Action figure

An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed toward boys and adult collectors. The term was coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys (while competitors called similar offerings boy's dolls).

According to a 2005 study in Sweden, action figures which display traditional masculine traits primarily target boys. While most commonly marketed as a child's toy, the action figure has gained widespread acceptance as collector item for adults. In such a case, the item may be produced and designed on the assumption it will be bought solely for display as a collectible and not played with like a child's toy. Action figures are also oftentimes used for stop motion animation.

Articulated dolls go back to at least 200 BCE, with articulated clay and wooden dolls of ancient Greece and Rome. Many types of articulated figures date to the early modern period, including the artists' mannequin and the Japanese ichimatsu doll. The modern ball-jointed doll was first created in Western Europe in the late 19th century. From the late 19th century through the early 20th century French and German manufacturers made bisque dolls with strung bodies articulated with ball-joints made of composition: a mix of pulp, sawdust, glue and similar materials. These dolls could measure between 15 and 100 cm (6 and 39.5 in) and are now collectible antiques.

Besides the articulated doll, another important precursor to the action figure is the toy soldier. Military figures have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, and have appeared in many cultures and eras. Tin soldiers were produced in Germany as early as the 1730s, by molding the metal between two pieces of slate. As industry and demand advanced, so did production methods, with hollow casting first being utilized in the 1890s and polyethylene figures becoming common by the 1950s. The toy soldier market, ubiquitous thanks to its history and mass-production methods, would therefore become a natural home for the military-themed action figure.

One of the earliest toys to bear resemblance to modern action figures is Albert Schoenhut's "Humpty Dumpty Circus", released in 1904, which featured articulated wooden figures interacting with various devices.

The term "action figure" was coined by Hasbro in 1964, to market their G.I. Joe figure to boys who refused to play with "dolls", a term primarily associated as a girl's toy. (A similar toy named Johnny Hero was introduced by Rosko Industries for Sears in 1965, but was known as a "Boy's Doll" since the term action figure had not gained widespread usage at that point.) G.I. Joe was initially a military-themed 11.5-inch figure proposed by marketing and toy idea-man Stan Weston. It featured changeable clothes with various uniforms to suit different purposes.

In a move that would create global popularity for this type of toy, Hasbro also licensed the product to companies in other markets. These different licensees had a combination of uniforms and accessories that were usually identical to the ones manufactured for the US market by Hasbro, along with some sets that were unique to the local market. The Japanese had at least two examples where a Hasbro licensee also issued sublicenses for related products. For example, Palitoy (in the UK) issued a sublicense to Tsukuda, a company in Japan, to manufacture and sell Palitoy's Action Man accessories in the Japanese market. Takara also issued a sublicense to Medicom for the manufacture of action figures.

Takara, still under license by Hasbro to make and sell G.I. Joe toys in Japan, also manufactured an action figure incorporating the licensed GI Joe torso for Henshin Cyborg-1, using transparent plastic revealing cyborg innards, and a chrome head and cyborg feet. During the oil supply crisis of the 1970s, like many other manufacturers of action figures, Takara was struggling with the costs associated with making the large 11+1⁄2-inch figures, So, a smaller version of the cyborg toy was developed, standing at 3+3⁄4 inches (95 mm) high, and was first sold in 1974 as Microman. The Microman line was also novel in its use of interchangeable parts. This laid the foundation for both the smaller action figure size and the transforming robot toy. Takara began producing characters in the Microman line with increasingly robotic features, including Robotman, a 12-inch (300 mm) robot with room for a Microman pilot, and Mini-Robotman, a 3+3⁄4-inch (95 mm) version of Robotman. These toys also featured interchangeable parts, with emphasis placed on the transformation and combination of the characters.