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Stretch Armstrong is a large, gel-filled action figure that was first introduced in 1976 by Kenner.[1] In 2016, at the New York Toy Fair, Hasbro announced the return of the Stretch Armstrong toy in its original 1976 design.
Stretch Armstrong is made of latex rubber filled with a proprietary gelled substance similar to corn syrup, which allows it to retain shape for a short time before shrinking to its original shape.
Stretch Armstrong is an action figure shaped as a short muscular man with blond hair wearing black trunks. The doll's most notable feature is that it can be stretched from its normal size of about 15 inches (38 cm) to 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m). If a tear does develop, it can be fixed with an adhesive bandage. Information on how to repair Stretch is provided in the toy's instruction booklet included the original box.
History[edit]
The Stretch Armstrong toy concept was created by Jesse D. Horowitz,[2] the industrial designer for Kenner's R&D group. The idea was approved for development by the head of R&D, Jeep (James) Kuhn, vice president of Kenner.
The "stretch man" idea as it was called was pursued with two different bodies in mind. One was a sumo wrestler and the other was an All-American blond hunk. Horowitz sculpted the models himself instead of hiring a freelancer. The sumo man was too bulky and large, so the All-American body was cast by Kenner's model maker Richard Dobek, and the resultant resin model was taken to a latex doll manufacturer in New Jersey, where the first bodies were dipped.
Originally, springs were thought of as the way to stretch the man. However, they were thought to be too awkward and stiff, too difficult to insert and would likely pierce the skin. Kuhn, a chemical engineer, pursued a liquid sugar idea which eventually proved successful. Tremendous quantities of Karo corn syrup were purchased from an A&P supermarket[citation needed]. The syrup was boiled down to get the proper viscosity. Kuhn and Horowitz flew to Kenner's headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, and presented the concept to Bernie Loomis, Kenner's president. He loved it and so a toy icon was born.
The original Stretch Armstrong figure was conceived and developed by Bill Armasmith, and was in production from 1976 until 1980.[citation needed] Denys Fisher manufactured and released the figure in Europe, under license from Kenner.[3] The original 1970s toy commands high prices on the secondary collectors' market, selling for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of US dollars.[citation needed] Through storage and play, the figure could become damaged and rendered useless. There are still original Stretch Armstrongs that have survived the passing of time and are remarkably preserved through sheer luck or being stored at the correct temperature.[citation needed] The figure keeps best at room temperature.[citation needed]
Stretch Armstrong is made of latex rubber filled with gelled corn syrup, which allows it to retain shape for a short time before shrinking to its original shape.[4]
Similar releases[edit]
This list or list section may be better with years. Please help improve this list or discuss it on the talk page. (January 2012)
Stretch Armstrong ad
An estimated 67 different versions from Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, and other countries released Stretch Armstrong variations between 1976 and the 1990s.[5]
Cancelled film[edit]
In 1994, Walt Disney Studios obtained the film rights to the character. Several scripts were written, including an early version family comedy written by Greg Erb, a co-writer at Disney. The script which cast Tim Allen in the role of Stretch Armstrong as a "kind of single dad who is a research scientist" and is "stretched too thin" trying to balance his work and family life before he inadvertently accidentally takes one of his experimental serums giving himself "stretchy powers". A later version from screenwriter Michael Kalesniko was created and it was set in San Francisco. It was about a somewhat socially awkward nobody beset with troubles trying to venture out his failing personal life and is genetically modified with stretching abilities after a failed nuclear fusion experiment and must use his newfound abilities to solve the tragedy that has befallen his family. Among the actors who were considered for the role was Danny DeVito, who refused to do the film if the script made any jokes about his height. Several other writers, such as Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, provided rewrites, and Peter Care was attached to direct,[8] but due to lack of time on the rights, both ideas from Disney were scrapped and the rights were bought up by Hasbro.[9]
