Burping Action Man goes on sale

A new Action Man doll which can burp is due to go on sale later this year, it emerged today.

The new version of the classic toy is the first which can “talk”, makers Hasbro said.

But along with pre-recorded messages, the Shouter doll also lets out a belch.

Hasbro said it decided to launch a burping Action Man because it would appeal to young boys.

The Shouter doll, which is due to go on sale in the autumn, has a special mechanism beneath the plastic skin on its face which allows the mouth to move “realistically” without showing any parts.

Shouter is one of a number of additions to the Action Man range due to go on sale.

He will be joined by another called Polar Trapper who, along with a new “evil baddie” doll called Anti-Freeze, went through some unusual product testing.

One of each accompanied former jockey Richard Dunwoody and team-mate Tony Martin as they competed in the recent Polar Race 2003 to the magnetic North Pole.

Dunwoody and Martin, an ex-army commando, finished second in a 330-mile race through some of the most inhospitable territory in the world.

Sara Westby, senior brand manager at Hasbro, said: “Sending Action Man to the North Pole was too good an opportunity to miss; and the mission demonstrated that Polar Trapper Action Man is more than capable of surviving cold conditions.”