This is another summary of an article that appeared first on the magazine Figuras en Acción, around 3 years ago. Miniland is a Spanish brand famous for their plastic figures, but which was also involved in other types of toys, such as action figures. Today they are still active and focusing on very high quality pre-school toys and dolls. Some of them very interesting and unique.
What I´d like to present today is their toyline Action´s Men, a rare knock-off of G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero using a cast which is reminiscent the Star Wars figures by Kenner in the 70s and the 80s. I bought this panel several years ago and I like the figures very much. I had some loose ones before buying this, so I didn´t miss the opportunity when I saw this exclusive article in auction.
The collection made by Miniland is actually a bootleg of another toyline from Hong-Kong called Military One by a company called Porto Play, rather unknown even to the specialists in the field of military action figures. From the big asssortment of figures made by Porto Play, only five were made by Miniland: the pilot, the soldier with a Beret, the parachutist, the soldier with sailor bonnet and the infantry soldier (with helmet). The plastic is a bit too soft, and the figures are not great to play with. The movement of arms and legs is difficult to place in the position you want. After some time without use, they stuck and it takes some minutes to make them articulated again.
Still, they are very rare and are slowly becoming better known worldwide. There are rarely available for sale and they reach high prices. I guess some foreign collectors of G.I. Joe and similar toylines have discovered Action´s Men and grabbed everything left on the Spanish auction sites. They were also available in single packs and gift packs with 4 figures plus some accessory. If you like G.I.Joe and the bootlegs made of them, take a look at the original article on the magazine. Search for the download link here: https://figurasenaccion.blogspot.com/2022/05/revista-numero-26-mayo-2022.html
FACTS and FIGURES:
- Name: Five different casts with different colours (all unnamed)
- Toy Line: Action´s Men
- Year: Around 1990
- Company: Miniland (Spain)
- Size of the figures: Approx. 9 cm tall