“Insanity is just a state of mind”. One of the gazillion of razor sharp quotes from M*A*S*H series lead character Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, played by none other than the inimitable Alan Alda. Hawkeye is the only character that stuck with the series from the very beginning to the very end over its impressive 11 year run.

No surprise there that Tristar International included Hawkeye as one of the seven action figures (well, eight action figures if you count the drag queen Klinger variant) that were created as part of its M*A*S*H toyline in 1982. Tristar did a fair job with Hawkeye. The action figure resembles Alda close enough for a 1982 action figure, but is not as accurate as e.g. B.J. Hunnicutt’s action figure is to Mike Farrell. The Tristar M*A*S*H figures have 10 articulation points and look like precursors to Hasbro’s 3.3/4-inch G.I. Joe line.

I picked up this MOSC (mint-on-sealed-card) Hawkeye together with a MOSC B.J. Hunnicutt and MOSC Klinger somewhere in 2009. These M*A*S*H action figures are great collectibles for any fan of the M*A*S*H series or aficionados of 20th century pop culture in general. I’ve enjoyed the television series myself for a long time and will probably keep doing so for a long time to come as it’s a great series to keep coming back to. I thoroughly enjoy all the M*A*S*H items in my collection, because they remind me so much of the series every time I see them.

Besides the action figures Tristar also released some vehicles and a kick-ass playset. You can read more about the series and the Tristar toyline in general here.