Mystery Action Man

 On a recent mooch around Matlock's vintage shops I saw this unusual Action Man clone.

With Action Man GI Joe facial features, the rear of the figure said M&C.

Is this one you know readers? 

Sarge Lives!

 As this round of our MoonBase International custom toys slowly comes to a close, our latest reincarnation is this 1960's Action Man knockoff.

This was Bill's childhood buddy and along with some of the original kit he totally deserves a new lease of life. The buddy that is, not Bill! 

With a good scrub-up and freshly cleaned clothes, Bill's buddy, via the Quartermasters Store, has been sent on one last mission before hanging up his dog tags:

To secure the back garden for the summer!

Mission Status: SNAFU!

After debriefing, The next step in buddy's reinstatement and immediate de-mobbing will be a new retirement package, which is currently in pre-production.

In the meantime our plastic chum is off down the NAAFI for some well-earned tiffin.

Said retirement package concept is pictured below, a full backing card designed by Bill with a baguette box blister I found in true rack toy style. 

Alas, Bill's old buddy proved just too buff for that blister, so a simpler demob package was offered, a basic baggy with this neat header card produced by Bill, his buddy now re-named The Sarge.

Fully bagged up, Sarge is now looking forward to some decent kip in the cabinet.

Hope you like it.

Cocktail Man

 Whenever I see cocktail swords I think of Action Man! 

Stuff like the gorgeous dress uniforms.

Will they fit in his hands? 

Have you any household items that would look good with Action Man or GI Joe readers? 

Cap, Kit and Kaboodle

 Following on from last months cap talk, here's two great shots ( via Caligeff's auction) of the Action Team UN Officer released in Europe.

Doesn't old Action Man look grand in this complete UN uniform! 

A Firm Grip or What!

This auctioned Action Man caught my eye. He needs a funny caption! 

Just what is that uniform with a short and tie? 

Lancer Caps Everywhere

I'm seeing whAt I think are Lancer's caps everywhere now I've got one!

Here's one on eBay without it's insignia but no mention is made of the cap in the listing, so is it a Lancer's?

 It's worn by a non-Action Man on an Action Man motorbike, which itself is rather nice.

In another shot the cap is placed with an incomplete Action Man and a uniform.

The Man is armless, the description is capless.

"POLICE MOTORCYCLE & DEAD ARMLESS ACTION MAN 1964 by PALITOY embossed (out of action ie dead ideal for diorama piece) & Action man Cavalry HORSE & unbranded SCOUT CAR & 21st Century American AIRBORNE Paratrooper action figure complete all limbs attached and robust & A small arms kit (MNIB) to construct a machine gun."

A Lancer's cap?

*

By way of a postscript, I found a cheapo Action Man clone in a drawer and he kindly modelled my new Lancer's/ Officers cap for me!

Bill's Action Buddy

 As this round of our MoonBase International custom toys slowly comes to a close, our latest reincarnation is this 1960's Action Man knockoff.

This was Bill's childhood buddy and along with some of the original kit he totally deserves a new lease of life. The buddy that is, not Bill! 

With a good scrub-up and freshly cleaned clothes, Bill's buddy, via the Quartermasters Store, has been sent on one last mission before hanging up his dog tags:

To secure the back garden for the summer!

Mission Status: SNAFU!

After debriefing, The next step in buddy's reinstatement and immediate de-mobbing will be new retirement package, which is currently in pre-production.

In the meantime our plastic chum is off down the NAAFI for some well-earned tiffin.

To Cap it All

 That Palitoy Action Man Lancers cap I found yesterday ( thanks for ID 'ing it Paul) .....

 reminded me of an officer I once found at a German flea market and blogged about 13 years ago.

The new cap would have sat well on this fellow, albeit a cheapo I think. The uniform was by Schildkrot.

The officer has flown along with his She-Ras.

Looking up Schildkrot Action Team I thought my old man was this from their Soldiers of the World range. It looks like the Lancers cap I got yesterday but the uniform is different to the above. 

Is this Schildkrot figure a Lancer?

As it turns out my old officer should have had a cap more like the Foreign Legion.

Oddly enough, all the Schildkrot figures I've seen online  today have the same cheapo looking doll so maybe my original assessment was wrong.

He's Schildkrot too!

What do you think? Have you any Action Team? Is their figure a Lancer? What did I get 13 years ago?

Arto's Action Man Lenticular

Arto kindly sent me this image of his latest find, a neat lenticular postcard featuring none other than our friend..... Action Man! 

It's fantastic and all new to me.

What do you think readers? 

Chutes Away

 Junior and me tried to launch an Action Man parachutist today.

It sort of worked. The chute did unfurl but the height was an issue, not enough of it from the bedroom window.

To check if this was a common problem - which I seem to recall from my childhood too - we watched a couple of You Tube clips. Even the guy from Palitoy said kids would struggle to get it to work.

Another clip confirmed that more height could create a decent billow and a full chute, as a drone dropped the figure from a great altitude.

Interestingly it was a solid figure called Desert Rat that was used. Not an Action Man I know at all. You?

Have you succeeded in launching the Action Man parachute?

Dressed for Action

 Spent a happy afternoon with a friend dressing Action Men.

The Grenadier, the uniform bought in Otley vintage toy shop. The man is a modern Duke GI Joe.

The scuba explorer, a fabulous set kindly donated by blog friend Tony K. The man is a modernish Hasbro figure.

Have you got any dressed figures?

Mooch Ado About Bedale

 A recent visit to the lovely North Yorkshire town of Bedale found me mooching in a toy shop.

This display of military action dolls and vehicles drew me in.

This Lookout Out Tower brought back happy memories of my Action Man assault tower.

I do like the look of these modern figures like these World Peacekeepers.

And this Combat Tank for the smaller soldiers appears to be the business! 

And speak of the devil, good old Action Man made an appearance too! A display of modern re-issues. I was SO tempted at £20 each but my gripping hands resisted! 

Would you have readers?