Action Masks was run by a guy called Mike Eastwood who was from Sheffield if my memory serves me correctly certainly in the West Yorkshire area. He was also friendly with another collector who has long since faded from the scene called Terry Spooner. Mike was a talented artist and sculptor and I believe his seamstress was his Girlfriends Mother.
I first met Mike at one of the early Bovington International Action Man Conventions and since we were both involved in making custom stuff we spent a lot of time chatting and he had made some amazing stuff. Including hollow latex masks which slipped over a VAMs head allowing you to create personality figures without physically replacing the head, this I believe is the origin of the name Action Masks.
This is an example of one of Mikes Terminator Masks.
Another interesting item he had made was 1/6th scale latex Facehuggers, from the films Alien & Aliens, with a wire armature giving poseable legs and tails. We discussed this at length as a potential way of making poseable hands for VAM something which Dragon finally did some years later!
At the 1994 Bovington Convention Mike had come up with the
Action Masks name and produced his first limited edition outfit. He had collaborated with Dave Goodwin, producer of many repro and custom VAM Artwork boxes and originator of the now ubiquitous white window display boxes, to produce his packaging.
In a Custom made VAM style artwork box you got;
A Camouflage Smock and Pants produced from hand-painted DPM camouflage material. This had 4 pockets, a Union Jack bade on the right sleeve and drawstrings in the hood and waist (which were rather too chunky)
A Green cloth Beret with white metal Royal Marine badge (recast from the VAM Badge I believe).
A Green cloth scarf.
A pair of black elastic anklets/puttees.
A basic web set consisting of a belt, yoke, canteen carrier and one generic ammo pouch and a bergen rucksack.
Quite cleverly the straps at the back of the yoke had one half of velcro on it and the bergen had the matching half so the bergen could added and removed without wrestling straps over the figures arms.
There were no weapons included in the set. Mike also painted the master of the box-art himself. I bought one of these from Mike at Bovington and some time later I sold it to a Collector in Australia who was desperate to get his hands on one and pestered me constantly until I finally agreed. I've forgotten who it was so anyone want to own up? I made the mistake of not taking any pictures before shipping it off to Oz but the seller was kind enough to send me several pics of the outfit on the figure he had used.
Oufit contents with added Figure, Boots and Uzi
Dressed Figure with Box.
Dressed Figure with Box Closeup.
After the Marine Action Masks next released a 24th Regiment of Foot, Rorkes Drift Commemorative Soldier as I recall seeing this figure at one of the early Cheshunt Shows in the days when Dick Whittick was still running Cotswold and attending shows in the UK to buy VAM. He bought up most of the Rorkes Drifts figures for Cotswold.
I more or less lost touch with Mike around this time and so from here on it's a combination of hearsay and speculation I think the Lifeguard came out next and I think there may have been one more outfit after that a Napoleonic era Lancer rings a bell but I could be imagining it! I do remember one collector who had bought a Lifeguard asking me to make him a custom pair of trousers for his as he felt that the trousers supplied were too stiff so I made him a pair from teeshirt material so they would have the more skin-tight fit of Napoleonic Cavalry overalls
Mike then disappeared and popped up again some years later and I found he had been working in America in the Movie Special Effects Industry including working on the film Small Soldiers!
As of now that's all I can remember however when I remember or figure out any more I will add it here feel free to ask any questions and if I can I will answer them.
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Subject: Action Masks and their 1994 Falklands Commemorative Royal Marine 
Mon Aug 12, 2013 7:00 pm
