#36 ACTION TEAM/ ADVENTURE TEAM – ZELT (1970)

The Adventure Team was introduced in 1970 as an attempt to revitalize the sales of the G.I.Joe line. In 1968 and 69, the anti-war movement in the United States became much stronger, and many Americans stopped supporting the war in Vietnam after some revelations were made (specially the My Lai Massacre and the Green Beret Affair), and scandals dealing with torture and killing civilians rose up.

The sales of the G.I.Joe figures dropped, and Hasbro somehow reinvented the line by replacing soldiers by men of action. The Spanish company Madel, with their Madelman, had the same idea two years earlier (1968), while Big Jim would come two years later (1972). The “dog-tags” used by G.I.Joe were replaced by plastic tags with the logo of this new line. It’s no coincidence, that this logo resembles pretty much the peace sign.

Shortly, in 1969, there was available a kind of transitional figures called “Adventures of G.I.Joe”, but these figures didn’t have the “natural” hair in their heads and beards.

 

I cannot talk so far about the figures, because I do not own any of those. I recently acquired this tent, which belongs to this series, and that’s what you are watching right now.

 

What we find in this box, is the stand for the tent, made of plastic and carton, several poles made of plastic, the canvas of the tent, which is made of cloth, 4 thread-made bindings, plus a table and a folding seat, made partially of cloth.

 

Here is a picture detailing the cloth that makes the canvas of the tent, plus the binding. With all 4 bindings, the tent is completely steady.

 

The interior is relatively spacious, although there is not enough space to place more than one figure, or more than one bed. The clip buttons are not original and were added by the previous owner. The next picture shows the tent with open door, and you can make yourself an idea of the size by comparing it with the catalogue image below.

 

 

Geyper / Geyperman version of the Tent (Ref. 7401/ Tienda de Operaciones)

 

And to finish this article, a view of the box’s back. If this box doesn’t sound you familiar, it’s probably because it was made by Schildkrot, for the german market. Hasbro licensed this line in many countries, and that’s why the “Adventure Man” is known by many different names, and was made by many different companies.

 

In Spain, Geyper released this same playset as "Tienda de Operaciones" with reference number 7401. This set included a roll to keep maps, which was not included in the german version.

PS. I'm sorry I couldn't find the exact commercial name of this item in the Hasbro line (english), if somebody knows it, please leave a message, so I can correct this entry. Thankyou.

PS. These beds seems to be specially intended for the tent

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: ZELT / TENT? (Ref. 6341 46) / TIENDA DE OPERACIONES (Ref. 7401)
• Toy Line: Action Team / Adventure Team (G.I. Joe) / Geyperman
• Year: 1970
• Company: Schildkrot (Germany)/ Hasbro (U.S.A.) / Geyper (Spain)
• Size: approx. 33 cm x 23 cm x 23 cm
• Scale: approx. 1:8