General questions about Comic Action Heroes

[jds1911a1]

Disney had a strict "no toy guns" policy so the Black Hole characters couldn't have blasters.

Those ERTL phasers were so out of scale they fit nicely in mego hands.

so Disney allowed a gun (laser) for the villian (the sentry) but not the heroes? I don't discount the veracity of the statement it is just typical of "suits"

[Dadioche]

Good guys don't need guns to fight...
What about the Adventure People : were they the first articulated figures to be sold in US in the history ?

[geotroid]

That is a very good question. Fisher-Price "Adventure People" were certainly the first popular children's 3-inch line with realistic body sculpts and durable plastics in the USA.

There is another lesser-known action figure line from Lesney/Matchbox called "Mobile Action Command." I think they pre-date Adventure People by a year or two, but the figure designs were a bitt odd and clumsy, IMHO.

http://www.strafe.com/mac/

MAC Men

BattleKings.com)

Does anybody else have knowledge of this line? Exact size? Although I've stumbled on a few loose parts here and there, I dont' have a MAC figure. I'd love to find a photo of one side-by-side with Adventure People, Star Wars, or Micronauts for comparison.

-geotroid

[Spyweb007]

MAC

I have several of these sets from my childhood, and the figures are a little smaller than Star Wars and Adventure People. I also have one that came with a hang glider calle the "Wing Thing" I beleive. it flew when launched with a rubber band, and the figure that came with it is a little smaller than the rest of the MAC figures I have.

[palitoy]

MAC are two inches tall, had dozens of em as a kid.

[Dadioche]

Very interesting, guys.
Do you know when the MAC toys were sold ?

[kinostadt]

Can we consider Takara distributed the first 3 inches 3/4 figures with Micro Man in 1974 and Fisher Price the first occidental 3 inches 3/4 figures with Adventure People in 1975 ?

One could argue that Kenner beat both these lines to the punch with their line of TTP stunt sets. The action figures that came with the various vehicles are as articulated as CAH, and look to me to be 3 3/4" scale. They were first released in 1973.
I have the SMDM Dual Launch Drag set with Steve Austin and Bigfoot, and they very much resemble the later Star Wars line in scale, articluation and detail.

Another influence on Mego, Takara, Kenner, etc could have been Playmobil, which were released in 1974. They are only 3", but the huge success of the well designed playsets, vehicles and accessories must have influenced later small action figure lines.

[Dadioche]

The Kenner stunt sets figures were not sold individually, weren't they ? Just like the Playmobile figures ?

[kinostadt]

The Kenner stunt sets figures were not sold individually, weren't they ? Just like the Playmobile figures ?

Acording to a 1973 trade ad and a 1975 comic book ad I found on Ebay, they were sold two ways. You could buy the "stunt set" which included the vehicle, rider figure, tower, ramps, cones, etc. Or, you could buy just the vehicle with rider figure.
I have seen the packaged Steve Austin with vehicle, which was available seperate from the entire "Dual Launch Drag Set with Bigfoot."

I don't think the figures were ever sold just by themselves. The smallest set would have been figure with vehicle.

[Dadioche]

Thank you for these accurate informations.
Do you have any picture of the packaged Steve Austin with vehicle ?
According to this catalog (Six Million Dollar Man 1977), the SMDM dual launch drag was distributed in 1977. Is it right ?

[kinostadt]

Thank you for these accurate informations.
Do you have any picture of the packaged Steve Austin with vehicle ?
According to this catalog (Six Million Dollar Man 1977), the SMDM dual launch drag was distributed in 1977. Is it right ?

No, sorry, i don't have a photo of the packaged Steve Austin with cycle. You might try emailing this collector, as I see it among his shelved collection.
http://www.members.aol.com/bionicsboy/bioboy/index.htm
Maybe he'll email you photos. He also owns the Bionic Woman with cycle. I've seen them both on ebay once or twice in recent years.

I just dug out my dual launch drag set to check some copyright dates. The most recent date on the toys and packaging is 1977, so I assume that was when it was released. Steve Austin's leg has a 1973 date on it, so I would guess Kenner reused the existing TTP motorcyclist figure's body for Steve and just added a new head.



I took this comparison photo to give people an idea of the scale of the TTP figures. They look pretty much 3 3/4" scale to me. Yes, the TTP figures were obviously designed to ride cycles, but they have as much articulation as the CAH and Star Wars figures. (Steve 5 pts, Bigfoot 4 pts).

Again, as far as I know, the TTP cyclist body (similar to Steve's) was released in 1973, and the Bigfoot was released in 1977. So the Kenner TTP figures might be considered by some the first 3 3/4" action figures.

[kinostadt]

Here's a TTP 1973 trade ad I just found for sale on ebay. I'm thinking the cyclist included in the set is the same design as the later Steve Austin body. Anyone own one of these 1973 figures?

[Dadioche]

Again, thanks for these informations.
Here is the only pic I have about TTP, found on Internet.

[Dadioche]

Were the CAH figures released in different waves or were they all available from 1976 ?

[palitoy]

They were all released in 1976 on blank cards, then a year later on window cards so yes, they all came in one big wave.

BTW I really want a Steve and Bigfoot TTP set of figures.