French Action Force catalogue just finished on Ebay

[paulitoy]

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The more I look @ that Actionman French Gemdarne the more I want one..it looks a lot smarter & better detailed than the U.K Police Actionman. Does any one know if it was released, or if this is a mock-up for the catalogue?

One went on ebay [and to a very good home!] last week.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0418107712

[Dave Tree]

Paul, you can't squeeze any more in!!!!

[airedevon 1]

The Stratos was released for the 12" Action Man line in France. I have one and can take a picture later, if anyone would like.

Thundershot, the Gendarme is indeed a very cool set! In fact, there are 2 variations. I'll try to post pics of them later today.

(Some of the 12" stuff really is cool!)

[airedevon 1]

Paul, a big congratulations!!! I am so happy for you that you got that set!!!
Ah... once you venture into international releases, the excitement never stops!!!

[airedevon 1]

Well, this was an easy picture to take (my french 12" figures are right here in my study

[airedevon 1]

Here's the Stratos. (I haven't messed with my 12" figures in so long... It was fun this morning, to get these out and mess with them again!!! To find that Stratos, I had to pull out gobs of stuff from a closet - It was like a trip down memory lane!!! Thanks!!! )

[Thundershot]

Hi Aire,
Thanks for sharering this..just when I think I know all about childhood hero, something like this comes along & just blows my mind! That's what's so great about this site
I've never seen any of these French uniforms before, that ceremonial unifrom looks very impressive, & as for Captain Cosmos..does this stuff come up for sale very often?
I guess I've always thought that european toys where just re-packaged Actionman or G.I.Joe toys.. now I know how it's feels for American collectors when they find out about the U.K. exclusive re-paints

Many,Many thanks for showing this & opening my mind up to a whole new area to look @ & hopefully play in one day

[airedevon 1]

Thundershot, I am so happy to hear you say that!!! When I first discoverd this stuff, I was really blown away, too!

Basically, the 3 toy companies driving inovation in Europe were Palitoy (UK - obviously , Ceji-Arbois (France), and Geyper (Spain).
There are many outfits exclusive to each of these 3 companies.

Schildkrot (Germany) and Polistil (Italy) basically picked sets for release from designs by the companies listed above, as well as from US Hasbro stuff.
Schildkrot did have a few exclusives (their Border Guard outfits, for Example), but Polistil did not (at least I can't think of any right now). However, Polistil (and before that, Baravelli) did offer many US sets that were not released in Europe by any other company at the time - so, they were essentially "exlusives" to the Euro market. Polistil sometimes changed parts of the set - (sort of like Kenbrite and Toltoys in Australia.)

I haven't looked for 12" sets on eBay for quite a few years now (I stopped collecting when I had enough samples for my historical chapter on vintage 12" - which was about the same time that the 40th outfits started to flood the market...). So, I am really out of the loop as far as current availability and price. But I bet Paul would be a good one to provide that info now!!! (He seems to have caught the bug

Happy hunting!!!!
Take care,
Aire

PS - Just wait til you find the Japanese, Brazilian, Mexican, and Argentinian stuff!!!!! Talk about AWESOME!!!!

[Thundershot]

What did that guy say in Star Wars?..You've just taken your 1st step into a larger world..that sums up how I feel about this!

Sorry if I sound a bit "gushing" about this but toys really are a passion for me

[Dave Tree]

Here's the Stratos. (I haven't messed with my 12" figures in so long... It was fun this morning, to get these out and mess with them again!!! To find that Stratos, I had to pull out gobs of stuff from a closet - It was like a trip down memory lane!!! Thanks!!! )

Damn that's sweet, I didn't know that was a Miro Meccano release, thanks for sharing Aire, you learn something new every day