Toys

The Action Force range was born in August 1982 as a product of the combination of the ideas behind Palitoy's (a major UK toy company) two major product lines, the 12" tall Action Man Range, and the 3¾" Star Wars figures. Action Man sales were dropping and the massive success of the Star Wars line prompted Palitoy to produce a new range of small Action Men. This new range was called 'Action Force'. The range therefore predates the 1983 GI Joe Range!

The Initial range included 12 figures in the initial release followed by four more later. The majority of which were based on existing military figures some contemporary (for example there were British Paratrooper and Royal Marine figures), some historical (for example World War 2 Desert Rat and American Paratrooper figures), and the others were new inventions (for example Desert and Arctic Troopers). They also produced 4 vehicles and a cardboard base playset. A number of prototype figures also seem to exist from this period. Sales of this original range of figures reached a million units by the end of 1983, giving it a 10% share of the UK action figure market, which at that time was dominated by Star Wars and Action Man.

The success of this early line prompted a new release in 1983, this second release introduced the 'Action Force' team concept, which consisted of four separate groups: Z Force - Ground Combat; SAS Force - Special Operations; Q Force - Maritime Operations; and Space Force - Space Operations. An enemy was also introduced in the shape of the Red Shadows. The majority of the figures used some components from the original range, and some others were licensed from the US toy company Hasbro, where they were made as part of the GI Joe range of figures. The new vehicles similarly were a combination of modifications of the original range, and licensed versions of the American range. The main difference between the UK and US figures was that the UK figures had only five points of articulation (each arm, each leg and head), while the American figures also has jointed knees and elbows. Early catalogue pictures of the range are available here. The range was further expanded in 1984 with the addition of new figures and vehicles for each range, again these were a mixture, this time of new British designs and licensed American designs.

In 1985 the range realigned with a new unified team called simply 'Action Force' and a new enemy 'Cobra'. The new figures were all of American origin, although some UK vehicles did survive into this range. 'Cobra' was the enemy of the US GI Joe range, and this marked a beginning of a convergence of the two ranges. Later in the 1990s Hasbro took over all rights, and simply repackaged the US toys initially as 'Action Force', later as GI Joe - The Action Force' and later simply as 'GI Joe'. The older Palitoy figures were repackaged and sold off as unbranded bargain clearance packs.