LITTLE BIG MAN
Bradgate's Small Soldier
Little Big Man was an action figure made for the British toy market in the mid-1970s.
Not as well known as his big brother, Action Man, he was produced by Bradgate - Wholesale Div of Palitoy Limited.
His creation was inspired by the commercial success of Spain's top selling action figure range, Madelman.
However, it's an overlooked consideration that Little Big Man may have also been produced, in part at least, to secure a piece of the domestic market?
When Little Big Man appeared in our shops, a small armada of Madelman also arrived in the UK.
This small scale invasion force was introduced to our shores by Exclusive UK Distributors, Pedigree Toys.
Little Big Man and first generation Madelman figures look similar. It's a forgivable mistake to misidentify them.
Both stand at 6.5 - 7 inches tall. Both figure lines were designed without ankles and feet. Instead, they feature distinctive ankle-pegs for their signature push-on boots and frogman fins.
Both have identical hand configurations with fragile fingers and thumbs. The immediate similarities stop there.
Madelman had been around since 1968 and was a top quality toy.
He was a solid, robust plastic figure, with advanced 'atomium' articulation and distinctive 'crystal' eyes. For his size, he punched above his weight.
His world was populated by a wealth of uniforms, accessories and vehicles; characterised by variety, high end production values, attention to detail and quality finish to fabrics.
By contrast, Bradgate's light weight Little Big Man was a poor relation. He suffered from cheap production values and was easily broken. His fragile body was held together by a perishable internal rubber band.
His uniforms and accessories fared no better. Overall quality was lacking. The cut and finish of fabrics was sometimes rough around the edges and could fray with play.
None of this would have mattered to kids though. No more than the abstract concept for preserving the packaging for the future.
Low production values meant lower manufacturing costs and ultimately lower retail prices, making Little Big Man a good partner for kids to team up with.
Little Big Man followed popular action figure themes of the day; including those which mimicked Madelman and Action Man.
During his short shelf life, Little Big Man offered kids a selection of carded and boxed figures, plus small accessory packs. The line included;
Basic Soldier, Underwater Mission ...
Sabotage, Paratroop Attack, Medic, Mountain Assault, Arctic Patrol,
Tropical Combat ...
Alpine Adventure, Motorway Patrol and On Safari, which included a tent.
The Pony Express and Mountie Patrol were even saddled up with their own horses. A Motorway Patrol Car appears to have been produced, possibly in very small numbers.
A Safari Car was also planned, but it's unclear if this was produced?
For all his fragile flaws, Little Big Man is often remembered with fond affection by those who enjoyed him as kids.
Costing less than Action Man, this pint-sized hero offered pocket money value and fun...
he was easily carried around in the inner pocket of a school blazer by day dreaming kids like me.
Love him or hate him, Little Big Man was part of the childhood scene back then.
Poor production values have inevitably ensured that good examples are difficult to find today.
His appeal as a desirable toy amongst vintage action figure fiends is on the up. Collectors increasingly want lesser known figures to complement their collections.
Once, a little player in the big game. Now the essential and legendary Little Big Man, stands head and shoulders above all the rest!
Well... no, not really... truth is he's still a little on the short side and still a bit wobbly on his spindly plastic legs...
but he is an absolutely ace action figure to have in those cobwebbed toy cabinets packed with our emotional investments and dusty childhood memories.
Tony K
I think the smartly dressed young chap with the radio is the same young man on the C21 Zero X box, just a little bit older (as he would be). A whole career out of posing on toy packaging. He's probably still doing it.
ReplyDeleteha ha, great observation Kev! yes, he's the packaging kid! Did you have any Little Big Men like Tony and me?
DeleteI never had them, nor Action Man. The only figures I had were Mattason and Storm. Oh and little Airfix ones of course, battalions of them got shot at!
ReplyDeleteSorry, 'Matt Mason'!
DeleteAirfix soldiers were ace to, Kevin. Yet another memorable childhood cult classic which a generation of kids enjoyed. I still admire the vivid box art by Roy Cross.
DeleteGreat idea that the young 'Packaging Kid', seen with the radio, made a life long career out of advertising. Now a mid-lifer himself, perhaps his toothy smile is cashing-in, promoting denture grips and glues, invisible hearing aids, rheumatic back rubs and an assortment of toxic and non-toxic hairloss lotions :)
Yep, Airfix soldiers were the troops of carpet wars everywhere! As for Little Big Man that's a superb article Tone and brought back many happy memories of playing with the diminutive fighting man! I have a feeling I got mine from Zodiac Toys in Preston. is that possible or did Zodiac only sell its own brand?
DeleteHiya Woodsy, Thanks for including the piece on the blog, mate. It's always kind of you. I'm sorry, I can't be sure about the situation with Zodiac Toys? We didn't have one around here unfortunately.
DeleteBeen nice to give the popular, but short lived, guy from Bradgate (Palitoy) a voice of sorts. I'm glad it's brought back some happy memories :)
Fascinating stuff. I have never heard of either of these ranges before now. When my daughter was little and my mother helped her play with Barbie dolls, my mother, in her 70's was cursing Mattel under her breath for such fiddly things as getting little shoes onto little feet. These toys for boys are genius, feet and shoes as one piece. If my mother had only known about Little Big Man.
ReplyDeleteMattel loved tiny accessories Terran. Just think of the miniscule dagger and spanner that came with Major Matt Mason!
DeleteThat's a lovely story about your mum helping your daughter, Terranova47. I can only imagine the frustration she must have felt trying to fit tiny plastic shoes onto awkward Barbie feet.
ReplyDeleteThe Little Big Man boots/feet combo was a great idea in theory. In reality though, the pegs which they pushed on to, didn't provide a secure fixture. It was common for Little Big Man's Boots to quietly pop off and do a discreet runner amongst the garden plants during the heat of an outdoor battle :)
Talking of the heat of outdoor battles in the garden, the garden in North London where I grew up must have a sub strata of burned plastic and melted metal plus many Swoppet limbs from my childhood. The HO/OO Airfix figures of WW2 were frequently bombed by burning plastic sprues from construction kits that made a very satisfying swoosh as a blobby fireball dropped to the ground.
DeleteClassic childhood combat techniques, Terranova. The best of bygone childhoods were packed full of energetic and imaginative fun like you and Kevin have described. Maybe todays generation of plastic toy soldier have it easier though, as kids prefer to perfect their combat skills through control pad and console? :)
ReplyDeleteAlways the best thrill to learn something completely new! I believe this toy line was never imported to Finland. On the other hand, Airfix soldiers we had in plentiful! Great read & nice pics Tony.
ReplyDeleteThanks Arto, I appreciate your kind comment. Hope you're keeping well over there in Helsinki base. It would be interesting to find out if Little Big Man turned up elsewhere in the world. Good old Airfix though. Great to know you enjoyed this amazing plastic product in Finland as well :)
ReplyDeleteOnce again another engaging and interesting article I never knew of these action figures as they were before my time ;) however they certainly appear to have a cult following and I’ll certainly start googling for more info! ❤️
ReplyDeleteHiya Doc... 'before my time'...oooch... that hurt, ha ha.
ReplyDeleteSadly not a lot of info on google. However, these figures are growing in popularity amongst collectors who are remembering and rediscovering their forgotten toys :)
hi,i had never seen this..but airfix and atlantic soldiers on the carpet..... wonderful.. ew
ReplyDeleteHi EW, Hope you're keeping well. Please don't forget the Swoppet Battalion of Timpo and Britains; all primed and ready to relive those epic battles once fought on carpets, table tops and back gardens, across the globe
DeleteI remember Britains soldiers in the shops,painted in small boxes.. but they were too expensive.. thanks Tony:) ew
DeleteI guess Britains were more expensive. Airfix successfully cornered the market with affordable plastic toy soldiers en masse, often in exciting action poses, with good attention to detail. There was always plenty of them in a box... enough to fire up a kids imagination.
DeleteThank you for dropping by, EW :)
Tony,another of your brilliant informative articles I've only just seen.I never knew Pedigree were Madelmans importers.There was a fantastic toy/modelshop in Stevenage,one of a few towns my family visited on a Saturday for shopping,they were the only place I ever saw Madelman at retail.I had a set,"Investigation Submarina",which was superbly packaged,with two frogman with oxygen tanks,spear guns,knives,watches,a sea scooter,a treasure chest filled with tiny doubloons,rubies and diamonds,sea horses and a Octopus!!That was £5.50 in September 1973.
ReplyDeleteMy main memory of Little Big Man was buying the Eskimo set(for want of a better term) from my local toy shop in Barnet,the owner,a large Man venturing perilously the the perforated hardboard door to access the display window at the front of the shop,stumbling and crashing into the carefully arranged Dinky and Corgi Toys,Sekiden guns,Subbuteo,Striker,and other delights!Disshevelled,cut,bruised and muttering,but still smiling,he handed it to me.
Hi MrNellie65. Firstly, please forgive my delayed reply. Thank you for taking the time to share your brilliant memories of Little Big Man and Madelman. Investigation Submarina was a huge playset, and one I wish I had today. It sounds like you had some ace times with toys, back then! Love the story of the unfortunate Mr. Barnet... what a childhood hero he must have been :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your article on Little Big Man but thank you also Unknown 11/19/2018 for your reminiscences about toy shops in disordered small confusion in general and a shop in Stevenage in particular.
ReplyDeleteMy memory of a toy shop in Stevenage from then was of an unusually spacious and well lit establishment. It may be a different shop, of course, but it was most unexpected in that way. In my memory I bought my Airfix FN rifle there, and a Dinky or two, and an Aurora Cro-Magnon Man kit. The barrel of the Airfix FN rifle stayed on no longer than the Little Big Man ones.
I've just braved the dust and cobwebs of the attic to discover a Dinky catalogue 14 from 1978 with a price tag - 'HARDS TOYS S 59072 5p'. Theirs was a somehow exotic label because the HARDS TOYS was spelt out in the same way as the other text. Other toy shops had a logo and only the price was different. Somehow that made Hards, well, harder, than Zodiac Toys or the unimproveable Gaytime from Hitchin, where I lived.
I don't remember buying a Little Big Man from Hards, and I'm sure my militaristic self then would have rejected some soft Spanish underwater set in any case. Ironically, the Sabotage set I always coveted and never found, my partner finally found and bought for me. From Spain.
Thank you for those priceless nostalgic memories, Andrew. Great to hear you finally nabbed the sabotage set. Well worth the wait.
ReplyDeleteLoved Little Big Man. Had several inc Tropical adventure, Mountain adventure, paratrooper and the cowboy with humid horse. Brilliant
ReplyDeleteI had the highway Patrol Little big Man with many coons & signs
ReplyDelete