Big Jim

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Big Jim was a popular line of action figure toys produced from 1972 through 1986 by Mattel for the North American and European markets. Inspired by G.I. Joe, the Big Jim line was smaller (closer to 10 inches in height compared to Joe's 12) and each figure included a push button in his back that made the character execute a karate chop action. The action figure's arms were made of a soft plastic/vinyl material and contained a mechanism that simulated the bulge of a biceps when the arm was bent. Big Jim was less military-oriented than the G.I. Joe line, having more of a secret agent motif, with a variety of outfits and situations available including sports, space exploration, martial arts, hunting, and even unusual choices such as fishing and photography.

Contents

[edit] Basic characters

  • Big Jim - the "basic" good guy leader of the PACK
  • Big Jack - Second in command, African American
  • Big Josh - Effectively Big Jim with a beard
  • Big Jeff - Big Jim's third buddy. A blond who was also Jim's opponent in the Olympic boxing match set, even though both Jim and Jeff are on the American team.
  • Dr. Steel - also a character from the first series, came with a steel right hand and an iron pipe, and a big dragon tattoo on his chest, for most of the time, kids thought of him as being an evil villain for the first series, but it turned out he was also a good guy, as he re-appeared as a member of the P.A.C.K series, who fought against the evil Lord Zorak, ruler of the Underworld .

[edit] More characters

  • Mark Strong the man from Mattel© - Big Jim's former concept - The basic figure /dressed in orange shorts with white stripes / with karate board - dumbbell and test of strength belt - released in a Mark Strong small box , very hard to get .

First Editions : first line came out in a small red /white box

  • Big Jim - The basic figure /dressed in orange shorts with white stripes / with karate board - dumbbell and test of strength belt
  • Big Jack - African American figure /dressed in orange shorts with white stripes / with karate board - dumbbell and test of strength belt
  • Big Josh - Bearded woodsman figure /Fully dressed in denim vest and shorts with braun boots / axe - wooden log
  • Big Jeff - Aussie type figure / dressed with shorts and braun hat / chopping knife with chest belt - bamboo stand
  • Dr. Steel - Bold headed figure with steel right hand and chest tattoo / dressed in black pants / iron pipe
  • Chief Tankua - Indian figure also known as Big Jim's buddy / # see Warpath for details

[edit] P.A.C.K Series

P.A.C.K. was an acronym derived from "Professional Agents Crime Killers"[1].

  • Big Jim Commander / with wolfpack tattoo on left hand / dressed in white pants - blue sweater with white wolfpack logo - shoulderholster and silver gun - braun boots - wolfpack belt - silver arm communicator for right arm .
  • Big Jim Gold Commander / with wolfpack tattoo on left hand / dressed in yellow pants - black sweater with gold wolfpack logo - shoulderholster with silver gun - black boots - wolfpack belt - silver arm communicator for right arm .
  • Double Trouble Big Jim / With wolf pack tattoo on left hand/ He had solid hair which looked more like a helmet- his face would change much like the Double Trouble Zorak- But Big Jim would change from a normal face to an angry face.
  • Torpedo Fist / with wolfpack tattoo on left hand / dressed in blue pants - red + black striped shirt - blue hat - braun boots - wolfpack belt / came with expanding right arm , torpedo fist action .
  • The Whip / with wolfpack tattoo on left hand / black bearded figure / dressed in black pants - black vest - black commando hat - black boots - wolfpack belt / bandolero - whip - 3 boomerangs with braun chest belt - black chop stick - boomerang throwing device on right arm .
  • Warpath / with wolfpack tattoo on left hand / Indian Figure / dressed in denim pants - leather vest - black top hat - braun boots - wolfpack belt / silver bow with wolfpack logo and 3 silver arrows with the wolfpack logo on top / braun chest belt for the arrows
  • Zorak the ruler of the Underworld / 2 faces which can be changed from normal into a hulk like villain / dressed in black pants and red cloak with gold chains - black boots

[edit] Karl May's © Winnetou & Old Shatterhand

This series took its inspiration from the Winnetou movies that were made in the seventies that starred Pierre Brice as Winnetou and Lex Barker as Old Shatterhand. Mattel released 6 dolls in the Karl May line, they came in large green display boxes with the Karl May logo on the box : The line up should be as follows  :

  • Winnetou : Indian figure with real hair / Snake bandana - Suede like pants with purple addings on the side - silver rifle
  • Old Shatterhand : Winnetou's sidekick / Fully dressed in suede like trapper outfit with westernboots - gunbelt with 2 guns - peace pipe - rifle - hat
  • Old Firehand : Bearded Trapper figure / bearskin like hat - peace pipe - gunbelt with 2 guns - rifle
  • Bloody Fox :Villain like Indian figure with scare on face - rifle - chestbelt - gunbelt with 2 guns
  • Old Surehand :Buffalo Bill type figure also with real hair / hat - leather cowboy outfit - western boots - white tie - rifle - gunbelt with 2 guns
  • Ntscho Tschi :Indian Squaw Doll / The one and only Barbie type doll in the Big Jim / Karl May series / Squaw outfit with 2 carrying buckets

A series based on Wild West characters of the popular German writer Karl May (1842 - 1912) and especially the 1960s series of Karl May movies was available in the late 1970s, including Old Shatterhand and Winnetou, Chief of the Apache. In addition to May's original Old Firehand and Old Surehand, a Bloody Fox was invented. With Ntscho-Tschi, Winnetou's sister, a unique female character was introduced to the series. [1][2]

[edit] Villains

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  • Double Trouble Zorak - A hooded bad guy. Double Trouble Zorak had a face-changing feature where his normal-looking head could be turned into a monstrous green visage. Not to be confused with the unrelated character of the same name from Space Ghost.
  • Iron Jaw - This character was never produced, although there was a prototype figure on the prospect that came along with the figures from the Spy Series Italy, collectors world wide consider this doll the absolute Holy Grail in collecting.[citation needed]

NOTE : A German Collector named Alex Friedrich from Berlin made an exact custom copy of the Iron Jaw figure , several of his custom dolls are sold around the world , and a few collectors own a perfect replica from this figure.

  • Iron Jaw description : a villain for the Italian Spy Series : with a metal lower jaw and a prosthetic arm ending in a hook which can be changed with other extension that were stored in his green briefcase. One of the most rare figures in the series. A similar character with an iron jaw and hook arm, Trap-Jaw, would show up in Mattel's Masters of the Universe action figure line.
  • Captain Drake - An evil hooded pirate. He had a face-changing feature like Zorak and could change his face to a skull.
  • Boris - An evil chauffeur with a steel cap on his skull and a fist which could extend from his wrist with a cable. A remarkably similar character named Brocken would later appear in the World Heroes video game series.
  • Professor Obb - A bearded mad scientist.
  • Dr. Bushido - A baddie who wields a glow-in-the-dark katana. Bears a striking resemblance to Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon.

[edit] Big Jim's P.A.C.K.

Big Jim's P.A.C.K. was an extension of the main toy line in 1975, making Big Jim the leader of an A*Team-like group of heroes for hire.

Several different Big Jim toys were released, including Warpath (a Native American archer), the Whip (a weapons specialist armed with a bullwhip), Dr. Steel (a bald villain with a steel hand, later recycled into a hero), Torpedo Fist, (a former sailor with an artificial hand and forearm), and a special (and very popular) Olympic Games-themed version of the title character.

[edit] Big Jim's Vehicles & Bikes

  • BIG JIM RESCUE CHOPPER - A big yellow chopper designed for rescue in high and low places , this chopper was equipped with stretcher which can be used to transport a figure during a rescue mission , also this chopper was equipped with a real working search light below the chopper, the chopper can hold one figure in the chopper and another one in the rescue stretcher outside the chopper , Mattel released some other variations of this chopper in Big Jim lines
  • RESCUE RIG - This was a large mobile unit similar to a fire truck, but with an interior, featuring an extending crane on the top, and it included various rescue gear, like a fire axe and a hook pole.
  • SAFARI TRUCK- It was a green safari truck that could sit two figures in the front. It came with a rhinoceros and a net that could either be used to make a cage in the truck bed or as a capture net to snag the rhino. The truck had a winch in the front and a boom for the winch.
  • The HOWLER /HONDA DIRT BIKE- It was grey and the wheels were made of a good rubber compound. The motorcycle had a wolfs head cowling on the front of the bike which could be removed for off road riding. A helmet was included.
  • SPORTS CAMPER - Large brown plastic wheeled camper, which came with camping gear and sporting accessories.
  • THE BAJA THE BEAST CAMPER - Same model as the Safari truck except for the removable top on this truck , so it can be changed from a truck into a camper just by removing the top , this version could hold the Honda dirt bike in front of the truck , the truck colours where white with the Big Jim Allstar logo attached on the sides , interior was orange and it also featured some truck accessories like jerrycans etc.
  • THE LAZERVETTE - A Corvette for Big Jim's P.A.C.K. that had laser cannons that flipped out of the hood.
  • THE BIG JIM PLANE -

[edit] References

  1. ^ Big Jim

[edit] Other Media

Big Jim was recently parodied in the Robot Chicken episode "Endless Breadsticks" with Big Jim voiced by Patrick Warburton and Zorak voiced by Donald Faison.

[edit] External links

  • Bigjimnews German website (including information in English) showing many rare items.
  • BigJim.it Italian fansite with pictures of all the figures.
  • Plaidstallions Website devoted to the 1970s with scans of the Big Jim P.A.C.K comic, 1976 Mattel Catalog and an overview of the Mexican "Kid Acero" line of toys.
  • Big-Jim.eu Private Big Jim collection with many MIB characters from Europe, USA and Japan.
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