought to myself i have loads of spare record discs so i snapped it up. I was really pleased that the radio works perfectly and after i swapped the discs round it was as good as complete

My mother and father visited this weekend and Dad as usual said got any new dollies (Oh how we laugh NOT!!!!)  

Anyways he was looking and said "Look Shirley(Mums name) do you remember this" "Oooooooooooo yes" She said laughing. "What" i said confused.

"Oh my" Mum continued "Dont you remember?"
"Remember what" I replied
"The trouble we had with this blooming toy"
"No, what are you two going on about"

She started to tell me the story....................

When you were little we bought you this toy and when you opened it you said "oh mum wheres the battery?" Dad being dad always forgot the batteries for presents so apparently off i ran to take the batteries out of his radio that hung up in the bathroom where dad would listen to his morning phone in shows and spend half an hour shaving and shouting at the radio. She continued "You then put the battery in and loaded the record and said, OH NO! the batterys not well enough". Your father and i laughed and said "give it here" so your dad pushed the button and said, "Thats french what a bloomin cheek" :(He checked the other record and that was french too. Apparently i didnt care i just laughed at the language with my brother. But dad being a radio phone in ranter apparently wrote to palitoy and sent one of the discs back (I honestly have no recollection of this) my mum laughed and said this took about two months to get an answer from them and they sent a big parcel along with an apology note with lots and lots of Action Man pieces and 4 new little records that came with a field radio on its own ???????????

"WHAT!" i shouted "WHAT happened to all the freebies they sent???????????" (Imagining some secret stash somewhere that they had only just remembered between them ?????????    

Oh we gave them to you and your brother for your birthdays      

Saved us a fortune that year  

                    

So i wonder how many other people had this problem with the wrong discs being put in ?????

Anyways here it is

    parents eh ??  

That's a very funny story Dan and a cracking figure I love my field radio and the sound that comes from the records. The playing unit reminds me of my sisters Tipsy Tumble, it's that pink!:-)

my sister had a Tickles doll that would laugh and it had the same unit in the back

LOL.... I can imagine the thoughts that were in your head mate!!! Freebies??? Where are they now?????? I want them???? Huh???? Gave them to my brother????? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL

That's a great story

Len

  Funny story Dan. Hearing anecdotes from our VAM childhoods is a great part of the hobby for me.

Catching up on a few old threads and found this one. Great story Dan, made me laugh and think back to a few of my memories of Action Man. Its a great set the field commander and certainly one of my favourite sets. I love it so much I have about 4 radios that all work. I got one that didn't work, so bought another and presumed it didn't work as always on eBay listings the description comes as "Untested" when it really should say "I tried it and it really doesn't work so I will put down untested" and yes I was right it didn't work, so I bought another and finally I got one working. Yeah the joy of hearing it play again was fantastic.
Now I had one that worked I thought I better have a play with the others and see if I can . Well after pulling them apart I finally managed to get them all working. I am not very clever that's for sure but I love to mess around with things. I really have no idea what I am doing half the time but I after a lot of messing I did get them all going. You can buy new motors exactly the same, you can fix all the wiring and the only thing I haven't fixed is the dents in a speaker of one of them. They are fantastic to have working.

Great too see you posting again Darren

Thanks mate. I am always on here reading and looking but unfortunately got quite sick a few months ago and it caused my a bit of grief nothing to serious but it knocked me off my feet and I am still trying to get over it. No scuba diving etc for months and I have been told it will take me a good few months more to recover but not to worry as it was more annoying to others as I got whooping cough and I can't believe I am still coughing (all over people too) and losing my breath 3 months later. Bloody annoying.
I have been doing plenty of collecting and bought a glass cube display cabinets as my figures where getting so dusty. I have had plenty of other little projects like making my own medic tent as I couldn't afford the real one. It came up okay and if I could sew you could make very nice replicas as I am not the best. I have also pulled apart my gun emplacement and got that all working which as a fair amount of pleasure in that. Other than that I have just been collecting small parts to complete my vintage figures. I am nearly 100% vintage again with only having to replace my 1st issue mountaineer (complete uniform needed) the one with the green jumper, my royal Hussar belt and sword and a Russian order of Lenin medal. I will try get off my lazy butt and take a few photos and get posting again.

good grief !!, glad to read that you are feeling better and kept yourself busy too with a few vam projects . I look forward to seeing your projects. Hope you get over your cough soon buddy

dan you fell on your feet there what a wonderful story your mum told , i would love to hear the foreign records i wonder has anybody put them online anywhere . d day i had my gun emplacement apart yesterday it needs soldering in 3 places and i lost the pin that hinges the trigger down the side of my chair but i will replace that with a thick paper clip , never rains but it pours

Blimey Darren!! Whopping cough is known as the 100 day cough. Glad you're starting to feel better and looking forward to seeing your new uploads.

blueboxier wrote:

dan you fell on your feet there what a wonderful story your mum told , i would love to hear the foreign records i wonder has anybody put them online anywhere . d day i had my gun emplacement apart yesterday it needs soldering in 3 places and i lost the pin that hinges the trigger down the side of my chair but i will replace that with a thick paper clip , never rains but it pours

I hope you get it all sorted Jim. My motor in mine still worked so like yours Jim it was a touch of solder here and there. I was stoked it worked and even the light worked. If you can't find a pin I have used metal skewers in the past for plenty of Action man projects, they work a treat. We have all different sizes of metal skewers that I pinch and the missus hasn't missed any yet .

I need another VAM fix it project now as I love the feeling once I fix a 40 plus year old toy. I have a Mobile command centre put away for xmas and I am so looking forward to fixing that as I know it doesn't work and has a bit of damage.
But good luck Jim I hope it all works okay.

Great story Dan!

d-day i have a soldering iron but no solder or flux i'll buy some the next time i'm in town and maybe then i'll feel the rush of knowing i fixed another 40 year old piece of heaven . have a happy crimbo with soldering iron , tape , screw drivers , test light and all

Wow he looks great Dan!