[Erik Mona]

About 100 days ago, the double whammy of quarantine and turning 45 had me waxing nostalgic and in need of an artistic hobby not related to my day job. I hit upon the idea of making modern updates of the old Fisher Price Adventure People, and since then the project has kind of taken over my mind.

I got my first Adventure Person about 1977 as a reward for good behavior at daycare (I was 2). I picked the fireman from a drawer of other toys, and it was all over for me from there. I had a pile of Adventure People before I got my first Han Solo. They mingled freely with Star Wars figures for years. Then, as I got older, my Star Wars toy obsession morphed into GI Joes.

A few Adventure People managed to hang on longer than others, but over time their lack of articulation did them in for me as toys. I’m 45 now. I don’t really play with toys anymore, but now I can do something about the articulation.

My project is an attempt to recreate the silhouettes and concept of as many of the original Adventure People as I can. Once I’ve got the template as close as I can figure, I repaint the whole thing limited to the color palate of the original figures, as much as possible (with some allowances for embellishments inspired by details on the modern figure sculpts).

As of today, I’ve got four finished so far. I have six (including the motorcycle drivers!) almost complete, and another 10 or so either ready for paint or awaiting parts from very backed-up casters. One of those is the fireman’s helmet. I’ll bring it full circle, eventually.

Here's a group shot of what I've produced so far. I hope to add new figures to this thread as I complete them. Comments and criticisms are welcome. I've had a blast putting these together, and I learn a new trick or two with each and every one.

I hope looking at these fires the same nostalgia neurons for you that making them has for me!

[GI Flow]

Whoa! Truly impressive craftsmanship

[Erik Mona]

My first Adventure People modern update was the Frogman, who originally came as a carded figure or as part of the Aero-Marine set. I had the latter as a kid--a truly delightful little playset, like so many Adventure People offerings.

Of course, this guy's blue color scheme meant that he soon graduated to the ranks of Cobra, so he survived as an active toy a bit longer than some of the others, tagging along with Eels and their slippery ilk.

This was my very first action figure custom attempt since I ruined an Airborne figure with some enamel paint and a permanent marker circa 1987. I hope my skills have improved since then! I was very paranoid about freehanding the Frogman's logo, especially as the Lt. Torpedo GI Joe figure I used as the base made it clear that it should be centered, and bigger. I think I pulled it off ok, which made it less intimidating when I had to do the exact same thing for the back of the Rescue Pilot, which I'll show off later.

The "recipe" for this guy is pretty simple--he's a straight-up repaint of Lt. Torpedo.

I promise things will get more complex as we move on through the line...

[Erik Mona]

Here we have the Rescue Pilot, another star of the Aero-Marine set that included both a helicopter and a sweet submarine.

Emboldened by unexpectedly not hating my paint job on the octopus logo on the Frogman's chest, I decided to give it another go on the back of the Rescue Pilot, and ended up being really pleased with the results.

As with the Frogman, the Rescue Pilot's blue outfit made him a Cobra technician for years. I always wanted a few more "background guys" back in my carpet wars days. It takes logistics to run a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world, after all! And since Hasbro never really provided much in the way of workers and civilians, the Adventure People were always around to fulfill that role.

Here's a look at the octopus logo comparison between the original figure and my update. Over the course of the lockdown so far I've had a chance to appreciate these figures as an adult, with an eye of someone who has worked in publishing and character design for about 20 years. Those Adventure People team logos are sublimely rendered. This one (though naturally similar to that of HYDRA in Marvel comics) is one of the stand-outs for me, and I really wanted to nail it.

As fun as it was to repaint Lt. Torpedo as the Frogman, I think the Rescue Pilot is where I decided to really make this a project. Not only did I prove to myself that I could do it (basic skills generated over 35 years of D&D figure painting don't just go away, apparently), but I also spent more time bashing together parts and trying stuff out before I committed to painting it up.

Here's the recipe:

Head: Marauder Hans
Torso and Arms: Marauder British Soldier
Legs: Marauder Agency Ops Black Legs
Headset: Marauder Radio Headset Headphones and Helmet Microphone
Pistol: Fodder (damned if I can remember)

[Erik Mona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GI Flow

Whoa! Truly impressive craftsmanship

Thanks so much! I'm still learning the ropes and getting into things, but it's been super fun so far!

[kuh_rupht]

Good stuff Erik! I saw these on FB and it brought me back immediately. Keep em coming

[jabalong]

Well done Erik! Saw these on Facebook and was going to ask you if there was somewhere to follow this project. Will keep an eye on this thread.

As another 70's kid, I think Fisher-Price's Adventure People must have been my first action figures. And I loved them dearly with all their accessories and vehicles.

I've long been saying that if a company were to make a modern 3.75" take on the Adventure People, I reckon they'd sell very well. Seems to be a lot of demand for a variety of generic civilians.

It strikes me as something that would be up Boss Fight Studio's alley and would be a good vehicle for them to expand their range of modern parts.

[Erik Mona]

I'll race the current companies. Let's see if they can get started before I do the first 70 Adventure People.

[Erik Mona]

In all honesty I think some jumpsuits, leather jackets, dress shirts, etc. would be gold for customizers. I've had to drop some serious coin to put together some of these figures, so it would be cool to have more off-the-rack options for non-military stuff.

Also, hoo boy the hobby needs more female head sculpts. Now that I'm getting into some of the women figures it's crazy difficult to find the right heads. It seems like almost all the heads available (even on caster sites) feature one of about five different hairstyles.

And none of them are particularly great for the 70s.

[46 Zone]

Great work man!!!