Stretch Armstrong - History

History

Stretch Armstrong was in the shape of a small well-muscled blonde man wearing a pair of underwear. Its most notable feature was that the doll could be stretched from its original size (about 15 inches) to four or five feet. However, if a tear did develop, it could be fixed with an adhesive bandage. Information on how to repair Stretch can be found inside the instruction booklet that was originally inside his box. The original Armstrong figure was held in place inside its box by two polystyrene inserts; it could be placed back inside the box for storage.

The original Stretch Armstrong figure was conceived and developed by Bill Armasmith, and was in production from 1976 until 1980 when production was stopped. The original 1970s Stretch is very collectable now and commands high prices on the secondary collectors' market, selling for hundreds, even thousands of dollars. However, finding one in mint condition is hard. Through storage and play, the figure can become damaged and rendered useless. There are still Original Stretch Armstrongs that have survived the passing of time and are remarkably preserved through sheer luck or being stored at the correct temperature. The figure keeps best at room temperature so thirty years later, collectors are still using Stretch.

Stretch Armstrong is made of latex rubber filled with gelled corn syrup, which allows it to retain shape for a short time before shrinking to its original shape. The later 1990s figures had small beads inside them.