Geyperman
Encyclopedia
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
manufactured by the company Geyper during the 1970s.
Geyper, although a Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
licencee, used Palitoy
Palitoy
Palitoy was the name of a British toy company.It manufactured some of the most popular toys in Britain, some original items and others under licence...
's product line as the basis for their outfits. The figure itself was a combination of various Hasbro molds, using talker style torsos (screwed together, rather than a single mold.The first version has the head of the first gi joes with flocked hair, beard and no beard, 1976-1979. Later was released the version Eagle-Eye head mold with fixed eyes, and is only released in spain land. This model is the transicional model 1978-1980 ,flocked hair and no beard, and the colour of the skin is lighter than the model of second ways 1980-1982, that is more darker and has beard and no beard, and the body don´t has the inscriptions Geyper (made in spain), that it have it the models made it before.
Packaging
Here are a few examples of Geyperman packages; one can see from the Radio BackPack comparison that even the logo was inspired directly by Palitoy's "Action ManAction Man
Action Man is an action figure boys' toy launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "moveable fighting man": G.I...
". They also included a "star" scheme similar to Action Man, for mail-in equipment/figure offers.
Closed box
In most cases, closed box packages included a photo of the item in use, but some like the radio, used painted artwork to display the item.Window box
This type of packaging is very close to that used by both Palitoy and Hasbro, for Action Man and G.I. Joe respectively. The graphics were usually original Hasbro artwork, modified in some instances. This type of packaging was ideal in terms of the child seeing exactly what he would receive.Uniform box artwork
The outfit box artwork was almost identical to that of Palitoy's line. The following are uniform set graphics, attached to the left side of the box. The box itself was the same format as the sabotage set pictured above, black frame, with yellow carding & blister pack to retain items. The back of the box illustrated the range of outfits and accessories offered for sale by Geyper.|Small outfit sets
Geyper also offered outfits in a smaller package, with the items enclosed in a plastic bag inside a closed box. The CowboyCowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
and "Indian" (Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
) sets are examples of this type. The back of the packages have photo illustrations of the other; Cowboy shows native American, and vice-versa.
Accessory cards
Geyper offered budget carded accessory packs containing just a few items to augment one's collection at a reasonable price for children to afford themselves. The back of the card illustrated other items or outfits offered by Geyper.Related history
In 1964, HasbroHasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
toy company's first "action figure" was introduced with the name of G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
. They were 12" tall and represented the four branches of the military: Army, Navy, Air Force & Marines. The toyline was dedicated to one character named G.I. Joe and later on, the line featured vehicles, accessories, talking soldiers and six foreign soldiers.
The original 12-inch G.I. Joe was licenced to several countries:
- to the Spanish company Geyper appearing as Geyperman in the 70s
- to the UK company PalitoyPalitoyPalitoy was the name of a British toy company.It manufactured some of the most popular toys in Britain, some original items and others under licence...
, appearing as Action ManAction ManAction Man is an action figure boys' toy launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "moveable fighting man": G.I...
in the 60s - in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as Action Team in the 70s - in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as Group Action Joe 1976-81 - in BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
as Falcon from Estrella in the 70s (and again in the 90s) - in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as "GIJOE" and "Combat Man" from Takara (Hasbro Licensee) in the 60s - also in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
from Tsukuda (Palitoy sub-licensee)
The nineties Action Man was released by Hasbro International for the European market in uniform packaging, no longer licensed to individual companies.
External links
- Geyperman - Official web site.
- La guía gráfica de Geyperman - Site devoted to Geyper Man figures (in Spanish).
- ActionManHQ - Action Man information page.