Googling through pages upon pages of websites, I stumbled upon another set of memorabilia which was once part of my childhood: my very first action figures.
I can only remember that it was around 1980 when I first saw one of these, from my neighborhood friends. And, naturally, I wanted one for myself. Little did I know at that time, that it was to be the beginning of one of my "obsessions" that I still suffer *lol* up to this very day: collecting action figures.
ACTION JACK Sea Rescue
This 3-inch (I might be wrong on that measurement, though) yellow figure started it all. These were priced much, much cheaper, compared to the Voltes 5 and other Japanese manga robots that were very popular in the country during those days. So it was easier to ask my grandparents to get me these without having to get very good grades in school and show them any awards, and convince them into finally buying me one (after much groveling, at that).
This figure came with a helmet, a pair of flippers, a lantern, a weapon which looked pretty much like a spear gun, and an oxygen tank whose flimsy straps broke all too quickly. But it did the job during those days: endless fun playing in the water (this was a sea rescue figure, in the first place) -- either in the pool when our family and relatives had summer outings, some big water container, or whenever my grandma was doing the laundry and wasn't looking I would put this in the washing machine (sans the accessories, or risk losing them in the spin cycle). This figure kinda floats in water, so it was easy to take this out of the washing machine when grandma was going to check on her laundry.
Matchbox's Mobile Action Command
Looking through some Matchbox cars to add to my collection one day (I collected die-cast cars made by Matchbox, Tomica, and Majorette. But that's for another post, some other time), I saw these on the shelf beside the cars. So it was my luck that I had recently received another award at school, and grandpa had just received his pay from work.
Grandpa bought the Snow Rescue Vehicle (the blue one on the catalog picture above) by mistake. D'oh! No snow here in the tropics. I was wishing he got me the black one in the middle, but it was too late.
Oh well, it still did the job. At least I had another figure. As for the accessories: aside from the snowmobile, it came with a pair of skis, a helmet, a pair of ski poles, and an oxygen tank. This figure was a bit heavier compared to the Action Jack and sunk in the water, so he didn't go into the washing machine during laundry time or else I'd be in trouble with grandma. *lol* It also had an added articulation: it's feet can swivel left to right. This was also more durable than the Action Jack, because I remember the yellow figure's torso splitting along the seam after 5 years or so.
I have no idea where these figures went, though. A friend could've taken them, or got lost during one of our change of residences. Or they could've been gagged and buried by my GI Joe figures when I was sleeping. *lol*
ACTION JACK Sea RescueThis 3-inch (I might be wrong on that measurement, though) yellow figure started it all. These were priced much, much cheaper, compared to the Voltes 5 and other Japanese manga robots that were very popular in the country during those days. So it was easier to ask my grandparents to get me these without having to get very good grades in school and show them any awards, and convince them into finally buying me one (after much groveling, at that).
This figure came with a helmet, a pair of flippers, a lantern, a weapon which looked pretty much like a spear gun, and an oxygen tank whose flimsy straps broke all too quickly. But it did the job during those days: endless fun playing in the water (this was a sea rescue figure, in the first place) -- either in the pool when our family and relatives had summer outings, some big water container, or whenever my grandma was doing the laundry and wasn't looking I would put this in the washing machine (sans the accessories, or risk losing them in the spin cycle). This figure kinda floats in water, so it was easy to take this out of the washing machine when grandma was going to check on her laundry.
Matchbox's Mobile Action CommandLooking through some Matchbox cars to add to my collection one day (I collected die-cast cars made by Matchbox, Tomica, and Majorette. But that's for another post, some other time), I saw these on the shelf beside the cars. So it was my luck that I had recently received another award at school, and grandpa had just received his pay from work.
Grandpa bought the Snow Rescue Vehicle (the blue one on the catalog picture above) by mistake. D'oh! No snow here in the tropics. I was wishing he got me the black one in the middle, but it was too late.
Oh well, it still did the job. At least I had another figure. As for the accessories: aside from the snowmobile, it came with a pair of skis, a helmet, a pair of ski poles, and an oxygen tank. This figure was a bit heavier compared to the Action Jack and sunk in the water, so he didn't go into the washing machine during laundry time or else I'd be in trouble with grandma. *lol* It also had an added articulation: it's feet can swivel left to right. This was also more durable than the Action Jack, because I remember the yellow figure's torso splitting along the seam after 5 years or so.
I have no idea where these figures went, though. A friend could've taken them, or got lost during one of our change of residences. Or they could've been gagged and buried by my GI Joe figures when I was sleeping. *lol*
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