The Accurate and Authoritative

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).

The photo below shows a fully dressed Canadian Johnny Canuck action figure.

The clothing shown above was identical to the American "Fighting Yank" figure, save for one difference. The front of the green knit sweater was not stamped with the words "Fighting Yank" in black ink on it.

I was previously under the impression that there was no metal dog tag and chain included with the figure, but I have recently received compelling evidence, from a knowledgeable collector, that Johnny Canuck came with a silver metal "Fighting Man" dog tag, similar in appearance to the U.S. "Fighting Yank" dog tag in terms of design and composition, with the only difference being the second word (Man vs. Yank) on the tag. I don't have a "Fighting Man" dog tag in my own collection, so I am stating this based solely on photo evidence sent to me of other Johnny Canuck figures wearing the tags.

The above photo also shows some details of the pants and boots. The brown high-top boots on these figures were not marked "Hong Kong," as was the case with many other similar boots of this era. True Johnny Canuck boots were "blank" on the sides. Similar boots, marked Hong Kong, were produced by several of the other "knock-off" companies at the time, such as RedBox or Leslo, to name at least two.

Note the elasticized waist of the pants. Neither the pants nor the sweater were labelled or marked with any identification as to the maker. All the clothing items were made in Hong Kong factories.

The following two photos show close-ups of the Canadian Johnny Canuck's face and hair. Note the grooves in the back of the head that simulate the texture of a real head of hair. Johnny's relatively "flat" head of hair was different from the head of hair on a Fighting Yank figure, and Johnny's face lacks the prominent raised "smirk" dimples around his mouth that the U.S. figure displayed.

The following comparison photo displays the difference between a Johnny Canuck face (on the left) and a Fighting Yank face (on the right).

The back of the figure's neck also did not contain any manufacturer markings such as found on Mattel or other doll heads. The only markings on this figure were molded into the middle of his back. They simply read "Made in, Hong Kong, No 2012" as the photo below attests.

The retail boxes were also a close relative of the American Fighting Yank boxes, having the same image of a combat soldier on the front, but lacking the words "Fighting Yank" in large red lettering above the picture of the soldier. These boxes simply read "Johnny Canuck; Canada's Fighting Soldier; Fully Jointed; Move into 1001 Positions" in small black lettering at the base of the front of the box.

Vintage 12-Inch Action Figures (other than Marx and GI Joe)

Although Louis Marx & Co., Inc., with their prolific line-up of  "The Best of the West" action figures, and Hasbro (Hassenfeld Bros., Inc.), with their innovative and ever-expansive G.I. Joe line-up, jointly dominated the 12-inch action figure market from 1964 to 1976, there were other players in the market, too. Albeit for much briefer periods of time, they still managed to add some extra spice to the decision-making process that youngsters had to undergo to determine where their allowance moneys would be spent.

Pictured below are a number of the more memorable characters from these "alternate" action figure series.

Pictured in the center of the photo is the action figure that likely represented the biggest threat to Marx and Hasbro's action figure market dominance. He was, of course, Ideal's "Captain Action."

After making his debut in 1966, the Captain was soon to be aided by his trusty sidekick, Action Boy (who appears to the immediate left in the photo) in 1967. The Ideal line-up was expanded yet again in 1968 with the appearance of the Captain's blue-skinned arch enemy, Dr. Evil (on the right). Unfortunately, this great action figure series did not last much longer than its 3-year spot in the sun, as it disappeared from retail toy shelves all together by 1969.

It is unfortunate, too, since Ideal's "Captain Action" series offered us our sole chance to experience our favorite super-heroes in a 12-inch format (thanks to Captain Action and Action Boy's ability to morph into DC, Marvel, King Features Syndicate and other comic book stars). We would not see 12-Inch super-heroes again until the late 1970's, when Mego's Wonder Woman, Superman, the Incredible Hulk and others would make their debut.

But, no sooner did Captain Action make his exit than he would be replaced by another "Captain." Mattel's "Captain Lazer" burst onto the scene in 1968 as an over-sized member of the Major Matt Mason space adventures line-up. Although his "gigantic" 12-inch height was disproportionate to the other characters in the Matt Mason series, he was the perfect height to interact with GI Joe and other action figures. His "hard plastic" body was molded from a styrene (model kit) plastic, which made him a bit less attractive as an action figure, but still, his fully articulated arms, legs, head and knees, along with his other special attributes (ray gun attachments, etc.), more than made up for this shortcoming. Captain Lazer appears on the far left in the above photo.

(Side note: It is truly unfortunate, too, that no one, back in the day, saw fit to inform Mattel that a ray gun that shot out a light beam was also known as a "LASER," an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, and not a "LAZER." The true definition of a "lazer" is one who passes time in idleness or relaxation. Sorry, Cap!)

In 1965, right around the same time that Marx was unveiling its first Johnny West series characters, the A. C. Gilbert Company also decided to enter the 12-inch fray when they ran TV commercials for their new "James Bond" and "Odd Job" action figures. The A. C. Gilbert Company was then better known for its toy trains and Erector sets, but they also wanted to cash in on the 12-inch craze that GI Joe had started.

With the sales success of the Bond and Odd Job figures, Gilbert expanded their line-up in 1966 with two Man from U.N.C.L.E. characters, a "Honey West" doll and a "Moon McDare" action figure. The "U.N.C.L.E." figures were Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, and it is "Illya" that appears on the far right of the above photo.

Although the six different Gilbert characters did sell well, and, for collectors today, they are sought-after figures, they had limited articulation and fairly cheap hollow plastic molded bodies, which make them rather "poor brothers" to GI Joe and Johnny West.

The back row contains a Princess Grace Toy's (Mego) Johnny Canuck figure (who we have already featured in greater detail above) and a Hasbro "Defenders" figure. Although the Defenders figure is also a Hasbro product, he is technically not a member of the GI Joe action figure line-up. The Defenders figure first debuted in 1975.

So, for GI Joe collectors and Marx "Best of the West" collectors, these figures may hold little appeal. But, for other vintage 12-inch action figure collectors, these Mego, Mattel, Gilbert and Ideal action figures are welcome additions to any well-rounded collection.

GI Joe Mysteries - "21 Movable Parts" and "15 Different Uniforms"

Mystery #1 - 21 Movable Parts

In the 1964 GI Joe Salesman's Catalog, one of the ads contained therein states that "GI Joe has 21 Movable Parts." But, does he? Pictured below is the 1964 ad, with the photo of a GI Joe action figure located directly beneath it. Can you name the "21 Movable Parts?"

What is confusing about this ad is the fact that the text and the "red dots" pictured in the GI Joe diagram do not correlate.

If you look at the position of the "red dots," they seem to be situated as follows: 1 dot on the Head, 2 on the top Upper Arms, 2 on the lower Upper Arms, 2 on the Forearms, 2 on the Hands, 2 on the Wrists, 1 on the Torso, 1 at the Waist, 2 at the Hips, 2 at the Thighs, 2 on the Lower Legs, and 2 on the Feet - for a total of 21 parts.

Other than for the fact that the 2 wrists are shown as being separate and distinct from each hand, these "red dots" correlate fairly well to the GI Joe figure shown above. His actual distinct body parts being: 2 feet, 2 lower legs, 2 thighs, 2 ball joints for the hips, 1 lower torso/waist, 1 upper torso, 2 hands, 2 forearms, 2 lower-upper arms, 2 upper shoulders, 1 head and 1 head pin - for a total of 20 unique, individual plastic body parts.

If we consider the head and the head pin as only a single part, there are 19 distinct body parts that make up each figure, versus the advertised 21 "movable" parts.

But, if we read the "text" of the ad, we will quickly see that the 21 "red dot" areas are NOT the 21 distinct body parts. The ad states that the 21 movable parts are: 1 head, 2 shoulders, 2 hips, 2 upper arms, 2 forearms, 2 hands, 2 thighs, 2 knees, 2 lower legs, 2 ankles, and 2 feet - for a total of 21 parts.

Yet, the "ankles" are not pictured with red dots on them; the "wrists" are not listed as being separate from the "hands" (but both the wrists and hands are pictured with dots on them, nonetheless); the "knees" are identified as being separate and distinct movable parts from both the "thighs" and the "lower legs," but red dots do not appear at the knee joints; and there is no mention of the "waist" or the "upper torso" anywhere in the text, only the two hips (ball joints) are mentioned, but red dots are clearly evident on the two torso components in the diagram.

If the original intent was not to list the separate body parts, but to list the individual points of articulation, one would assume that the "shoulders" reference implies simply the shoulder "joints," and that the "upper arms" reference includes both the top upper arm and the lower upper arm, with no indication being made of the central upper arm swivel joint. Likewise, the reference to the "knees" obviously means the knee "joints." But, if this is the case, why are the "elbows" not listed? And, why is there no mention of the fact that the "waist" and the upper "torso" move independently of one another?

Perhaps we are destined to never know.

Mystery #2 - 15 Uniforms (Andy and George)

In the September 1966 issues of D.C. comics, a GI Joe "Andy and George" ad appears under the title of "Combat Squad Gets Decorations." The photo below depicts this ad.

In the body of the text, it states that there were "fifteen" different GI Joe uniforms then available. (Note that this ad precedes the release of the six GI Joe Foreign Soldiers of the World, the GI Joe Green Beret and the GI Joe Astronaut and, therefore, those figures' uniforms are not part of the fifteen uniforms being referred to.)

Pictured below is a close-up of the first frame of the cartoon ad and, directly below it, a photo of a number of actual GI Joes dressed in the same uniforms (but note that our "scuba diver" is lacking his black wet suit).

The third frame in the cartoon reveals a couple more of the GI Joe uniforms that Andy and George have in their collection. The picture below shows a close-up of that frame, along with another photo of the uniforms shown in the ad dressed on actual GI Joes.

The sixth frame of the cartoon features the four "dress uniforms" that Andy and George are missing from their collection. The photos below show a close-up of this frame with the four dressed figures displayed directly beneath it.

And, finally, the balloon caption at the bottom of the ad reiterates that there are "fifteen" different uniforms available for the GI Joe Soldier, Sailor, Pilot and Marine. The close-up photo below illustrates this.

So, the question that now remains is: "What are the fifteen different uniforms that Andy and George are referring to?"

From the ad's text and pictures, we know that Andy and George were missing the four dress uniforms, namely: the Dress Pilot, the Dress Marine, the Army M.P., and the Navy Shore Patrol. Deducting these four uniforms from the total of fifteen, we are left with eleven GI Joe uniforms to identify.

Andy and George state that they already have "nine" of the GI Joe uniforms. One of these nine is a sailor dressed in his "basics" uniform consisting of dungaree pants, cotton chambray shirt and white gob hat.

The other eight uniforms shown are: 1.) Combat Soldier in his combat field jacket, 2.) Navy Attack Sailor in his orange life jacket and blue attack helmet, 3.) Air Force Scramble Pilot, 4.) Navy Scuba Diver, 5.) Army Alpine Snow Troops, 6.) Deep Sea Diver, 7.) Communications Marine in his camouflage poncho, 8.) Marine Medic in medic helmet and arm bands.

So, after deducting the nine Andy & George outfits, we are still left with two unidentified GI Joe uniforms. One of these missing uniforms is likely the Communications Soldier in his olive-drab poncho. But, what was the final uniform?

Because this Andy & George ad appeared prior to the release of the Landing Signal Officer (Navy), the Crash Crew Firefighter (Air Force), the Green Beret (Army), and the Marine Minesweeper (Marines) sets, none of those uniforms could be part of the fifteen uniforms that Andy and George are talking about.

But thanks to the Vintage3Djoes.com website, and their decision to post all of the original Dietz GI Joe commercials (go to: http://www.vintage3djoes.com/commercial-viewing.html), this GI Joe mystery has now been solved.

The TV commercial Andy & George are referring to (Dietz commercial #620) states that there are "OVER fifteen different uniforms," NOT exactly 15 different uniforms, as stated in the DC comic book ad.

The commercial names 16 different uniform possibilities, and suggests even more.

Thus, Andy & George do not really have 9 out of 15 GI Joe uniforms; just 9 out of OVER 15 uniforms. If we consider the orange and gray flight suits as two different uniforms; add the olive-drab Army Poncho (the TV commercial only shows the Marine Poncho); add an Army Medic (as shown in the commercial) in addition to the Marine Medic; and factor in the four "basics" uniforms, there were more than 20 possible different uniform configurations.

Check out this cool vintage 1960's TV commercial by clicking on the above web link.

 

 

 

 

 

The Marx "Steel-Blue" Canadian General Custer

In Canada, at different times during his manufacturing lifetime, one was able to purchase either version of the Marx General Custer action figure, the Canadian "Steel-Blue" version or the standard "Royal Blue" figure that was also available in the USA. The photo below shows the standard "Royal Blue" figure on the left and the Canadian "Steel Blue" figure on the right.

While we are not aware of who first coined term Canadian "Steel Blue" Custer, we question whether or not it wouldn't have been much simpler to refer to his body as being the same colour as that of Captain Maddox and Zeb Zachary. The photo below illustrates the Canadian Steel-Blue Custer, flanked by a Captain Maddox and an American-made Zeb Zachary. All three body colours are identical; so why do we not also call Maddox or Zachary "Steel Blue?"

 

The Marx "Canadian" Stony Smith Soldier

There were colour differences in the bodies of Canadian-made Stony Smiths versus their American counterparts. These differences in the body tones only applied to the "Bendable Leg" Stony figures (the earlier "Straight-Legged" Stony Smith figures were identical in both countries).

The photo below shows four Stony figures; the two on the left are "American-made" Stony Smiths and the two on the right are "Canadian" bend-leg Stony Smiths. Note the variations in the body tone.

As evidenced in the picture above, the colour of the Stony Smith body could vary from production batch to production batch, and there was no consistency when it came to the shade of green that would ultimately result. Furthermore, the Canadian Bend-Leg Stony figures often had differences in the colours of their various individual body parts, too.

For example, the picture above reveals that one of the Canadian figure's arms are a very different shade from his torso. It isn't uncommon to find figures whose upper legs and lower legs (or upper arms and lower arms) are strikingly different in colour. There was no consistency in matching the colour of each individual body part with an adjacent one. This doesn't imply the body parts had been switched after purchase; this was simply how the figures were originally assembled at the Canadian Marx factory.

The Marx "All American Fighters" Series

Although not a series of "Canadian made" action figures, we could not very well discuss both the American and Canadian Stony Smith figures, along with the Marx Canadian "Buddy" figure and the Marx General Eisenhower figure (see the previous article), without briefly touching upon the U.S. manufactured Marx "All American Fighter" line-up. The photo below shows five of our All American Fighters: 2 Marines, 1 Soldier, 1 Sailor and 1 Airman.

Note that all of the clothing shown in the above photo is authentic, vintage "Marx-made," with the exception of only the boots and the seaman's white cap (which is a non-Marx, non-Hasbro, vintage knock-off cap). The true sailor's gob cap has a Marx logo imprinted on the underside of it (which the one pictured does not).

The boots worn by the five Fighters pictured above are either Hasbro "wide" low-top boots or Canadian-issued Hasbro Canada "narrow" low top boots. True vintage Marx All American Fighter boots have become very fragile with the passage of time and most have crumbled into pieces after having been handled. Having said this, we can confirm that it is mainly the "brown" All American Fighter boots that have become the most unstable. They tend to shatter into dozens of small flakes when handled.

The "black" All American Fighter boots have held up a bit better over the years, and, I have owned pairs that were still 100% intact and did not crumble at the slightest touch. There must have been some component in the chemical formula for the brown boots that caused this instability, and that same element was likely not present in the black boots.

Both the original "brown" and "black" Marx All American Fighter boots are of a "medium" height when compared to Hasbro GI Joe boots. The Marx boots are slightly taller than a Hasbro low-top boot, but they are also noticeably lower in height than a Hasbro high-top boot.

Other Canadian Marx 12-inch Action Figures

The photo below shows three other sought-after "Canadian" Marx action figures. Each one was an addition to the "Johnny West cowboy" western action figure series. Can you identify them?

 

 

Left to Right are: Sheriff Thomas Goode, a fuzzy-headed Dangerous Dan and a chocolate-brown colored Jimmy West.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is evident that much confusion still exists with Marx Johnny West Series collectors regarding the release dates of these three Canadian-made Marx action figures. Please go to the "Canadian Christmas Catalogues" tab for more detailed information as to when these figures first appeared within the Simpsons-Sears Christmas catalogue pages. The Sears catalogue pages confirm that Marx Canada released one of each of these action figures every year for three consecutive years. The correct Canadian release dates of these figures were:

1971 - Jimmy West (the 1971 Sears Canada Christmas catalogue indicates that he is a "new" addition),

1972 - Dangerous Dan,

1973 - Sheriff Thomas Goode.

Note that none of these three Canadian figures were released in the 1960s, as some web sites and guide books will lead you to believe.