History
First generation (1982)
The Action figures were first produced in 1982 by Palitoy Limited and released in two waves. They were a response to falling sales of the company's larger Action Man and the comparative success of the smaller Star Wars action figures, which the company was licensed to sell in Europe.[1]Called Action Force, the figures were a mixture of historical military figures (e.g. Desert Rat and German Storm trooper characters) and more contemporary soldiers (e.g. Arctic and Naval Assault characters). In contrast to G.I. Joe figures, the toys were kept international by including British, German, Australian and American soldiers. Unlike later releases, however, the first figures were not accompanied by file cards giving back-stories, nor were they featured in comic books (other than a series of mini-comics that were packaged with some of the vehicles, notably the AF-3 and AF-5).
Second generation (1983)
Following the success of the first range of figures, a second, much larger group was launched in 1983. Action Force sales were about one million over six months in 1983, and the offering was expanded with a new wave of figures and vehicles released in 1984.[1]
Third generation (1985)
In 1985, Palitoy ceded control of the European market to Hasbro following the death of one of Palitoy's owners (Alfred Pallett) and the winding-up of operations at their Leicester factory. Hasbro purchased the Palitoy factory, copyrights, and moulds[9] and began to package G.I. Joe figures under the Action Force brand. In characterisation terms, this move marked the end of the sub-grouping of the Action Force team, and a new unified Action Force (or AF) also faced a new enemy in the name of Cobra.
The parallel comic book story lines also maintained continuity with a number of plot lines that blended elements of the second range of figures with the third, featuring the new characters as an international elite anti-terrorist unit of a wider Action Force. The Force was still backed up by the Z Force, SAS, other units fighting Cobra, the Red Shadows and even a re-animated Adolf Hitler and the Nazis[10] (despite being ostensibly set in the present day). Over time, however, the range evolved into an unreconstructed G.I. Joe force and its enemy Cobra.
The G.I. Joe animated series was re-titled and re-dubbed for release in the UK. Any mention of G.I. Joe was replaced with Action Force, however, the G.I. Joe logo remained on vehicles and equipment shown in the cartoon.
Bibliografia: www.wikipedia.org
