Action Man 60 Years On

On the 30th of January 1966 we got our first glimpse of Palitoy’s Action Man at the British Toy Fair held at the Metropole Hotel in Brighton.

This picture gives us an insight into the figures that were on display at the toy fair, we can see the Pilot, Frogman, Paratrooper, Beach Head Assault and a Combat Soldier with a Camouflaged Cape and Browning Machine Gun. It is worth noting that the Camouflaged Cape wasn’t released in the first wave of Action Man accessories, instead we got a plain green one which could be bought on a card or as part of the Command Post Cape set.

The toy fair ran from the 30th of January to the 3rd of February 1966 but it wasn’t until March of that year that we started to see this iconic action figure appear on our shop shelves.

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The first figures we got were pretty much the same painted head figures as the GI Joe, along with a host of boxed and carded accessories. These were the Action Soldier, Action Sailor and Action Pilot all boxed and in very basic uniforms with no accessories.

By the end of the 1970’s Action Man sales had topped 20 million pounds making it one of the most successful toy lines of that era.

Here we have a complimentary ticket to the 1966 British Toy Fair issued by one of Palitoy’s rivals

CHECK OUT SOME OF THESE ICONIC ACTION MAN FIGURES AND ACCESSORIES THAT WE HAVE FOR SALE IN OUR SHOP

All Prices Include UK Postage