Reasons it rocked to be 6 in ’76 Part two: Big Jim

Big Jim was always there when I was a kid, he first burst on the scene as a Sports outdoor type guy in 1972, every kid I know was issued that Camper of his. He was good, not great.

In 1975, Mattel turned him into a bad ass Super Spy and leader of the P.A.C.K, (Professional Agents Crime Killers) the boxes had Jack Kirby art, Jim went up several points in my book.

What’s truly unique about Big Jim to me is, he was the first toyline that i saw die. In the Spring of 1977, my family visited Sears and my sole purpose was to get a new member of the P.A.C.K to go with the Torpedo Fist I had gotten the previous fall.

When we went to Sears, there was no Big Jim section. I asked a Stock boy and he said “Big Jim? they don’t make him anymore”. It was a lot of information to process when you’re six. Luckily for me, the stock boy was a nice guy and went into the back room, he pulled out a boxed Gold Commander that was going on clearance, it was complete. I literally got the last Big Jim in the store.

Twenty years later, at a toy show in Toronto, I saw a dealer put that same Canadian boxed Gold Commander on a table, it never actually hit the table as I simply took it straight from his hands. I think at the time, I overpaid by about $20 but honestly, I wasn’t going home without him. It’s still in my collection to this day!