The Classic Plastick Toy Company - Bonanza "Full Action Men"

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The Classic Plastick Toy Company :: The Classic Plastick Collection :: Bonanza :: Bonanza "Full Action Men" - Ben, Hoss & Little Joe

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Topic: Bonanza "Full Action Men" - Ben, Hoss & Little Joe (Read 111 times)

Wesley McCue
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Bonanza "Full Action Men" - Ben, Hoss & Little Joe
« Thread Started on Jan 18, 2009, 1:33am »

Who says you can't buy love? I know for a fact you can because my Grandma Hazel bought mine when I was six and all it took was a set of Bonanza dolls.

True, I had to share them with my little brother but, hey, I only had two hands and there were three Cartwrights after all. As far as I knew at the time, Ben, Hoss and Little Joe were it. But for the kid who had everything- I had a lot but not 'everything' -there was also an Outlaw, horses for everybody and a big ol' wagon set to boot! Wow, giddyup!

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All the Bonanza "Full Action Men" are more like cartoon versions of the characters than realistic likenesses with the Ben Cartwright doll looking more like Lorne Greene than the others do their namesakes. The figures are of similar construction to the Marx Johnny West figures but at only eight inches tall are considerably smaller.

[image]

And here is Dan Blocker as Hoss as a little plastic man; a Hoss-size hefty little plastic man. I think it's neat how they molded his shirt sleeves rolled up, just like he always wore them on the show. All three of the Cartwrights as pictured on the swell painted box illustrations can be found on covers in the series of Gold Key comic books.

[image]

Little Joe was often too pretty for his own good in the rough-and-tumble wild west. His doll likeness... eh, not so much. There is a European variation which looks slightly more like Michael Landon but both suffer from a big hairdo which prevents their plastic hat from resting properly on their head. But look, they did get his left-handedness right... er, left.

[image]

Here's a look at the Palitoy Little Joe seen in the UK and Europe, a much better likeness to Michael Landon. Still with the BIG hair... well, Little Joe did have big hair.

[image]

Little Joe is also the only one of the Cartwright dolls that has pretty much the correct colors on his outfit. By the time these were made their 'stock' TV outfits were well established so who knows why the designers went with these colors. At any rate, here's a quick color edit to show what they should look like:

[image]

That looks pretty keen, if I do say so myself! If the Bonanza dolls weren't so hard to come by they'd be great candidates for re-painting and customizing like I did recently with some leftover Marx Sam Cobra and Capt. Maddox parts. Maybe try my hand at a cartoonish Hop Sing head to add to one! Woo hoo, fun, fun!

Stay Tuned for Part Two: Featuring the infamous Outlaw, and Bonanza Range Horses!

« Last Edit: Jan 19, 2009, 2:02am by Wesley McCue »

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martingb
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Re: Bonanza "Full Action Men" - Ben, Hoss & Little
« Reply #1 on Jan 20, 2009, 5:49pm »

Fantastic lay out Wes! I think I had one of these guys as a kid and certainly remmber the horse with the ball-bearings in the hooves. Really beautiful line. I must have had the Palitoy versions and it was certainly a very early action figure for me. Probably around 1968. Thanks for setting it out so nice for us.

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Wesley McCue
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Re: Bonanza "Full Action Men" - The Outlaw
« Reply #2 on Feb 26, 2009, 1:44am »

Oh, the infamous Bonanza Outlaw! By now the lore of this figure is well-known; Pernell Roberts quit the show mid-stream so they had to re-make the image of his doll man and it became the 'all-purpose bad-man-in-black', the Outlaw.

But I swear, he looks so much like Richard Boone in "Have Gun, Will Travel", he really could pass for a Paladin doll with simply the addition of a chess knight to his holster.

Nevertheless, it's great to have him as part of the set, regardless of the likeness. And it's funny how the lesser desirability of a 'bad' character has translated onto the nostalgia market for those kids of the 60s all grown up now. We still gotta have Ben, Hoss and Joe, of course, to recapture that childhood joy, but the Outlaw is so much harder to obtain. He's definitely taken on a respectability he never got through childish eyes. Good for you, you tiny renegade badman!

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martingb
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Re: Bonanza "Full Action Men" - Ben, Hoss & Little
« Reply #3 on Mar 3, 2009, 4:25pm »

Wes that is a fair observation on the Richard Boone likeness. Although the Pernell Roberts story is widely known if it hadn't been and someone dug one of these guys out as an early action figure from HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL no on would argue. A cracking looking little guy!

« Last Edit: Mar 3, 2009, 4:26pm by martingb »

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captact
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Re: Bonanza "Full Action Men" - Ben, Hoss & Little
« Reply #4 on May 13, 2009, 8:22pm »

These were my favorites back in the 60's. My mom gave them away when we moved,..ever since then,...ive always wanted to have them again,..but they're so hard to find now a days.....

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johnnye4
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Re: Bonanza "Full Action Men" - Ben, Hoss & Little
« Reply #5 on May 15, 2009, 10:46pm »

I never got any of those but I am related to one of the Cartwrights

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captact
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Re: Bonanza "Full Action Men" - Ben, Hoss & Little
« Reply #6 on Jun 11, 2009, 8:58pm »

Finally!!! I got all three Cartwright figures!!!!! Thanks Wes for ALL your help!!!! Now I only need these ;parts and my figures will be complete,..these are ( in case any of you cowpokes have them for sale or trade) :
1 rifle, 1 gun, and 2 rifle holsters !!!

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Wesley McCue
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Re: Bonanza "Full Action Men" - Ben, Hoss & Little
« Reply #7 on Oct 11, 2009, 11:15pm »

I've mentioned the generally accepted- and quite logical -lore of the Bonanza Outlaw being intended originally to be big brother Adam. By '66 he was dressed all in black, after all. But the fact remains that in the doll world it is sorely lamented- It is sorely lamented, isn't it?!? -that there was no Adam doll to complete the Cartwrights 'Full Action Men'... until now:

[image]

Just to throw a little color into the mix I painted my own Adam doll as the 'early edition' red shirted Adam with a Ben vest and hat painted black. Here he is in the all-black outfit posing with the rest of his doll-size family, united as they should have been in toy stores way back when! :

[image]

You can see how the Adam figure head progressed from start to finish in the Bonanza Collectors Gallery Flickr photo album:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34465255@N02/

Check out my variations on the original Outlaw head and some parts for the original figures too by browsing the 'Bonanza reproductions' section of the Plastick Projects forum on this board. Giddyup, kids!

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