Gabriel’s Lone Ranger Action Figures in “Selling the Silver Bullet”

Sometimes, the world conspires against me. A few months ago I picked up a copy of Selling the Silver Bullet*; subtitled “The Lone Ranger and Transmedia Brand Licensing,” the book addresses the history of The Lone Ranger through various outlets, including Gabriel’s Lone Ranger action figures of the seventies.

While not as extensive as the coverage in G.I. Joe and Other Backyard Heroes*, the discussion of the toys in Selling the Silver Bullet* deserves special mention because it approaches the conversation from a business viewpoint, even spending energy on the outfit and adventure sets from the line. Anyone was has read my earlier discussion of outfit sets (see “The Death of Action Figure Outfit Sets”) already knows I have a strange attraction to these packs.

“Since it was (and in many ways, still is) uncommon for a line of toys targeting boys to include outfit changes, Gabriel worked to ensure that the ensembles were motivated by an accompanying narrative that stressed action and adventure.”

Damn, reading this again makes me wish Mattel would run with the idea of adventure sets for the Masters of the Universe Classics line. I even offered up some ideas of my own a few years ago (posted here and also posted here); any toymakers out there want to tackle add-on packs for Mattel’s line?

Related articles

• “Toy makers search for expandable ‘concepts'” (battlegrip.com)
• Outfit Set vs. Accessory Set (battlegrip.com)
• 1974 Newspaper Ad for Gabriel’s Lone Ranger Action Figure (battlegrip.com)