Action figures – what to know about them

The first Action Figure was named G.I. Joe and it was created to differentiate the boy toy from the girls doll toy and it was similar to Mattel’s Barbie doll which was introduced 05 years earlier. However the G. I. Joe Action figure had more articulation and the soldier could be maneuvered into any form you desire. G. I. Joe was so successful that many additional characters were added to G.I. Joe line of Action Figures.  Hasbro has remained in this business for 40 years. G.I. Joe was one of their classic creations and

Hasbro’s launched more advanced figures of G. I. Joe line such as G. I. Joe traveled in space and dived to the bottom of the ocean. This line of figures had become very popular and it caught the fancy of every boy. But in 1970’s the Hasbro’s had to change their G. I. Joe line figures  owing to the war which erupted between America and Vietnam and it was not safe to make This type of figures so they deviated their interest in manufacturing Action Figures such as Adventurers and Super Heroes. Although this line of figures were very successful and Hasbro’s were moving forward their line  G. I. Joe figures were getting less popular and finally this figures were done away with completely late 70’s.

In 1982 G. I. Joe actions Figures were re-launched with a new eye catching design and well defined back stories instead of earlier 12” figure adorned with real clothes. The G. I. Joe Action Figures were made in smaller versions of 3 ¾ “in size and streamlined figure with actual characters and had new villains, terrorists organizations and Cobras.

Now let us discuss something on latest Action Figures other than G .I. Joe Actions figures. In 1966, G. I. Joe was replaced by an Action Figure called the Captain Action. This single figure could play multiple characters so he was very popular.  He is one of the Action Figures which was sold with accessories and costumes from many characters such as the Phantom, Captain America, Batman, Superman, and Spiderman.

In 1977 a company called Kenner received the toy  License from  20th Century Fox  to manufacture figures based on their movie Star Wars. The success of this movie initiated the toy market greatly and these figures became very popular. Initially Star Wars Action Figures were 8 – 12 “tall but Kenner Created 3 ¾” figures after which many other manufacturers of toys followed suite and adopted this style.

In 1983, the ban on creation of films based on children’s toy was lifted and this created a new era for the Action Figures. Mattel took advantage of this and created a Cartoon series based on their 1981 Action Figures He- Man and the Masters of Universe.