ACTION MAN 1966 - 1969

Action Pilot


This was released with just the basic orange flight suit with high black boots and the blue cap. The only variation to this was the extremely rare golden rod yellow jumpsuit. these were sent from USA because the demand out weighed the manufacturing pace of the orange flight suit. The yellow one as shown has the Action Man label and as you can see an orange zipper. This is extremely rare mostly because of the limited run of these but also if you wash these or they got wet the orange zipper dye would run into the yellow material thus ruining the whole suit and often if you are lucky to find one they will be extremely dirty if not stained and so impossible to clean. I was lucky enough to find two in a childhood collection i bought and therefore had one in my collection and gave Vaughan one. I sent mine for cleaning at my local dry cleaners and it disintegrated so now these are rarer by one.

ACTION SOLDIER

This outfit was released 1st as a basic soldier just the fatigues high brown boots and the green cap. In the months that followed palitoy released several equipment cards hosting an array of extras that turned this basic soldier into a real fully equipped action fighting soldier. The full list once collected was as follows.

Green Helmet
Green Cap
Helmet Netting
Foliage
Denim Tunic Trousers (Green)
Boots (Brown)
Back Pack
Mess Kit (Knife,Fork and Spoon)
Field Jacket
Entrenching Tool and Cover
Cape
Cartridge Belt
Canteen and Cover
Tent (Poles and Pegs)
Tent Netting
Bayonet (M1)
M1 Rifle
Pistol and Holster with red lanyard
Bed Roll (Sleeping Bag)
Grenades
First Aid Pouch
Bivouac Machine Gun
Tripod
Ammo Box (Green)

They also released a Command Post Cape set which consisted of



Cape
Green Large Field Radio
Wire Roll
Map and Case
Brown Small Field Telephone

This really did add to the play value of this Action Man and is where it all began just a few Accessories that could completely transform your basic Action Soldier.

MINE DETECTION





Adding these sets took Action Man on new adventures with new identitys.


Mine Detector


Carry Case (Battery Pack)


Mines

HEAVY WEAPONS


Simply adding the support weapons set Action Man becomes a Heavy Weapons Soldier.


81mm Mortar


M60 Machine Gun


Bullet Proof Vest

COMBAT PARATROOPER





Action Man Became Availiable later in camoflaged tunic and trousers which gave way for more mix and match ideas with more accessory cards that some say are unique to the basic fatiques or camoflage fatigues but in all honesty they were left for children to mix and match as they saw fit.








Parachute Pack


Carbine


Grenades


Knife (Scabbard)


Canteen,Cover


First Aid Pouch


Belt


Mess Kit

BEACHHEAD ASSAULT





Flame Thrower

COMBAT ENGINEER





An extremely rare Engineer and Surveyors card made Action Man a Surveyor.





Helmet


Theodolite


Greese Gun

CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER





The demolition set comprised of





Pickaxe


Shovel


Detonator


Dynamite





Whilst the Engineer set included





Spring Loaded Jack Hammer


Construction Helmet


Grey Gloves

ARMY MEDIC





Needed someone to man the injured in any Action Man battle then this medic set was a god send with everything needed to bring back Action Man from the brink of death.





Helmet with Red Cross on sides


Stretcher


First Aid Shoulder Pouch


Stethescope


Plasma Bottle


Bandages


Red Cross Flag


Armbands


Gauze


Safety Pins


Splints


Crutch

JUNGLE FIGHTER





Probably the last accesory set produced was the Jungle Fighter which was largely overlooked by collectors (Untill its re release as a Soldier of the Century)


The only new additions in this set were





Entrenching Tool (Brown)


Bush Knife (Gold Handle)


Machete and Sheath

MILITARY POLICE





So finally after endless supply cards came a totally new outfit and the first in many more unique sets that would totally transform Action Man





White MP Helmet


Brown Tunic and Trousers


45 pistol and Holster


White Belt


Armband (Blue)


Truncheon


Kit Bag


Red Scarf

ARMOURED CAR COMMANDER





Helmet


Jacket


MAchine Gun


Ammo Box


Belt


Pistol and Holster


Radio


Tripod

ACTION SAILOR





All was not lost on the supply card front and this went on throughout the Action Man range up untill they stopped manafacturing in 1984. Palitoy often released sets and further cards that could be added just the same as the Action Soldier to beef up the basic uniform and the Action Sailor is a cracking example of how this was acheieved.





White Rubber Cap


Navy Denim Shirt


Blue Trousers

NAVY DRESS PARADE





You could acheive this look by adding the following cards.


Navy Machine Gun
Blue Ammo Box





Lifebelt


White Dress Rifle


White Belt with White Cartridges


Truncheon


Bayonet





You could even go as far as adding





Orange Life jacket


Blue Navy Helmet


Blinker Light


Flags





Thus transforming your Action Sailor further into becoming a full on





NAVY ATTACK





There was also a Sea Rescue set that had a yellow inflatable life raft (Dingy)

DEEP SEA DIVER





Continuing with the Navy theme Palitoy released the following a Deep Sea Diver in which Action Man could really submerge just like the real thing. All 1st issue suits had a layer of rubber inside this inevitably broke down over time became hard and rotted away.





Waterproof white fabric suit


Gloves


Diving helmet (3 parts)


Weighted boots


Weighted belt


Oxygen Pump and hose


Sledge Hammer


Knife and Scabbard


Rope and buoy

1ST ISSUE NAVY FROGMAN

Another rubber suit that suffered terribly by corrosion was sadly the Navy Frogman Suit.






This uniform sadly bacame brittle and just rotted and sometimes even disintergrated on the figure on display without ever being played with thus very few have survived and none that i know of in perfect condition.
The Picture here is of the 2nd issue but this only differs by the zip being on show where the 1st issue had flaps in the rubber that hid the zip. The picture underneath is of the 1st issue but because of its rarity this is only a archived picture that did belong to (Paul,Inconceivable) sadly no longer collecting as he sold his collection after he and his wife had their 1st baby






Head piece
Face Mask (Orange)
Jacket
Trousers
Flippers
Air Cylinders (Grey)
Knife and Scabbard
Wrist Depth Gauge
Dynamite

BREECHES BOUY





Finally a Navy suit that didnt perish but was prone to splitting.





Oilskin Jacket and Trousers


Breeches Bouy and Pulley


Flare Pistol


Signal Light

LANDING SIGNAL OFFICER





One of the first uniforms that had a clipboard and pencil included.





Cloth Helmet


Ear phones


Binoculars


Two Signal Paddles


Landing Signal Suit


Goggles (Black Rim)


Clipboard and Pencil


Flare Gun

SCRAMBLE PILOT


Another fantastic set which included a clipboard and pencil. Also the 1st time Palitoy issued a Flight Helmet with Green Tinted Visor and Orange Hose Connector the former two not being the last time





Scramble Crash Helmet


(Transfer Action Man Sticker)


(Hose connector and Green Tinted Visor)


Grey Flight Suit


Belt Pistol and Holster


Flare Gun


Knife and Scabbard


Red First Aid Pouch


Orange Plastic Air Vest


Cloth Parachute Pack


Yellow Inflatable life raft (Dingy)


Clipboard and Pencil

AIR POLICE


Now whilst Palitoy were busy issuing Card after Card that could be intergrated a strange move happened next now quite what the reason was to this is unclear as when it was first released there was no uniform available and two different jumpsuits were used that of the Action Pilot and the Scramble Pilot.


Now why this was is unclear but it wasnt untill 1970 that the carded Tunic and Trousers were made availiable one set in blue that are really prone to fading and a much rarer green set bot sets came on seperate cards and the blue jacket sold on its own which is why mixed with the fading issues why its so hard to find a colour match.





I have included BOTH issues Blue and Green but they were both issued with....





White A.P Helmet


Field Phone and Case (Grey)


Carbine


Bayonet


Large Blue Radio

CRASH CREW





A fantastic set comprising of a great silver foiled suit the exact same material that the Spaceman was made from (This is being saved for the next wave of uniforms) The set consisted of





Protective Hood (with Visor)


Fire Fighter Jacket and Trousers


Silver Boots


Silver Gloves With Black Inners


Large and small Fire Extinguisher


Black Utility Belt (Includes)


Axe


Red Tourch


Gold Pliers


Strap Cutter

SKI PATROL





A fantastic set comprising of the following





White Helmet (Bear Insignia)


White Jacket (Bear Insignia)


White Trousers


Goggles (White RIm)


White Mittens


White Belt Cartridges


White Belt


White BackPack


Grenades


Yellow Rope


Skis


Snow Shoes


Ski Poles (1st issue Thinner and silver tipped)


Ice Pick

SABOTAGE





This outfit comprises of the same jumper and trousers as the French Resistance (Seen Later) but had some unique pieces such as the red binoculars and the 1st time we see the Black inflatable Life Raft and small green radio transmitter





Black Wolly Hat


Red Binoculars


Black Jersey


Jeans


Gas Mask (Without small middle Filter)


Green Radio


Detonator (Grey)


Flare Gun


Flashlight


Dynamite


Greese Gun


Grenades

RED DEVIL





Every childs favourite at the time this showed just how sturdy Action Man was as untold amounts were launched from fantastic heights in a real hit or miss mission back to ground level sometimes he managed a majestic float back to land sometimes he was tangled in trees and on lamp posts and sometimes sadly he plummeted like a stone to his death where the breaking of a limb was imminent or worse still a broken set of green goggles.





Red Devil Helmet (with chin strap)


Green Goggles (White Rim)


Red Jump Suit


Parachute Back Pack (Opens from top to bottom)


Spare Chute


Red White and Blue Parachute

POLAR EXPLORER





This set was released along with the base camp set so while in the next few photos you will see the accessories from this base camp set i have ommited the base camp tent and sledge with dogs and boxes as these were not really a uniform and this reference is for uniforms only.





Polar Anorak Blue but also available in Red


Blue Trousers (With White Braces often Missing)


White Boots (Large)


Black Jersey


Grey Ruck sack


Green Goggles (White Rim)


Brown Mittens


Polar Map


Map Case


Black Wooly Hat


Compass


Green Sled


Blue Quilted Sleeping Bag


Red Snow Shoes


Red Skis


Red Ski Poles ( 1st issue with silver tips )


Also there came a snow Parka but not untill 1970