Eaton’s 1975: Big Jim and Barbie

[RSS]

Over the weekend, I found a wonder 1975 newspaper flyer/catalogue from Eatons. For those not in the know, Eaton’s was Canada’s department store chain and a really big deal back in the day. When I saw these images, I felt like I’d seen them before and immediately bought this (best ten bucks I’ve spent in […]
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[Bruce Banner]

The Sports Camper provided literally years of fun.
Big Jim was such an awesome toy line.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Cindy has the Barbie Camper on display in our collectibles room. I guess it never ocurred to me it was the same as the Big Jim camper! I should have known...frugal Mattel!

[sprytel]

I would get that same feeling of uncovering some deep secret when I found toy lines recycling like that. Heck, I still do!

[KingKickass1983]

Cindy has the Barbie Camper on display in our collectibles room. I guess it never ocurred to me it was the same as the Big Jim camper! I should have known...frugal Mattel!

My camper was missing the steering wheel and windshield for a while...UNTIL I realized Barbie's was the same model. I was able to find one for cheap and cannibalized the hell out of it.

[rykerw1701]

When I realized Big Jim was using Barbie's camper, I pulled the plug on him. He was always a "tweener" anyway, too big for my Megos, too small for my GI Joes. But when I saw that camper, I knew we were done. I had been deceived. He was now considered a "doll," not an action figure like the others.

[Ninersphan1]

Scaled better for Big Jim than Barbie

[KingKickass1983]

Scaled better for Big Jim than Barbie

A lot of Barbie stuff were. While her head stuck up way above the windshield while sitting in her car...Jim fit perfectly.

[MIB41]

I love those shots! Thanks for sharing Brian. Big Jim will always be one of my first toy loves. Its never left me and remains a line I revisit in my collection often. I guess some of that comes from the fact he remains unique just to his time without any reissues or reimagined versions (except for those minis which I never got my hands on). He was carved from that one little snippet of time when the world looked one way as did play time for kids outdoors. I think Mattel has never felt like another generation would connect to those sensibilities, let alone his look. For me, he's timeless. I can still fondly remember getting my very first Big Jim in that unique first edition box and watching with amazement as his muscle flexed and broke that plastic arm band. Still one of the great inventions in action figure history, that remains largely forgotten. I don't get it.

[danadoll]

I had a couple of the Big Jim figures and I had his jet (plus a little tent/camping set, if I recall correctly, with a campfire, a couple folding chairs, etc...). I didn’t have his van, though.

Dana