The Holy Grail of Captain Action collecting has always been an artifact to answer the question:
"Did Ideal plan any Captain Action, Action Boy or Dr. Evil uniforms and equipment that were never produced?" 

Like many fans I had always assumed any unmade characters would have been planned at the end of the Captain's run,  not having been produced because the line was canceled.  Well it turns out I'd been looking at the problem from the wrong end.  Thanks to John O'Shaughnessy the mystery of a lost character has finally been answered in the affirmative.  But the answer is not one that many Captain Action fans would have excepted. 

As a garage Toy maker I'm always interested in how major toy companies bring a toy from an idea to a finished product.  Anything relating to this process such as sketches or prototypes become invaluable tools in unlocking approaches and techniques.  Recently I was fortunate enough to acquire several wonderful toy prototypes from John.  The workmanship and attention to detail alone have made them the stand out pieces in my collection.  A set of prototypes weapons I purchased included two pistols and a rifle (see figure below). 

In looking over the pieces I assumed that the pistols were works in progress for the Lone Ranger and the rifle was made by John for perhaps Marx's ‘Best of the West’ figures.  I asked John about this and here is his reply:

As you can imagine this was startling news.  In again looking at the rifle (see figures below) and placing in the Captain's hands I could now see that indeed this was created to be a Captain Action accessory!  As you will see in the mock-up (done with existing Ideal pieces for authenticity) the scaling is perfect. This was indeed a Captain Action accessory from an unproduced set.

Well at that point, I knew I'd never look at Davey Crockett the same way again.  As far as I know, no fan has ever even produced a Davey Crockett custom.  But, of course, the character makes perfect sense.  Disney's Davey Crockett was the first big TV marketing phenomenon.  In fact check out this cool Davey Crockett watch (see figure below) that came out in the late 50’s. 

The Davey Crockett show was on in the same period as the Lone Ranger.  At that time there wasn't a kid who didn't have a coonskin hat or didn't sing the Davey Crockett theme song.   If you want detailed info on just what a phenomenon it was, follow this link:

But Davey Crockett as a super hero?  This is not really as strange as it may seem.  He was included in Mego's superhero line (see figure).  Of course Marx hit on a very similar theme with their ‘Best of the West’ Daniel Boone figure.  I can't recall if I ever had any Davey Crockett merchandise when I was a kid, but I sure knew the name and a bit of the theme song.  Davey Crockett is a legendary, bigger than life character.  He is certainly right up there with the Lone Ranger, Steve Canyon and Sgt Fury.  I'm sure he would have made a popular set and been a great addition to the Captain Action line up.

So why then couldn't Ideal get the rights?  Why wouldn't Disney let Davey Crockett (who was a licensing dream) to be a Captain Action suit?  Well, I'm just guessing now, but Disney has always been very protective of their characters.  Perhaps, like PM found with Hanna Barbara on their Jonny Quest line, Disney simply felt that a stand-alone figure would be fine but having Davey as simply a disguise for another character was not treating Davey properly.  Anyway whatever Disney's thinking, Ideal didn't get the license and we lost out on another great suit from Ideal. 

In attacking the mock up I tried to stay as true to Ideal as possible.  I have to thank Noah Coop for his invaluable help in digging up accessories.  In sending some early pictures to John he suggested adding a powder horn and ‘possible’ bag as additional accessories.  With the help of Noah these final details were added.  As you will see in the mock up I've tried to capture the spirit and excitement that you know Ideal would have injected into the figure.  Seeing it makes me realize the great potential of this character.  Davey Crockett, as the spirit of the wilderness and adventure, (as the song says he ‘Raised in the woods so he knew every tree, kilt him a b'ar when he only three’) was a part of all of our childhood. 

I wonder just how far Ideal got with their Davey prototype? It's possible that all their work didn't go to waste.  After all that vintage Tonto uniform does look just about right for Davey Crockett….

As a Captain Action collector I'm very pleased to have been able to unearth this discovery and share it.  With all the rumors about Ideal planning the Joker or Red Skull, it's nice to definitively add a character to the original 13.  Now whenever I hear the name Davey Crockett it won't be the wild frontier I think of but the man of many disguises.

I'm indebted to John O'Shaugnessy both for his work and reminisces.  If you've ever marveled at the detail of Captain Action's wonderful guns or his great 4-foot ‘working’ parachute, you were thanking John without knowing it.  Not only that, he also had a hand in sculpting Captain Action's body.  If you ever wondered what the inspiration for the Captain's idealized form, John told me he looked to classic Greek sculpture for the right look.  And, of course, John invented many toys that never made it to the store shelves.  Perhaps at some point we can talk him into telling some of those stories.  John worked for Ideal from 1962-1967.   So he was there for the birth of Captain Action.  In fact, he told me he was so excited at the first meeting in which the Captain was mentioned he starting drawing right there on the spot.  So he did see the Captains start but not his end.  If there are stories associated with that period they are for others to tell.

That being said let us introduce you to Ideals unproduced Captain Action Uniform and Equipment set: