actionforce

Action Force was created by Palitoy circa 1982. They were effectively Action Man scaled down, although not as poseable, they were the right size to combat the great force of Star Wars.

They had several series of figures and vehicles, beginning with miniature forms of Action Man, and continuing as a multidisciplinary team, before merging with G.I.Joe (still before Hasbro released Action Force).

They had their own comic strip published by IPC magazines under the guise of "Battle : Action Force" which told of the many tales and tried to tie the Action Force and G.I. Joe mythos together.

After Palitoy (which was now owned by Kenner- Parker!?) had ceased production in 1985, Hasbro International released G.I.Joe figures in 1986 utilising the Action Force name, but on G.I. Joe-style cards, this was to eventually change over several years to G.I. Joe. This had a Marvel Comic strip and Tempo videos to back it up (although most of the videos feature horrendous dubbing
(e.g. "Yo Joe!" became "Full Force").

Action Man 12"

SERIES Ia
		12 figures based on Action Man uniforms and 3 vehicles with a "Commander" mail-in offer. No Enemy element.
SERIES Ib
		Expansion to the original 12 figures, but no catalogue images available.
SERIES II
		5 Teams : Z-Force, SAS- Force, Q-Force, Space Force, vs Enemy.
SERIES III
		5 Teams : expansion
SERIES I V
		G.I. Joe partly introduced, with figures on Palitoy AF cards, characters changed to international backgrounds.


Hasbro Card I : Action Force International Heroes
		Figures on US-style cards, with the Action Force name used and the design based on the G.I. Joe logo. Used on the first two UK series (1985/1986 US).
Hasbro Card II : G. I. Joe The Action Force
		The merging of the two names, to aid continuity. There was also a small comic strip written especially for this transition.
Hasbro Card III : G. I. Joe
		In its final years, just a simple Joe logo (the "A real American Hero" phrase being dropped.