Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Pop Culture»Toys & Games
    Toys & Games 5 Mins Read

    Six Million Dollar Man Action Figure

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    If there was ever a television series that demanded a toy line for its merchandise, it was The Six Million Dollar Man.

    This classic series chronicling the adventures of a half-man, half-cyborg bionic government agent named Steve Austin became a favourite with television audiences young and old, combining spy suspense with high-tech thrills. It also spawned a popular series of toys that represented the toy industry’s first successful line of television-inspired merchandise.

    bionicbox3The Six Million Dollar Man toy line began in 1975 with the release of the Steve Austin figure. Most doll-style action figures from this era usually ranged between 8 and 12 inches in height, but Steve was a whopping thirteen inches tall.

    This muscular-looking fellow came dressed in a snazzy, NASA-inspired red tracksuit, complete with red socks and sneakers.

    The Steve Austin figure also differed from the likes of G.I. Joe and Big Jim in one important way: instead of coming with accessories, the Steve Austin doll had built-in accessories.

    For starters, Steve had a telescopic bionic eye that a kid could look through via a small eyepiece in the back of his head. He also had plastic skin on his right arm that could be “rolled” back to reveal removable mechanical parts beneath it.

    The coolest of the features on the Steve Austin doll was his bionic strength. If the owner twisted Steve’s head and pushed a button on his back, his right arm could lift up to two pounds.

    This feature was made even cooler by the fact that the figure would make “bionic sounds” while Steve was lifting. A miniature car engine was packaged with the figure for further strength demonstrations.

    Any action figure with this many cool gadgets is bound to be successful, and the Six Million Dollar Man did not disappoint. The Steve Austin figure was a big hit and would be remade more than once.

    The first reissue came in 1977 when a new Steve Austin figure was released. This updated Steve boasted a nifty new feature in its ‘Bionic Grip’. In other words, the right hand would grip an object tightly when a button was pressed on its right arm. A miniature steel girder was also included with this figure so Steve could demonstrate his gripping talents.

    A third reissue of the Steve Austin figure included a “’Biosonic Arm’” that could chop objects with great force.

    Steve Austin’s success as an action figure quickly led to a plethora of accessories. He had a Back Pack Radio that included a real built-in crystal radio. There was also a Porta Communicator backpack that allowed young Oscar Goldman wannabes to transmit their orders to Steve via a radio microphone and broadcast them through the backpack.

    There were a series of outfits known as Bionic Adventure kits that gave Steve mission-specific clothes and accessories. Examples included Mission To Mars and OSI Undercover Assignment.

    Click for full size image.

    Finally, there were Critical Assignment Arms and Legs that could replace Steve’s limbs to give him extra power for those especially demanding assignments.

    The success of the Steve Austin figure also led to a variety of other companions. The most popular was the Bionic Woman doll, which came with ‘Bionic Hearing’ (if her head was twisted, it would make a bionic-sounding noise) and a Mission Purse stuffed with miniature high-tech spy goodies.

    Kenner also made an Oscar Goldman figure, dressed in a funky jacket and green turtleneck sweater and packing a special “Exploding Briefcase”. (basically just an optical trick – if you opened it a certain way, it would reveal an interior that looked like it had been scorched by an explosion).

    There were also plenty of villains for Steve to square off against. There was the Bionic Bigfoot (which had a removable chest plate that revealed a bionic display built into the figure), but the ultimate nemesis for Steve Austin was Maskatron.

    maskatronThis devious cyborg came with a plastic human mask to cover its robotic face and additional masks that allowed him to disguise himself as Steve or Oscar.

    Maskatron also had an all-mechanical torso and removable arms that could be replaced with creepy futuristic weapons.

    The Bionic Woman would later receive a similar nemesis in the Fembot figure. This feminine variation on the Maskatron came with disguises that included a Bionic Woman faceplate and wig.

    The Six Million Dollar Man toy line included plenty of playsets that provided groovy futuristic backdrops for all the bionic action that the toy’s owners could dream up.

    The Bionic Mission Vehicle was a sleek, aerodynamic vehicle that Steve drove under a shield of bubble-like plastic while the Bionic Transport and Repair Station allowed Steve a chance to recharge his circuits. The latter also doubled as a compact carrying case.

    The Command Console and the Mission Control Centre gave Steve a base of operations, and even Oscar Goldman got in on the action with his OSI Headquarters playset.

    Finally, there was the Venus Space Probe. This spacecraft also doubled as an alien that provided another nemesis for Steve.

    As the popularity of The Six Million Dollar Man television show waned so did the popularity of the toys. They were quietly discontinued as the show went off the air, but they remain favourites today with toy collectors and fans of sci-fi television.

    Related Posts

    • Lone Ranger action figures
      Lone Ranger action figures
      Gabriel Toys introduced the Lone Ranger toyline in 1973, creating a vast array of action figures, horses, and playsets based…
    • Bionic Woman
      Bionic Woman
      The Bionic Woman was a spin-off of another bionic-themed prime time hit, The Six Million Dollar Man. In the dramatic…
    • Captain Action
      Captain Action
      With a change of clothes and mask, Captain Action could alter his identity into some of the mightiest heroes on…
    • Billy Blastoff
      Billy Blastoff
      He may not have looked as space-ready as Major Matt Mason, but don't let Billy Blastoff's cherubic little face fool…
    • Action Jackson
      Action Jackson
      The Mego company got its start as an importer of toys and household novelties but in the early 1970s, they…
    • Yo-Yo
      Yo-Yo
      A playground favourite for millions of schoolchildren the world over, the Yo-Yo is actually, according to some historians, one of…
    • Star Wars Figures
      Star Wars Figures
      Director George Lucas passed up an extra $500,000 in director fees when he made Star Wars (1977) in exchange for retaining…
    • Odyssey
      Odyssey
      Before there was Atari, before there was even Pong, there was the Odyssey. We take it for granted now, of…

    Action Figures
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleSpace Invaders
    Next Article Sorry!

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Cliff Richard
      Cliff Richard figured large in my early years. He always seemed […]
    • Smokey Robinson (& The Miracles)
      William ‘Smokey’ Robinson was born on 19 February […]
    • Growing Pains
      1 9 8 5 – 1 9 9 2 (USA) 166 x 30 minute episodes Dr Jason […]
    • Jukes of Piccadilly
      1 9 8 0 (UK) 6 x 25 minute episodes Brinsley Jukes (Nigel […]
    • Six Wives of Henry VIII, The
      1 9 7 0 (UK) 6 x 90 minute episodes The Six Wives Of Henry VIII […]
    • Pound Puppies
      1 9 8 6 – 1 9 8 8 (USA) 29 x 30 minute episodes A Saturday […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.