Name?
Ralph Jones
Online name?
My online name for VAM collecting is 'TheOneManKid' this is because I was the only kid on my street with one Action Man. I'm not bitter about that of course! No
However, it may be a motivator for wanting to collect now...
Location?
I currently live in both South London and Northants. South London is where I work and where I grew up. I keep some of my collection in each place. London HQ is for Tom's Crew. Tom K is the name of my original Action Man now and the Crew is a small team I put together for him, so he is not so lonely any more... aaahhh! The rest of my collection stays at home in Northants and is known as John’s Crew. John is another blonde VAM that I bought in a local boot sale in Northants, who acted as a stand-in for Tom K while he was being restored. Both teams are a mix and match of GI Joe and Action Man. It ended up that way as I got into trading with a couple of guys from the States. That kept me busy for more than half of 2014, I have slowed things down considerably since then. I'm trying my best to take a more considered approach for this year...
First Vam/Joe/Mam or 1/6 figure?
Ha! That is easy to answer, that is Tom K! He is called Tom K as an acronym of my AMMO moniker 'TheOneManKid' as I didn't have a name for him back in the day. His full name is Thomas K Jones, but Tom K sounds better than Tom Jones I think...
What was your favourite figure as a kid, and do you still own him?
Tom K and Yes! Although he has a minty vintage AT body and a Flocktastic makeover now, instead of a ratty flock and a broken VAM body. I have a few of his original uniforms as well, but only the blue beret and sten gun from the outfit he came with.
Favourite figure now?
That is really difficult, to date I have collected 8 fuzz heads and 1 paint head and I love them all for different reasons. They are all my favourites. Tom K, however, is my original Action Man and I often look at him and smile; as the 10 year old me wouldn't believe how good he looks now and how he is known all over on AMMO and Facebook and making lots of new friends and fans!
Most desired item?
When I rediscovered Action Man about 18 months ago there was an advert that I come across online for an Action Man day. On the advert was a close up photo of two Green Berets. I don't recall that uniform set from my childhood, but I would have to say that the Green Beret is what got me interested again. I have managed to collect two sets of the jacket and trousers so far, one VAM and one Joe, but I only have one vintage beret and ascot, along with mostly repro boots and accessories to go with them. So, one project for 2015 is to complete those two sets and maybe get another paint head to recreate the photo I described for myself.
What will you do with your collection as you get older?
Recently I had thought about selling parts of my collections of vinyl records, books and other memorabilia thinking that now I'm over 50 I should move on from owning 70s punk singles etc, but it slowly dawned on me that all these items form part of our life story, just as the Action Men do, so I'm not sure I’ll ever get rid of them! Tom K will be 45 this year and I'll be 54 and we're both planning to be around for another 50 years at least!
What does your wife/girlfriend/partner think of your collection/hobby?
My wife thinks I'm a nut! She says she hates them, but she seems happy to work on photos of my collection and for me to take one or two on trips away, so I think she secretly finds it quite interesting.
Do you set yourself a budget?
Last year I didn't have a budget set, but I am planning to this year.
Worst Vam/Joe/MAM or 1/6 figure?
I can only speak from personal experience and I’d have to say that the worst figure that has past through my hands is the WalMart Air Adventurer that I bought for myself last Christmas. That head sculpt, hair and skin colour combination! What a disappointment?! When I opened the box I just thought ‘Oh, My God! That’s just weird! Yellow hair! Grey/brown skin! Yellow painted eyebrows! Brown eyes staring up at me out of the dark box! The Air Adventurer had become and an Asian guy with a dodgy dyed blonde hairdo and beard laying in a coffin!'
I think that head stayed on that body for a about 3 days, before I had to remove it! Most of the flock came off in the process and I traded it away at the first opportunity. The hands are good though and I've kept the arms to use when my paint head Seven needs to do some proper gripping.
Views on 40th reproductions?
They can get really bad as described above or really good. I have various 40th AM/Joe uniforms and spare parts that are done really nicely. I am not really that elitist about vintage vs reproduction. Truth is a lot of repro stuff is far superior quality compared to a lot of late vintage stuff, so I take the approach that if it is nicely made and looks good then I like it. I do like a nice label though and don’t really understand why the 40th AM stuff missed a label. It would have been easy to design a simple label that said something like ‘Action Man 40th Anniversary’ if there was a copyright issue over the original label that was unresolvable. I think it was a bit lazy.
Worst item of the Vam/Joe/Mam or 1/6 range?
Bullet Man? No idea! I am a 60s kid, so most of my Action Man impression is from that period. I tend not to focus on stuff from the early 70s onwards, unless it's something cool from Cotswold, 21st Century, DiD and so on...
Best thing about collecting Vam/Joe/Mam or 1/6 figures?
Having the little guys around seems to bring some kind of comfort. Figuring out how to kit them out and sharing the results is a great sharing experience on social networks like AMMO and Facebook. I like to trade as well, but I have to rein that in this year, that can be very addictive and as a result there is a tendency for it to get out of control.
Do you think your collection will be collectible in the future?
I have no idea, possibly! My modest collection exists to give my original Action Man some buddies to hang out with and go on adventures. I'm not really tuned into the idea of being a collector, although I do have and plan to put some vintage sets together for my one and only paint head Seven. I might enter the world of Geyperman this year also.
If you did not collect Vam/Joe/Mam what would you collect?
I have a plan to start collecting vinyl records again, but I haven’t got to the point yet where I can setup a decent Hi Fi to system to play them on.
What AM/Joe outfit or set would you like to have seen released?
I would like see some contemporary uniforms/outfits released that are specifically tailored for AM/Joe. I use some of the 21st Century Ultimate Soldier uniforms on Tom’s Crew which fit okay, but it’d be great to have some sets made in modern cut and camouflage to compliment the vintage sets.
Do you have a/What is your favourite section of AMMO?
Actually I think my favourite section is Chatbox, but I love to browse around all over!
Why do you like AMMO?
AMMO is the first place that I got to know Action Man collectors. I was surprised how welcoming you have all been considering my very small collection and I have spent many an hour chatting away on Chatbox; lots of laughs have been had there and I have also learnt a tremendous amount about the hobby.
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Subject: February 2015 interview TheOneManKid 
Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:33 am
, i like the chatbox too ! 
At the time I had been patrolling the local Walmart waiting for them to arrive, never found them...never found them...then one day boxes of them appeared and they were already on the sale shelf well marked down. 
Richard Feynman
