Action Force

Action Force is a brand of European action figures released in the 1980s that was based on the Action Man toyline. It was also used to introduce G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toys to European markets. Several publishing companies have produced comic books based on the figures.

Action Force is a brand of European action figures released in the 1980s that was based on the Action Man toyline. It was also used to introduce G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toys to European markets. Several publishing companies have produced comic books based on the figures. ==History== ===First generation (1982)=== The Action Force figures were first produced in 1982 by Palitoy Limited, and were released in two waves. They were created in response to the falling sales of the company's larger collection, Action Man, and the comparative success of the smaller Kenner Star Wars action figures, which the company was licensed to sell in Europe. The figures are a mixture of historical military figures (e.g. Desert Rat, German Storm trooper) and of more contemporary soldiers (e.g. Arctic and Naval Assault). In contrast to the American-centric G.I. Joe figures, the Action Force figures were a mixture of international figures, including British, German, Australian and American soldiers. However, unlike later releases, the first figures were not accompanied by file cards giving backstories, nor were they featured in comic books other than a series of mini-comics that were packaged with some of the vehicles, notably the AF-3 and AF-5. Figures Vehicles ===Second generation (1983)=== Following the success of the first range of figures, a second and larger group of figures was launched in 1983. Action Force sales accounted to about one million over six months in 1983, and the offering was expanded to include a new wave of figures and vehicles that were released in 1984¹. Palitoy took a different approach with this second range of figures by grouping the allied action figures and enemies each with accompanying weaponry and vehicles. The figures were given comic book identities and were featured in a new range of stories in the Battle Action Force comic. The toys were also supplied with file cards that provided a brief profile of the characters. For key figures, these profiles were expanded in the Battle Action Force comic with their own multi-issue storylines (e.g. The Black Major). Z Force: an allied infantry and artillery-based unit. SAS Force: an allied special operations team. Q Force: an allied ocean-based team. Space Force: an allied space operations team. Red Shadows: the unified enemy force, led by Baron Ironblood. The fifth team was to have been characterized as a 'special weapons' unit, initially believed to be called 'F-Force'. Later research revealed a pair of photographs from a toy catalog which showed the figures in different color schemes, along with vehicles featuring an 'SWS' logo instead. The catalog photographs also showed US G.I. Joe vehicles, which were released as part of the SAS Force and Z Force groups. These vehicles included a white and grey Jeep, a white artillery piece and a white missile battery. Both the action figures and the vehicles borrowed elements from the first generation models and the new casts licensed from the G. I. Joe toyline from Hasbro. There was also an Action Force fan club promoted both on the figures' packaging and in the Battle Action Force comic book. In 1984, additional figures and vehicles were cast, borrowing heavily from the G.I. Joe and Cobra ranges. During this time, the Action Force toyline branched out into video games, audio stories on cassette tapes, stationery, and toiletries. ===Third generation (1985)=== In 1985, Palitoy ceded control of the European market to Hasbro following the death of Alfred Pallett, one of Palitoy's owners, and the winding up of operations at their Leicester factory. Hasbro purchased the Palitoy factory, copyrights, and moulds and began to package G.I. Joe figures under the Action Force brand. In characterization terms, this move marked the end of the subgrouping of the Action Force team, and a new unified Action Force (or AF) also faced a new enemy in the name of Cobra. The 1985 range were composed mostly from the 1983/84 US GI Joe range which included Swivel Arm reissues of the 1982 figures with some vehicles carried over from the 1983-84 Action Force range two of which Sealion and the Triad Fighter were re-released but Dolphin and Moondancer who as a result of the change to repackaged GI Joe became repainted versions of the GI Joe figures Zap and Short-Fuze. The parallel comic book storylines also maintained continuity with a number of plot lines that blended elements of the second range of figures with the third, featuring the new characters as an international elite anti-terrorist unit of a wider Action Force. The Force was still backed up by the Z Force, SAS, other units fighting Cobra, the Red Shadows and even a re-animated Adolf Hitler and the Nazis (despite being ostensibly set in the present day). The characters created by Battle Action Force were altered in the European market to have mixed nationalities in contrast to the US-centric G.I. Joe characters. Over time, however, the range evolved into an unreconstructed G.I. Joe force and its enemy Cobra. The G.I. Joe animated series was re-titled and re-dubbed for release in the UK. Any mention of G.I. Joe was replaced with Action Force, however, the G.I. Joe logo remained on vehicles and equipment shown in the cartoon. ==Action Force in Germany== The second-generation Action Force figures were also released in West Germany during the 1980s, albeit without the benefit of a comic book tie-in. The German toys went under the title of Action Force and fought the "Terror-Bande" (roughly translated as "Terror Gang"). The German release consisted only of the first wave of second-generation figures and characters (some 30 figures and vehicles), however, the characters and vehicles were still grouped in their subunits: anti-terror team (or ATT) corresponding to Z-Force; the special anti-terror team (or SATT) corresponding to SAS Force; the deep-sea anti-terror team (or TSATT) corresponding to Q Force; and the space anti-terror team (or WATT) corresponding to Space Force. Distributors, still concerned by Germany's actions during World War II, modified certain aspects of the Action Force range to appear less violent. According to researchers of the German Palitoy range, most of the guns supplied with the figures were replaced by "less violent" stun-weapons, laser-weapons or knives. Also, the human skull on the Red Shadow (or Terror-Bande) figures was removed from the toyline. ==References== ==External links== Checklist at legendsverse.com Checklist at yojoe.com A short history of Action Force at actionfigure.com (archived) Action Force Info Page (archived) Blood For The Baron website

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