Action Jackson
“Do and Dare! He’s Everywhere!”
Action Jackson got a very bad rap, and here’s a little of that bad rap sampling: he was nothing but a G.I. Joe
rip-off, his vehicles and accessories weren’t exactly what a toy fan
would call high-quality, and his painted-on mod hair style was just not
the coif of champions. Well, now it’s rebuttal time. Would the toy
world really be any good with just one board game? With just one
action figure? We need options, people! We need selection! For the love
of everything plastic, we need a little variety on the toy store
shelves! In the grand scheme of things, no toy is a bad toy (as long as
there aren’t a lot of manufacturer recalls). Case dismissed! Next!
Whoa…sorry about that. It’s just easy to get carried away when
defending Action Jackson. After all, he tells us to “think of what you
want to be, and call on me” and for even promising something like that,
he deserves a little product loyalty. The Mego company got its start as
an importer of toys and household novelties. But in the early 1970’s,
they began production on an action figure that was meant as a low-cost
alternative to the incredibly popular G.I. Joe. This first doll’s name
was Fighting Yank, and when the Yank didn’t do so well, Mego opted for
a smaller scale figure. Their next protégé was named Action Jackson, or
“AJ” for short.
AJ and Dinah-Mite, also from Mego, were heartily advertised on
television. AJ had a slew of military garb, sports garb and all-around
adventure garb. There were sets like the “Fire Rescue Pack,” the spy
set, scuba and mountain climbing gear that were sold separately from
the doll. There was a battery-powered Mustang horse to match AJ’s
cowboy attire; there were battery-powered and remote control
operated Jeeps, snowmobiles, Volkswagen Vans and motorcycles. AJ was
available with several different hair colors and styles; beard or no
beard; white or black (and Hispanic too, in 1974—a doll named “Amigo”).
Unfortunately, AJ just couldn’t loosen G.I. Joe’s kung-fu grip on
the action figure market. The scrappy Mego had bought up licenses for
characters like the Star Trek
lovelies though—and they put these new heroes’ heads atop dolls made
from AJ’s body mold. At eight inches high, Action Jackson had just
three quarters of Joe’s height and well, he had some sales numbers that
measured less than that. But AJ was all heart. And darn it, there will
always be a nice warm spot for him in the toy archives.
|
 |
| 
