By Past Nastification If James Bond and David Beckham (you know, the husband of Posh Spice) had a baby, it would be Action Man. Handsome AND extreme, Action Man of the 90’s/00’s was a secret agent/non-traditional sports enthusiast. There were cartoons and 1:6 scale figures, but I don’t really know much about them. Action Man has popped up twice directly
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Some figures are so crazy you just have to revisit them. I covered this Action Man back in 2014, and hadn’t opened the package. He’s soon to leave my collection, and I’ve released him from his plastic prison. I wish I had done so sooner, because not only does the Action feature live up to the hype, but the figure
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I’m a catalog nut, and particularly enjoy diorama setups from the golden age ads of the 1980s. I pored over the Sears, Wards and JC Penney catalogs enough to call them up from memory. As such, I’ve been on the lookout for ads that I haven’t seen before. UK department store Argos is of course unknown to me, but I
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If you’re into the twelve inch scale, and have an interest in unusual figures and accessories, the 90s Action Man range may be worth a look. I’ve been picking up examples every now and then, and I find quite a few outfit sets speak to my affinity for bright colors and unique concepts that separate themselves from the usual Joe
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I’ve long thought that the Adventure Team’s chest winch accessory was one of the most irresponsibly designed pieces of equipment in the team’s history. It’s a debilitating back injury waiting to happen. When you strap this sucker on, you might as well have the work comp doc on standby. I mean, we wouldn’t see something this kind of egregious disregard for
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I hate to sound like a broken record, but damn do I miss the artistry and beauty of vintage toy packaging. It’s a lost art, much like movie posters. Modern packaging, for all its slick style and strong branding, has lost its charm. Captain Zargon and the Space Ranger were no doubt some of the most fanciful Action Man figures.
Read moreAction Man in the 90s became a catch-all character, working in both the spy arena as well as sports themes. I suppose that shouldn’t be too surprising, as the UK’s cousin to GI Joe also delved into sports with a footballer and cricketer. In the 90s, sports were all about extremes, and this figure showcases the decade’s focus on out-there
Read moreWould-be world conquerors are an interesting lot. Imagine the amount of work that must go into building a worldwide evil organization, funding a crazy scientist (if you’re not also one yourself) to invent a world destroying device or two (always have a backup disaster) and hire and train enough thugs, mercenaries and miscreants to do most of your ground-level dirty
Read moreAlthough I was a collector and fan of the Hall of Fame GI Joes in the 90s, I wasn’t blind to the limitations and issues with the figures. The bodies weren’t nearly as well articulated as their predecessors. Rather than ball joints and multi pivot points, the HoF figures incorporated the sort of bend and click knees and elbows that
Read moreIt’s a rarity when worlds collide like this. I can’t think of many figures that combine wonderfully designed trousers with an amazing action feature. The combination of features and look of Blow Pipe Action Man makes for quite the toyetic twelve inch package. He manages to transcend his mere plastic origins and takes on a mystical quality that few toys have
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