1975 Catalogue
1975 marked a major shift for Big Jim. In the United States, the All Star and Olympic-inspired Gold Medal ranges were followed by Dr. Steel and the new P.A.C.K. concept. In Europe and other international markets, Mattel was beginning to adapt Big Jim more specifically to local audiences.
Big Jim vs. Big Jeff
The German ad develops the same idea into the Boxkampf-Set #7425. Big Jim and Big Jeff stand on rotating platforms, so the figures can be positioned and moved against each other while their action arms deliver the punches. In the United States, the set was sold as the Gold Medal Big Jim U.S. Olympic Boxing Match.
Training for the Ring
This Italian 1975 advertisement shows Big Jim training with a boxing apparatus fitted with a rotating platform and punching ball. The figure stands on the base and uses his action arm to strike the ball, turning the accessory into a small mechanical training station.
The Man Who Can Do Anything
This German advertisement perfectly sums up Big Jim’s changing identity: “BIG JIM, der Mann, der alles kann” — “Big Jim, the man who can do anything.” He could be a cowboy, horseman, racing driver or simply a friend, allowing the same figure to move freely from sports into almost any adventure.
The line-up brings together Big Jim, Big Jack, Big Josh and the newly introduced Big Jeff, prominently equipped with his machete. The advertisement is therefore most likely from 1975, when Big Jeff joined the range and Big Jim’s world was rapidly expanding beyond its original sporting theme.
The range included puzzles of 25, 54 and 126 pieces, featuring camping, sports, safari and Western scenes. It was a clever way of extending Big Jim’s visual world beyond the action figures while making further use of imagery already created for the brand.
Big Jim Becomes a Puzzle
In Italy, Big Jim’s promotional photography found a second life on Mattel jigsaw puzzles. Images originally created to showcase the toys could become commercial assets in their own right, reused to sell entirely different products.
The P.A.C.K. Arrives
1975 marked a major change for Big Jim in the United States. As the original All Star sports concept began to lose momentum, Mattel reinvented Big Jim as the leader of the P.A.C.K. — Professional Agents/Crime Killers, a team of specialists fighting crime and increasingly exotic villains.
These American catalogue pages capture that transition particularly well: sports equipment and outdoor adventure give way to motorcycles, weapons, specialised agents and high-tech vehicles. Big Jim was no longer simply an athlete or adventurer — in the United States, he now commanded a team.
The transformation went far beyond the figures. Vehicles were redesigned in the P.A.C.K.’s distinctive black, red and yellow colours, creating a much stronger visual identity. The LazerVette, Howler motorcycle, Beast camper and Dune Buggy turned Big Jim’s world into something closer to a secret-agent action series.
Real heroes always live great adventures.
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