G.I. Joe Adventure Team - Body Types

Body Types

Over the course of the toylines' production run, there were four main body variations best identified as; Hard Hand, Kung Fu grip, Muscle Body and Muscle Body Eagle Eye. All have the flocked hair. There were Talker variations of each type. Early bodies had the trademark on the right buttock, and were assigned the patent #3,277,602, awarded to Sam Speers (inventor) for Hasbro on October 11, 1966. The later bodies were marked "Ⓒ 1975 Hasbro Pat Pend Pawt. R.I." or "Ⓒ 1975 Hasbro Ind Inc Pawtucket. R.I. 02861 Pat Pend Made In Hong Kong". This body style was redesigned by Alfred A. Crabtree, Brian S. Prodger and Hubert P. O'Connor, who applied for the patent in January 1976; it was assigned patent #3,988,855, "Posable figure having one piece connector for torso, trunk and legs" on November 2, 1976. Kung Fu grip hands were made of a rubber prone to deterioration (being even thinner than the early Action Man variety), and often the hands are discolored, and the fingers will have broken off. These hands were a variation on the design by (Bill) William A.G. Pugh, of Hasbro's UK licensee, Palitoy, which was assigned a U.S. patent # 3,955,312 "Gripping Hand For Dolls" on May 11, 1976.

Muscle Bodies relied on a rubber for all body joints, instead of elastic, and it is rare at this point to find original bodies that have not fallen apart due to rubber deterioration, fortunately, these bodies can be re-strung. Early body Adventurers seem somewhat less prone to the stress cracking common with earlier painted head bodies. The muscle body type was still in production into the early nineties in Brazil, under Hasbro licensee Estrella. The last change was the addition of "Eagle Eyes"; which followed later in 1976. Invented by George W. Ptaszek and James A. King, Hasbro applied for and received patent #4,005,545, "Eye shifting mechanism for doll construction" dated February 1, 1977. The design utilized a mechanism operated by a simple slide at the back of the head moves the gaze of the eyeballs back and forth. The head was predominantly available in brown and blonde hair and only blue eyes, with bearded versions of each, however there were rare red bearded examples produced.