Ideal

Ideal produces numerous toys and action figures. They are well-known for their Evel Knievel figures with stunt vehicles, Captain Action, and more. I will touch on some of them here as there are plenty of websites for the most common and well-collected sites.

If you have any further information, please feel free to contact me at: lmelogra@optonline.net:

8 inch Alvin and the Chipmunks
David Seville	Alvin	Simon	Theodore	Tour Van

Obviously only David Seville is the 8 inch character. The rest are 2-3 inches in height. They did have some different outfits but as of now I do not have any to display here.

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16" Electroman Figures
Electroman	Zogg the Terrible

Here's an unusual toy: Electroman! He has a light on his head (it's just a flashlight!), and when you aim it properly at "Zogg the Terrible", it can knock Zogg flat on his face (required two direct hits). The first hit makes Zogg walk. The second hit will drive him face first to the floor. The figures are 16 3/4 inches tall which was unusual for the 1977-78 era of 8 inch action figures of the time. They were not very poseable either. The red, black and yellow uniform donned by Electroman reminds me kind of like the uniform worn by Pixar's Mr. Incredible. The cool thing with these toys was the gun that came with Zogg. If you did not own an Electroman, you could shoot him yourself!

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6 3/4 Inch Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel (white suit)	Evel Knievel (rescue suit)	Evel Knievel (red suit)	Evel Knievel (racing suit)	Evel Knievel (blue suit)	Robbie Knievel

Evel Knievel Vehicles
Stunt Cycle	Trail Bike	Chopper	Dragster	Funny Car

Canyon Sky Cycle	Stunt & Crash Car	Scramble Van	Super Jet Bike	Stunt Buggy

Evel Knievel Accessories
Arctic Explorer	Rescue Set	Racing Set	Explorer Set	Stunt Stadium

Evel Knievel - packaging
White Suit	Red Suit	Blue Suit	Stunt Cycle	Trail Bike	Robbie

Every kid's hero in the 1970's! Evel Knievel was the king of the stunt men defying death over and over despite numerous trips to the hospital. The figures were rubber bendy over wire. He came with several vehicles that you could attach to a launcher aka "Energizer", wind it up, and let him go... even doing wheelies! He was so cool that Playing Mantis actually remade the original stunt cycle set again a few years ago. Also note this! The Sears Wishbook offered a Mego Fonzie figure and a motorcycle from mail order that was a remake of Evel's chopper - prior to the release of Fonzie's battery operated motorcycle. The only difference is it's black and gray versus the blue of Evel's chopper. The size is a bit small for Megos which made it look rather silly for Fonzie to sit on, but the patent inside belongs to Ideal for the wind-up/gearbox mechanism. I verified this myself!

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Derry Daring
Derry Daring	Trick Cycle

This was Ideal's female version of the Evel Knievel figure aimed for girls. She has the same bendy body and uses the Energizer to wind up her bike. She does most of the same tricks as Evel. She did not come with as many vehicles, but she did have some additional outfits.

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9 Inch - J.J. Armes
J.J. Armes	Mobile Investigation Unit	The real Jay J. Armes	Jay J and Tiger

J.J. Armes - packaging
J.J. Armes	Mobile Investigation Unit Box

This 9 inch tall action figure was modeled after a real detective. I found an article that just explains the true story behind this modern day hero and figured it's better to print that than blurb on my own, so here it is thanks to Sneak Peak POW! Entertainment: "Spider-Man" creator Stan "The Man" Lee has announced the development of his company's first 'superhero creation' of a real life celebrity, to be franchised into comic books and films through POW! Entertainment. The character's name is 'Jay J. Armes', based on the exploits of the real-life crime fighter. "'Spider-Man' had been bitten by a genetically altered spider," said Lee. "'The Hulk' was the product of a gamma ray experiment gone wrong. "'Daredevil' was blinded by radioactive chemicals. "As for Jay J. Armes, he lost both his hands in a childhood accident at the age of twelve." No stranger to the pop world, Ideal toys previously released a series of 'JJ Armes' toys in the mid 1970's, in order to capitalize on the "Bionic Man" TV craze. Gill Champion, company president of Lee's POW! Entertainment said, "This can truly be a tent pole franchise with the right studio partner. "Amazingly, Jay can now do more with the fantastic steel claws that have replaced his hands than people with their own hands can do." "He can reach into fire, smash through doors, fire bullets with unerring accuracy, cut through metal, fly utilizing a jet pack, scuba dive, pilot a jet and master a deadly karate chop." Jay's prosthetics consist of two claws, powerful enough to slice through steel, but also delicate enough to thread a needle or perform surgery. He also owns five-fingered prosthetics which he can wear when the occasion demands, giving him the appearance of a man with two normal hands. Another interesting factor is Jay's life style. He lives on a fourteen acre estate in El Paso, Texas, with nine full grown tigers, a chimp, a wife and loving family. He uses his 750 pound tiger 'Gemini' as a lie detector in difficult cases as he drives the beast around in a specially rigged Hummer. BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!!

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Star Team
Knight of Darkness	Zem-21	Star Hawk	Kent	Zeroid (Blue)

Star Team - packaging
Knight of Darkness	Zem-21	Star Hawk	Kent	Kent (Back)	Zeroid (Blue)

So you're a company that made Captain Action and you need a new idea to capitalize on, but you do not want to reinvent the wheel. What do you do? Simple! Start with figures that are based on the same body types (Cpt. Action and Action Boy), slightly represent a blockbuster movie such as "Star Wars", and re-release some previously made toys with a new name based on the ZEROIDS toys of the time. The Knight of Darkness is just that. He is a Darth Vader rip-off using the Cpt. Action body in black. Zem-21 is a JJ Armes Body. Lucas sued but because the S.T.A.R Team name had been used by Ideal in the early seventies (mostly role play Space toys) and everything had been somewhat recycled, Ideal was allowed to continue. The Star Hawk is reused from the ZEROIDS action figure line. To be honest, it is the coolest toy in the lot. The robot inside goes in and out on its own ramp. Not to digress, but I can remember being about 8 years old or so at a "Goodwill" store in NE Philadelphia and seeing this in the pile of stuff. My mom refused to buy it (for one, it was broken), but I still yearn for this baby! As far as Kent, he was introduced later and was the human entity to the set. If you are really into Zeroids or appreciate really cool computer animation, try this link (you won't be disappointed!): PlanetZeroid.com