#matchboxfightingfuries

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Introducing the Fighting Furies action figures!

In 1973 the British toy company Lesney Products & Co. Ltd began planning what would be their first foray into the burgeoning and lucrative market of boy’s posable action figures and accessories. Principally known for their celebrated Matchbox brand of small replica die-cast cars and extensive range of collectable vehicles, their Fighting Furies action figures would also employ the ‘Matchbox’ trademark, launching first in the U.S.A in 1974 and then shortly afterwards in the U.K and Europe the following year. European trade buyers could instantly order directly from stock and the products promptly began to appear in retail stores around the world, including Canada and as far afield as Australia.  Standing at 21.5cms (8.5”) – but occasionally described by Lesney as being 23cms – they lasted for a run of 5 years in total in Europe and the UK, but soon petered out after only 2 in the U.S.

The two primary figures – Captain Peg-leg Pete (aka Captain Peg-leg) and Hook – were generic and exotic 18th century pirates whose aliases were somewhat insensitive epithets of their physical disabilities, but in the world of 1970s toys, amputees seemingly enjoyed positive discrimination for the job of pirate. Clearly either health and safety standards on-board their respective ships weren’t what they should’ve been, or the joys of lawless buccaneering came with their own perils of the job. It’s unknown whether the recipients of these action figures drew any lessons from the apparent physical dangers of being a high seas pirate but presumably the spoils of violently attacking trade route ships and other vessels in order to extricate them of their possessions so as to boost one’s own personal wealth were sufficient to offset the risks and exciting enough for the protagonists to be considered adventure heroes! Their wayward life of fighting, deceitful disguises and testosterone charged camaraderie were clearly sufficient for children to be wilfully shanghaied into “set the mail-sail” escapades! (And, as for the pirates, this was a time before HMRC, or the IRS, so we can turn a sailor’s patched blind eye to their somewhat carefree enterprise for instant wealth creation and general disorderly antics).

          “While cruising in the Caribbean, Peg Leg Pete’s ship ‘The Sea Fury’ is attacked by the rival pirates led by Hook. As the two leaders battle around the deck the other Pirates marvel at the strength and ferocity of the struggle. Finally, both Peg Leg and Hook burst into laughter, grasp each other’s hand and vow to fight together to capture treasure… The fighting Furies are formed!!” [sic]

The full adventure story from the adventure Booklets/Leaflets included with the Peg-leg and Hook Figures.

The figures featured several innovative features, most famously incorporating the igneous ability to throw a knife or repeatedly slash away with a cutlass via releasing the figure’s spring-action right arm or by repeatedly pumping the button discreetly embedded on their side, under the left arm. Impressively this core feature happily continues to perform in virtually all vintage “played-with” examples and undoubtedly justifies their assertion for fighting furiously. The products also put heavy emphasis upon promoting their design for “Action-Flex” bodies, which allowed for impressively agile poses – although they were susceptible to eventual loosening after heavy use – and the Lesney company had duly applied for patent protection. Furthermore, the Peg-Leg figure imaginatively incorporated into his (bottom of the range) prosthetic leg a “secret” map tightly rolled and hidden inside, which could be removed by unplugging the leg’s stopper! This now lovingly renowned feature typically ensured that every map was destined to be lost as it was notoriously difficult to return once unrolled. (Although the idea was always an ill-considered precaution whenever peg-legged pirates went for a paddle).

Adorned in period style dress the figures were clearly inspired by caricatures established by Hollywood’s portrayals of historic swashbuckling antics and by the Boys Adventure literature of a previous era, but historic sea-fairing adventures, such as those featuring Jason and his Argonauts, continued to be popular in cinemas throughout much of the 1970s. Curiously, Peg-Leg in particular appears to be a cultural hybrid mixing the physical icons of clichéd European pirate folklore with the handsome persona of a ‘leading man’, while both seemingly representing exotic origins and not the stylised Cornish or British influences which might have been expected for pirates produced by a British company. Peg-Leg’s enigma was suitably ambiguous, and the designs sought to be internationally relatable with universal market appeal while clearly careful to avoid any inadvertent copyright conflicts with facets and appearances identifiable as any famous onscreen properties.

Going by the adventures, which were provided throughout the pair’s accessory packs, it’s clear that the handsome Peg-leg, with his thick slick locks of Hollywood hair (and, as were the rules of the time, his more European appearance) was the leading man, with Hook occupying the traditional and period device of the faithful sidekick established by, among others, Batman and Robin, the Lone Ranger and Tonto (in an ill thought through contradiction to his ‘Lone’ claim), the Green Hornet and Kato and even Robinson and his companion Friday. Regular references throughout the product line to the Spanish Main, pinpoint their adventures to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and indirectly indicates that Captain Peg-leg, with his dark features and skin tone, might have been the only Spaniard named ‘Pete’?

The Pirate figures and their default outfits:

Described as “savage” in official Matchbox literature, perhaps disconcertingly they were both weaponised with their own cutlass and a hand dagger. Being avid sword fighters, it was easy to press their buttons: literally! Tucked away on their side, under their left arm, was the all-important button which raised and released their spring-action right arm for “Fantastic press action sword fighting!” This could also be deployed manually for “Fabulous knife throwing action”; helpfully speeding up the process of losing these little accessories.

While the typical loss of the hidden map from the Peg-leg figure is notorious and it rarely survives in situ, many vintage “played with” examples do at least manage to retain the leg’s end plug (if not the figure’s small knife) but less well recognised is the fact that every loose and played with example of both Hook and Peg-leg will inevitably no longer be sporting their tiny “gold” plastic ring (unduly added to the independent little finger of their sword fighting hand). These usually forgotten and overlooked micro-accessories – which weren’t transparent, or skin toned, but were golden yellow with a bulge on the outer side and representative of the typical bling such characters would wear - are only ever to be found on mint boxed examples and even then, they may already have fallen off and are languishing somewhere within the packaging. Ironically however, you just might be forgiven for suspecting that their primary purpose was to ensure that the cutlass remained securely held in the figure’s hand while still displayed in the product’s corner window packaging (and for rapid sword fights), as they were fitted to the finger after the sabre and its hand guard were embedded into and over the toy’s grasp, helping to keep it in place.

Both figures were kitted out in colourful period piece attire, although which period exactly is anyone’s guess, but a loose placement might point to the late 18th century. Their default outfits are satisfyingly vague enough for their mystique to allow imaginations to run unhindered and they generally rustle up the spirit of non-specific exotic south seas tailoring. Hook sports his own pair of striped European style socks and colonial style buckle shoes while Peg-leg could seemingly afford more luxurious knee length swashbuckling boots – only without any buckles - as he only needed the one for his left foot. Both sport natty gold braid waistcoats – although Peg-leg insists upon wearing an undershirt as he’s the leader and is clearly less barbarous - and presumably in the interests of keeping in touch with their more fashion-conscious sensibilities both wear bewilderingly bonkers long and flowing silk like sashes around their midriffs of bright yellow and a vivid orange. Owing more to the 1970s, these cost-effective adornments added a flourish to their appearance although they look too synthetic or invented when compared to their optional accessorised outfits which were sold separately.

The figures themselves were exceptionally well designed, articulated and unusually poseable with sharply detailed sculpting in the faces; although Hook can appear half asleep depending upon his eyeliner paint job and appears to be perpetually staring at your shoes. Such was the effort, originality and pride taken in these new action figure designs the product packaging boasted Patent Pending status and the ‘Pat. Pend.’ logo was prominently shown.

Captain Hook evidently paid pleasing and careful attention to his appearance, sporting a huge purple chest tattoo and presumably regularly spending hours carefully shaving his scalp and leaving only one rigorous side-of-the-head patch to grow lusciously long? And after grooming his moustache he seems to have still found time to apply some very effecting eye mascara; careful to look his best for any pirating escapades. (This would also save time if heading straight out after work on a Friday). Hook’s enigma is aided by a general complexion indicating the character’s potential east Asian origin – making him the only one of the team destined to convincingly sport the optional Kungfu Warrior outfit - while his default garbs allude to western Asia; all happily helping to underpin his ‘of no fixed abode’ elusiveness.

Although seemingly planned alongside the original two pirate figures, children would have to wait until 1976 for the additional action figure of The Ghost of Cap’n Kidd to join the range along with his inventive harnessing of the luminous glow-in-the-dark fascination bestowed upon all children of the 1970s. No doubt in clear support of unadulterated spookiness Cap’n Kidd’s ghost figure would actually glow in the dark, recreating the only spectre of ghostly goings-on acceptable to young minds and his loose, semi-transparent, pale remnants of perished clothing would work harmoniously with his underlying skeleton as it glowed. Physically the figure followed the same established build as the others but was made entirely in a light lime-green coloured plastic with the all-important luminous paint providing his USP ingeniously and selectively applied to the body and face in stripes and blobs to rather convincingly create the appearance of a glowing skeleton after lights-out! He had the same sword slashing “action arm” but his outfit and accessories were decidedly minimal with only a weatherworn skimpy shirt and frayed pants, a hat and one miserly sword. Even his boots had been spirited away; although his tricornered hat and cutlass did glow-in-the-dark in their own right.  

Many will report that there were only ever three official figures formally created for the Fighting Furies Pirate line, but wait, was there a fourth!? There is also the Falcon bird of prey figure included in the Hooded Falcon Adventure pack, but regrettably it wasn’t equipped with the same press-button sword fighting action.

*** Find out more about the Fighting Furies Adventure packs or checkout all 9 Fighting Furies posts! ***

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Matchbox Fighting Furies Playset Carry Cases

No pirate is complete without a ship and naturally enough the two playsets which supported the product line both recreated the world of a Spanish galleon with its decks, anchor, cabins, and helm. Launched with the original figures the main Sea Fury carrying case unfolded to reveal much of the ship’s stern and a below deck Captain’s quarters which were enhanced with a self-assembly desk and chair. Released exclusively in North America a year later in 75, a larger more comprehensive version of their ship again converted into a carrying case and was made of the same vinyl covered cardboard - which was the established playset de rigueur at the time – and once again was simplistically decorated with suggestions of decking, doors and hull planking.

In concept the initial ‘Sea Fury Play Set/Carry Case’ (and where you could store all your Fighting Furies) offered a straightforward split-level deck via a stage-set type design and an enclosed Captain’s Cabin below – resplendent with the desk and chair – while the larger alternative was more epic in scale, recreating the broad shape or impression of an entire vessel as a traditional open sided playhouse design, described on its packaging as being “a gigantic 44” long [111.76 cm] realistic pirate ship”.

However, the larger ‘Pirate Ship Play Case’ version was only available in North America and only then exclusively through the national retailer Sears where the box also bore the retailer’s logo; a deal secured by the Lesney Products Corporation (the U.S subsidiary). It offered the opportunity for Peg-leg and the gang to promenade the upper deck, descend a ladder to snooze in a hammock on the lower deck, poke fun at a prisoner (enclosed behind the bars of a prison door) or visit the Great Cabin where one could relax in a single vinyl chair and admire the artwork on the wall (which was a painting of two flintlock pistols, of course). Failing this, just for laughs, you could order your prisoner to walk the ship’s gangplank or consider whether you’d rather sell your detainee into slavery, which was actually all the rage in the pirate profession. The retailer’s blurb also attempts to suggest that you can steer the ship yourself (hoodwinking whichever figure is wasting their time manning the Ship’s wheel) by turning the sail via the rigging lines (i.e. two bits of string tied to the sail’s cross spar which could twist the upright Mast as it was simply wedged between the two newly conjoined compartments of the ‘hull’).

While the full Pirate Ship version did ingeniously fold in on itself to form a neat carry case (which surprisingly was even smaller than the standard Sea Fury version), its assembled state served more as a spectacle and offered more of a panoramic backdrop – familiar to streetscapes created for other action figure toy lines - whereas arguably the smaller worldwide version was a superior offering with a simpler diorama snapshot of a ship’s bridge and deck where-in the fighting furies boys could be fully emerged, duelling it out all day in an expansive foundation for imaginative adventures.

For modern-day big boys wanting to display their vintage Fighting Furies collection, the smaller Sea Fury set arguably provides the superior - and space saving - backdrop and display setting while the diminishing availability of any Full Ship versions which are truly complete are scarce with most sold in the collector’s market being “unwittingly” incomplete, with either the small construction accessories missing (clips/mast sheath/lines) or the gangplank, sail, mask, Jolly Rodger, or ladders absent; which doesn’t deter increasingly unreasonable prices and requires new collectors to source two or more to cannibalize into one complete version.

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The Matchbox Fighting Furies Adventure sets and Packaging

The Matchbox Fighting Furies action figures of the 1970s were originally launched with their own range of six Adventure packs, featuring brilliantly detailed costumes and “disguises” for the two pirates to enjoy jolly japes no less!

Amongst today’s collectors, due to its relative scarcity on the collecting market, the most popular Adventure pack appears to be the Spanish Main Adventure no doubt for its distinct and striking uniform (representative of the 16th and early 17th century) and for its inclusion of a treasure chest and treasures, but the addition of a working cannon (which uses an internal spring) also makes the One-Eyed Sailor pack valued for its equal contribution to Fighting Furies display props. The rarest outfits are now undoubtedly the two European exclusives – the Buccaneer Captain and Spanish Officer disguises - and collectors’ resort to purchasing used figures accompanied by random assortments of clothing which sporadically include elements of these Disguise packs, such as the uniquely striped breeches of the Spanish Officer and his unusually coloured brown boots (only shared with the near identical Spanish Main Adventure outfit).

Packaging:

The figures and their separate adventure outfit packs were all merchandised in wonderfully colourful and highly decorated cardboard packaging and all with their own large window to view the products directly inside and as described in the American trade catalogue as “full-color window display boxes” [sic]. All Fighting Furies carton designs were novel and cutting-edge for their time and awash with beautiful 70s era artistic illustrations of pirates in action, mainsails, and open seas; with the pièce de résistance being the brilliantly painted artwork on the reverse of the main boxes showing the action figures, in hand, demonstrating their “press action sword fighting” prowess.

The national U.S retailer, Sears, also retailed the figures as well as the six adventure packs but their preferred own brand functional packaging couldn’t have been more different to that used elsewhere. Quite why the Sears versions required the extra effort of being packaged in miserly unadorned white boxes emblazoned only with rudimentary black outline cartoon artwork, remains elusive but is presumed to have offered benefits relating to mail order and domestic shipping (and miniscule cost savings for simplified mail order packaging where colourful promotional packaging would be irrelevant). Bewilderingly even the adventure packs – with their clothing and accessories still painstakingly laid out in full display formation and nimbly attached to pale blank inlay cards – were also housed inside solid and plain outer sleeves, identically sized to the ones they replaced and again with the same minimalist and functional carton labelling?

In a curious example of the U.K and Europe perhaps being more equal opportunities conscious the outer retail packing for the ‘Hook’ figure in the U.S.A ensured that he was only ever known as “Hook” [it has been suggested this was to avoid copyright infringement with Disney], whereas in Europe and elsewhere his retail box gave him instant promotion to the status of “Cap’n Hook”; although within the text of the accompanying adventure booklets of both versions – and as supplied in all territories - he continued to be addressed only as ‘Hook’ and was merely acknowledged as a “leader of pirates”. After possibly consulting with his agent, “Hook” managed to get his rank eventually upgraded to “Capt. Hook” in the states if only in official U.S Matchbox trade and consumer catalogues and as a bonus for his ego, he was consistently referred to as the “dynamic ‘Hook’!” on packaging globally; but this did little to resolve the continued confusion caused by Hook being described simply as Peg-leg’s “first mate” in the original U.S 1974 Matchbox trade brochure!?

Similarly, Cap’n Peg Leg’s [sic] European moniker was also a subtle shift from his original U.S version where he would always continue to be labelled as “Capt. Peg-Leg”; with the European alternative for both figures alluding more towards linguistic speech; as in “aye, aye, Cap’n!” This in turn misleadingly implies that their ship’s crew were made up of recruits from the British Cornish coast. More confusingly however, on the reverse side of both retail packs throughout all sales territories the marketing spiel continued to refer to Cap’n Peg-Leg as “Capt. Peg Leg”. In the U.S, Peg-leg was even renamed again as “Captain Peg Leg” on his plain Sears branded packaging and to top it all off, U.K Matchbox literature referred to Pete as “Captain Pegleg” [sic] and at least one U.K advertisement referenced both the leading men by their U.S titles: “Britain is about to be attacked by Capt. Hook and Capt. Peg-Leg”?

All in all, there were at least 4 separate print runs of the windowed cardboard packaging to retail the mountain of pirate figures stock. Some of the European packaging includes a tiny printed statement at the base on the rear advising that “Specification and colour of contents subject to amendment”, but which are also copyrighted 1974 and identical in every other way, while yet another variant also included this statement but more prominently uniquely adds a black key line (outline) to the letters of the large promotional text – “Fights! with his cutlass [...]” – on the front of the packaging; improving its clarity. This could indicate that the later print runs would potentially produce packaging in excess of the remaining original stock and were intended to also cover a second production run of the figures (which never happened). The practice also reveals that relevant packaging was being printed responsively to where the figures were selling best. A hidden detail unique to the original run involves small American flags printed on the hidden fold over flaps at the top of the box for the U.S editions. A further nerd fact also records that some of the European inner trays – which the figures were attached to inside the outer packaging – while being identically printed with the same seafaring vista did not feature, or cater for, the three-dimensional folded pop-out block at the feet, used to keep the figure’s legs splayed and helping them adopt their usual ready-for-action pose!

Presumably because young American children liked to put small plastic toy accessories in their mouths and thought about swallowing them, the boxes for America also featured a warning concerning small parts and that they weren’t recommended for children under 3.

The display boxes (as like their accessorised adventure outfits) featured a product code order number in bold type, with the first two products in the U.S being numbered ’10 00 01’ for Peg-leg and ’10 00 03’ for Hook, doing little to allay Hook’s understandable insecurities. But as these product codes were used in trade catalogues from the 1974 outset, the peculiar absence of a product represented by a ’10 00 02’ code, indicates that a third figure was originally planned or manufactured, but was postponed.

Other than the European display packing featuring four translations of the marketing blurb into foreign languages on the reverse - French, Italian, German and Spanish - perhaps the most significant difference compared with the U.S version was the prominent placement of the Matchbox registered trademark logo. Whereby on the European packaging the logo appears on the front at the bottom left, in America the trademark is relocated to the very top, sitting upon the main ‘Fighting Furies’ title trademark. The decorative skull and crossbones from the plethora of design assets on the box is then relocated to fill the vacated space at the bottom. These differences might have been inspired by a stronger visual design for the European packaging with the Matchbox logo placed more prominently at the top for the U.S marketing, being interpreted as a valuable asset for brand recognition in this overseas market. However, on the reverse side of the cases the Matchbox logo is again moved to join the Fighting Furies trademark on the U.S versions, encouraging us to speculate that this was in all likelihood due to caution surrounding trademark infringements in the U.S - where the name ‘Fighting Furies’ may well already have been in use - and it was more responsible to avoid any confusion by prepending the product brand with ‘Matchbox’; creating a full product title in the U.S of ‘Matchbox Fighting Furies’. In Europe, where the ‘Matchbox’ brand was strongest, naming the range using the full ‘Matchbox …’ version may well have confusingly implied that the figures were only matchbox sized, as like the toy cars for which they were famous.

Inside the boxes the adventure booklets for each figure varied in layout when comparing the American and European designs, as the states didn’t require the various language translations, but they did still managed to need an additional loose page insert inside the leaflets [the “play action instruction leaflet”] giving instructions on how to use the “press action” button (and which may have been to accommodate the plain Sears packaging which omitted any information).

Interestingly, in the U.S there were the same expected minor design differences as well as some more significant rebadging for all six of the Adventure packs. For the American market, once again the Matchbox logo was relocated to join the main Fighting Furies trademark while the recommendation to “Share the action-packed deeds” is uniquely highlighted in red. The U.S packs also opted to use a more formal language when stating “Adventure booklet inside every pack” instead of the decidedly more relaxed devil-may-care British English of the “Adventure booklet in every pack” version (while most of this U.S packaging also attached the contents to their inlay cards with two textile threads, instead of one). However, U.S consumers were not only exclusively warned about small parts and age suitability, but a third incarnation of the outfit packs designed for the U.S market were inexplicably additionally labelled as a “De-Luxe set”. For example, such a version of The Redcoat Adventure box is labelled on all four sides as “The Redcoat Adventure De Luxe Set” [sic] and is so again, partly as a prominent round purple rondel, on the display box face. This alludes to an anticipation of the forthcoming simpler and more competitively priced blister card ‘Disguise Packs’ (and which ultimately would actually only be released in Europe)? Altogether, with the European version, its U.S variant, the U.S De-lux badged version and the U.S Sears own brand version, there are four variations of Adventure kit packaging in total.

In Europe, 1976’s “The Ghost of Cap’n KIDD” figure enjoyed wonderfully inspired and colourful retail packaging, mimicking the size and dimensions of the Peg-leg and Hook boxes, but with an imaginative repurposing as a coffin! This time there was no plastic window at the front, just a small enticing peephole to see Kidd’s face - if you dare – and the cardboard inner sleeve was cleverly illustrated to represent the lavishly padded inner lining of a conventional coffin. Meanwhile the outer case was illustrated with padlocks and afforded the general appearance of a long wooden chest; leaving us to suppose that an enthusiastic crewman with a conscience had lined the ordinary chest with his best special occasion bedsheets? Children everywhere must also have been impressed by the Arthurian proses of Kidd - if not a little bewildered – and being bluntly introduced to the concept of vengeance and damnation, as the “coffin” features Kidd’s chilling warning from the dead as inscribed inside: “Let my bones lie in the light so that my ghostly skeleton absorbs its power – be WARNED! for I swear to inflict my vengeance upon those who damned me!” Somewhat irresponsibly, this particular warning was not made apparent on the outside of the box, where it would have been easily viewable before committing to a purchase. However, sensible priorities did ensure that any choking hazard warnings were usurped by the much more pressing issue of potential deadly terror. Sparing no ambiguity and in large letters, the outer package exclaims “Be Warned!” and explains that inside this chest lies the deadly terror of the Spanish Main! (Retail staff were unable to explain what “Spanish Main” meant, but everyone got the general gist).

Finally, and with yet another exclamation mark the box excitedly highlights that there are secret instructions inside – plural - but these secret instructions understood their target audience well as they literally consisted of only one short abbreviated sentence: “Let the body lie in the light – to re-energise.”

Curiously, within this same cluster of second-wave 1976 products there was also the Cap’n Kidd’s Treasure (“with working compass”) action pack, accompanied with an illustration of pirates digging up buried treasure chests, with which bore zero relation to any of Kidd’s backstory and would have made perfect sense if this were the Treasure of Captain Blood instead? Thankfully children of the time were prepared to overlook the “long lunches” of 1970s marketing departments. (Although the real-life 17th century Scottish-American Captain Kidd was said to have buried his treasures after a career hired to hunt pirates, only to be hanged for having ‘gone-native’ within the world of piracy).

The additional products – two disguise packs and two action packs – launched on card backed blister packs in 1976 also reveal an unrealised intent to upgrade the main figures with “new gripping hands”, which from the dynamic cartoon illustrations are shown to likely be the redesigned hands borrowed from the new Western Series of figures (also released in 76). With a more semi-clenched handshape - better suited to rapidly drawing single action revolvers – the cowboy hands were different, but never did make it onto the pirate figures as promised; which in turn allows us to venture that no pirate figures were ever actually manufactured after the initial stock intake of 1973/74. (This failed commitment was a particular blow for Hook as he was always keen for any improvement).

Taking onboard the information gleaned from the first product codes, the setting of the series firmly around the Spanish Main (with Peg-Leg seemingly of Hispanic or Mediterranean ethnicity) and the product launching initially in the U.S along with the merchandise renaming for European packaging, there is the potential to wonder if the products might have been conceived by the U.S division of Lesney Products at their 141 W. Commercial Avenue, New Jersey address and not in London as is usually assumed; making the Moonachie offices more than just distributors? Unless of course, these creations were simply conceptualized to have the broadest global appeal in the first place and with a sharp eye on the huge U.S market. Either way, the U.S division had given up on Fighting Furies even before Cap’n Kidd’s Ghost figure was launched and so a convenient deal with Sears the national retailer was arranged for some sell-through.

In the intervening years since, toy figure collecting has erupted and with the help of online sales, many of the U.K/Euro market products have ended up with specialist vintage retailers in the states and vice versa; with buyers unwittingly buying the “wrong” version for their region and private sellers repeatedly sending the alien versions back and forth across the Atlantic.  

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The end of the Matchbox Fighting Furies (with full chronology)

Shipwrecked:

After the product line’s initially encouraging but relatively modest success its fighting fury future soon withered and after only five years – in total, worldwide - the figures and accessories were banished to bargain basements and clearance shelves where they lived on for a while and some even languished in their original warehouse packing cases for decades (only to be eagerly consumed by 21st century toy collectors). Those that loved them, loved them, but the pace of sales didn’t justify further expansion, with the original strategy of investing in cost-efficient but large initial stocks serving only to exacerbate the limited range and compromise any potential progress.

Ultimately the products failed to accrue the popularity and volumes originally expected and one anonymous but enterprising U.S toy distributor - where lingering stocks of the Adventure packs were increasingly irrelevant without the matching figures – even slid a deplorably poor-quality pirate figure (“inspired” by the Captain Patch figure of Mego’s Super Pirates product line – with this “knockoff” version placing the eye patch over his right eye instead) into the window packs in an attempt to help sell through the last of the outfits. The ‘patch’ figure was poor and wasn’t even the correct size - being noticeably smaller - but some toy collectors have contemptuously included this unofficial imposter within their Matchbox Fighting Furies collection!??

After Crazy Horse’s tomahawk formally came down on the entire Fighting Furies product line at the close of 1978 it seems happily fortuitous, as the era of Star Wars had arrived and cowboys and pirates – of the earthbound variety - felt particularly dated. But were our pirates, and their Errol Flynn swashbuckling “heroics”, extraordinarily progressive for their time with their obvious ethnicities, male makeup, prostheses, lessons in coastal geography, cultural ceremonies and an embracing of cultural dress? Probably not – and possibly the exact opposite along with fictional clichés stolen from the silver screen of a previous era - but for a short glorious moment these British toys flexed their jib climbing muscles and blithely went head to head with already entrenched and recognisable brands while being prepared to compete across all of the world’s seven seas and all from the humble address of Lee Conservancy Road in landlocked Hackney, East London. The figures had a superior specification, were better crafted and they boasted exceptional outfit accessory packs, but as confused late entries into a crowded market, already dominated by established players, the Fighting Furies have ultimately only become a footnote in the toy history of modern 20th century action figures; but unjustifiably so. Such was the audacious desire of Lesney Products to muscle their way into this lucrative market from a complete standing start, with no franchise tie-ins and relying only upon the claustrophobically generic world of period pirates and old-school westerns, the range was destined to remain small and would always struggle. Quality doesn’t always win out and on imperial seas you only ever got rough justice. But a rare honour is bestowed upon this long-ago toy episode, as Peg-leg, Hook, the original Sea Fury playset and all eight of their disguises now form part of the eminent collection of Britain’s Victoria and Albert museum; the world’s leading museum of art and design.

No self-respecting vintage ‘action figure’ collector can conceivably ignore these beautifully fashioned and exceptional examples which are surely destined to be afforded more and more retrospective attention.

Matchbox Fighting Furies blogs written and researched by Cap’n Blood Lust. (Aye-aye, me hearties).

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Across the internet, the years and lifespan associated with Fighting Furies products are consistently reported incorrect – here is a breakdown of their availability timeline:

Published product history (USA/UK):

The first two Pirates and six Adventure packs first launched in the U.S.A and were then quickly followed in the U.K in 1975. They were publicly promoted by Lesney Products in the U.S for only two years while in the U.K (and Europe) the products continued, and an additional Wild West series was released in 1976. All Fighting Furies products would eventually end with remaining stocks making a final formal appearance as part of the official Matchbox product range in the U.K/Europe 1978 collector’s catalogue.  (It is thought that Lesney Products – aka Matchbox - in the U.K may also have attempted to relaunch the Wild West series – serviced with legacy stocks – to the trade in 1980).

1974 U.S.A: The pirates and adventure packs appear in a public brochure for the first time in the 1974 U.S.A edition of the Matchbox Collectors Catalogue.

(The first two pirates, 6x adventures and the Sea Fury carry case also first appear in the U.S.A trade catalogue for 1974).

1974 U.K: Matchbox Collectors Catalogue; No Fighting Furies products.

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1975 U.S.A:  As previously/1974.

(Elsewhere, U.S.A national retailer Sears introduces the ‘full ship version’ Sea Fury carry case to their product line).

1975 U.K: The two pirates and 6x adventures are introduced in the 1975 U.K public Collectors Catalogue.

(Ghost of Cap’n Kidd, 2x adventure packs, 2x Disguise packs, the Wild West series – of 3x figures and 2x adventure packs - are presented in the U.K trade catalogue).

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1976 U.S.A: All Fighting Furies products disappear from the 1976 U.S.A Matchbox Collectors Catalogue.

(Elsewhere, the U.S.A retailer Sears introduces “Capt. Kidd” – the ghost of - to their range and continue selling stocks of Pirates, adventure packs, and playsets).

1976 U.K: The 2x pirates, plus the introduction of the Ghost of Cap’n Kidd are shown (with their “disguises and accessories” - 6x adventures + 2x disguises - mentioned in the text). The three Wild West figures are shown and described as a “brand new series”. (A “magnificent horse” is also shown, labelled as Sundance. Their own action sets and disguises are also mentioned, while Kid Cortez is labelled as Pecos Kid [sic]).

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1977 U.S.A: Again - No Fighting Furies products.

1977 U.K: 2x pirates + Ghost of Cap’n Kidd, 2x action packs explicitly named and shown for the first time (Stockade Assault & Captain Kidd’s Treasure), 2x Disguises explicitly named and shown for the first time (Buccaneer Captain & Spanish Officer), 6x adventures (listed only), 3x Wild West figures and 2x Wild West adventure packs (Cattle Rustler & War Dance; listed only), are all featured in the public’s Collectors Catalogue.  

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1978 U.S.A: Again - No Fighting Furies products.

1978 UK: Only the 3x Pirate figures and the 3x Wild West figures are shown. (No reference to any accessories, adventures or disguises). No Fighting Furies appear in the 1979 edition.

Products

1974:

Pirate series:

Figures:

Peg-Leg: (Capt./Cap’n). (U.S code: 10 00 01, U.K code: FF-100). 

(Supplied with hidden map, sabre, knife, peg-leg plug/stopper, grey breeches, one boot, white shirt, brown waistcoat, orange sash and ‘gold’ ring).

Hook: (Hook/Cap’n). (U.S code: 10 00 03, U.K code: FF-101).

(Supplied with a black wrist band, sabre, knife, purple breeches, shoes, socks, purple waistcoat, yellow sash and ‘gold’ ring).

Both figures released in corner window packaging with minor design variations and differing titles:

U.S versions. “Hook” & “Capt. Peg-Leg”: exclusive U.S release boxes. (With Matchbox logo at top of box).

European versions “Cap’n Hook” & “Cap’n Peg Leg”: exclusive European release boxes. (With Matchbox logo at bottom) *. (U.K codes: FF-101 & FF-100, respectively).

Both figures were also available in the U.S via retailer Sears in plain Sears branded packaging, as ‘Hook’ and ‘Captain Peg Leg’ [sic].

*Some boxes featured small “specification” statement at bottom rear. Some of which also used flat-bottomed inner inlay cards. Some boxes included the “specification” statement and a black key line around the lettering of the main promotional text on box front.

Not including the Sears packaging and including the U.S.A versions (and counting both figures as one) there are technically four versions with differing external details, but predominantly the USA, the European and European with key-line text versions.

Adventure accessories packs. (Each a mixture of clothing and general accessories):

The Captain Blood Adventure

The One-Eyed Sailor Adventure

The Hooded Falcon Adventure

The Spanish Main Adventure

The Redcoat Adventure

The Kung Fu Warrior Adventure

All 6 adventures were released in packs with design variants:

U.S exclusive standard packaging

European exclusive standard packaging (with language translations)

U.S exclusive ‘de lux set’ labelled standard packaging

All 6 adventures were also available in the U.S via retailer Sears in plain Sears branded packaging.

Playsets:

Sea Fury - Play set and carry case (standard Poop Deck design)

Contains: Vinyl foldout case with attached handle, Anchor with rope, Helm (wheel), 2x deck railings (often confused as one when stacked together), Chart Table, Chair, Decorative Decals (sticker sheet) and Instruction leaflet. Sea Fury retail packaging was a printed open-ended cardboard sleeve with a colour “photo-litho” on one side.

1975:

Pirate series:

Playsets:

Sea Fury - Pirate Ship Play Case (full ship version): U.S exclusive, available only via U.S retailer Sears

Contains: 3x red clips, mast connector, mast sail rubber O-ring (for assembly*); The vinyl foldout case/playset with attached handle, Anchor with rope, Prow section, Helm (wheel), wooden Mast (supplied in two parts, with skull and crossbones Jolly Roger fitted to one), suspended hammock, gangplank, ladders, white square sail and wooden Spar, ropes for securing Spar to stern and instruction leaflet. Sea Fury retail packaging was a printed cardboard open ended sleeve with a colour “photo-litho” on one side.

(*Clips trimmed and bridged together top sections of the front edge balustrades. Connector tube joined the two wooden masts together. O-ring on mast is double looped to slide spar through).

1976 – second wave releases:

Pirate series:

Figures:

The Ghost of Cap’n Kidd (Exclusively supplied in Europe in full colour “coffin” packaging. Codes: FF.102)

Capt. Kidd [sic] (as per The Ghost of Cap’n Kidd, above: exclusively available in the U.S via mail-order from retailer Sears and supplied in Sears branded plain packaging)

Disguise packs – Europe only product. (Clothing only):

Buccaneer Captain

(Contained: Tricorn Hat, Ruff, Blue Coat, Black Boots and White Breeches)

Spanish Officer

(Contained: Cloak, Helmet, Breastplate, Ruff, Brown Boots and Striped Breeches)

Accessory action packs – Europe only product. (Accessories only):

Cap’n Kidd’s Treasure

(Contained assorted accessories concurrently available in The Captain Blood and Spanish Main Adventure packs and the white belt and pouch from the Redcoat Adventure. Contents: Compass, Treasure Chest with Treasure, Telescope, Pistol, Shovel, Belt and Pouch, Tankard, Set of Keys and Treasure Map)

Stockade assault

(Contained assorted accessories concurrently available in The One-Eyed Sailor and Redcoat Adventure packs. Contents: 2x Belaying Pins, Rifle, Pouch, Pistol, Swivel cannon on gun barrel, 3x rammers, Axe, Grapple with rope, Powder horn)

Western Series:

Figures – Europe only product:

Black McCoy

(Included body-armour, black cattleman Stetson - with decorative red hat band, chin strap/cord and toggle - and a revolver handgun. Packaged with a brown handled knife – as like the other figures – but is omitted from box illustrations and Matchbox catalogues).

Kid Cortez

(Included body-armour, yellow sombrero with chin strap/cord and toggle, revolver handgun, brown handled knife and green cord for closing his waistcoat).

Crazy Horse

(Included two patterned hair bands, two head feathers, tomahawk and knife. There is a colour variant of his trousers: yellow or darker yellow/orange).

Sundance – the Wonder Horse (featured in promotional literature and series packaging, but not believed to have entered into production).

Accessory action packs – Europe only product:

Cattle rustler (Content: Rifle, Water Bottle with and Strap and Stopper, Camp Fire, Unrolling Blanket with straps, Pair of Initialled Branding Irons, Steers Skull, Pair of Chaps, Mug and Coffee Pot with Lid)

War dance (Content: “Peace Pipe”, Lance, Working Rattle, Drum with Drum Stick, Shield, Mask Headdress and Camp Fire)

 Inexplicably some Peg-Legs and some Black McCoys have the same black wrist band as Hook.

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The Matchbox Fighting Furies prototypes

As is the way of needing to produce publicity materials prior to an actual production run, we are treated to visuals for the initial product launch which used the original prototypes and we gain glimpses of how the pirates might have originally been envisaged.

In the initial 1974 trade catalogue Peg-leg and Hook - presumably practicing their furious fighting skills on each other - both sport shinier hard plastic heads with Peg-leg using a longer and slender more conventional sword while poor old Hook is left to fend off the attack with only his small hook (which is quite possibly how he lost his hand in the first place)? Both have minor colour, waistcoat trim and textile variations but Pete is also noticeably darker in complexion at this stage, doesn’t have any facial hair and appears to have no peg-leg end plug, which presumably means he didn’t have a hidden map during his first prototype incarnation. Meanwhile, Hook has a more obviously oriental moustache and is shown to originally wear his ponytail at the rear of his head, instead of at the side, which we might imagine was revised once it was realised you couldn’t see it when the figure was presented in its windowed retail packaging.

Later in the 1976 UK catalogue shows a painted illustration of the pirate figure toys in striped trousers, just like the Europe only trousers for the Spanish Officer disguise, (as well as other garment colour changes) suggesting that a second production run would jazz up their appearance; but alas this wasn’t to be.

The prototype vinyl Sea Fury playset first shown in the 1974 trade catalogues didn’t supply the promised hammock until the later full ship version, and its knock-off Chippendale red table and chair design would get a severe downgrading to crass folded vinyl efforts in actual production. But conversely the poop deck balustrades would also be downgraded from illustrated vinyl spindles to plain red plastic as like Hook’s natty looking golden wristlet eventually becoming an unnoticed black band.

Although vinyl was still all the rage in the 70s, the Sea Fury playsets were imaginative but feebly executed being constructed only of binary-coloured simple wipe down friendly soft plastic vinyl covering a somewhat flimsy folding cardboard structure and simply decorated with rudimentary cartoonish illustrations; of which you could then liven up yourself with the handful of colour stickers supplied within (and in this more articulate era were impeccably described as Decals). The offering was completed with an unnecessarily poor ‘flatpack’ table and chair made out of the same vinyl superstructure (which would be a nightmare in the summer for any Pirate who favours wearing shorts). Here the products suddenly appeared to be aimed at a younger audience than the sophisticated figures and accessory packs had implied? This vinyl manifestation was not the original plan however, when the blatantly more appropriate prototype for the concept of a Furies playset vessel was first engineered in 1973. Made more robustly with disciplined materials and with a solid plastic mould for the Prow, the original vision had an enclosure around the Poop deck which would fold flat and a main hull which partly collapsed at the centre (the Tween deck or Orlop) – reducing its size by a third for use as a carry or storage case – and all forming a 360 degree three-dimensional Brigantine style sailing ship! The plastic barrels and treasure chests from the Adventure packs can only hint at what might have been and clearly the inspiration behind such ambition would later be deployed for the Matchbox range of pirate ships produced in more recent times (such as the ‘Superb Deluxe Captain Pirate Ship Playset’). This proto-design included a full side panel on the hull which swung open to reveal the Captain’s Cabin and a further fully enclosed cabin – perhaps the crew’s quarters – featured at the bow of the ship.

But while this version of the Sea Fury ship was sadly scuttled, it appears that there was an equally doomed attempt at another fully formed vessel which was planned for launch along with 1976’s Ghost of Cap’n Kidd figure. This addition to the range was no doubt inspired by, and referenced by, the boat illustrated hanging off the side of the larger full ship vinyl version of the Sea Fury, released in 75 (if only in the states). The all new “Pirate Longboat” was smaller and simpler but was more accurately in sync with the product line’s positioning and even made it so far as a final and authentic prototype and was actually presented to retail trade buyers. From a period industry trade publication, we can see the detailed sculpted planking of its hard plastic hull while it also boasted coming complete with a cannon and a Jolly Rodger! The small cannon – or more accurately a culverin - was recycled from the One-Eyed Sailor Adventure kit (and also appeared in the Stockade Assault action pack), but when onboard the Longboat it would be stored in a purposely designed swivel cavity and there was also a second compartment ideal for hiding a treasure chest. It would appear that one of the boat’s loose accessories might also have included a troublesome Octopus (but incredibly the pre-production photoshoot used the Hasbro GI-Joe Eight Ropes of Danger version)! The boat was similar in construction style to the contemporary Lone Ranger Rides Again Prairie Wagon, and would have also been much loved by today’s collectors, but who only knows what became of the one-off prototypes seen in these pictures?

Talking of which: In the adventure leaflets supplied with the Western series action figures, there is a small section singing the praises of Sundance – the fully jointed Horse “with action-flex legs”. The feature poses the headline, “Have you seen the Wonder Horse”? Well the answer is most definitely, no. In fact, no one has – ever – leaving us to conclude that this too never made it into production. Ignoring the potential trademark infringement of banding around the “Wonder Horse” byname, a fully boxed prototype with a fully jointed ‘Action Flex’ body was expectantly created, complete with an “authentic” saddle, rooted hair mane and tail and an “action pose stand” so that you could pose the feisty Palomino rearing up (in typical Lone Ranger or Gene Autry on Champion – the Wonder Horse – fashion). But Sundance was soon omitted from the 1977 Matchbox collector’s catalogue and was only ever to be seen by the public via the promotional packaging of the other Western series products (and his brief cameo in the 76 brochure), meaning Black McCoy would just have to walk everywhere after all.

Sadly, we can only suspect that the Sundance and sailing products were deemed to be too expensive at retail (and just too derivative for budgets already committed to alternative product) leading to too few retailers placing orders during the planning season and ensuring production couldn’t be justified. The early Sea Fury design in particular seems to embody the company’s strategy of simply producing superior products with which to compete but found the retail and production reality of excelling in the action figures market to be more difficult than first imagined.  

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Matchbox Fighting Furies second wave and the Wild West series

Following the initial 1975 release, a second wave of additional products were introduced - although some were a limited release in the states and others would only be available within European markets – with the most memorable addition being that of the Ghost of Cap’n Kidd who finally made his debut in 1976. There was also a larger playset (unleased earlier in 75 in the U.S only), action packs and two new disguises, but most significantly an entirely new series of figures were launched… 

The Wild West Series

Perhaps in the knowledge that they planned to drop the Pirates range in the States, in 1976 Matchbox had opted not to expand the rollcall of Pirate figures, but instead – presumably with one eye on the popularity of Gabriel Toy’s Lone Ranger figures - launched a second series of Fighting Furies based upon 19th century American Cowboy and Indian themed adventures; and fittingly replaced the sword in the Fighting Furies logo with a Rifle. Although the three new figures featured in literature distributed in the U.S – with overlay print advising that they weren’t available in the USA - the range was ultimately only ever available in Europe; surprisingly so, considering all of its raging Americana, but the UK had already proven to be the most receptive towards the Pirate line and European distributors were evidently more enthused. (The U.S Lesney Products Corporation only found further opportunities for a larger pirate play set to be exclusively retailed through American retailer Sears; who also agreed to exclusive representation of the new Capt. Kidd ghost figure).

The hackneyed caricatures inspired by Hollywood, Saturday morning adventure serials and boy’s hero comics of the gunslinging Wild West variety were typical examples from the genre: Crazy Horse “The Indian”, Black McCoy “The Gunslinger”, and Kid Cortez “The Mexican” all had their own faint backstories with Judd McCoy (aka Black McCoy) being an innocent victim who owns a ranch and becomes a “fast gun” seeking justice through revenge(!) and Kid Cortez an outlaw re-enacting his version of the Robin Hood theme. While the faint standards of 1970s political correctness were unwittingly irrelevant when casting Kid Cortez as a Mexican outlaw and described by Matchbox as “the sinister Mexican bandit”, pragmatically the complexions of each character appears to owe more to the efficiency savings made when continuing to use the Pirate series bodies and the Peg-leg head (complete with his pig-tail hair style?). However, Black McCoy did have a unique body colour while his face had a fuller moustache and used a lighter skin tone to match his body and Kid Cortez extended his thinned ‘whiskers’ and came complete with a shadowed jaw, which improved the authenticity of the facial features significantly (but clearly only bad guys would ever play fast-and-loose with their daily shaving regime). Cortez also sported a full bandolier of ammunition which was seemingly kindly loaned from the mysterious ‘Hooded Falconer’ (although dark brown and with cartridges which are distinctly of a more yellowy-green colour). Hook’s head sculpt was also repurposed for the native American head, but this time given a full head of hair and different painted eye details as well as the addition of the character’s decorative face paint.

The Western series did have some new investment in a revised design for the figure’s hands as they now boasted rubber “gripping hands”, helping to repurpose the action arm for the gunslingers, from overhead knife throwing to drawing a revolver from a leg holster; although this excessively tricky manoeuvre suffered mixed results and required an external brace - disguised as “Gunfighting Body-Armour” - which extended under the trousers onto the right thigh, ensuring the leg and holster were held in the optimum position. Unfortunately, this curious design “solution” only served to severely compromise the figure’s manovourability and they became difficult to stand; meaning that even Cap’n Peg-leg performed much better down at the saloon disco. (And so much for the still heavily promoted ‘Action-flex’ bodies). A further fiddly and delicate accessory attached directly to the arm included a small rubber plug which, when inserted into the elbow joint, fixed the elbow in a bent position for improved gunslinging action and the sprung arm – combined with the new gripping hands – was even presented as being able to raise the figure’s hat from his head?! These designs reeked of afterthought retrofit designing, and the sight of your favourite fighting furies action figure lifting his hat teetered on bizarre.

There was also the option to buy two accessory action packs - The Cattle Rustler and War Dance,  with the “action” seemingly revolving around branding an imaginary cow while brewing a pot of coffee and Crazy Horse doing a dance - but the touted fully posable horse named Sundance never went into production and was a disappointing omen for the series which only hung around for three years as the stocks dwindled.

This half-arsed effort launched nearly halfway through the ‘Fighting Furies’ five year existence featured figures which were once again brilliantly executed – presented in the usual colourful packaging and this time with double corner windows - but which only appeared to cynically ape the surprise success of Gabriel’s Lone Ranger collection of Wild West figures and horses; with ‘Matchbox’ seemingly oblivious to the competitor’s head start of expanded characters, disguise kits and playsets that children had already committed to. Arguably this folly would only serve to reverse dilute and weaken any potential distinction the Matchbox Fighting Furies brand may have already gained and ultimately the sparse Matchbox rendition failed to extend the ‘Fighting Furies’ product lifespan.

The three Wild West amigos did manage to land an enthusiastic token audience due to the undeniably detailed and fastidious execution (and incidental satire amongst modern-day collectors), but today it remains a largely overlooked and undiscovered ‘side note’ mini-series for vintage enthusiasts.

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Matchbox Fighting Furies promotion

When launching their Matchbox Fighting Furies action figures back in the 1970s, the Lesney company owners left little to chance and threw everything they had at the launch of their Fighting Furies, with a comprehensive assault upon the retail trade with instore mechanising materials, targeted printed media promotion, trade advertisements and even television advertising in the U.S.A and Europe; demonstrating how important the new endeavour was for the company.

For the U.K 1975 launch Lesney even created a tie-in marketing opportunity sharing in the excitement of a new Disney Movie campaign - The Island at the top of the world - which offered a similar vision of high seas adventure with a half-a-million pound cinema competition promotion which appeared in movie trailers at Rank cinemas and on movie posters; which Lesney claimed added up to a million pounds worth of publicity. For at least a couple of years they would also advertise heavily within “the comic press” (often disguised as comic strips themselves, featuring the adventures of the Fighting Furies and the story of Cap’n Kidd). In 1975 these started in April and built all the way through to the important pre-Christmas period with several print campaigns also running internationally and stretching across several countries including Germany, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy.

For the initial North American T.V spots they employed the talents of rising child star Mason Reese and secured significant coverage within America’s renowned Sears shopping catalogues. Not only did Lesney advertise on TV, but they advertised within the trade press that they would advertise on TV!

Starter packs for retailers contained a suggested ratio and initial range of products to stock with the cardboard outer packaging that they partly arrived in being reusable as a display stand. Then a full colour printed headboard could be inserted at the rear to create an eye-catching counter-top point-of-sale display. In the UK, the 1976 Ghost of Cap’n Kidd outer cartons also offered the same functionality; with a headboard highlighting his glow-in-the-dark credentials as well as an alternative Pirate headboard representing the full mix of products.

Perhaps representing the stocks of figures still readily available in 1977, one German company even offered the chance to win Fighting Furies action figures when buying their Super Pirate pen (with super eraser!), which was adorned with their own eye-patch wearing pirate and who bore a strong resemblance to our own Cap’n Peg-leg.

See the U.S 1974 TV advert on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QjlA_ijYlF8

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The Matchbox Fighting Furies Adventures!

Each Fighting Furies action figure and their six original accessory adventure packs all included their own adventure “booklet” (which could be better described as a leaflet) in order to fire the imagination of the little hands and minds they were intended for.

The adventures

A decade before the Masters of the Universe toy range had the celebrated idea to create their own character creations supported directly by their own comics (and as supplied with each figure), Matchbox had already been dreaming up adventures to illustrate with each of their own unique characters and even portrayed them – in similar fashion to the Lone Ranger Rides Again toy line – in comic strip form which were run as full-page advertisements in boys comics.

Not only were the figures themselves supplied with their own backstories, but the separately sold packs of outfits and accessories were also served with their own episodic adventure tales, ingeniously incorporating the very outfits and paraphernalia each story employed and duly describing the sets as ‘Fighting Furies Adventure Packs’.

In one such action adventure – the ‘Spanish Main’ – the accompanying story retells the account of how our two likely lads opportunistically spy the crew of a Spanish shipwreck hauling its cargo onto ­the beach of the ‘Fighting Furies island’ (presumably being where the Furies spent their days off).  Accompanying illustrations show Hook and Peg-leg relishing the fun of dressing-up in a full Spanish uniform disguise and cheerily waving at an unsuspecting Spaniard as they approach; upon which Peg-leg energetically shoots the unsuspecting guard at arguably un-sportingly point-blank range (seemingly in the face and using a pistol omitted from the actual disguise pack) to successfully commandeer a wooden chest full of the finest silverwear booty! Thankfully, as was typically the case with all their capers, we’re spared any major moral concerns as its clear the military convoy are not victimless and continue their own habit of seeking ill-gotten plunders and the story recasts our seafaring rouges as anti-establishment figures resisting boorish authoritarianism. But Peg-leg, ever the master of subtle body language, shows his dominance within the team by brazenly standing upon and pinning down their newly acquired wealth, thus subliminally claiming primary ownership (of which he chooses to share), as the duo celebrate. The more modest Hook meanwhile demonstrates restraint and how well their working relationship is blossoming by not-so-much as mentioning that Pete is damaging the goods and whether or not he would mind not resting his big filthy wooden stump inside their treasure chest full of precious tableware?

In other stories, such as the mysterious “Hooded Falcon” the alleged “adventure” is sparse and simply asks several questions, inviting us to fill in the gaps and decide the details.

“The Fighting Furies cross to the Barbary Coast and wait out to sea for well-laden merchant ships to leave their ports. How do they know which ships have the best plunder? Who is the Mysterious, enigmatic figure, who is seen everywhere with a Falcon on his wrist and known only as the ‘Hooded Falcon’? Who is sending messages to the ‘Fighting Furies’ ship, via the well-trained bird? Peg-Leg or Hook?... Or both?”

The Hooded Falcon Adventure.

All that said, these glorious but brief tales are genius outlines – sidestepping the absence of any movie, TV or comic book tie-in – beautifully designed for children to re-enact and embellish with their own little Peg-leg and Hook effigies. But with all the reckless abandon encouraged by their Adventure sagas and Disguise packs, the chronicles and descriptions potentially employ two interpretations for the products. Not only can our debonair heroes readily evade detection with their deceitful but brave use of playing dress-up, but the action figure toys themselves might also be disguised by switching identity and becoming a wholly different character, such as a Spanish Officer, a Japanese Pirate leader or by adopting the rather dapper disguise kit for Captain Blood.

The Capt. Blood Adventure set can be interpreted either way as a decidedly problematic plan is retold within its own “adventure booklet”, when Peg-leg and Hook both simultaneously disguise themselves as Captain Blood in order to pilfer the keys required to get their hands on Blood’s maps which in turn pinpoint his buried loot. Blood, who’s main pastime was apparently terrorising the island of Haiti, seems particularly irked by the exploits of our happy-go-lucky team and with seemingly little regard for a fair trial he keeps things simple by exercising his pursuit of their “destruction”. This refreshingly uncomplicated plan instantly formalised his self-proclaimed status as the Furies “sworn enemy”.

It’s a shame Matchbox never produced a Captain Blood figure or maybe some generic journeyman figures – perhaps representing British Redcoats – for the boys to tackle en-masse; instead of just fighting spookily familiar looking characters robed in different frocks or apparently just endlessly duelling with each other? Two years into their reign – one year in Europe - our pirate duo were eventually joined by a third figure in 1976 to share their rough seas adventures but unfortunately for them he wasn’t a new drinking buddy or a nemesis they could easily enjoy running through with cold steel as he wasn’t of this world, being nonother than the Ghost of Captain Kidd! Presumably inspired by the folklores and legends of ghost ships, the Fighting Furies toy line was decades ahead of a certain Hollywood movie franchise (starring Mr Johnny Depp) and was a fictional world happy to ignore the sage advice about there being too many Captains. (Or was that Chiefs?)

However, the interpretation of what constitutes a ghost is seemingly a bit befuddled in the world of Matchbox figures as according to the associated literature and comic story strip advertisements, when returning to Jamaica’s Port Royal Kidd’s ship was mutinied and he was duly murdered, where eventually his body would be abandoned on a tropical island leaving the sun to bleach the bare bones of his rotting corpse. This physical skeleton, and what remained of his clothing, then rises as Captain Kidd’s Ghost?! But considering the brutal murder by his crew, the theft of his ship and the disregard for his mortal remains, Kidd’s ghost rather magnanimously is only hellbent on revenge via his chosen technique of “swordplay”. This is pretty reasonable of him and arguably a proportionate response. Its left to us to assume, on seeing further promotional material for the products, that he also indulges in being a massive nuisance and being generally disagreeable to the totally unimplicated Captain Peg-leg and Hook while they’re no-doubt just trying to go about their daily business. According to the further detail included with the figure, after striking a reef his ship sank along with his coffin which is retrieved by the survivors, intent on claiming an unspecified reward, and brought ashore. Upon opening it his bones absorb the sun’s rays! Then “at midnight, re-energised, his Ghost with fantastic swordplay takes a terrible revenge”.  

               Full page Ghost of Cap’n Kidd advertisement circa 1976.

Alas, no such imaginings accompanied the more subdued enthusiasm of the two blister-card Disguise Packs (containing two additional costumes) released in 1976 and we can only draw inspiration from their names: Buccaneer Captain and Spanish Officer.

(More adventure details for the 1976 Western series of Fighting Furies available in a separate post).