Big Jim

This article is about the action figure. For the Irish activist and trade union leader, see James Larkin.
Big Jim
Type Action Figures
Company Mattel
Country United States
Availability 1972–

Big Jim was a popular line of action figure toys produced from 1972 through 1986 by Mattel for the North American and European markets. In Latin America he was renamed Kid Acero, and for a short period of time, Mark Strong in Europe. Originally inspired by G.I. Joe, the Big Jim line was smaller in size (closer to 10 inches in height compared to Joe's 12) and each figure included a push button in the 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, but also had a large variety of outfits and situations available including sports, space exploration, martial arts, hunting, western, camping and even unusual choices such as fishing and photography.

Basic characters

Characters are sorted in the year in which they made their first appearance. Note most of them were produced for several years after their initial release.

Original Mark Strong the Man (1972)

Original Big Jim Basic series (1972)

P.A.C.K. Series (1976)

Spy series (1982)

Global Command series (1985)

The Original Edition

First Editions – At their debut season, Big Jim action figures came out in a small blue box with red and white stripes. The entire 1972 toy line was split from the beginning in three sub lines: the Basic Line, the Adventure Line and the Sports Line, being the sport one the first which hits the shelves as with the sub line name "All Star". Simultaneously, Mattel released an almost identical figure named Mark Strong, The Man from Mattel© in Europe. He was Big Jim's former concept, and at first sight looks exactly the same as Jim, and came with same accessories. A close inspection of the crotch piece reveals Mark's is in fact, more fragile. Jim's piece has thicker junctions.

The Basic line was composed mostly of figures which came almost naked, with minimal clothes or accessories. The original basic Big Jim came simple dressed in orange shorts with white stripes. Came with a karate board, a dumbbell and test of strength belt. Jack was an identical, figure, with only a different head. He was one of the first African American related toys ever produced in the United States that represents a minority in a plain, simple and respectful way.

The Basic line also included the first incarnations of Josh and Jeff. Jeff is an Aussie type figure dressed with shorts and brown hat. Came with chopping knife with chest belt and a bamboo stand. Josh is supposed to be the tough guy, a bearded woodsman figure fully dressed in denim vest and shorts with brown boots. He was the only one which came with vest and shoes.

All four basic figures had a mechanism that simulated the bulge of a biceps when the arm was bent.

The adventure series was composed mostly of camping and explorer vehicles, and these were the first playsets ever made in the entire toyline. Three animals were released with this first wave: a gorilla, a rhino and a crocodile. To date, the "hunt the crocodile" set is one of the most recognizable among all Big Jim toys.

The entire Sports line was composed of different versions of Jim only dressed as a sportsman. He was a baseball player, a hockey player, a pugilist, and even an eagle ranger. The eagle which came with this set became an instant icon of the entire line, and it is one of the most beloved Big Jim toys ever. For this reason, this same eagle was repeatedly produced and included with several different versions of Jim along the years.

From the first wave of Big Jim toys probably the most strange of all was the one dressed as a nuclear plant worker, especially because he had no relation at all with any other of the themed figures.

P.A.C.K Series

In 1975, Mattel decided to create an extension of the main toy line making Big Jim the leader of a Mission Impossible-like group of heroes for hire. This series is easy to identify because all related products have a howling wolf as its principal image and character art by Jack Kirby. The members of the spy group were named P.A.C.K. which is an acronym derived from "Professional Agents – Crime Killers".[1]

On its initial release, the series presented Jim as "Commander", this time as the leader of a counter intelligence strike team. He and two of his most loyal friends joins forces to against a hooded villain known as "Zorak, the ruler of the Underworld".

The first Zorak action figure was named Double Trouble Zorak, because he had a face-changing feature where his normal-looking head could be turned into a monstrous green visage.

Two Big Jim action figures were relaunched to join forces against Zorak. One of them was Warpath (a Native American archer) who was previously released as Tankua. Seems like the main reason for the name change was the difficulty in pronouncing "Tankua" properly, and the need for a more dynamic name. Dr. Steel returned too, but this time as a hero and member of the P.A.C.K. A new character was added to the group, The Whip, a weapons specialist armed with a bullwhip. One year later, a new character named Torpedo Fist, (a former sailor with an artificial hand and forearm) was added to the team. In Latin America several parts of this figure in particular were split to create new Big Jim characters not released in the United States, as part of the region's version of P.A.C.K., named LOBO Squadron.

Spy Series

Since 1974, Mattel released a series of Spy themed Big Jim figures.

Pirate Series

In 1978, Mattel launched a series based in the pirates theme exclusively on Europe. The series initially consisted of repaints and retooled figures, but eventually included some figures exclusives for the region.

Big Jim's Vehicles & Bikes

Kid Acero

Most of Big Jim toys from the early 70's from the adventure and sport series were sold as "Kid Acero" (Kid Steel) in Latin America. All toys are exactly the same as in the American versions and were produced by a local Mattel subsidiary. Only the Brand name is different. The Kid Acero toy line also included several figures which were exclusively created for the Mexican market, such as The Invisible Man, The Bionic Man, Garfio, Nocton and retooled and repainted versions of several Big Jim toys not available on United States or Europe.

Karl May's © Winnetou and Old Shatterhand

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

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.

James Bond, Agent 007

Most of Big Jim toys from the early 80's were sold as "James Bond" toys in Latin America. The American Spy and Space series were renamed "James Bond, secret agent 007". All toys are exactly the same as in the American and European versions and were produced by a local Mattel subsidiary. Only the brand in the packages is different.

Iron Jaw

The Italian line of Big Jim also included several figures not released in other regions. Among the Italian line, Iron Jaw is the most rare of all. He has a metal lower jaw and a prosthetic arm ending in a hook which can be exchanged with other extensions that were stored in his green briefcase. 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. For this reason, collectors were desperately looking for him. A German collector made a bootleg copy in 2002 of the Iron Jaw figure based on the brochure, and produced several of his custom dolls which were traded around the world, but always stating clearly that it was a copy based on the pictures in the brochure.

Other media

References

External links