At 50, the Action Man figures haven’t aged a bit

While customers fought in a store recently over a doll from the movie, Frozen, a Waterford man was lining up his collection of Action Man figures to celebrate the toy’s 50th birthday. 

EACH generation of children has its own iconic toys. These days, you’re looking at fleeting trends of robotic dogs or ninja fish.

But for most boys during the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, one toy stood head and shoulders above the rest — Action Man. Bearded, with a crew cut and six-pack, blond and blue-eyed, or dark-eyed and dark-skinned, Action Man was every boy’s hero. He was so flexible, he could drive tanks, fire a machine gun, climb a tree, paddle a canoe.

Now that legendary toy has become a collector’s item. This year, on the fiftieth anniversary of its birth, the Hasbro Ireland Toy Museum will honour those childhood memories with a unique Action Man showcase at Winterval, Ireland’s largest Christmas festival, at City Hall in Waterford from November 21 to December 23. Hasbro also invited

the public to display their toys and Marc O’Neill, a local resident, has curated his Action Man collection for the exhibition. He has been collecting Action Man paraphernalia since he was seven. Originally from Donegal, he has been living in Waterford since 2002.

“When I was a kid, Action Man was the latest thing. Me and me mates used to get together and create havoc,” he said. “One would be the enemy and the other would be the good guy. We played on the pavement outside our homes — this was the 70s — and people had to go around us on the footpath,”’ he laughed.

I asked him if Action Man has changed much over the years. “The Action Men produced in the 80s and 90s would be very different,” he said.

“More robust, more durable, but not as flexible as the earlier models. The newer models had solid arms, that only rotated at the shoulder and the wrist. Before, they flexed above the elbow to hold a weapon or to paddle a canoe or whatever. The hair used to be moulded plastic, but then they changed to more realistic hair, and their faces were more individual. My friends grew out of them, but I held on to mine,” said Marc.

Hasbro has been producing Action Man in Waterford for decades. Action Man’s antecedent is GI Joe, which started in the States.

“A man from England bought one for his son and brought it home. It was such a massive hit in the boy’s school, that the father approached the toy company, and Action Man was born,” said Marc. What was the enduring appeal of Action Man?

“He could do stuff. Every year from the age of seven, I would ask my parents for something for my Action Man collection. It wasn’t just the Action Man himself — who might be a pilot, a soldier or a sailor, depending on the uniform; marine, or desert combats and so on. There were also all the accessories — bikes, and boats, tanks, machine guns.

“I’ve been collecting an Action Man for each uniform. There are Action Man shops in England, and people sell assortments of rare objects on eBay. I noticed a collection went for €300 the other day. It included an assault rifle, radio, flak jacket, body armour, helmet and goggles.” ‘Marc said the Action Men are all dated.

“My earliest model is dated 1964. The first two I originally got are my prizes — I’ll never sell them. I got them on two separate occasions. They were expensive, but as my birthday and Christmas are very close together, my parents bought them for me.”

They haven’t been confined to his home all that time either: “I lent them to a friend of the family for her son, with the proviso that he didn’t break them, and they came back to me when he outgrew them— which they did. You have to be practical. At the end of the day, they’re still a toy. And you can’t enjoy a toy in a box.”

The older ones he keeps in a box though. “I keep them for sentimentality. The value is a bonus. I was the youngest of four boys. They all had their own hobbies, and this was mine. I was the only one interested in Action Man.”

Nor did he ever barter them: “No. It was a big deal get something like that in those days. They were too precious. I remember my father getting the Action Man horse for me. I had been plaguing my father and mother for months beforehand, and then we had to go to the co-op in Dungloe to get it. It cost £25 even then — a horse, with a saddle and reins. Action Man’s fingers were flexible, so he could hold the reins.

“He could hold a rifle, he could put oars in his hands to row a boat. There was quite a range of stuff. It was hard to afford everything. I was always on the lookout.”

Marc said he wouldlove to set up a permanent museum, and donate the money received at the door to charity. It’s something kids wouldn’t even see these days.”

His son who is nine has played with them in the past. “But he is only realising now how many I have, since I started curating them for this exhibition. It’s taken me about three weeks to catalogue everything! I have in the region of 60 Action Men. But then there’s all the accessories. Armoured vehicles. A three-in-one aeroplane. Helicopters, tanks, watercraft, dinghies and sabotage outfits.

“My son likes them, but he’s more into a smaller version called Action Force. There are more vehicles. He has his own collection of those.” It sounds like Action Man’s world is a particularly male one too. “I’ve never known a girl to play with Action Man, although the company did bring out an Action Girl in the 70s. I’ve never seen one though. If I could get one, I’d buy it.” He sources his items from a collector’s Guide, so perhaps one day she will turn up.

The Winterval Toy Museum will also feature over 250 toys dating back to the 1930s.

Among other interesting toys on display at the museum is a 1935 edition of Monopoly, a doll and pram dating back to 1930 and a pedal car from 1950.

The Museum is expecting to attract visitors interested in going down memory lane as well as younger toy fans.

There will also be a giant play area for those who would rather test their Twister skills than just look at toys.

There are 17 events and activities free of charge, including the 3D Lightshow, a Yule Viking Christmas, a Polish Christmas, Movie Screenings, Storytelling at Reginald’s Tower, and a giant Singing Christmas Tree filled with choirs.

Santa will be in his grotto at the medieval undercrofts. Bishop’s Palace will host a Victorian Christmas and there’s also a Winterval Express road-train, a Horse-drawn sleigh and Waterford On Ice. As well as numerous theatre productions, there will be a Christmas market.

Marc, for one, is looking forward to the festival:“I suppose I’m still a kid, even at 47,” he laughed.

For further details see www.Winterval.ie