Big Jim (toy line)

Big Jim is a brand of an action figure line produced from 1972 through 1986 by Mattel for the North American and European markets. He was renamed "Kid Acero" in Latin America and, for a short period of time, "Mark Strong" in Europe. Originally inspired by G.I. Joe, the Big Jim line was smaller in size (closer to 10 inches in height compared to Joe's 12) and each figure included a push button in the back that made the character execute a karate chop action. The action figure's arms were made of a soft plastic/vinyl material and contained a mechanism that simulated the bulge of a biceps when the elbow was bent.

Big Jim was less military-oriented than the G.I. Joe line, having more of a secret agent motif, but also had a large variety of outfits and situations available including sports, space exploration, martial arts, hunting, western, camping, fishing, and photography.

Basic characters

Characters are sorted in the year in which they made their first appearance. Note that most of them were produced for several years after their initial release.

Original Mark Strong the Man from Mattel (1972)

P.A.C.K. Series

In 1975, Mattel decided to create an extension of the main toy line making Big Jim the leader of a Mission Impossible-like group of heroes for hire. This series is easy to identify because all related products have a howling wolf as its principal image and character art by Jack Kirby. The members of the spy group were named P.A.C.K., which is an acronym derived from "Professional Agents – Crime Killers".[1]

On its initial release, the series presented Jim as "Commander", this time as the leader of a counter intelligence strike team. He and two of his most loyal friends joins forces to against a hooded villain known as "Zorak, the ruler of the Underworld".

The first Zorak action figure was named Double Trouble Zorak, because he had a face-changing feature where his normal-looking head could be turned into a monstrous green visage.

Two Big Jim action figures were relaunched to join forces against Zorak. One of them was Warpath (a Native American archer) who was previously released as Tankua. Seems like the main reason for the name change was the difficulty in pronouncing "Tankua" properly, and the need for a more dynamic name. Dr. Steel returned too, but this time as a hero and member of the P.A.C.K. A new character was added to the group, The Whip, a weapons specialist armed with a bullwhip. One year later, a new character named Torpedo Fist, (a former sailor with an artificial hand and forearm) was added to the team. In Latin America several parts of this figure in particular were split to create new Big Jim characters not released in the United States, as part of the region's version of P.A.C.K., named LOBO Squadron.

Big Jim Commander / with wolfpack tattoo on left hand / dressed in white pants – blue sweater with white wolfpack logo – shoulderholster and silver gun – brown boots – wolfpack belt – silver arm communicator for right arm.

Big Jim Gold Commander / with wolfpack tattoo on left hand / dressed in yellow pants – black sweater with gold wolfpack logo – shoulderholster with silver gun – black boots – wolfpack belt – silver arm communicator for right arm.

Double Trouble Big Jim / With wolf pack tattoo on left hand/ He had solid hair which looked more like a helmet– his face would change much like the Double Trouble Zorak– But Big Jim would change from a normal face to an angry face.

Torpedo Fist / with wolfpack tattoo on left hand / dressed in blue pants – red + black striped shirt – blue hat – brown boots – wolfpack belt / came with expanding right arm, torpedo fist action.

The Whip / with wolfpack tattoo on left hand /figure with Black hair and beard / dressed in black pants – black vest – black commando hat – black boots – wolfpack belt / bandolero – whip – 3 boomerangs with brown chest belt – black chop stick – boomerang throwing device on right arm . Much in the same way that the earlier "Big Josh" figure used the same head sculpt as Big Jim, The Whip used the same head as Big Jeff, only with Black hair (Big Jeff was blond) and (not unlike Big Josh) a painted on beard.

Warpath / with wolfpack tattoo on left hand / Indian Figure / dressed in denim pants – leather vest – black top hat – brown boots – wolfpack belt / silver bow with wolfpack logo and 3 silver arrows with the wolfpack logo on top / brown chest belt for the arrows

Zorak the ruler of the Underworld / 2 faces which can be changed from normal into a hulk like villain / dressed in black pants and red cloak with gold chains – black boots

Big Jim's Vehicles & Bikes

BIG JIM RESCUE CHOPPER – A big yellow chopper designed for rescue in high and low places, this chopper was equipped with stretcher which can be used to transport a figure during a rescue mission, also this chopper was equipped with a real working search light below the chopper, the chopper can hold one figure in the chopper and another one in the rescue stretcher outside the chopper, Mattel released some other variations of this chopper in Big Jim lines

RESCUE RIG – This was a large mobile unit similar to a fire truck, but with an interior, featuring an extending crane on the top, and it included various rescue gear, like a fire axe and a hook pole.

SAFARI TRUCK – It was a green safari truck that could sit two figures in the front. It came with a rhinoceros and a net that could either be used to make a cage in the truck bed or as a capture net to snag the rhino. The truck also came with two removable red gasoline jerrycans housed in the rear sides as well as a winch in the front and a boom for the winch. other accessories included a shovel, pic-axe, a single-barreled pump-action shotgun, and a long handled hatchet.

DEVIL RIVER TRIP – This was an adventure set featuring a yellow one-man swamp fan-boat, and a mechanical alligator with a gear and pulley articulation which allowed it to "undulate " as you slid it along the floor or strapped it into a special geared niche in the boat (the boat had wheels to make it "glide" along the floor and it didn't actually float).

The HOWLER /HONDA DIRT BIKE – It was grey and the wheels were made of a rubber compound. The "Howler" version of the motorcycle had a wolf's head cowling on the front of the bike which could be removed for off-road riding. A helmet was included.

SPORTS CAMPER – Large brown plastic wheeled camper, which came with camping gear and sporting accessories. This vehicle used the same moldings as the Barbie's Country Camper, but with different color plastic and printed vinyl patterns.

THE BAJA BEAST CAMPER – Same model as the Safari truck except for the removable top on this truck, so it can be changed from a truck into a camper just by removing the top, this version could hold the Honda dirt bike in front of the truck, the truck colours where white with the Big Jim Allstar logo attached on the sides, interior was orange and it also featured some truck accessories like jerrycans etc.

THE LAZERVETTE – A Corvette for Big Jim's P.A.C.K. that had laser cannons that flipped out of the hood.

THE SKY COMMANDER – A jet airplane, that folded into its own carry case. Opened it was 4'5.5" long, 1'10" tall. It had a single seat cockpit area, and two main compartments. The forward compartment was the main operations center with equipment and radios. The rearward compartment included a fold-up bunk for Jim.

BOAT AND BUGGY SET – A blue two seat dune buggy that came with a 15" boat (the same boat that came with the sports camper, only in blue), and a white boat trailer. The trailer also had two wheel slots to carry the motorcycle.

Karl May's Winnetou and Old Shatterhand

A series based on the Wild West characters of the popular German writer Karl May (1842–1912) and especially the 1960s series of Karl May movies was available in the late 1970s, including Old Shatterhand and Winnetou, Chief of the Apache. In addition to May's creations Old Firehand and Old Surehand, the character of Bloody Fox was invented for the toyline. With Nscho-Tschi, Winnetou's sister, a unique female character was introduced to the series.[3][4] Mattel released six dolls in the Karl May line; they came in large green display boxes with the Karl May logo on the box. The lineup was as follows:

In other countries this series was renamed and distributed as part of the official Big Jim line. In Italy it appeared as Gli amici del West di Big Jim ("Big Jim's Friends of the West"), and in Spain it was made by Congost as Oeste ("West"). Most of the characters were also renamed for these releases.[5][6][7]

Furthermore, the Warpath character, known as Chief Tankua, was added to the West series in Italy.

Winnetou : Indian figure with real hair / Snake bandana – Suede-like pants with purple addings on the side – silver rifle

Old Shatterhand : Winnetou's sidekick / Fully dressed in suede-like trapper outfit with westernboots – gunbelt with two guns – peace pipe – rifle – hat

Old Firehand : Bearded Trapper figure / bearskin-like hat – peace pipe – gunbelt with two guns – rifle

Bloody Fox : Villain-like Indian figure with scar on face – rifle – chestbelt – gunbelt with two guns

Old Surehand : Buffalo Bill-type figure also with real hair / hat – leather cowboy outfit – western boots – white tie – rifle – gunbelt with two guns

Nscho-Tschi : Indian Squaw Doll / The only Barbie-type doll in the Big Jim / Karl May series / Squaw outfit with two carrying buckets

Winnetou was renamed Geronimo in both countries

Old Shatterhand was renamed Dakota Joe

Old Surehand became Buffalo Bill in Italy only

Old Firehand became Old Kentuck in Italy and Kid Buffalo in Spain

Bloody Fox became Bisonte Nero in Italy and Bisonte Negro in Spain

Nscho-Tschi became Fresca Rugiada in Italy and India Apache in Spain

Basic characters

Original Mark Strong the Man from Mattel (1972)

Original Big Jim Basic series (1972)

P.A.C.K. series (1976)

Spy series (1982)

Global Command series (1985)

The Original Edition

P.A.C.K. Series

Pirate Series

Space Series

Spy Series

Global Command vs. Condor Force

Big Jim's Vehicles & Bikes

Kid Acero

Karl May's Winnetou and Old Shatterhand

James Bond, Agent 007

Other media

Film

Comics

External links

References

producttype	Action figure
currentowner	Mattel
introduced	1972
discontinued	1986
related	G.I. Joe