Mattel's Heroes in Action

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After the Vietnam war, toy soldiers sure weren't such a hot item. G.I. Joe retired to beome an adventurer and the only soldier type toys were usually knock offs, many major companies shyed away from anything too military.

Mattel's Heroes in Action were an interesting throwback to the 60's, a 3 3/4" action figure line that was part toy soldier and all man! These muscular, aggressive looking brutes even made a "rat-a-tat-tat" sound to simulate machine gun fire. In 1976, Mattel added a new line, the S.W.A.T Team, sadly the trend never caught on and Heroes in Action were retired this year. I've heard the line enjoyed more popularity in Europe, where war toys were still in fashion.

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Other Links of Interest:

1976 G.I. Joe Catalog

Palitoy Action Man Toy Fair Display

1976 Mattel Superstars Fun Book

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[HardyGirl]

Brian, your photo links aren't working.

[BaronSat]

Wow! I have never seen these toys before, thanks.
Too bad I can't see the large photos as the links don't work ?!

[palitoy]

Only one link didn't work.

[SainthoodDenied]

I loved those guys, me and my friend had a good size collection of them,both the army and swat guys. He even had the swat van that came out with them.
I picked up a few and couple years ago but ended up trading them off. They were actually very cool toys.

Chad

[Earth 2 Chris]

Ah...so THAT'S where the Secret Wars helicopters come from! Mattel went back about 10 years and recycled them from this line. I alwasy thought the looked very realistic compared to the other futuristic vehicles in the line (the Turbo Cycle and Doom Roller were way out there).

I remember seeing ads for these on the inside cover of many DC comics from that era. They looked to be a bit ahead of their time.

Chris

[BaronSat]

These toys are really fabulous, I could have kill to have them when I was a kid. Were they partially articulated or not at all?

Is it possible to have an enlarged view of the opened submarine?
Please, please, please... (ad lib)

[toys2cool]

Those look awesome,great detail.I remember some that came out in the 80's,but they were nowhere near as cool as these

[palitoy]

Is it possible to have an enlarged view of the opened submarine?
Please, please, please... (ad lib)

I have to dig it out but I'll put it up this week.

[Werewolf]

Ah...so THAT'S where the Secret Wars helicopters come from!

Mattel has never been one to let a mold go to waste. Wrong scale or style be damned!

[BaronSat]

I have to dig it out but I'll put it up this week.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

... er I mean : "great".

[kingdom warrior]

Awwwwww Man that brings back memories...I got these in 77 when I spent my Summer in Puerto Rico......My mom bought me these and a Few Big Jims while I spent my Vacation there....Loved them alot...... sad part is i was playing with these when I heard Elvis had died...

[livnxxxl]

Thanks Brian for the neat pictures. This does bring back memories. I had the S.W.A.T. set as a kid thanks to my parents. Those figures was and still are just so darn neat. I do not know what ever happened to them as time went on. One thing is for sure I bought a lot of these figures and vans back not so long ago to relive those thrilling memories of yesteryear. There was a time that I was actually searching around eBay and I had no idea what these were even called any more. I was using search terms such as swat figure and what have you to no avail. Obviously with little to no luck. Then one day thanks to my continued persistence to find and have these toys again I hit the jackpot. I found out what they were actually called again and who actually made them. As one may imagine it made searching for them so much easier when you know what you are actually looking for. I am glad to see others sharing the same interest in cool vintage toys.

[Marvelmania]

Had a few as a kid and have a few now. I've never seen the sub but would love to have one!

[misterdroid]

These toys are really fabulous, I could have kill to have them when I was a kid. Were they partially articulated or not at all?

They are articulated at the shoulders and waist only.