For collectors wishing to avoid 40th Action man reproductions , some things to be aware of are :

1) The first lot of action man 40th Anniversary repoductions namely  Lifeguard , 1st Issue Sportsman ,   Armoured Car Commander, Navy Frogman, Action Sailor, Chelsea Footballer,2nd issue Soldier, 1st Issue Boxed Soldier (Blonde hair) were produced exactly as the originals with all box artwork the same and labels in outfits plus Hasbro name on weaponary etc. SO BE AWARE as these have already turned up on Ebay passed of as Vintage originals.

2) Later introductions do not have the labels in the outfits nor the Hasbro name on items. Of course not all original vintage items did indicate hasbro but it can certainly help identifying in many cases.

3) Smell is a big factor to distinguish new from old originals, sounds crazy but ask the seller what the item smells of - a characteristic mustiness often will show a vintage item, no smell -quite possibly  reproduction.

4) Condition - mint is rare on items 'off' the card so unless the seller is known be careful with a 'mint' description.

5) Dolls - only the dolls from the 1st wave of 40th Anniversary are identical to the originals with the Palitoy 1964 stamp on the base of the back. Later reprodcutions dolls indicate made in China

This will hopefully aid people falling foul of copies passed off as vintage.

Regards to all new and old collectors alike. I hope this is useful