Pedigree's JOE 90 Doll by Most Special Agent J.I.M.

Back in the Summer of 1970 I was taken to Jersey for a holiday. I still look upon it as perhaps the most lavish holiday I ever went on as a child. I had my own bed and we stayed in hotel. We went on a ship to get there too. Glamour indeed! Shame the weather didn't meet family expectations. How would a parent keep her kid happy for a few weeks in a hotel lounge (which is where we mostly spent our days!) My Mum took me to town and let me loose in a toy shop. This is a strong memory for me as I really didn't care how horrid the weather was because my Mum bought me this little fella! I also got the Century 21 Crack Shot set and a JOE 90 Colouring book too.

Yes during the Summer of 1970 I was quite the JOE 90 fan. I had grown up on the earlier shows and although I don't look upon JOE 90 as I do UFO, CAPTAIN SCARLET or THUNDERBIRDS it is still a favourite and the accompanying toys too and as a 6 year old was pretty obsessed by the show. As an ACTION MAN nut I grabbed this figure very quickly as he was kind of the right size when I used ACTION MAN as Sam Loover in table top or floor bound adventures. The figure is completely wired rather like MAJOR MATT MASON. He broke after a while and I lost the glasses. The badge remained however along with the sturdy but not TV authentic PVC suit. The style is of course very close to the design he often wore in the show but why use PVC? The long eyelashes and real hair too go toward this figure looking more like a girls toy than a boys but I loved him all the same back in 1970. This boxed example came into my collection about twenty years back and I cherish him and certainly won't lose the glasses this time which are near perfect replicas of the ones he wore in the show.

This figure gets a bad rap though from most collectors and for those interested you only need type in GERRY ANDERSON BIG BREAKFAST into a search YOU TUBE to see Gerry Anderson himself completely ripping into one of these figures when they showcased his programmes and related merchandise a decade ago. Perhaps not the quality of the CAPTAIN SCARLET doll or even the Fairylite THUNDERBIRD dolls it is still very collectible and a great example of classic merchandise from the period when Gerry ruled the airwaves, and toy shops, as far as most little boys were concerned.

Jim Lewis