Toy links
Kawamori Shoji interviewed.
“I was really into (British sci-fi puppet series) ‘Thunderbirds,’ but I didn’t want to build the plastic model kits from the store. If I did that, I would be the same as everyone else.” (See also.)
Miyatake Kazutaka interviewed.
“I came across a poster by Robert McCall for 2001: A Space Odyssey, it really shook me looking at it. … I went to see the film … when I was 18. It really changed the direction of my life.”
Aramaki Shinji interviewed.
“When I worked on Pole Position or Mask, I was still young (around 23-24). It was such a big advantage for me to have had an opportunity to work in America at that age.”
Okawara Kunio interviewed.
“… my generation looked towards the designs done in the West and then get inspired and made into their own projects. Now those things we made are inspiring people in places like Hollywood and elsewhere. That’s really exciting.”
Mecha Zone’s David White interviewed.
“My first robot toy was C3P0 from Star Wars. … I saw the Shogun Warriors cartoons not long after that: the Force Five series with Dragun, Grendizer, and Danguard Ace. That’s when my real passion for giant robots was ignited.” (See also.)
George Lucas interviewed.
“I like Japan. I was going to shoot THX there and I spent some time over there. My wife says I am a reincarnated shogun, or at least a warlord. I’ll be fascinated to see what happens over there; Star Wars is slightly designed for Japan.” (See also.)
Kurosawa and Lucas.
“… Kurosawa himself was heavily influenced by the sweeping Westerns of John Ford. … The genius of Star Wars, by accident and/or by design, was to somehow fuse these disparate elements together – ancient mythology, samurai warriors and futuristic spacecraft …”
Cowboys and spacemen.
“By the time the first ‘Star Wars’ film was released, viewers were comfortable with the idea of robots and space explorers thrown into a desolate desert landscape or a lawless saloon like the Cantina.”
Toyetic stories.
“Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz claimed that Star Wars made three times as much on toys as it did on films … Toy Story 3 made nearly $10bn from its action figures and other merch – 10 times what it took at the global box office.”
Kenner and Star Wars.
“Kenner sold 22 million Star Wars toys annually during the run of the first three films. Supplies sold out in hours. The average kid owned 11 Star Wars toys …”
Action Man heads for space.
“The doll, owned by Rob Wisdom, of Essex, was launched from a field next to the old Palitoy Factory in Coalville, Leicestershire …”
Action Man and Star Wars.
“Retailers were offered discounts on the firm’s hugely popular soldier figures if they would take Star Wars toys.”
Bob Brechin on Palitoy history.
“… Star Wars revolutionised toys in many ways: marketing, the way kids play with toys …” and so the 12-inch Action Man became the 3¾-inch Action Force. (YouTube, 1:12:34)
Action Force history.
“Globally, Action Force is generally perceived as the British cousin of GI Joe, the Real American Hero, which in part is true, but its influences stretch beyond that …”
Star Wars and Action Force.
“… Palitoy used the tooling for the Millennium Falcon radar dish and applied it to the underbelly of the Satellite Defence mini-vehicle for Space Force.”
G.I. Joe heads for Blighty.
“Palitoy’s sales manager, Hal Belton, brought one back for his grandson, who loved it, and soon Palitoy had negotiated a deal to make a British version.”
The decidedly British Action Man.
“… with Action Man driving Land Rovers and Scorpion Tanks and wearing anything from a Grenadier Guards uniform to a Manchester United strip.”
The British Kung Fu grip.
“Bill Pugh (Director of Design, Research and Development, Palitoy) … had difficultly making Action Man hold onto anything placed in his hands whilst setting up displays.”
From Kung Fu to Atomic Power.
“… a prototype of Mike Power’s ‘Bionic’ (later ‘Atomic’) arm.” (See also.)
Palitoy Atomic Man.
“Anyone who grew up during this era would note the superhuman enhancements shared more than a passing similarity with … Steve Austin …”