The Accurate and Authoritative

Hasbro Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) action figure made quite a stir when it first hit department store shelves back in the late fall and early winter of 1966. The Mountie figure was designed to be an extension of the popular "GI Joe Soldiers of the World" action figure series (which debuted earlier that same year), yet the Mountie was only made available to Canadian toy markets. His clothing and accessories were based on an actual RCMP officer's uniform and the amount of detail and accuracy that went into their design marked a high point in GI Joe's multi-occupational career. So much so, that fellow GI Joe licensee, Palitoy, continued to produce a close cousin to the Canadian-made figure for many years following his short two-year life span with Canadian retailers. This Canadian icon is now one of Hasbro's most sought-after vintage GI Joe collectibles.

The Marx Canadian Buddy action figure (also correctly known as the All Canadian Fighter) was a Simpsons-Sears store "exclusive" action figure offering. The figure was sold only for a brief period of time, first appearing in the 1967 Simpsons-Sears Christmas catalogue and then disappearing from the catalog by the time the 1968 book was issued. The action figure was offered either as a stand-alone purchase, or as a discounted set if both the action figure and a green Marx Army jeep were purchased together. Given this action figure's brief one-year life span, the Marx Canadian Buddy remains one of the rarest action figure collectibles to obtain today.

The "Mego" Johnny Canuck 12-inch action figure of the 1960's was a near identical twin to his brother, the original Fighting Yank action figure that was sold in U.S. retail stores. At the time of their initial release (circa 1965), both the Johnny Canuck and the first-issue Fighting Yank were in for rocky times ahead, as a subsequent law suit instigated by Hasbro for infringement on the design of GI Joe by these "knock-off" figures was about to be launched. Thus, the Johnny Canuck figure lived a rather short life span in his original fully articulated body. At the time, boxes were not marked Mego as the "Mego Corp." standardized name was not used extensively until the late sixties and early seventies. These figures were sold by "Princess Grace Doll, Inc." This company was either the parent, or a subsidiary, of Mego (also known at the time as "Mintex," an acronym standing for Mego Industrial Textiles).