Welcome!
Thank you for visiting my website! This section is all about Action force made by Palitoy between 1982-1985. I have become a huge fan of Action Force over the years and my collection has got bigger and bigger. Whether you are a long term collector or you are just starting out, my guide will hopefully help you. I have included figures, accessories and vehicles. I hope you enjoy the guide and find it useful!
Navigating the Action force toy guides
Above, you can see three box sections which will take you to toy guides for each of the early Action Force toy lines (1982, 1983-1984 and1985). Just click on the corresponding box and you will be taken to toy guides for each series.
The second series has a main selection box which will take you to all five of the the toys teams in one go. The individual logos for each of the five teams can then also be clicked to go to the individual teams.
The third series has a main box which will take you to all of the toys (Action Force and Cobra). The logos for Action Force and Cobra can also be clicked to go to the individual teams (Action Force and Cobra).
I have also included a weapon and accessories guide to help identify which weapon or accessory goes with which figure or set. This page has pictures and links for all figure accessories. You can pick which series of figure accessories you want to view.
An identify items guide has been added to help you search for items, accessories and vehicle parts in the Palitoy Action Force toy line. I have also added a figure body part search which you may find useful. The aim of these secions is help people identify parts that they are unsure of.
I have also added a guide for the German version of Action Force. The German version of Action Force was quite different to that released in the U.K so please take a look!
I really hope that you enjoy my Action Force toy guide and that it helps you with your collecting.
A brief Action force history
First of all I want to do a quick nod to the company that made Action Force possible… Palitoy!
In 1966 Palitoy introduced Action Man toys to the United Kingdom. This toy line proved to be hugely popular and still is today! 1977 however, saw the release of the movie Star Wars. A smaller scale sci-fi toy line was then released which was hugely popular. Toy companies realised that the future was in smaller action figures.
Palitoy decided to release Action figures in the same size as the Star Wars figures. The figures were going to be based on the best selling Action Man figure outfits and this is how Action Force came about!
To find out more about Palitoy you can click on the image above.
Below is more information on the history of Action Force…
1982
In the summer of 1982 Palitoy created the first Action Force figures. The larger Action Man figures had proved to be hugely popular and now smaller figures were introduced. The smaller figures were based on the best selling Action Man figures and outfits at that time. The smaller figures made it a lot easier and cheaper to produce vehicles and accessories as less materials were used.
The smaller figures were very popular and this led to the introduction of six more figures in October 1982. The Action Force figures were packaged and sold in English, Dutch, French and Spanish cards.
1983-1984
In April 1983 the SAS, Z Force and the Enemy were released. G.I. Joe vehicles were also introduced to the line but they were painted in different colours to fit the Action Force line. Action Force was introduced into the Battle Comics as a four part promotional comic.
In October 1983 the Q Force and Space Force teams were then released. Action Force now appeared in the Battle comics on a fuller scale.
The SAS, Z Force, Q Force, Space Force and Red Shadows were created! The Red Shadows were the “bad guys” of this toy line and were led by Baron Ironblood. They went against the different “good guy” teams. The toys complimented the Battle Action Force comics which were also very popular with children. The second series introduced articulated figures which were G.I. Joe figure repaints. These included Blades, Gaucho, Hunter, Jammer, Quarrel, Red Jackal, Red Laser, Stalker and Steeler. These versions were only sold in Europe and are highly sought after today in good condition. These repaints of the G.I. Joe figures were being sold in America with different names and appearances. The combination of the higher quality G.I. Joe figures was an indication of where the toy line was going. To see all of the G.I. Joe repaints click here.
In 1983 Germany released their versions of Action Force as Anti-Terror Teams and Terror Teams. In Germany the logos on the figures were all changed and instead of replica guns they had weapons that looked less-real! The German toy boxes were all cardboard and did not have plastic windows like in other countries.
In 1984 the Action Force range was expanded. More G.I. Joe figures were added to the five teams and more vehicles were added from the G.I. Joe range. All of the toy boxes now became only cardboard without the clear plastic windows.
In 1984 Action Force production moved to Hong Kong. The figures were made with harder plastic and came with better paint work.
1985
In late 1984 and into 1985 G.I. Joe and Cobra toys were sold as Action Force toys. They were repackaged in Action Force boxes. Surplus stock from the previous toys were also still sold and repackaged (such as the awesome Roboskull being packaged as a Cobra vehicle). All of the figures in 1985 were fully articulated.
Some Action Force figures were again only released in Europe and were not released in the U.S. They were also repaints of G.I. Joe figures but still looked very different to the original ones. Such figures include Dolphin (version 2) and Moondancer (version 2). Figures like this are very rare and expensive!
In the comics, the evil Baron Ironblood became the Cobra Commander. Thus the transition from the Red Shadows to Cobra was complete.
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