Section of wallpaper, Action Man design, Crown, Great Britain, 1970s

Long length of children's bedroom wallpaper, printed with an Action Man theme. The pattern shows Action Man dressed in the combat uniform of a British paratrooper, wearing a red beret, running, driving an off-road vehicle and a tank, piloting a helicopter and parachuting. Between the graphics are Action Man logos accompanied by military equipment such as hand grenades and binoculars.

Given by Yan Rami

This object was given to the donor in around 1978 by a friend of his mother's. Its good condition upon arrival at the museum was due to the donor's good care for it during his childhood.

It was acquired by the museum in 2019 [2019/358]

G.I. Joe, America’s ‘moveable fighting man’, was introduced to the market by Hasbro in 1964. Hasbro feared that the idea of playing with a doll (seen in the 1960s as a girl’s toy) would have been off-putting to boys, so they coined a new term: action figures. The British company Palitoy produced licenced versions of G.I. Joe, known as Action Man, for sale in the United Kingdom and Australia, from 1966-1984. Palitoy were responsible for notable design innovations, such Action Man’s famous flocked hair.

G.I. Joe and Action Man proved to be immensely popular, and in the 1970s the range expanded away from primarily accurate copies of military uniforms and equipment to include sports and adventure themes. The toy’s image was licenced to appear on products such as wallpaper and curtains.

Palitoy collapsed in 1984, but Action Man enjoyed a renewed popularity after Hasbro began to produce updated versions from 1993. In Britain, Action Man is considered an iconic toy of the twentieth century, particularly amongst baby-boomers who grew up playing with the Palitoy dolls. In design terms, features such as Action Man’s ‘lifelike’ flocked hair, facial scar, gripping hands, clever construction, ‘eagle eyes’ and multitude of outfit changes are considered milestones in toy manufacturing and marketing.

Decorating company Crown claim a heritage dating back to 1777 but their origins can be more reliably traced to late-1850s, in Darwen, Lancashire. The company have produced, and continue to produce and sell, paint, wallpaper and other decorating supplies.

B.7-2019