Empire Jeep

Since I'm comparing the vehicle to Action Man and Joe Vehicles, I put this thread in both sections. Moderators, please feel free to move or delete this thread if it is in the wrong location.

One of the better KO vehicles that appeared in the 1970s was produced by Empire Toys out of North Carolina. While better known for their smaller scale superhero-themed vans and helicopters that were designed to go with Mego's lines, they also made a durable, if a tad underscale Jeep to go with Joe and Marx figures. In many ways, it is the American cousin of the Cherliea Jeep. I have one of these vehicles, and thought that I would show comparison pictures of this jeep with some better known Joe and AM vehicles.

Before I show the pics, I must thank Gordon of the Trenches for allowing me to use a few pics of his complete Army Combat Jeep. Gordon is the expert on these vehicles, and if you would like to know more about them, I HIGHLY recommend checking out this thread:
http://www.thetrenchesforum.com/showthread.php?15340-Empire-Jeeps&highlight=Empire+Jeep

Here are his pics:



Being produced from about 1973, this Jeep while technically a combat jeep, was a contemporary of the AT.
Check out those prices!



Yesterday, local collector Rick (Joeman) was nice enough to let me take a few pictures comparing my Empire Jeep to a few better known vehicles. Some of the pics use flash, some without. Any blurriness is entirely my fault.

First, the ATV and Standard Jeep:



How the Empire Jeep sizes up:










I've placed my new AM in the Empire Jeep. It's not that big, so he can't get into too much trouble as he learns to drive on the opposite side of the road!

While a contemporary to the AT, this jeep was produced into the Super Joe era, which probably helped the legroom!



I scored my jeep from an antique store a little over a year ago for under $20. Rick replaced the steering wheel; and now it's one of my favorite pieces! I hope that you enjoyed the pics!

-Nate

a great score for under $20 its nice to see things from other countrys

Fantastic thread Nate !!, looks like Action man had a great time at Rick's too. That jeep you have is very similar, if not the same to the Cherilea jeep we had in the UK, In fact as a kid, the Cherilea was the first vehicle I remember getting one Christmas for my Action men !!.

I really enjoyed your thread mate, great upload   

actionman2272 wrote:

Fantastic thread Nate !!,  looks like Action man had a great time at Rick's too. That jeep you have is very similar, if not the same to the Cherilea jeep we had in the UK, In fact as a kid, the Cherilea was the first vehicle I remember getting one Christmas for my Action men !!.

I really enjoyed your thread mate, great upload   

The one major difference is that the Empire Jeep' s hood (bonnet) does not open.

-Nate

still, it is a very cool vehicle Nate

actionman2272 wrote:

still, it is a very cool vehicle Nate

It's one of my favorite Joe pieces!

-Nate

Awesome thread, Nate   nice insight into the Jeeps, excellent collection of vehicles   

Here's the Madelman Jeep, a nearly exact copy of the GI Joe 5 star Jeep, but for the Madelman 7" figures

koenig wrote:

Here's the Madelman Jeep, a nearly exact copy of the GI Joe 5 star Jeep, but for the Madelman 7" figures

Do you have pics of the figures from this line?

-Nate

Glidah Drivah wrote:

Do you have pics of the figures from this line?

Sure! Give me a few minutes and I'll post some pics of a Madelman diorama

great pics

Nice looking jeep, Nate   

koenig wrote:

Wow! Amazing display! That's one of the things that I love about this site! Not only is there plentiful information and pictures of Action figure lines that I know of (if only a little) like Action Man, Geyperman and the rest of Joe's cousins, but I also find out about action figure lines that I have never heard of before!

-Nate

Wow! Great thread!   

superb stuff !! the maddel man line was great !

Nice posts gentlemen!

Awesome Photos of maddel man excellent upload   

Those Madel figures and vehicles are great. Apparently they were made from 1968-83; nearly simultaneous as Action Man. I knew Spain had a great Action figure line in Geyperman; now I find out there were two!

-Nate

Glidah Drivah wrote:

Apparently they were made from 1968-83; nearly simultaneous as Action Man. I knew Spain had a great Action figure line in Geyperman;  now I find out there were two!

You're right. although "inspired" by GI Joe and AM, Madelman were unique in design and solutions. Ironically, in Spain Geyper Man was perceived as a "copy" of Madelman, because he was released later. Even Geyper decided some models depending of his similarity with Madelman sets. The Military Police is an example, they decided for the Tan Airborne Joe version -with white belt and helmet- because it was very similar to the Madelman version (as you can see in my above pics)

If there's enough interest I can open a thread about Madelman. Let me know!

It would make a great thread mate !, if you want to start one, and enough interest drop me a pm, maybe he could have his own section?

The plot thickens... (at least for this Yank!) Apparently Palitoy released a version of Madel Man in 1973 that they called "Little Big Man"!




That Range Rover is much cooler than the Big Jim version!

Apologies if this is common knowledge over there.

-Nate

I remember those guys !! I never had any tho   

They were a bad unlincensed copy of Madelman. Not Palitoy finest hour quality-wise...   

I'll start soon a thread about the guys! Where do I start it Dal?   

if you drop me a pm, we can sort something out