Action Figure Collections

As societies become richer, gain more leisure time and leisure spending money, and have fewer children, toys become much more popular. For most of us, the toys that we played with as children hold strong nostalgic associations - they evoke memories of carefree days and good times, of hours spent in fantasy and the way our minds worked before the pressures of work and bills impinged on them! Today we're looking at a general history of action figure guides and collecting - you can overlay your own personal history onto it also.

Hasbro

Back in 1964, when Hasbro was known as Hassenfeld Brothers, it began making the GI Joe action soldiers line. These were not primitive toys … they were fully articulated, their clothing was removable and interchangeable, and there were endless accessories in this very upscale version of the toy soldier. Of course, few people could afford them when they first came out … but those little troopers quickly took the world by storm.

The market expands

Of course, such popularity would not go unnoticed. Once the gender stereotypes were effectively broken down, and it was no longer seen as anti-social for boys to be playing with dolls, a company called Ideal launched their interchangeable action figure. It must have seemed like a stroke of genius at the time - they created Captain Action, whose costume and head mask could be changed to turn him into whatever popular comic or TV character people wished.

Mego Makes Small-o Toys

Mego started making Marvel Legends toys in 1972, starting with the 6 Greatest Superheroes line. These toys took the standard size down to 8" from 12", and the line eventually expanded to 34 action figures from the original 6. Mego continued to pander to the traditionalists (much as they could be traditionalists when the trend had only been going for a few years), making several 12" lines, but these were few and far between.

Little Toys for a Big Name Movie!

This was when action figures burst into true fame and mainstream consciousness, in 1977 when Kenner landed the contract to make the Star Wars figurines for Lucasfilm. The early models were pretty terrible compared even to the original GI Joes from ten years earlier - completely articulate, only 3 ¾ inches rather than 12, all plastic, no cloth, etc … but my gosh, did they start a revolution! It seemed the Star Wars figures were a niche rather than a degeneration, and people have loved them ever since.