Tommy Gunn

"Who`s the Greatest Fighting Soldier? Fearless Tommy Gunn!"
I remember the jingle even after 40-odd years. Can`t remember the actual commercial though...

Anyway, while I was sorting through my TG stuff a few weeks ago, I took a few shots of the differences between the Pedigree and Zodiac versions. I don`t pretend that this is a comprehensive list by any means (I don`t have any of the later Talker or Alien figures for instance), but I think it will be a good start.

So, first off, the standard TG soldier - Pedigree on the left, Zodiac on the right.



The main visual differences are that the "pockets" are stitched on the Pedigree version, but printed on the Zodiac, and the jacket buttons are painted on only the Pedigree.
The Sterling smg was definately moulded in black plastic when it was purchased with the Pedigree figure (moulded in green with all the accessory packs). I`m not 100% certain whether the Zodiac version had a black or green Sterling.

Now, on to the bodies themselves.

The Pedigree only ever came with a painted head and hard hands. The rivets were also painted, and he had "Made in England" embossed on his right buttock (and somehow, I`ve lost the picture of this - never mind, I`ll have to add it later...), and no markings on his lower back. The plastic is also very thin and brittle compared to the contemporary VAM - a fact which makes the use of warm water to ease the removal of hands, heads etc. a VERY risky business, as the plastic is very prone to warping!



The Zodiac bodies had either "MADE IN HONG KONG EXCLUSIVELY FOR ZODIAC (TOYS) LTD" or "MADE EXCLUSIVELY FOR ZODIAC (TOYS) LTD MADE IN HONG KONG" in larger letters.

The Zodiac bodies came in a number of variations, Painted Hair with hard hands, Flocked hair (in brown and, more rarely, blonde) with either hard hands or gripping hands.

l. to r. Pedigree TG, Pedigree Captain Scarlet head, Zodiac painted head, Zodiac fuzz head (blonde), Zodiac fuzz head. The one on the right is also of a much paler plastic, and has the larger Zodiac logo on the back. Of note is the fact that torso muscles are actually clearer on the Zodiac versions!



The Zodiac grippers where considerably smaller than any of the VAM versions.

The later hard hands where also made of a softer plastic, which, believe it or not, allowed the right hand to grasp certain pistol grips!

To show the slightly better flexibility of the Zodiac HH, here`s a VAM hand and a Zodiac attempting to hold a Luger...




Finally, a quick comparison of the lace-up boots! I think the Zodiac versions are quite rare - I`ve only ever seen one pair since I started collecting! The main differences between the VAM and Tommy Gunn boots are the tiny hole in the sole on all the VAM versions.

l. to r. Pedigree boots, Zodiac boots (note "MADE IN HONG KONG" embossed lengthwise along the sole), and VAM.

A very informative post!

The original looks a worthy rival for VAM but the later Zodiac figures look very KO-esque!

great post, as skj said very informative I'd love a tommy or two in my collection !and sadly have none rarer than vam and sadly more expensive (considerably) when they do come up , where the pedigree versions launched
before or at the same time as gi joe crossed the pond and became action man ? the body is similarly constructed

I believe TG was launched in 67/68.

Pedigree later re-used the TG body with a new head for their Captain Scarlet figure.

signalman wrote:

Pedigree later re-used the TG body with a new head for their Captain Scarlet figure.

Now you're talking!!

https://actionmanmobileops.forumotion.co.uk/t6209-pedigree-captain-scarlet?highlight=pedigree+captain+scarlett

I thought TG came out in '66 just like VAM. I assumed the 2 year delay from GI Joe's release in the US was due to Pedigree's research and development lead time once they'd decided a 12 inch doll for boys was the way to go!