Colonel Steve Austin says you are doing it wrong! This 8 1/2″ x 11″ letter is another great example of how Kenner put a lot of effort into communicating with their toy vendors in order to help keep the end consumer happy. The letter was sent out to stores to help educate employees and customers about how to properly use the bionic arm feature on the Six Million Dollar Man action figure.
The letter features the Kenner Products A Division of General Mills Fun Group, Inc. letterhead logo at the top of the page, and The Six Million Dollar Man logo in the body of the letter. The letter reads:
ATTENTION TOY BUYER!
BULLETIN: SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN BIONIC ARM
READ OUT: A-OK!
Six Million Dollar Man action figures have been returned to stores by some consumers in the belief the Bionic Right Arm is defective. The vast majority of these complaints are due to not fully reading the instruction sheet.
The attached instruction sheet is currently being inserted in all Six Million Dollar Man product to help clarify operation of the Bionic Right Arm.
(1) Turn head toward Right Arm until it stops.
(2) Snap engine block into right hand.
(3) Push button in back at least 20 times to raise right arm as high as desired.
(4) To lower arm turn head forward.
Package copy is also revised to more completely explain operation of Bionic Right Arm.
The Bionic Arm is designed to snap on and off.
Please alert your sales personnel.
The letter also features one of my favorite logos, the Play-Doh Boy with his arm around the Gooney Bird in the lower left hand corner. The Kenner General Mills logo is in the lower right hand corner.
Here is an image of the 6 Million Dollar Man action figure and engine block from the 1975 Kenner Toy Fair catalog:
We have the defective bionic man 1975 with accessories
I just love the first catalog image of the SMDM. It sure looks like a hand painted prototype, including hand painted sneakers, and the engine block with the high gloss chrome! Also the round chest emblem which never made it to market. I wonder if this setup ever survived?