ACTION  MAN  TOYS  IN  ACTION....

IMAGES FROM RICHARD DIXON'S TPD STUDIOS / TPD STUDIOS UK

I worked on the Action Man Comic from 1997 t0 2004 with Marvel Comics UK Team , Panini Comics Publishing UK and HASBRO TOYS UK to provide the photography on the comic with over sixty cover pictures and many full page poster images , together with competition page imagery .

All the model set design work for the photography was createrd at TPD Studios in Lancashire , England by myself over the eight years I worked on the production for the comic .

During this time I was supported with superb help with the product range from Hasbro UK , their Marketing Department and Sales Department.....also the Hasbro Creative Director Edward Catchpole .

The whole team at Marvel Comics UK and Panini UK helped me to make the imagery in Action Man Comic the best looking in one of the most successful children's Comics in the UK over the eight years when it was in production .

During this time I also created the Action Man Greetings Card Range imagery for Gemma Cards . 

Pedigree Books UK also featured my Action Man Photography and Miniature Set Design on the Covers and inside the Action Man Annual during the time I worked on the product range .

The images featured here on this web page is a small selection taken from the vast amount of photography I created for the product .

The photography was all done with film cameras during the eight years of production , no digital cameras were used .

The first two years I used two Mamiya RB67's with a 90 mm lens and a 50mm to photograph the miniature sets .

During the third year of working with the product , a Pentax 6x7 with a selection of lenses was used for the photography which covered the remaining five years I worked on the Comic .

The Pentax 67 was also used to create the imagery for the fifteen Photo Story Action Man adventures I created for the  Summer and Winter Special Editions for the Action Man Monthly Magazine comic . The Pentax 67 camera system I found to be the best around at that time for model animation work , quality of images with the lens system and a big film format with good portability for location wotk .

The pictures for Action Man Comic were the first realistic supermation style images that I created for a children's comic .

They would later form my step forward on to supermation digital pictures that would appear in SEASTAR 5 INVADERS FROM THE ABYSS and others created today .

This image ....became the basis for the first cover I created for Marvel Comics / Panini UK for Action Man Comic .

Action man Football Hero....World Cup Comic Edition....Photography created at Blackpool Football Stadium , Lancashire England .

Action Man on the Moon....Gemma Cards - Action Man Greeting Card Range .

Action Man Formula One....Action Man Comic .

Action Man Arctic Bike Extreme....

Cover Poster...

" We did'nt just give Action Man our best shot...we gave him twelve " .

These were the first twelve magazine comics covers created for Action Man Comic with my photography .

Hasbro's prototype figure - Desert Mission ....

Photography of figure created for the Action Man Comic and Hasbro UK .

Four of the Action Man greetings cards that I created for Gemma Cards.....

A rare actual location picture......on the shores of Loch Ness , Scotland.....a small model set for Action Man Bowman to stand on was blended into the surrounding scenary on the shore of the Loch....

This location was also used for some of the background imagery for other Action Man pictures over the years of the production .

The first Television Advertisement of an Action Man Cover using one of my images on the cover......

Action Man Ninja.....with the Ninja Bike.....

This image was taken on the "New York City Set".....Entrance to China Town....

The actual model set...five feet square was built with a complete city roadway section , sidewalks with model building entrances and wall front sections ....

and lots of detail . 

The set was used extensively for the "urban type scenes" which were required for pictures showing Action Man in the City . 

Action Man  "  Net trapper " with ATV vehicle....the "Australian Outback" ......

Another on location background image....Portsmouth Royal Navy base.....the image was taken from a harbour ferry while crosssing the harbour...the foreground model set was built in the studio.....

The Action Man "Stealth Boat".....This was an interesting creation I did for alternate images background scenes for the Stealth Figure ....its intended use was for a Photo Story Adventure.

The idea was agreed by Hasbro at the time that it might be offered as a competition prize for the comic.....unfortunately the idea and its appearance in the comic did'nt happen as the storyline of the photo story was changed .

These images are the only one's still available of this vehicle .

The actual model was used for a special effects photo sequence which involved it being destroyed in the stunt.....Action Man though survived to continue his adventures....

This was the DR X prototype Helicopter I created for an Action Man Comic Special....the only one ever built.....with special permission from Hasbro UK....

a special decal set and paint scheme was created for this miniature as it appeared in the magazine story .

A special interior was made so that DR X could sit in the vehicle.....this is the only surviving image of the model in existance .

The craft crashed at the end of the story....DR X though survived and returned in following adventures in the Comic .

The Dr-X Helicopter did survive the photostory and eventually went to the USA to a Toy Collector .....