Chad Valley figures from Argos.

I spent some of my birthday money yesterday on something I'd had my eye on for a while - a set of four figures in the new Argos catalogue.  The usual price was £19.99 but when I looked online yesterday I saw they were only £12.99!  Not bad for four brand new figures - ££3.25 each instead of £5 each - about the price people are selling clothed MAM at car boot sales these days.  I reserved these at our local Argos store thinking I'd nip over and pick them up after work but as I finish at 5.30 and the store closes at 6pm I didn't have enough time to get there.  My wife reluctantly agreed to collect them for me after she'd picked the kids up from school instead so they were on the sofa waiting for me when I finished work.

So, here's the box.  Pretty simple pictures on the front and rear.




The four figures come in separate plastic bags...


...and a fifth bag contains the accessories.  Four guns and two helmets.


I stripped one guy down to have a look at the joints.  The arms are very much like MAM, but are made of a hard plastic.  The hands are much harder than MAM hands.  The head sculpts are nice, and all different.  The legs were a surprise - double jointed knees make for good kneeling poses.  The clothes are identical to the Peace Keepers Power Team stuff, and fit the bodies (which are very much MAM sized) very tightly.  I think someone said that the bodies may have come from the same tooling as some of the Power Team figures, but I've only seen one PT type of body with much more articulation than these.


A final group pose to show off the different uniform colours and heads.


All in all, I'm happy with them.  They make a nice addition to my little collection of MAM and bring my total of brand new boxed figures I've owned up to 8 (two VAM and a Bionic Man when I was a kid which I no longer have, a 40th from last Christmas and now four figures for my birthday).

Great review Pete

Looks like someone mated "MAM" with "PTE" so we have the "MATE" figure.  Can we coin this phrase and start getting it Universally accepted HAHAHA

May have to get a few MATE's. Shame kit looks rather bare. Do Argos stock access, vehicles?

This is, as far as I can find out, the only figures that Chad Valley and Argos sell so far. Not sure if they're going to do more of them or not. I did a bit of searching in Google and found the World Peacekeepers Power Team Elite website :

http://www.powerteamfigures.com/powerteam12/index.html

If you click on 'history' on the left hand side and scroll down a bit, it lists a figure called "2nd Generation (Improved Version) Power Team Figure" which appears to be identical to the Chad Valley figures. The CV figures have no company stamp on them at all - I've searched all over but can't find anything, but it sounds like someone on the AMMO website got it right - CV have bought (or copied?) the tooling for the older version PT figures and started making new figures. I hope they keep going, as I always wanted some of the PT stuff such as the Hummer and some of the other uniforms look cool too. I'll have to keep checking future Argos catalogues!

They have a New site http://www.mctoy.com.hk/index.php/i/toyseries/3/24?lang=eng

Have to admit all my PTE figures are the better more articulated ones. Truly not a fan of the 90s Joe, MAM and early 21st & PTE bodies. Thankfully 21st and PTE raised their game.

Thanks for the link Stonewall. Looks like they don't do the Humvee any more

We were wondering why the helmets had the initials MC inside them - now I know!

Fantastic stuff Pete. They look very well made . Is is it just me or does the chap on the left have a passing resemblance to Glenn from the Walking Dead ??



Great kit bash in the making there!

Cool , I have actually purchased some f these for my 3 year old for Christmas, now I knew  they looked like Mam, but I think they are (close your ears clive ) better articulated !and love the varied headsculpts !

Peter, the Humvee's I wouldn't rule out. It does state cases of 2 But they have to be a business address.

So check this thread out https://actionmanmobileops.forumotion.co.uk/t6820-1-6th-pte-humvees#87173

I want some but can't find them on Argos website!!

yeah , definitely a resemblance to glenn !, maybe it could be something as simple too as a re-box , after all palitoy did it with gi joe and with some kenner products !

Rossini, try thus link:

http://www.argos.co.uk/m/static/Product/partNumber/4347965/searchTerm/CV+MILITARY+KNIGHTS+PIRATES.htm

I think it says £19.99 on there, but the price keeps changing. I've seen them at £14.99 but I only paid £12.99 for mine.

Great review Pete. Didn't know these were available.

Good tip!.....I think I have some of these, I recognise the guns, not bad
Figures as I recall!

Nice!

Nice pick up cheers

Nice , I have a few of my van dressed in peacekeeper gear , fits a treat

I just did a search on Google for Chad Valley, and look what I found -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Valley_(toy_brand)

Chad Valley was taken over by a certain company called Palitoy in 1978!! Small world, eh?

peterodgers wrote:

A final group pose to show off the different uniform colours and heads.


All in all, I'm happy with them.  They make a nice addition to my little collection of MAM and bring my total of brand new boxed figures I've owned up to 8 (two VAM and a Bionic Man when I was a kid which I no longer have, a 40th from last Christmas and now four figures for my birthday).

Those are an interesting style of figure. I'll echo the comment that they are copies of the first generation PTE figures; but use some of the newer headsculpts. I have the headsculpt second from the right; albeit on the newer poseable body.




Better pic in daylight:



Interesting figures all-around; and you can't beat that price!

-Nate

Nice WW2 Airborne there.

Have to say I love the Improved PTE body, though their heads always do make a welcome addition to new faces.

The bald figure looks like a blank canvas for an array of flocking possibilities!!