Photo: Mego Museum
After spending a decade or so on the front line of active service, Action Man left the army in the mid-1970s to pursue his real dream: playing football for Celtic… and Tottenham, and Everton, and Manchester United and Liverpool and Chelsea, etc, etc.
To tap into the non-military market, Palitoy created a unique line of ‘Sportsman’ figures with the fully-articulated football version coming complete with full kit, warm-up bomber jacket (with action zip!), boots, a ball, dog-tags, “realistic hair” and era-appropriate sideburns.
Auxiliary strips could also be purchased separately, with a club lapel pin badge bundled in for good measure…
Here’s the fully-gussied Leeds United action man.
Generic kits were also available for those without specific club preferences…
Johan Cruyff style…
The level of detail was actually rather superb for what was essentially a child’s toy…
Not sure about the woollen shirt, but that tracksuit top is a Bobby Dazzler…
It was sold as a Newcastle kit, but the black and white stripes could easily be re-purposed as Notts County/Juventus/Grimsby Town…
Chelsea’s bomber jacket was especially nifty…
Those who felt particularly adventurous could purchase the ‘Sharpshooter’ trigger rig which clipped onto Action Man around the waist and allowed him to release powerful shots on goal/the cardboard target that came inside the box…
Hours and hours of fun!