Stretch Armstrong - Flash Back Friday

I don’t think any Stretch Armstrongs exist in the world today for this reason:

Yup, he was just too tempting for kids to open up and see what was inside. 
Check out the original ad at Plaid Stallions:

If you have some time this Friday, Plaid Stallions is an amazing collection of 70’s “fashion” and toys.  I highly recommend for your viewing pleasure…

The history of Stretch Armstrong is detailed by wikipedia:

Stretch Armstrong was in the shape of a well-muscled blond man wearing a pair of swimming trunks. Its most notable feature was that its arms and legs could stretch outwards, presumably without breaking.

The doll was re-issued in the 1990s with a canine sidekick, “Fetch Armstrong”.  He also has an evil brother named Evil X-ray Wretch Armstrong who has a skull face, sports a mohawk and also stretches. Wretch Armstong seems to be a redesigned, smaller remake of Stretch X-Ray from 1977 who had an over sized exposed brain, alien creature looking face with a see through body that shows his internal organs.

Other similar releases were Stretch Monster, a reptilian green nemesis released by Kenner in 1978 and Fetch Armstrong, the figure’s pliable canine counterpart released in the early 1990s by Cap Toys. Cap Toys also released Stretch Vac-Man while ToyQuest released Super Morphman, both of which were filled with a granular solid instead of the viscous liquid found in the other figures. A vacuum pump which attached to the heads of these figures removed the air from within and allowed for considerable, but not unlimited, stretching ability.

You can find memories of Stretch and his Friends over at Feeling Retro where people have recorded thoughts of Stretch for eternity.  Memories like this one from Dave:

“My Stretch Armstrong experience was short but sweet. It’s all I wanted for Christmas and truly the only toy I remember loving. When I finally got it, I was elated to say the least. I got to enjoy him for about an hour before I bounced him on one of the old exercise mini trampolines (you know, the ones you used to jog on) and he crashed into an old glass oil lamp my mom had. Well, the glass shards cut him open and that was that. Goo oozed out everywhere and he was ruined.”

Ahhh,Good Times people, Good Times….

Here are some retro commercials:

The 1977 Commercial for Stretch Monster



and here’s another classic:



Have a great weekend!
–Laura McMullan