ACTION MAN Electronic Command Centre by Palitoy 

Fantastic video. 👏👏👏 My parents spoilt me as a child, but not with money. They couldn’t afford the excessive, almost obscene, amount of toys we see handed out today but our Christmas’s were alway incredible. As a disabled child, I spent most of my primary school years in hospital and for one rare birthday at home, my parents bought me an Action Man with an inflatable dinghy, radio set, search light, etc. it was my absolute treasure. Still have it 50 years later. A well to do family that my dear old mum worked for were having a clear out and they were actually throwing an almost perfect Action Man Jeep out! It was swiftly recovered from the bin and provided me with many, many happy hours.

Not sure if it's because the subject matter is Action Man related, or because Tony has re-discovered his passion for making videos, but this is, without doubt, one of the best toy history/review mini documentaries, ever made.

As a kid growing up in the 70s action man was my favourite toy Christmas and birthdays was always action man stuff top of the list. One of my memories is going to Blackpool to see the illuminations and finding this shop it was near the Dr who museum which had the best window display of action man stuff tanks jeeps and helicopters all set out in dioramas it had a load is action man paratroopers with inflated chutes on a wire frame dropping from the ceiling it was awesome I spent more time looking in that shop window than watching the illuminations it was the highlight of the trip for me even more than the Dr who museum does anybody remember this shop

I'm 58 and action man was the best toy ever when I was a kid,the memories of me and my late brother playing will never go away.

Being in Canada we didn't have access to any of these amazing Action Man toys in the 80's. I didn't even know they existed until the late 90's. I absolutely love the level of detail that went into this line. You're right, Tony, they don't make them like they used to. I'm glad we grew up when we did.

Sometimes I think I'm an old fashioned collector in my 50s saying how the toys of my childhood were so much better then the stuff now, but this re-confirms my belief that I'm right! This was a great toy! Just absolutely INCREDIBLE! Thanks Tony!

It's amazing how memories can lurk for decades. The moment I saw the mess kit I remembered how it opened up; hadn't even entered my mind since I was probably nine years old but boom, suddenly there was the memory. Thanks for rekindling a tiny sliver of my childhood!

I can remember the very day I got my first Action Man, my 6th birthday, to me it was the best thing ever and I still have it 50 + years later along with a multitude of others I've collected along the way.

I remember my first action man. He had fixed fingers and I had to collect tokens to send off for gripping hands. Mine also didn’t have moveable eyes. We were poor and my mum used to knit him jumpers. Every Xmas she would wash and press his clothes ready for a new accessory. Great fun days. God bless her and thank you for bringing back some bitter sweet memories my friend.

Someone once asked me when I started collecting Action Man ..... "1972. I just never stopped.". Flocked hair talking Commander, Stormtrooper uniform card and a Scorpion Tank. He's still wearing that uniform today, with added Royal Marines Arctic coat for the "Where eagles dare" look.

Some of the most interesting toys were ones that had restrictions in their development and design. Hearing directly from some of the team members that designed this playset adds that special touch that Analog Toys is known for. Great video, Tony.

It's always a good feeling to finally get your hands on a grail, but hearing how your dad made a replica of the pillbox when you were a kid brought a tear to my eye. I'd argue it meant more. I'd love to see what his looked like, but being 40 years ago I won't hold my breath haha. Reminds me of how a lot of modern toy collectors build dioramas in the absence of proper playsets for display, I'm one of them. I always learn something new from your videos Tony, especially if Action Man or Palitoy's in the title being a USA kid. Kudos mate.

Loved hearing how your dad made you one out of wood; my dad did that for me when he saw the Sentry box was made out of cardboard; he simply said he could do better and promptly did. Much better and I still have it to this day.

Bravo 👏🏻 I have to track one of these down. Even though I’m a few years younger, I totally understand your pain…. I loved the G.I. Joe Hall of Fame series in the 90s but they never sold a headquarters in that large scale. My dad and I built a really cool one out of wood, but it just wasn’t the same as owning an official playset. Recently, I learned of the Hasbro action man headquarters. It’s the G.I. Joe Hall of Fame headquarters we never got. You are definitely on a roll with these last few videos! Great job, Tony 😁

I am American and I have been collecting Gi Joe 12 inch for a while and I have just realized how detailed these products are! Definitely might get into them if I have more space 😂

I’ve been a toy soldier fan since I was 5 years old, which became a GI Joe fan in later years. Now I have collected Joes and friends since the 90’s and have literally 100’s! I’ve tried to collect some Action Man troops but that’s not easy in the US. I did buy a number of the Action Man Anniversary figures and enjoy them every bit as much as my Joes. I truly admire the Action Man line for their unique sets and vehicles and would love to have found a Command Center for my collection. I am very happy for you and appreciate the review of this great addition to the line.

I and all my mates had Action Men. Good times. I actually taught myself to sew when I was 8 because we didn't have the money for different uniforms and I wanted to keep up with the other kids! I still have the uniforms somewhere and if I say so myself I didn't do a bad job at all. Thanks Palitoy.

As an American 12" GI Joe collector, I've long envied you Brits, and your Action Man gear: Scorpion Tank? Escape from Colditz? Awesome! But this is the first I've ever heard of the Electronic Command Center! What a cool piece!

I had an Action Man as a Kid in the 70s He had Blue eyes and Blond Hair and in retrospect looked more like a German Stormtrooper than Good old British Tommy !

This channel rules, I really appreciate your academic approach- we don’t need more videos simply show and telling toys, we need informative stuff like this

Its funny you mention your granddad making the copy from wood I always loved 3.3/4 inch figures and never had any type of fort for them so my grandfather made one from wood still have it was the best thing ever

Wow. Brings back memories. In the early 80s, I had the scorpion tank and the multi terrain vehicle. You could actually use it as a small go cart, sit in it and steer it with your feet.. I think one of them is still in my olds attic.

Loved my action man soldiers as a kid (born 65) between them and meccano and Lego they filled my childhood days

I can now die a happy man that line made me chuckle. Keep up the good work

Love this channel, the way it is presented & the topics it covers. I still remember how I felt getting the Action Man Helicopter for Christmas back in the 70's. A memory I have is my sister being distracted from the presents she got by it too. It baffles me why these people who created these wonderful timeless toys have never been recognised with an award from the powers that be for services to the nation, for all the hours of pleasure & entertainment they have given this country's children for decades.

I'm 60 and loved my action man/men.. Never had a bearded one! Recall having the British army kit, the French resistance fighter and German stormtrooper.. Along with motorcycle and sidecar Never had a tank or anything big, my aunt bought me the red devils parachute kit but I didn't like it... Loved looking at the equipment manuals etc.. We had little money so couldn't afford much. Still have the 45 action man single though...

Nice work. I just finished nearly completing an Argyle and Sutherlands action man uniform, making the white leatherwork by hand with real leather, 3D print the cap badge and putting silver over it, 3 D printing the metal of the sporran and silver it, making the sporran with artificial fur and make tassels with cotton strands. Looks awesome. Now some old lady will knit me a pair of red-white socks soon.

In the mid 70's I got an Action Man Alvis Scorpion Tank. I was the only kid in the area with one. As a group of 8 friends living in the immediate area, we used to gather on someone's garden and have Action Man battles . The tank was fantastic. The only pity was that the gun didn't fire anything

I still have the stove/mess kit, along with radio kit, a bivvy bag, and sleeping bag. I had the helicopter, tank, and jeep when I was a kid. God, I wished I'd kept those now.

My dad was in the army and got me most action man stuff.played this to death.wish I kept it all now.forgot about all the accessories.thx for bringing them back.subbed

Thank you tony, i got one for Christmas back in the day and never seen one since. I left mine out in the garden one night and the electronics never worked again. Then someone sat or stepped on it, probably a younger sibling.

Thanks again for another fantastic action man video Tony. I always eagerly await the next one. And like you this playset always eluded me in my childhood, but at the age of 52 I finally got mine. Thankyou for bringing our childhood memories back to life.

What a fantastic video! The Electronic Command Centre was after my time - but I remember the mess kit very well. I think the last 'themed' Action Man set I had was the Colditz set with the sentry box. Happy days. Thank you for the welcome reminder.

I have no recollection of this set whatsoever, what a brilliant addition the range. As much as I loved Star Wars toys back in the day, it was my action man that accompanied me everywhere. I even used to modify the costumes for him. My favourite being an American football kit I made using tissue paper wrapped in sellotape for the pads and gold tape for the sport stripes on the sleeves.

All part of my growing up had loads of action men loved them and made in the UK 🇬🇧 a great loss

Tony, there's a reason why your channel is awesome, actual 2 big reasons: A, it's not reviews of the same toys reviewed 100000 times, and the history you give with each review is just incredible information! Thanks for the effort you give to your videos. Cheers!

Thank you for the history behind this great set! Loved the dioramas you set up for this too.

if you are of that generation, then you'll agree that this was one of the best videos in the history of the internet

In 1980 I was a ten-year-old Action Man obsessive but I don't think I remember this. I really enjoyed seeing it though and imagining the huge amount of playability it would have held. Very professional video as always.

So happy for you that you finally found this awesome toy. Love the video! That epic moment of the view from in side was priceless. Cheers 🍻

Seriously Tony you’re one of the best channels ever!! I absolutely love how in every vid of yours contains a super in-depth history lesson! Also not sure if said this to you before but just in case I didn’t, I’d like to thank you for your service in the military!!! Keep on kickin fuckin ass my friend!!!

Great video. Brought back some childhood memories. I loved my Action Man toys and still have some of them. I remember the tower but never knew there was such a thing as a command centre.

That is awesome your grand father made you a replica. My uncle made me a huge car park with a ramp and a lift for my matchbox cars. It was a lot more fun than pushing them across the carpet. A great walk through of the history and techniques used to make this play set and some great video clips.

My inner nine-year-old is very happy for you. My childhood passion for 1/6 scale G.I. Joe toys was only partially satisfied. While I had some great stuff, including TWO of the six-wheel ATVs (and the other bits from the Mummy's Tomb set), the space capsule, and the set with the training tower, I never got the Adventure Team HQ. It was perhaps a more practical approach to manufacturing a complex structure, with (I believe) vinyl-covered cardboard panels instead of injection-molded plastic. That and the later AT crawler eluded me in my childhood, and what it would take to acquire them now, to say nothing of the space to display them, would simply go beyond reasonable justification. Thanks for sharing this small triumph, and some history, to boot. =^[.]^=

I’m not very familiar with Action Man, so this was extra informative for me. I appreciate all the research you put into this.

What a channel, the amount of memories that these videos bring back are priceless! 👍👍💚

That's one hell of a surprise PO Box opening! I feel like figure collectors make up the best hobby groups.

I've always wondered if there is much of a market for affordable reproductions of these hard-to-find pieces, for non-collectors that are usually priced out of a lot of quintessential period kit. I already manufacture raw or painted 1:3 and 1:6 scale high detail weapon replicas which seem to be doing pretty well.

I remember having a totally different command centre. It was more like a wall unit, it has an actual radar that lit up on the unit and went round and beeped. It also had a disc slot with various different coloured discs that gave out different voice messages, it had lots of features that I can't remember lol.

I used to love Action Man... I guess I still do. Thanks for this channel.

Another well-researched video, the effort you put into these is appreciated

Wow! Another fantastic Action Man video, Tony! Just when I think you've covered it all, you give us more. Thank you! This one is definitely getting added to my Action Man playlist!👍

When I was a kid me and my brother built playsets for action man by standing up opened beano and dandy annuals and using them to form walls , worked with star wars figures not long after as well .

It's always interesting to learn about how these great Palitoy creations were produced. Bravo, Tony. 👏

I had one of these as a kid - absolutely amazing!!! Thanks for the video

Loved this video....I had lots of action man stuff I lost in our house fire 1987....the lot gone. I'd been collecting since I was 7 and I'd recently been given loads by and older relative....still hurts me to this day.

Totally Happy for You Brother. Thanks for sharing Your Grail! I would of Totally loved this set as a Kid. But have a much better respect for it as an Adult. My Holy Grail was the vintage Bionic Bigfoot. Took Me 40 years to find one. Now I have 3. 😊👍♥️💯💯💯💯💯

Very cool set. I love the Vickers gun.

I was such a huge Action Man fan. I couldn’t have the command centre and the training tower, so I went for the training tower. Astonishingly, I hadn’t ever seen that Space Ranger vehicle before - how did I miss that?

I'm so glad you were able to finally get this grail piece for your collection, it's clear that it really means a lot to you! Such a cool playset, too. That last shot of seeing the advancing troops through the command center firing slot gave me goosebumps, looks amazing! Cheers.

remember seeing the Command centre on Tv in an advert in the early 1980s and had always wanted one seen this now on your video brings back memories :) nice find

Had loads of Action men , uniforms & accessories early to mid 70s. Had the scorpion, motorcycle combo and the helicopter all passed down to my brother - never to be seen again lol. Think the last thing I bought from weeks of saved up pocket money was the "Escape from Dragon Island"? Kit. At the time seemed to be loads of stuff in it if I recall

Another great video Tony, when I was a kid in 1980 I really wanted the ecc but then I saw one out of the box and i was a bit disappointed, gotta say that my holy grail action man toy is the German armoured car

That’s a truly amazing playset and beautiful piece of history. Congratulations on finally getting it!

Sold this set a few years ago with the box. Great set, glad u got one. The person I sold said they had not seen one before so the set must be hard to find.

Ah yes the sticks of dynamite that all had the fuses broken off 😁 Never knew anyone that had this but over a few Christmases my bro had the Scorpion, Jeep and Helicopter and I got Seawolf which worked pretty well in the local pond! All from my mum’s Burlington catalogue👍🏼💪🏼

Great video. I am always impressed with the level of detail and information you put into your videos. Simply fantastic. And that view through the Command Center toward advancing German troops actually brought a nostalgic tear to my eye. Growing up in the States, I never owned any Action Man items, but I did have a lot of GI Joe. I still remember setting them up in displays. It's all part of what makes a toy "real" to us. But I must say, "NOT A FAN OF CARDBOARD ACCESSORIES!" AWE MAN! 🤪

Superb, wee trip down memory lane. Thanks Tony, subscribed 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Action Man was a big part of my childhood, birthdays and Christmases I always go something for Action Man, one memory that has lasted was getting the training tower set for Christmas one year. Great video, brings it all back.

despite having no knowledge of or interest in action man, I still gotta say this is just an excellent video. thank you so much

Very professional presentation Head and shoulders above the rest You are very easy to listen to sir. Bravo

The ultimate toy of my youth. I had a load of Action Man gear that was unfortunately sold on by my Mum when I got a bit too old for it. I remember having the space ranger suit and getting sooo frustrated at trying to get the rubber suit onto the figure. I also had Captain Zargon who was the enemy so I wasn’t aware that ROM was a thing until I saw this video! Brilliant stuff. 😊😊

This may be one of your best docs Tony, I always enjoy people’s story of “Grail Pieces”, and this is such an amazing showcase set! Congrats!

I got the command centre for Xmas when it came out, best toy i ever got, thanks for this great episode.

Wow awesome, thanks for sharing this, as alot of us as kids didn't know how they made stuff back then and also the history of it, just loved going to they toy shop to look at all the new stuff and row's of them, and so true they don't make them like they used to ! I go look at the toy's now not as good and with limited movement .😞 👍👍🏽

A couple of years ago, the World Peacekeepers action figure range came out with pretty much a direct copy of that lookout tower. I bought four out of the six World Peacekeepers, from that particular range. I sort of wish I had bought the other two, but then again, they take up space that I can't afford to use up. I the action figures in their unopened boxes, inside another carton to keep them in mint condition.

Fantastic video Tony- well done and thank you!

Yeah , the power of imagination...with some cool accessories..... can't be beat for some simple fun . Great vid ! Oh , my brother and I had the GI Joe version of the Training Center.....it was 3 ft. tall and also made a good prop for Mego superhero or Star Trek battles and seemed even bigger as these were 8" and the Joes/Action Men were 1/6 scale (1') . Fun times !

15:23 The girl in the 1950s factory has a few pictures of Cliff Richard taped to her desk!

brillant .love the playset .mine came broke .but still worked .happy memories indeed

Brief snippet of the music from Who Dares Wins at the end, excellent.

The more I look at the playset the more potential I see in it. I know it's made for the original Action Man scale, but I can also imagine the new action force line fitting right in with it. I got the idea from when I was a kid, and when I first got Castle Grayskull I only had four action figures to go with it. So I used my Star Wars figures with it until I built up my He-man collection.

Fantastic as ever, thank you. 👍😊

Adored every lovingly crafted second of this video. Glad you finally obtained your grail, and I'm even more glad you shared it with us!

Great video Tony. I remember the mess kit from the Special Operations Kit.

This was by far the most interesting in depth history review on a toy I've seen for a long while, excellent editing and vintage pictures. Wow it brought back some wonderful memories as I was very lucky enough to have most of these toy's as a child. As i seem to remember i was only very young about 6-7 and i begged my mother to take me into a toy shop for a look around while we was in town. I remember i saw the SAS commander figure, it came in a all cardboard box with amazing artwork on it. I desperately wanted one and my mum said i still had some birthday money that was gifted to me from my Nan a few weeks before. I remember getting home and was amazed at how good and detailed the figure was, i was so happy with it. A year or so later, one of my dads work colleges was immigrating to Canada and was having a house clearance, i was told there was some action man toys that i might like, when i got there i found my dad had already sorted something out with the guy and there was 2 big boxes of stuff for me and my younger brother i did not know what was in there as i was a shy kid and didnt ask just waited until we got home to look. Well in those boxes was a action man battle tank complete but unboxed, the Action man training tower (It was all in bits to be built up) This very was flimsy and would fall over into bits many time when accidently knocked. A action man Jet, a Boat, a Dingy and the command centre. the sound never worked as one of the wires was broken. Even about 4-5 action men as well including the pilot for the jet and a parachute. I wished i had looked after my stuff from my youth as sadly i dont have any of them anymore, i even had the space ranger range as well including the strange pirate black figures. great video, gained a sub 👍

I remember the mess kit. Loved it, but quickly lost the cutlery in the garden.

Awesome video dude takes me back (52) never seen the pill box before had a tank bike and side car my best friend a few doors down had the tower and my back garden was the battle field

I'm almost 99% sure my older brother had this. I have very vague memories of playing with this or something similar. Ahh.. happy memories 😊

Back in 1980 I suspect £33.50 was my entire Christmas budget (if not less) as an 11 year old. I would have loved this. I had the bike and sidecar as well as the boat.

What a lovely video. Well done - great to see such passion.

This is the kind of thing that I love about your content; I do get to learn about things I didn't know about and also learn about them in as much detail as you can provide. Kudos 👏👍👌

AWES😳ME DISPRICTION! ❤️CHEERS, from DENMARK🇩🇰👏🏻😇❤️😎👍❤️

Your joy brings me joy.

I remember the Sentry box and I had the guard dog along with Scorpion Tank and Helicopter.

This set is so cool

The Command Centre was obviously quite ingenious for the time in which it was made. Kenner and Palitoy's basic toy engineering still amazes me! If I would have had this as a kid in 1980 (I'd have been 10 years old then), I'd be playing out a Cold War invasion for sure! Thanks for sharing this, Tony! Congrats on getting a hold of this for your growing collection!

I used to have the Scorpion tank. Loved Action Man.

I remember my action man on a cord being lowered from the landing window ..after a few swings i got him to hit the kitchen window below where me mum was at the sink peeling potatoes .... the scream that followed was quite alarming ! Sorry mum ...rip xx ✌️✌️🇬🇧🇬🇧

Who dares wins music at the end just icing on the cake.