Too many thoughts.

The Baron · Post by **The Baron** » 24 Aug 2003 00:40

I sometimes wonder if the reason the GI Joe toys didn't sell as well in the UK as the Shadow line is their political/historical emphasis...

To me it was always a case of Z Force representing the Americans, the 'military backbone', with the SAS Force being the Brits (class toys), Space Force as the Russians and Q Force being Australia. Couple this with the Red Shadows being cast from the Stromtrooper mould, and a Baron for a leader, and you have the Germans for the enemy. In other words, WWII.

Now, when the Shadows transformed into the Cobra organisation (in the comic) their base of operations shifted to Asia, Action Force became a single international unit representing the needs of America, or American GI's. By comparison this shifts the focus of the toyline from WWII to the Vietnam conflict. Am I right?

Which was your favourite war?

The Baron · Post by **The Baron** » 11 Jun 2007 05:02

Oops bit crass that, it's one of the funnier lines from "Small Soldiers".

Am I actually right in thinking that Cobra era AF didn't sell as well as Shadow era AF in the UK? There was all the turmoil with the name changes which smacked of plummeting sales figures, and there was the downsizing of Marvel UK's comic from weekly to monthly to backup strip but from this I'm only assuming that the toys didn't sell as well as the earlier range. Does anyone know which range was the more popular?

The Kraken Wakes · Post by **The Kraken Wakes** » 11 Jun 2007 20:18

i used to manage a toy shop and after speaking with two ex palitoy reps (one of whom then went to work for hasbro), they were of the opinion that hasbro era action force / gi joe sold in much larger quantities than the palitoy stuff... at their peaks, from what i remember as a kid and from speaking to people who remember selling it, more shop space was given to the hasbro stuff too, and over a longer period of time... at their peak they were both massive sellers, as big as any other 80s line, yet in this country actoin force doesnt seem to be as fondly remembered as other lines such as transformers / he-man...

Emram · Post by **Emram** » 17 Jun 2007 14:00

To be honest, I only got into Action Force (Shadows era) right at the end, so my memories are mainly of the GI Joe style figures, but what hazy recollections I do have is that while "bendy" figures were available more or less everywhere, "non-bendy" figures were a little harder to find - I used to get a lot of my Hasbro figures from a large newsagent down the road, whereas the Palitoy stuff was always a trip into the nearest big town to get to a toy shop.

jamarmiller · Post by **jamarmiller** » 17 Jun 2007 14:03

welcome to the boards emram !!!

Emram · Post by **Emram** » 22 Jun 2007 12:34

Thank you!

I recently got a "zero post accounts" warning, and thought I'd better get my backside into gear and post something! Shame it was just that, really...

The Baron · Post by **The Baron** » 22 Jun 2007 12:43

So I'm alone in thinking Q Force are Australian-esque then. Figures.

Emram · Post by **Emram** » 22 Jun 2007 13:34

I hadn't really thought of it like that, to be honest - I'd more thought of Z Force as Army, Q Force as Navy, and Space Force as a pseudo Air Force, with the SAS Force being, well, the SAS.

jamarmiller · Post by **jamarmiller** » 22 Jun 2007 20:02

Emram wrote:I hadn't really thought of it like that, to be honest - I'd more thought of Z Force as Army, Q Force as Navy, and Space Force as a pseudo Air Force, with the SAS Force being, well, the SAS.

this is how I was taking it too