Big Jim was born in 1972 under the inspiration of Hasbro’s Adventure Team/ G.I. Joe. Mattel needed a figure to compete in the toys-for-boys market against them. They already had Barbie (since 1959), which was (and still is) a huge success. G.I.Joe was pioneer in action figures for boys, proving that also boys could play with “dolls”. This was at the time a huge conceptual change in games for boys.
If it worked for Hasbro, why wouldn’t it work for Mattel? G.I.Joes are soldiers and Adventure Team are men of action and adventurers, while Big Jim are just normal people: they play sports, ride motorbikes or horses, and have fun and adventures with infinite playsets. Big Jim is somehow a cross-over between G.I.Joe (discriminating figures for boys) and Barbie (discriminating figures for girls). This toy line was intended for North and South America, as well as for Europe. It was in Central Europe that it got to reach its highest popularity, since centroeuropeans are reluctant to anything that reminds them of war or weapons.
One of the most prolific branches of this series was sports. For sale were numerous blisters with the appropriate sport attires: boxing, baseball, diving, skiing, basketball… as well as boxes with the corresponding accessories, like a handle for figures to fight against each other, or this motorbike.
A perfect replica of a Honda Elsinore CR250M model at 1:8 scale, in gray with green numbers, as seen in many competitions in the 70s. At the pictures in this entry, we can see Big Jack wearing the pilot attires. There is a more suitable pilot attire for motocross, but I don’t have it. Unfortunately some stickers (Honda emblem and green stripes over the petrol tank) are missing. The handlebar is very fragile and can be very easily broken.
FACTS and FIGURES:
- Name: Honda Motocross (Ref. 7373)
- Toy Line: Big Jim
- Year: 1973
- Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
- Size: 27 cm
- Scale: 1:8
Hola Juan, tienes una buena colección de Big Jim, yo no tengo nada de ellos, nunca llegue a jugar con estos muñecos. Ahora, cuanto más los conozco, más me gustan.
ReplyDeletesaludos
gracias Javier,
ReplyDeleteSi recuerdas todo proviene de un megalote que compré en un mercadillo con cientos de piezas, incluyendo el helicóptero amarillo Madelman, y piezas de Geyperman y de bootlegs de HongKong. Te envié fotos. Aún tengo varias cosillas que me gustaría publicar, pero creo que no están completas, que es el requisito para que yo haga la review.
Precisamente me falta el maniquí de Big Jim, pues tengo a Josh, Jack y Jeff, pero me falta "el prota". En realidad lo tengo, pero la versión de varias caras, a ver si consigo el primero de calzones naranjas.