The Death of Action Figure Outfit Sets

With the transformation of the boys toys aisle from a place for childrens’ playthings into a home for “adult” collectibles nearly complete, there’s one type of toy that has been sadly lost and may never return: the action figure outfit set.

Popularized in the 1960s with G.I. Joe and perfected in the seventies, the action figure outfit set is the sort of “dress up” toy we just don’t see in mass market stores these days. That’s a shame, but I think that we, the collectors, forced toy companies to abandon what was once a very lucrative action figure add-on product. And we started working at killing this type of product 35 years ago.

Inspired by Barbie

When licensing agent Stan Weston talked with Elliot Handler, one of the creators of Barbie, he was left with the idea that the Barbie “razor and razor blade” marketing idea could be applied nicely to boys toys. Eventually, and through much effort and luck — a story told quite well in GI Joe: The Complete Story of America’s Favorite Man of Action* — that idea became a smash hit for Hasbro as G.I. Joe changed boys toys forever. And unlike the G.I. Joe action figures of today, those action figures of the sixties took that “razor and razor blade” idea to heart and gave kids many options in the form of outfit sets. Buy a single action figure, but then buy multiple outfit sets to change the toy’s costume and give it a new role in your playtime activities.

Like Mattel’s Barbie, this toy was designed to be the center of a world of accessories.

— Kid Stuff: Great Toys from Our Childhood*

The idea worked amazingly well and Hasbro offered, according to Wikipedia, “a wealth of outfits.” GI Joe: The Complete Story of America’s Favorite Man of Action* discusses difficulties Hasbro had in acquiring authentic military uniforms and gear — it was important to the designers that all of the outfits and accessories be based on realworld items — but the success of the line and the love that boys of the era had for G.I. Joe proved that Hasbro’s designers knew what they were doing.

Like Mattel’s Barbie, who turned five the year Joe was unveiled, the soldier doll was the center of a universe of accessories boys could buy to enhance their fighting fantasies.

— The Toy Book*

Retail Exclusive Outfit Sets

The outfit and accessory sets during those early days of G.I. Joe sold so well that, according to GI Joe: The Complete Story of America’s Favorite Man of Action*, retailers who had initially thought little of the line were at Hasbro’s door requesting exclusives. We’re all familiar with how action figures today share and reuse parts all over the place, and in the mid-sixties Hasbro was using their catalog of accessories and outfits to assemble exclusive mixes. But it wasn’t until the G.I. Joe Adventure Team that this concept really exploded into exactly the sort of sets that we’re lacking in stores today.

Anti-War Sentiments Change Hasbro’s Fighting Man

In less than five years G.I. Joe went from hot to in trouble as the war in Vietnam changed the public’s perceptions of war and war toys.

In 1969, Hasbro declared that G.I. Joe had retired from the military and would now be an “Adventurer,” with some weapons but many more accessories meant for exploring deserts, jungles, and even the ocean floor.

— Collectors Weekly: Collectible G.I. Joe Action Figures

It’s my opinion that this forced Hasbro to get very creative and, in the end, actually helped Hasbro to turn G.I. Joe into something far, far cooler than it would have been if the toys had been able to continue falling on the crutch of war toys and the outfits and weapons of the world’s military forces.

Aaron’s Adventure Team site lists dozens of “uniform sets” for the G.I. Joe Adventure Team releases from 1970 until the line ended in 1976. These included carded sets, boxed, sets, and retail exclusives . . . and they’re all fantastic! It’s clearly the G.I. Joe Adventure Team outfit sets, in my opinion, where Hasbro perfected the idea of incredible “razor blades” for their G.I. Joe action figures.

A Standard That Reached its Peak in the Seventies

The “razor and razor blade” approach to boys toys that was set by G.I. Joe and the G.I. Joe Adventure Team was soon embraced by other manufacturers and the idea soon exploded, with different boys toys of the seventies pushing the idea of outfit sets to stores and children. A quick look at some of the other lines in the seventies that used this product concept shows, I think, just how popular and successful of an idea it was.

Some of those lines were:

• Action Jackson – Mego’s 8-inch action figure, mostly known for their licensed superhero lines of the seventies, chased after the G.I. Joe Adventure Team in 1971 with Action Jackson. The line included both boxed and carded outfit sets and in total there were over two dozen outfit sets available for the line. See the Action Jackson section at Mego Museum for a look at the various outfits that were released for the line.

The (Action Jackson) outfit sets were nothing special, but notable for their variety: Rescue Squad (fire fighter), Western, Scramble Cyclist, Jungle Safari (with a little crocodile), Secret Agent, Snowmobile Outfit, Aussie Marine, Air Force pilot, Navy dress blues, Frogman in vinyl jumpsuit, Ski Patrol . . .

— G.I. Joe and Other Backyard Heroes*

• The Lone Ranger – I wrote about this line last month (see “1976 Gabriel Lone Ranger Toys”), but arguably one of the biggest reasons I keep returning to this line and consider collecting it is all of the outfit sets that Gabriel released for their Lone Ranger action figures. The Plaid Stallions website shows a dozen different outfit sets were released for the line, and with titles like “The Gun Runners” and “The Bootleggers” I can’t help but imagine how much fun these would have been when I was a kid.

The designers at Gabriel (The Lone Ranger) were ingenious in coming up with ways to capitalize on the western theme without ever stepping into the realms of fantasy, science fiction, spies, or any other popular genre.

— G.I. Joe and Other Backyard Heroes*

• Big Jim – Mattel’s answer to G.I. Joe, Big Jim had sports gear, came in a pirate theme, and overall looks like it was a fun series . . . but it’s not one I’ve ever spent time with. Still, as this catalog page hosted at Plaid Stallions shows, Big Jim had outfit sets and gave kids some new ways to play with their Big Jim action figures.

There were enough (Big Jim) outfits for all of them. Mattel sent these brave men all over the globe in outfits such as Commando, Camping, Safari Hunter, Cowboy, Arctic Explorer, and Fire Fighter.

— G.I. Joe and Other Backyard Heroes*

“Flipping” through the 1975 Big Jim catalog, as well as the 1976 Big Jim catalog and the Big Jim chapter in G.I. Joe and Other Backyard Heroes* makes me think that I would have loved this line. Oh well, I missed out and as neat as it looks I still find the Lone Ranger toys far more tempting.

• Kenner’s Six Million Dollar Man – The last action figure line of the seventies that I’d like to touch on included not only outfit sets — see this catalog page at Plaid Stallions — but also new arms and legs for the Six Million Dollar Man action figure. This was a remarkable idea by Kenner and as the catalog page shows, the Critical Assignment Legs and Critical Assignment Arms may have not been outfits, but they were very cool accessories.

What Killed Action Figure Outfit Sets?

What would have happened if Mego had secured the Star Wars license has long been discussed and debated, but one thing that feels certain is if Mego had produced the official Star Wars action figures then the concept of outfit and accessory sets would have remained popular far longer than it was. Just imagine a world in which, when The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980, kids everywhere ran out and bought new costumes for toys already in their collections rather than completely new action figures. It is highly likely that would have happened . . . if only Mego had taken the Star Wars license when they had the chance.

Star Wars may have been a great film, but it ruined action figures forever.

— G.I. Joe and Other Backyard Heroes*

At the 3.75-inch size and made entirely of plastic, Star Wars action figures didn’t use cloth outfits so that entire category of “razor blade” was never a part of the line. I feel Kenner made the right choice when they went with 3.75-inch action figures — vehicles would have been a major challenge at larger sizes, and it is clear that the “razor blades” of the line were the vehicles — but I do have to stop and wonder how things would have gone if Mego had produced Star Wars action figures. There’s a very good chance that Hasbro’s G.I. Joe series of 1982 would have adapted Mego’s 8-inch scale and then the outfit set concept of the G.I. Joe Adventure Team would have been very likely a part of the eighties G.I. Joe action figure catalog.

There were some attempts at outfit sets in the eighties — the Spiral Zone catalog shows a few weapon and outfit sets — but as I dig through my memories I’m having a tough time pointing to other toy lines of the eighties with outfit and accessory sets and I feel that the outfit set may have abandoned mass market shelves during that decade.

But Not Entirely Gone

But even though the popular action figure outfit sets of the seventies appear to be dead, there’s still a market for this type of product: the 12-inch scale action figure collectors are even today buying new outfit sets from a wide number of manufacturers. Sites like Cotswold Collectibles and Vantage Collectibles are just two of the places where you can buy new outfit sets for 12-inch scale action figures, but even then the sets don’t have quite the level of insane fun that we saw with the outfit sets of the seventies. The set naming, for example, is more functional than wacky these days and that loss of charm is something I would love to see return.

Fingers Crossed

It may not be this year or next year, but I’m holding out hope that one day companies like Hasbro and Mattel will return to the roots of the action figure and once again embrace the Barbie “razor and razor blade” product concept and bring outfit sets back to the shelves at ToysRUs, Walmart, and Target. After all, selling a kid an action figure and then several outfits to take that toy on several dramatically different adventures wasn’t bad in the seventies and I cannot see how it would be anything but wonderful today.

My fingers are crossed.

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