Action Jose The Kung Fu Man 9″ (~Hasbro)

This page is created primarily from the collection of Vincent Cerbone, a longtime action figure collector and member of MegoLike on Facebook. A HUGE THANKS to Vinnie who has provided us with pictures and information on this incredibly rare (updated) 9″ Mego knockoff! So the story is that these figures are marked “Made in Hong Kong” solely on the package…no toy company anywhere. At first it seems they are just another cheap knockoff and the bodies are (updated) identical to the Orli Jouet figures, rather unique in this (updated) 9″ format in the 1970s and 1980s in the USA. However, an article that was published by Wayne Faucher, a vintage GI Joe collector who was allowed access to a secret warehouse owned by Hasbro of every toy they had made, inadvertently had Action Jose on the wall along with the GI Joe Adventure Team figures as well! Hmm…that gets us to thinking and it sheds some new light and it looks like Hasbro either was producing the figures, repackaging and/or reselling someone else’s to capture some of the 8″ toy line craze of the 1970 that Mego had unlocked.

I love this line of figures as the accessories are often unique and not repackaged Mego Action Jackson parts like many other lines. I love the card art of the shirtless kung fu warrior in attack mode looking like he’s ready to lunge! The bright pink backing really pops and makes the cards stand out, which is really what toymakers needed if you wanted to lure kids in to your products over the many other similar racktoys of the day. The outfits for Action Jose The Kung Fu man ranged from a race car driver, to a boxer, to a fisherman, etc…quite a range for a Kung Fu Man! Not sure if this is coincidence or not, but something tells me it is not: Action Jose (“AJ”) ….hmm..not ripping off Action Jackson too much!!