As noted earlier, although “Indians” were present in almost every western line produced, only rarely did they appear as bad. In general, they served as sidekicks, buddies, compadres. Any negative elements in their personas were usually presented as the result of a misunderstanding, as in the case of Red Sleeves, part of the Lone Ranger series, billed as “the noble foe, the fierce Apache.” The packaging explained, “Few who lived in the Old West were more feared and less understood than Red Sleeves, the Indian who rode alone.
Driven from his tribal land by Butch Cavendish's outlaw band, Red Sleeves mistakenly blamed all men for the evils of a few.” Even during the 1960s and "70s, toy companies largely avoided stereotyping minorities.
Although African Americans played a major role in the real Old West, they played a far smaller one in the plastic version. During the last 40 years, there have only been a handful of black western figures available, mostly fictional.
The only real-life example is Nat Love, one of the most famous African-American cowboys and perhaps the model for Deadwood Dick. Female figures enjoyed a more prominent role in the toy box because manufacturers hoped to lure little girls as customers.
Real-life characters, such as Calamity Jane, Belle Starr, and Annie Oakley, served as action figures, and companies created many other fictional characters as well. Even if girls had little interest in them (Barbie provided fierce competition), the female figures provided “damsels in distress” for little boys to rescue. The companies should be given some credit, however, for outfitting these females not just with compacts and lipstick but with .45s and Winchesters.
Native American female figures, in stark contrast to their Caucasian counterparts, did not appear as armed warriors.
It may seem surprising at first to see such diversity in toys, particularly when it was clearly not intended to broaden the market audience. Toy companies knew that although children were their market, parents held the purse strings. If little Johnny pointed out an action figure that did not appear different enough from others in the same line, a parent might tell him, “You don"t need that; you already have one.” A sale would be lost. Distinctly different clothes, hairstyles, and skin colors helped toy manufacturers convince parents that little Johnny really did need just one more figure. The best representation of such marketing diversity was a line called The Ready Gang, produced by Marx in the late 1970s. The three characters included the Sundown Kid (the blond Caucasian), Ringo (Mexican), and Trooper Gibson (the black ex-soldier). This line is today very sought-after by collectors, not only because of its quality but also because of its diversity.
