1976 Kenner Six Million Dollar Man selection

1976 must have been a great year to work at Kenner Toys, their wise investment into the "Six Million Dollar Man" series a year previous had created their first mass media phenomenon (but as history would prove, not their last). The Six Million Dollar Man was not only a smash on TV but he was in short supply on the toy shelves as well. Now in 1976, they not only had to expand the original line but also had the good fortune of merchandising a spin off series, that being the "Bionic Woman". All Scans courtesy of Rob Chatlin, whom I can't thank enough! Thanks to Rob, you'll be seeing more Six Million Dollar Man content in the very near future. Also, check out our new DVD of Six Million Dollar Man commercials, 70's Toy Explosion

Click on the Thumbanils for Larger Images

The basic Steve Austin figure was a sell out smash in 1975, my own mother got caught up in a wave of harried mothers fighting over the small supply at a local Zellers department store. He was the "Tickle Me Elmo" of 1975.

The Bionic Transport and Repair station was originally produced in 1975 and saw it's way under many trees. Critical assigment arms were also joined by Critical assignment legs, clever forsight on Kenner's part to make the legs on the figure removable.

Maskatron filled the need for a villain character for Steve Austin to fight (Montgomery Wards in 1975 recruited Mego to make Doctor Kromedome so Steve Austin had a baddie that season) Loosely based on an epsiode of Six Million Dollar Man, Maskatron was possibly one of the coolest action figures released in 1976. If his robotic parts weren't enough, you could make him look like Steve, Oscar (who had yet to get his own figure) or John Saxon!

The Mission Control Center was inflatable, most likely to keep costs down, it's difficult and downright expensive to produce playsets for 13" figures.

Jaime Sommers was new to the mix this year, fresh from her hit TV series, Kenner attempted to mix the features of the Steve Austin figure with the appeal of a fashion doll for girls, it was hit for Kenner.

Outfits for the Bionic Woman were following the standard Barbie model, fashion over adventure.

The Bionic Beauty Salon enabled you to give Jaime a new hairdo and a tune up.

The Dome House is obviously a more feminine version of the Mission Control Center, seeing as Jaime and Steve would likely not be in the same aisle. "More Tea Steve?"

Back to Plaid Stallions Article Archive