G.I. Joe Adventure Team - Vintage Adventure Team

Vintage Adventure Team

From 1970-1976, the Hasbro toy company in the United States released numerous sets of 1:6 scale, 12" (30 cm) (a.k.a. playscale) figures, vehicles, clothing, and gear sets which had an adventure theme. Evolving from the military theme that had inspired the original 60's G.I. Joe action figure and the initial "Adventures of.." releases of 1969, these figures and sets were usually dressed for adventures in the jungles, deserts, mountains, and oceans. The adversaries were ecological disasters and wild animals, rather than human beings. A shift in sensibilities among parents in the US, notably caused by the Vietnam War, caused a shift from action/military toys to more politically sensitive ones.

The "realistic hair" flocking techniques developed by Hasbro's UK licensee, Palitoy, allowed for a significant shift in identity for the toyline. Nearly every set dealt with exploring exotic locations or accomplishing dangerous environmentally sensitive missions. The Adventure Team era of G.I. Joe also featured such innovations as the Kung-Fu Grip; the flocked hair and bearded figures; the figures with movable "Eagle-Eyes".

The initial 1970 Adventure Team figures consisted of Talking Adventure Team Commander, Land Adventurer, Sea Adventurer, Air Adventurer, Adventurer (African-American), Man of Action, Talking Astronaut, Talking Man of Action, and Talking Adventure Team Commander (African-American). The second wave of figures in 1974 consisted of re-releases of the first nine figures which now included the "Kung-Fu Grip". The Mike Power - Atomic Man and Bulletman figures were released in order to compete with the popular Six Million Dollar Man figures and Mego's superhero figures released at the same time.