Army Men – Real Combat (Playing Mantis)
In the early 2000s, the toy company Playing Mantis released a short-lived action figure line called Army Men – Real Combat, directly based on the 3DO’s Army Men Videogames franchise. The figures were around 6 inches tall and designed with a military theme, clearly inspired by the Army Men characters of Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes, but produced as articulated collectible toys.
Overview
Playing Mantis produced a licensed action-figure line based on The 3DO Company’s Army Men video games (notably the Sarge’s Heroes era). Contemporary materials explicitly state that Playing Mantis and 3DO teamed up to release six figures from the games.
Release window
Packaging and checklists place the line around 2000–2001. Listings show 2000 manufacture dates, while hobby write-ups and checklists tag the series as 2001.
Lineup (6 figures).
- Sergeant Hawk (Team Leader)
- Vikki Grimm (Lovely Soldier)
- Colonel Grimm (Commander-in-Chief of the Greens)
- General Plastro (Tyrannical Tan Leader)
- Riff (Bazooka Specialist)
- Hoover (Mine Sweeper)
Scale & features. Figures are roughly 6–7 inches tall with around 10 points of articulation, packed with weapons/accessories. Packaging commonly included a dog-tag style display base and a trading card, and used the franchise tagline “Real Combat, Plastic Men.” Some packaging/ads also used “Hyper Action!” branding.
Branding. Item specifics and packaging references connect the toys directly to the Sarge’s Heroes sub-brand and 3DO license.
Availability today
The run was short; figures surface mainly on the secondary market and collector blogs/checklists. Collectors remember this line as an unusual and somewhat obscure branch of military-themed toys from the early 2000s.
