World Peacekeepers Sport & Adventure Diver by M&C Toy Centre

My husband and I had a huge amount of fun on our trip to St. John last February.  You might remember Lena's Spring Break posts from that trip, or the underwater photos of some Mattel mermaids.  We had such a good time, in fact, that as soon as we got home, we booked a trip for this February, hoping to re-create the magic.  Following through on that plan, last week we traveled to the small Puerto Rican island of Culebra, which is where I photographed my first Maru and Friends Mini Pal review back in 2017.  Culebra was rainy, but delightful, and of course I had Lena and a collection of doll friends along with me to share in the fun.

One of my guests was a World Peacekeepers Sport & Adventure scuba diving action figure.  The World Peacekeepers are primarily 1:6 military characters, similar to G.I. Joe.  Heavily-armed military dolls are not my thing, but fortunately there are also a few civilian offerings including police men, firefighters, athletes of various kinds, and even an astronaut.  The diving character's underwater theme seemed perfect for our island trip, and I also thought he was particularly handsome...something Lena whole-heartedly agrees with, as you'll see.

World Peacekeepers Sport & Adventure Diving figure, $19.99.

I stumbled upon the World Peacekeepers brand while I was on Amazon seeking out a specific Barbie Signature Looks male doll.  I didn't end up buying the Signature Looks doll, but I became quite intrigued by the World Peacekeepers.

There's a decent selection of civilian World Peacekeepers on Amazon right now, and they all cost $22.99.  There are a few different police characters, like this K-9 unit:

There's also a ninja:

And the astronaut:

We just finished watching The Martian (again) so I find the astronaut particularly compelling.

But the diver is not currently available on Amazon.  I bought him from Cotswold Collectibles, which is one of the few places other than Amazon and eBay where these figures can be found.  It's a very nice shop with excellent customer service.

The diver came in a box with a large plastic window that displays all of the accessories clearly:

The bottom of the box identifies the diver as being part of the Sport & Adventure series.  Two other characters from this group (the surfer and snowboarder) are pictured on either side of the text:

The back of the box shows all four Sport & Adventure figures:

There's a snowboarder with an awesome-looking coat:

I actually bought this guy, so I can show you his unmasked face up-close:

There's a skier, who was tempting, but he has what looks like molded white tape on his nose:

There's also a surfer, who's showing off some excellent-looking articulation:

Double-jointed knees and elbows!

And of course there's the diver who I'll review here.

The bottom of the box has a 2004 and 2020 M&C Toy Centre copyright, with a Hong Kong address and a patent number:

I have no idea how old this doll is.

The top or bottom of the box can be opened, which allows a plastic-lined backdrop to slide out:

Look at those intense green eyes!

He's like a Bruce Willis/Jacques Cousteau hybrid.

The molded plastic shell held most of the accessories in place without any help, and the doll himself only had a plastic band around his waist for extra security.  Overall, the de-boxing was very easy, but there's a fair amount of plastic involved.

Here's everything that was included:

The diver's name is Ian, by the way.

And he has bit of a Scottish accent.

Ian has good balance, but I was a little dismayed to see that his feet are permanent dive boots, not regular feet:

That's not versatile.

The only accessory I don't like is the harpoon gun.  Ian is not the type of guy who would go around stabbing ocean life for no reason.

The harpoon was attached to Ian's right hand with some yellowing rubber bands, which made me wonder again how old this figure is:

Looks pretty old.

I did a bit of research at this point, and from scrolling through the World Peacekeepers Toys Fanpage on Facebook (which I highly recommend, but will cost at least 30 minutes of your life), I saw an old post with the Sport & Adventure figures advertised as "coming soon" in March of 2017.  So that gives us a ballpark timeline.

For the sake of thoroughness, here's a closer look at the harpoon gun:

The grey harpoon pulls out of the main gun, but there's no mechanism to make it shoot forward or anything like that.

The rest of the accessories are really great.  There's a neon yellow mask with a blue snorkel:

The mask has clear plastic lenses and an elastic band in back.

Unfortunately, the snorkel is attached to the elastic upside-down, so the elastic has to be twisted once for the snorkel to be in the right position.

I could fix that if I really wanted to.

The mask fits Ian well and stays in place:

There's also a matching pair of air tanks, with a regulator and a few molded gauges:

The tanks are attached to black vinyl straps that go over Ian's shoulders:

The straps are held in place by a yellow belt that buckles securely around Ian's waist:

Ian can't hold the regulator against his mouth, which is too bad.  It would have been fun to have a magnetic attachment there or something.

Ian's dive fins are big and yellow, with some molded details on both sides:

He also has an underwater light, complete with a wrist strap so that it won't get washed away:

The strap doesn't fit over Ian's large hands, so the hands must be removable:

One of my favorite accessories is Ian's dive watch!  It has a green painted face and a tiny adjustable strap that actually works:

Underneath all of his plastic accessories, Ian is wearing a black fabric wet suit with blue accents.  The suit has a yellow "x" symbol on the front, which is a common adornment among the Sport & Adventure accessories.  The suit closes in back with velcro:

The suit has a nice design and is easy to use, and the stretchy fabric feels convincing as wet suit material.

I like Ian's head mold a lot, but the painted facial hair bothers me:

There's no hair line detail--just crude swaths of paint.

I feel like male doll hair is often done poorly.  It's either rooted and looks silly, or it's molded and looks fake.  I enjoy Ian's bald or closely-shaven head:

And his cheekbones.

There's even some subtle shading and stippled texture on the head for more realism:

On closer inspection, it looks like Ian's eyes are slightly wonky, but I love the unusual emerald-green irises.  I also like the color and detail in his lips:

The facial hair appears to be both molded and painted.  I might have to get out the acetone later, because that paint just looks bad.

Sorry, Ian.

The thing that really attracted me to the World Peacekeepers brand is the advertised 30 points of articulation.  That's a lot.  I can't even think of 30 joints that you could put on a doll.

Are his fingers articulated?

And, indeed, with Ian's wet suit removed, you can see that he has a ton of joints...and a funny chest mold:

Is that like an eight pack?

The abs are a lot, and what are those diagonal lines on either side of the chest supposed to be?

I guess those contours are normal...for a bodybuilder:

Who knows, maybe Ian is a bodybuilder.

His back muscles look even stranger to me:

I'm seeing a sad alien face here.  Do you see it, too?

Anyway, let's go back to the first picture and try to count the joints:

I see: neck, shoulders, upper arms, double elbows, wrists, torso, waist, hips, upper thighs, double knees, tops of dive boots, and ankles.  That's a grand total of 25.  I'm not sure how they're getting 30, let alone "over 30," but 25 is still mightily impressive.

And the joints are good ones, too.  For example, the head is mounted on a ball joint, so it can look from side to side:

Upwards:

And a little bit downwards:

The shoulders are rotating hinges with excellent flexibility.  Ian can lift his arms straight up to well past 90 degrees from his chest:

And the shoulder joints allow the arms to spin, too.

The upper arm joint is a simple point of rotation, which allows the lower arm to turn all of the way around:

And the only thing holding back Ian's double-jointed elbow flexibility is his big muscles!

His wrists are rotating hinges with a very good range of motion.

The torso joint rotates...

In fact, it can spin all of the way around so that Ian's upper body is facing backwards:

My underwear looks wrong.

The waist joint also spins, as if that were necessary, but it only goes about a quarter of the way around:

The waist joint also gives some tipping motion to the upper body:

The hips have hinged rotation with excellent movement.  There's no criticizing Ian's side-to-side splits:

And his front-to-back splits are perfect, too:

There's a point of rotation in the upper thigh:

And of course double-jointed knees!

None of these joints are flimsy, except maybe the bootie feet, and so Ian has great balance in a wide range of poses.

And his knees collapse well, although, again, the bulk of his muscles gets in the way a bit:

But he can sit in so many different ways!  Some look uncomfortable...

And others looks more relaxed:

The dive boots spin around at their point of connection to the legs, and they also have hinges at the ankles:

The boots can be removed, but of course there are no feet underneath:

Just little white connection pegs:

Ian's articulation is truly outstanding.  It rivals Mattel's Made to Move body.  I don't have any Made to Move boys in my house right now for a direct comparison, but here's Malik with a reminder of that articulation:

Signature Looks Made to Move body.

Malik has 22 joints, so only 3 fewer than Ian.  I like the smooth contours of the Made to Move body better than the Peacekeepers body, and Malik's body feels heavier and sturdier overall (as I recall), but Ian's upper arm joint is smoother, he's more muscular, and he has an extra torso joint.

It'd be interesting to compare Ian to one of the buff Made to Move male dolls.  I noticed some video reviews that do exactly that, but I haven't watched one yet.

My main critiques of Ian's body are that he has boots instead of feet and his chest musculature looks unusual.  Another thing to mention, which might be exacerbated when Ian is fully-clothed, is that because he has so many joints, he can get himself into strange positions that take a minute to sort out:

I need a little help with my left leg.

In fact, if you go back and look through my articulation pictures, you'll see that I had Ian's left lower leg turned around backwards for most of the time.  It's hard to keep all of those joints in order!

As a bit of an aside, the World Peacekeeper body has undergone several transformations since its conception in 1991:

From the World Peacekeeper Facebook Fanpage.

Whatever little complaints I might have about Ian's body, I can safely say that I like the Generation 3 body the best by far.

The other interesting tidbit of information here is that apparently the Peacekeepers have been around since 1991.  How was I unaware of this brand for so long?  Sheesh.

Once I'd finished all of Ian's posing pictures, I used some acetone and a Q-tip to remove his painted facial hair:

The acetone didn't do any damage to the vinyl, thank goodness, and I think he looks much better now:

You can still see the molded facial hair, but it's much more subtle and realistic without that bright, blocky paint.

Delighted with Ian's improved face, I was curious to see if I could find a way to give him normal feet, too. 

I purchased another World Peacekeepers figure with the hopes that the feet would be interchangeable.  This fellow is not part of the Sport & Adventure line, but one of two Secret Agent characters:

World Peacekeepers Secret Agent, $19.99.

I purchased this guy from Amazon for $19.99, and you'll notice that the packaging is quite different from Ian's.

This box is smaller, for one, and there's no plastic window.  It's a solid cardboard box covered with images of the dolls.

The box also has "Click N' Play" written in bold lettering on the front:

Click N' Play isn't mentioned at all on Ian's box, so this threw me for a loop.

There's also no mention of M&C Toy Centre on the bottom of the Secret Agent box--just Whele LLC with a Boston address, and Dongguan Fangkuai Industrial Company, with an address in China:  

That's the same patent number, though.

There's also no date on the box, which is frustrating.

My research into this mystery didn't resolve anything conclusively, but I found clues.  The first mention of Click N' Play on the World Peacekeepers Facebook page is in 2017, in conjunction with the products first being offered on Amazon:

But a Cotswold Collectibles video from just eleven months ago features dolls in window boxes with no mention of Click N' Play: 

So my guess is that Click N' Play is purely an Amazon thing.  I know that anything I've ordered from Amazon has the cardboard packaging with Click N' Play written on it, and anything I've ordered from Cotswold Collectibles has the window box packaging and no mention of Click N' Play.

In any case, the cardboard packaging is great.

Of the two Secret Agent characters, I really wanted to find the one pictured on the left: the spy:

He's really handsome, with a great outfit and intense eyebrows:

Don't mess with him.

Here's a promotional photo of the spy character in a window box:

Unfortunately, this guy is impossible to find right now, even on eBay, so I settled for the Secret Agent in the suit.

The doll and all of his accessories were stored inside a few plastic bags:

The economy of this packaging is excellent, and the de-boxing couldn't have been easier.  Furthermore, while it might look a bit crude, I appreciate that the doll was packaged nude; there's no risk of staining this way.

I don't like this face mold as much as I like Ian's.  He looks a little grouchy:

His painted hair looks over-varnished, too, although at least he doesn't have a strange mustache.

And the details in the mold are really good.

There are a lot of little accessories with this set, and I was planning to steal a few of them for Ian:

I don't have any use for all of the artillery:

But I can appreciate little details like the spinning bullet cylinder on the gold gun, and the way the magazines on the other two scary-looking guns are removable.

I was excited about the outfit and the briefcase:

The briefcase has a lot of molded and painted detail on the interior, including a phone, a computer keyboard, and maybe a bomb (?):

Don't mess with this guy, either.

The outfit is a formal suit with a sleeveless white shirt and a red sueded tie that attaches with elastic:

The fuzzy tie is a little weird, especially since the suit material is so shiny.  I feel like the tie should be shiny and the suit should be more matte.

I appreciate the ease of use that a sleeveless shirt offers, but it reads a bit on the Chippendales spectrum:

Bow chicka bow-bow.

The full suit looks better:

Not bad, Ian, not bad.

I got a little distracted by the suit, but my primary objective with the Secret Agent doll was to look at his feet.

His feet are not detachable, they're just regular hinged ankles with no rotation:

Only 23 points of articulation on this guy.

So, I couldn't swap out Ian's dive boots for regular feet, but fortunately the World Peacekeeper's heads pop off really easily:

Like popping off a cork.

And you can see the ball joint in the neck:

It took all of thirty seconds to give Ian a brand new body with normal feet:

The Secret Agent's body has the same gripping hand mold on both sides, but I was able to pop off Ian's pointing right hand and use that, instead:

So now he can point things out, or make points:

I object to all of this body part swapping.

I was really happy with Ian at this stage, but I was entering an all-consuming mindset with the brand as a whole.  This is something that happens every now and then during one of my reviews.  When I get fixated like this, I tend to get caught up in long internet searches, trying to learn more about the diversity of the offerings, seeking out some of the rarer sets...and usually buying too many products in the process.

So I bought a few more sets--mostly to poach the accessories for Ian and get a first-hand look at some different faces.

I found a larger Sport & Adventure set that wasn't featured on Ian's box:

Work Peacekeepers Bike and Skateboard set, $37.99.

This Bike and Skateboard character came in the Click N' Play style box, and cost $37.99 on Amazon.

All of the other Sport & Adventure variations that we saw before are shown on the back of the box:

It's refreshing to be able to de-box a toy so easily!  And it's reassuring that the pieces are durable enough to withstand this kind of packaging:

The biker has a different face mold from my other two dolls:

He reminds me of Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

He's pretty cute, but I still like Ian the best.

The biker came with a lot of smaller accessories, like a skateboard, some elbow and knee pads, a helmet, two cones, and some extra gloved hands.  He also has the same watch as Ian!

The best accessory is the bicycle, though.  Not only do the wheels spin, but the front wheel can be steered by the handlebars, and the pedals actually turn the back wheel via a vinyl chain:

That's a nice bike.

This guy also has a full outfit that Ian might like:

The shorts are especially good.

I was going totally overboard at this point, but I bought yet another figure: the surfer!  I figured Ian might want a surf board for his beach vacation:

This is also a Click N' Play version, with everything packaged in bags:

I really don't like this dude's facial hair:

Box beard.

But I certainly appreciate the variety in head molds and hairstyles!

The surfer came with a big surf board, a tee shirt and swimsuit outfit, a towel, and a cooler:

The cooler opened to reveal two bottles of what look like wine, but could also be beer, soda, or even water:

The tray of the cooler lifts out and I found some sunglasses hiding inside!

Now that's how surprise accessories should be done!  I love it.

Here are the sunglasses up close:

The non-Amazon version of this character comes like Ian did, with everything on display in a plastic shell:

No surprises here.

And yes, I bought this version of the doll, too, just to confirm that everything is the same--which it is.  The accessories are identical, as is the face mold:

Same box beard.

And not to belabor the point, but there are also Surfer dolls that come in window boxes with Click N' Play mentioned in the lower left hand corner:

Older Amazon packaging, probably.

Do you see what I mean about getting fixated on a brand?  Time to let it go, Emily.

Anyway, I bought one last accessory for Ian.  This is the guitar that comes with a larger World Peacekeepers set.  I was able to buy it loose from Cotswold Collectibles for under $5:

The guitar is all plastic, but has real strings that can be plucked and a realistic wood-like finish on the front.

The back is all black:

The guitar is from this Military Life set:

That soldier has the same face mold as Ian.

I can totally see myself getting sucked into even more of a deep dive with these dolls.  I've already spent a large amount of time scouring the internet to see what sets are still available (there's a horse!) and what all of the different face molds look like (there are so many).  Not to mention the time I've spent trying to figure out the changes in the box design and all of the different companies involved.  But there's still more to learn.

I have no idea if the brand is still active (the last post on the Facebook page was in early 2023), but the M&C Toy Centre store appears to be alive and well--although I didn't attempt to purchase anything because you have to set up an account first.  I intend to keep checking for new products in the weeks and months to come.  I'm officially obsessed.

All of that rambling took attention away from Ian for a while, though.  Sorry!  Let's get back on track and take another look at him in full diving gear--with his improved face and body.  

I was relieved to see that the fins fit just fine even without dive boot feet:

His balance is even better with regular feet, too.

I'm really, really happy with Ian.  For $20, he has a ton of articulation, a great face mold, and some detailed and realistic accessories that are easy to use and add a lot of dimension to his character.

I wish he'd come with regular feet and less face paint, but those things turned out to be fairly easy to fix.  And the extra Peacekeeper dolls that I bought add a nice inventory of outfits, accessories, and even spare bodies and hands that might be useful to Ian some day.

Never know when you might need a new body.

He's a really appealing doll, and I can't believe I've been blogging for over ten years and never come across this brand before.  Better late than never, I guess.

Anyway, at the beginning of the review I mentioned that we were vacationing in Culebra last week, but there's been a lot to talk about here, so I have yet to tell you anything about the actual trip!

Well, first of all, getting to the island included a part where I thought we were all going to die.  After the big commercial flight, we had to get on this tiny, six-person plane to fly the 25 minute jump from San Juan to Culebra:

Beautiful, but terrifying.

The pilot was super-talented, but he pulled a Top Gun like stunt with the landing that, from my perspective, felt like the kind of experience you'd have right before a plane crash.  Not my idea of fun.

However, it was worth the panic attack to be able to enjoy Culebra.  It's a rustic island, with no large resorts or anything like that, but it has plenty of views like this:

It rained during most of our trip, but there was still plenty to do.  After all, it's always raining underwater.

Lena worked really hard on our vacation to St. John last year, so this year she decided that she was going to take her chair down to the beach and simply relax all day long:

Don't ask me to interview anybody, Emily.

She was having a wonderful rest until a big splash woke her up:

*Cue dramatic music.

Oh, hello.

A handsome stranger pulled himself out of the surf.

With the greenest eyes Lena had ever seen.

She was fully awake after that.

Where did he come from?

The stranger headed off down the beach without a second glance at Lena:

How is he not noticing me?  Do you see this bikini?

Incidentally, Lena's new bikini was hand-crocheted by Anna from Anna Gri Handmade on Etsy.

Lena gave an exaggerated (and very loud) yawn to try and get his attention:

YAAAAAWN!!!!

Which worked:

Oh, hi.  I didn't see you there.

Hi, I'm Lena.  I didn't see you there, either.

Ian introduced himself, but unfortunately he didn't have time to stick around.

Sorry, I have to run.  I'm meeting someone at Mamacita's in half an hour. 

Lena couldn't believe that Ian walked away from her so quickly, but she couldn't stop talking about him, either.

Did you see him?  Do you think he's meeting a girlfriend?  Did he have a Scottish accent?

The next morning, despite my advice to be herself and relax, Lena put on some snorkeling gear (she hates getting her hair wet) and went back to the same beach, hoping for another encounter with Ian.

He'll be here any minute, I know it.

It was a long wait.

You don't have to wait with me, Emily.  Just go talk about the snorkeling gear or something.

That's not a bad idea, actually.

Most of Lena's snorkeling gear came from this Barbie You Can Be Anything Marine Biologist set:

Barbie Marine Biologist set, $29.99.

The set includes a doll and lots of marine-related accessories.  I was drawn to it primarily because of the black snorkel, matching fins, and athletic swimwear.

There's a small tank with some plastic marine life.  The dolphin is laughably small, but the fish, scallop, starfish, and coral are all reasonable in scale.

A teacup dolphin.

There's also a clipboard and a net:

My favorite accessories are the underwater camera and the microscope:

The microscope is tiny, but that's okay.

There's also a pink case that comes with fish stickers that can be used for decoration:

The case opens in front:

And there's another door on top that flips up separately:

The doll that comes with this set is unremarkable.  She is minimally-articulated and has the typical Millie face with blonde hair and blue eyes:

Bo-ring.

Also, her swimsuit is painted onto her body, so it's no use to Lena:

Pfft.

Lena can only wear the little vest, which is, um, not enough:

So, I found Lena a full Barbie wetsuit on eBay:

I think it's from the 90s.

The fit of the snorkel looks a little uncomfortable:

And the fins are pretty small:

But at least Lena arrived in Culebra with the option of snorkeling...an idea that she mocked at home, but has apparently changed her mind about.

Back on the beach, Lena's patience finally paid off:

There he is!  But, wait.  Where's his diving gear?

Apparently, Ian was more in the mood for surfing that day.

I need to get this ridiculous mask off...

Hi, Lena.  How's the visibility today?

Lena mumbled some excuse about how she'd just gotten to the beach and hadn't been in the water yet.  But she noticed that Ian remembered her name.

Do you have time for a drink?  I brought some beer sodas.

Lena would have felt more comfortable in her new bikini, but she did her best to relax and be herself.

Sure, thanks.

Fortunately, she's an excellent conversationalist.

So, Ian, what brings you to Culebra?

Mostly the diving.  I love to check in on the coral reefs, but the visibility was bad yesterday because of all the wind, so I thought I'd try some surfing today.

Oh, I know!  It was so windy last night I could hardly sleep!

After that, Lena and Ian exchanged some basic information, and realized they'd been on the same plane to San Juan.

So we both live pretty close to Newark!

Ian even seemed curious about Lena and her life:

What do you do for work, Lena?

Oh!  I'm a blogger and a model.  Like, pretty famous, actually.  How about you?

I'm a data scientist.

...

I interrogate structures and databases using a variety of statistical approaches.  Mixed effects models are my favorite.

(He likes models!)

Lena was hoping to chat for much longer, but it started to rain.  Again.

Oh, no.  I can't let my hair get wet.

That could have been the end of it, but Lena rallied and asked Ian if he'd like to come back to her place once the rain stopped.  He agreed.

A few hours later, they sat out by Lena's pool, and this time the conversation flowed more naturally.

Have you seen all of the feral cats at Flamenco Beach, Lena?

I have!  They're so cute.  They make me miss my cat, Bruno.  Do you like animals?

Love them.  I have a pit bull, Riker, who's the best dog ever.

Do you leave Riker at a kennel when you're away, or does, like, your girlfriend watch him?

I don't have a girlfriend, Lena.

This is going well.

The two of them chatted for a long time.  And I noticed, from a distance, that every time Ian looked away, Lena would sneak glances at him:

And every time Lena looked away, Ian would sneak glances at her:

And their hands kept getting closer and closer:

As the rain and wind started to kick up again, Ian asked:

Hey, Lena, do you want to see me again tomorrow night, down by the beach? 

That sounds nice!  I'd love that.

The following evening, the pair met on the beach, and Ian surprised Lena by bringing along his guitar and playing a song that he wrote especially for her.  

And, wouldn't you know, it was a song about seeing a beautiful girl in a black bikini on the beach and being too nervous to approach her.

Oh, Ian.

After Ian finished his song, they walked along the beach and chatted some more:

So with your mixed effects models, do you use a Bayesian framework?

And this time, Ian wasn't afraid to show Lena how he felt:

Bottom line?  It doesn't matter in the slightest what I think of Ian and the World Peacekeepers.  Lena is in love.