Action Man fights back

13 April 2012

He's 12 inches tall, looks great in uniform and has a scar that still hasn't healed after 40 years.

He was a legendary hero who fell victim to political correctness and Darth Vader. But now, after 22 years in the wilderness, the original Action Man is back on the warpath.

And the ultimate toy soldier, adored by millions of British boys in the Sixties and Seventies, is set to win over a new generation of fans.

The 12in tall plastic figure, complete with trademark livid scar on his cheek, was the top-selling toy in Britain for nearly 18 years after he made his debut in 1966.

But production ceased suddenly in 1984 following the success of the Star Wars films and the huge popularity of the toys that went with them.

Now a model shop in Surrey has won the exclusive licence to reproduce Action Man in his original form. Back on the shelves after nearly a quarter of a century are Action Soldier - with the uniform of an armoured-car commander or a Life Guard - and Action Sailor complete with Navy frogman kit.

A football Action Man is also available, but again there is a nostalgic touch because he is kitted out in the Chelsea strip of the Sixties.

Each figure comes in a replica of the original box and costs £20. A ready-to-wear uniform is priced at a further £15.

Father-of-two Alan Hall, 44, who runs The Modeller's Loft in Caterham, was approached by toymakers Hasbro to recreate Action Man and has set up contracts with factories in China to produce the toys.

He said: "I can remember my first Action Man and going up to the Hamleys toy shop in London with my dad to get a German storm-trooper outfit. Like a lot of kids my age, I was gripped."

Original Action Men and their equipment have become highly collectable. A first-edition Action Man from 1966 will fetch up to £600 and a rare cricketer accessory card £6,000. Even original dog tags from Action Man soldiers are now worth £40 each.

Alan said: "Action Man was the top-selling toy for more than a decade and there was so much equipment you could buy. But Star Wars killed it off. The other problem was that Action Man was so well made they were handed down to younger brothers and cousins to play with, so they didn't need to buy new ones."

Production of a new-look Action Man started in 1996 - but thanks to political correctness, the military theme was replaced with a cartoon-like character with beefed-up muscles as New Action Man fought villains such as the environmental terrorist Dr X, Professor Gangrene and No-Face.

Alan said: "Instead of a toy aimed at ten to 12-year-olds, it was a toy for four-year-olds. Now he is back to how he was. A whole generation of children missed out but we're getting people in their 30s and 40s buying them for their sons."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in