AM Natalie toy review

[Eye of Agamotto]

Let me start by saying that in the Action Man cartoon, Natalie Poole is a great character! But great character or not, it is actually a huge surprise that Hasbro produced this figure in the first place. They are not in a habit of making female figures in a boys' toyline. This figure, as far as I know, was not available in the UK or in the USA. So when I missed a chance to get one of these recently, I luckily was given a second chance to get my hands on this AM figure. So is this figure worth all the trouble and money? Let's see:

First off, we have the box. The packaging is the first thing you see when walking past the store shelves. The modern Action Man always features bright orange on their packaging. Being one of my personal favorite colors, I am immediatley attracted to this figure. Her name is prominantly displayed on the bottom, with a cool animated picture version of her in the corner, as well. Natalie is displayed in an action pose and all of her gear is visible through the clear window. Overall the front of the package is very nice.

Next, we see the back of the box. There is a great looking cartoon with Natalie kicking butt. The dialog is in three languages, none of them English. Below the cartoon is a picture of the Natalie action figure showing off her special feature: she KICKS! Again, the back has some nice art and pictures which make for a great display.

Last part of the box that I'm showing is the side view. Simple. Art of Action Man, Knuck, and Natalie. Pretty cool.

So, what about the actual figure? Well, a mixed bag for me. Starting with the head, it looks nothing like Natalie from the cartoon. Oh, they got everything including the removeable bandana on there, but the hair is not even close to the right style. Since they didn't go with rooted hair, I can understand them molding it short, but this head looks like my son's kindergarten teacher from last year. Ironically, her name is Mrs. Poole! No joke! The head has a full range of motion like most other 12" action figures. The rest of the figure "looks" great! The clothing is pretty close to the cartoon outfit. Short, short blue tank top? Check! Short, short green shorts? Check! Even the boots, while all black, are good to go. The figure also comes with a yellow utility belt which can carry the knife and two grenades that she comes with. The last bit of equipment is the missile firing rifle. It's not bad, and even the stock has a feature that hooks around her arm. What about the bad? Okay, the articulation is horrible! We're talking, Barbie articulation! The arms rotate but have no ball joint. The elbows... are not articulated, and are bent in a permanent position. Same goes with the gloved hands. No articulation at all. Moving down Natalie's body, we come to the waist. Again, in true Barbie fashion, no articualtion. The hip joints DO have a great range of movement, thank goodness. The right knee can bend as it should, but the left knee has the special action feature. Bend the knee until it clicks into position, and then press the button on the back of her leg (see photo below) to watch her kick Dr. X in the sweet spot! HIYAHH!!! Lastly, her boots come off to reveal no articulation in the ankles.

Last, we have the ID cards that were inserted in with the figure. Again, we are no longer in Kansas, as all three cards are written in languages other than English.

So now that I have the elusive Natalie in my collection, what do I REALLY think of her? To be honest, I like her! The figure is a pretty good representation of the cartoon Natalie. Except for the head, of course. The lack of articulation aside, this is a great figure to have in an Action Man collection. I do believe that this saw limited release because of the fact that this is a female action figure for a boys' toyline. And this figure in particular skirts that thin line between action figure and doll! But it will display nicely alongside Action Man and so I am very happy that I have Natalie in my posession.

Edit: Photos deleted. I will hopefully provided new photos in time.

[jamarmiller]

man I am jealous, its characters like this that make the ACTION MAN line in my opinion, I think the cards are a nice nod to the tv show, in regards to the signature, thats Secretary Norris whos singed them LOL he was the man who gave action man and action force thier orders on the TV show!

Also the picture of the doll kicking, on the back of the box, has the space station from the tv show in the background.

Man why did hasbro drop a character like this and knuck, I mean I like red wolf and Flynt a lot too but these two would be soo great to have in one big line up with Action Man

I really really believe Hasbro has and have screwed up with the way they have marketed Action Man.

anyway great review this is one I been waiting for , for along long time so thank you

and i am very jealous, I just saw one on ebay for twice what you paid for it! arghhhhhhhh

[Eye of Agamotto]

anyway great review this is one I been waiting for , for along long time so thank you

My pleasure. Yes, it's a shame that Natalie and Knuck didn't stay in the lineup. It's also sad that they didn't get better action figure treatments. I mean, Natalie with better articulation and head sculpt would've gone over better, I think. Still, I'm happy I have this figure, as she seems to be one of the "holy grails" to the AM line, whether the figure sucks or not. I rather like the figure anyway.

[Dragonrider1227]

The headsculpt could be better. (Looks nothing like Natalie and more like Barbie to me) but the rest of the figure is pretty good looking

[jamarmiller]

I finally got mine!! and mine is with the AM logo on the shirt which Im told is very rare!!!

Woo hoo!!!

[Dragonrider1227]

Congrats, Jamar. Yes, that IS the rare one, and getting a rare version of an already rare figure must be quite an accomplishment
BTW, Eye of Agamotto where did you get the blue shirt and pants for your Action Man? I'd totally love to have those for mine

[Eye of Agamotto]

Hey, I haven't been around lately. Been busy and such. It's good to see another Action Man fan, Dragonrider1227.

BTW, Eye of Agamotto where did you get the blue shirt and pants for your Action Man? I'd totally love to have those for mine

The blue shirt/trousers came from the GI Joe Classic Collection Coast Guard figure from tbe 90s. I was looking for something to give him that cartoon look, and I had the Joe sitting in a box in our garage. I still have to put the AM logo on his shirt. Glad you lked it!

[Dragonrider1227]

I was thinking of doing the exact same thing! 'Course, I gotta find a GI Joe coast gaurd first >>

[jamarmiller]

and we finally get her in 3 and 3/4inch scale, a dream come true I cant wait to put her next to my Night force Action Man figure!

Action Man and Natalie finally united

[jamarmiller]

here are some pics of the 4 inch toy mold and the process it went through, so yes its a new mold!

I dont know why they didnt just give her a shirt that stopped half way like the cartoon and 12 inch . If they sculpted a new torso, seems like it would have been just as easy but Im still happy

anyways enjoy