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The Adventures of Indiana Jones
1982 – 1983 (Kenner)

For its Indiana Jones action figure line, Kenner produced nine different figures based on the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie. Eight of the figures were released at retail and one (Belloq in Ceremonial Outfit) was offered as a mail-order exclusive. Keeping with their tradition of amazing playsets, Kenner released the Well of the Souls large scale playset, as well as two smaller ones, Streets of Cairo and the Map Room. The released vehicles for the series, were the Desert Convoy Truck and Arabian Horse. 

For more information about Kenner’s Indiana Jones line, see bottom of the page for a complete summary.

The Adventures of Indiana Jones (1982): Figures – Wave 1

For their initial release of Indiana Jones action figures, Kenner released only four characters. We got the two main heroes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, with Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood, to go along with two bad guys for them to battle against, Cairo Swordsman and Toht.

The Adventures of Indiana Jones (1983): Figures – Wave 2

For second wave of Indiana Jones action figures in 1983, Kenner released four more characters. Once again, we got two heroes, with Indiana Jones in German Uniform and Sallah, to go along with two bad guys, Belloq and the German Mechanic.

The Adventures of Indiana Jones (1982-1983): Accessories

No true accessories were produced for the 3.75 Inch Indiana Jones line, but Kenner did produce the beautiful Arabian Horse for the figures. Some may consider the horse to be a vehicle, but I classify it as an accessory.

Arabian Horse

Market Value:
Carded $300 – $400
Loose $120 – $170

Arabian Horse
Accessories: Saddle, Reigns, Bridle
Years Released: 1983
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Arabian Horse figure was a neat addition to the Indiana Jones line and the only actual accessory created for the series. It came with a saddle, bridle and reigns for the figures to ride, along with a “galloping action”, which was activated by a button on its side.

The Adventures of Indiana Jones (1982-1983): Playsets

In keeping with their proud tradition of releasing fun playsets with lots of playability, Kenner released one large scale playset for their Indiana Jones line, The Well of Souls, and two smaller sets with the Map Room and Streets of Cairo playsets.

Well of the Souls Action Playset

Market Value:
Boxed $350 – $450
Loose $125 – $175

Well of the Souls Action Playset
Accessories: Base, Break-Away Wall Pieces, Arches x 2, Arch Legs x 4, Ark Poles x 2, Ark (Comes in 3 Pieces; Base, Lid, Angels), Crypt Cover, Hook w/ Rope, Torches x 2, Mummy, Snakes x 14 (Gray & Black)
Years Released: 1982, 1983
Scarcity Factor: Can be tough to find complete in box on secondary market
Notes: The Well of the Souls Action Playset was the only large scale set created for the Kenner, and it re-created the famous scene when Indy and Marion are trapped in the ancient temple with a lot of dangerous snakes. The set comes with a bunch of smaller accessories, including the Ark of Covenant itself, which was the only place to find it. Loose versions of this set are almost always missing at least some of these accessories.

The Adventures of Indiana Jones (1982-1983): Vehicles

Kenner released only one vehicle for their Adventures of Indiana Jones line, and it was the Desert Convoy Truck.

Desert Convoy Truck

Market Value:
Boxed $250 – $350
Loose $100 – $150

Desert Convoy Truck
Accessories: Truck Base, Doors x 2, Rear Seats x 2, Canopy, Drag Bar, Front Grill, Tailgate, Rack, Spare Tires x 2
Years Released: 1983
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Desert Convoy Truck was released in 1983 and had the distinction of being the last accessory released for the Indiana Jones line. It allowed kids to re-create several different scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark that used the German Convoy Truck. It came with several accessories related to the truck itself. This item can be tough to track down on the secondary market in its original box.

The Adventures of Indiana Jones (1982-1983): 12 Inch Figures

Kenner released only one 12 Inch figure for their Adventures of Indiana Jones line, and of course, it was Indiana Jones.

Indiana Jones

Market Value:
Boxed $150 – $250
Loose $50 – $75

Indiana Jones
Accessories: Cloth Jacket, Shirt, Pants, Boots, Removable Hat, Whip, Gun
Years Released: 1982
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found, but it’s getting tougher to find each year
Notes: This Indiana Jones figure was the only 12 Inch figure released for Kenner’s Indiana Jones line. It is unknown if any more were planned, but I personally kind of doubt there were. This was probably a one-off due to Kenner already having a Harrison Ford 12 Inch figure mold from their Star Wars line, which was released a couple of year prior. Kenner basically used the same mold, with the only difference being the eye color (Harrison Ford actually has Hazel colored eyes).

When Raiders of the Lost Ark was first released in 1981, Paramount Pictures knew it would be successful. It had all the ingredients needed for a blockbuster, including Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas, but automatically signing movies for toy licensing deals at the time wasn’t the norm as it is nowadays. As it just so happened, George Lucas knew a thing or two about turning movies into successful toy lines, so when Paramount begin looking for toy deals, they went straight to Kenner. Since the movie had already been released in the summer of 1981, Kenner immediately went into merchandising mode to get as many products out as they could, but an actual action figure line wouldn’t see the light of day until the following year, in the spring of 1982. Since Kenner had no idea if any future Indiana Jones movies or projects would ever get made, they would use the same strategy they used for Star Wars, and try to get as many figures and accessories out as they could, and as quickly as possible. To help market the toy line, Kenner decided to call it “The Adventures of Indiana Jones” line, instead of simply Raiders of the Lost Ark. This would allow Kenner to possibly keep the line going long after the movie disappeared from theatres. The line was launched in the spring of 1982 with strong sales, and turned out to be the the success that Kenner was hoping for.

For its Indiana Jones action figure line, Kenner produced a total of series of nine different action figures based on the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie. Eight of the figures were released at retail in Kenner’s traditional carded format. The ninth figure (Belloq in Ceremonial Outfit) was offered as a mail-order exclusive. There are some carded versions of this Belloq figure on the secondary market, but this figure was certainly never released in mass retail in this manner. The figures were designed as 3.75″ tall, which Kenner had established as the action figure standard at the time. The first wave consisted of four figures: Indiana Jones, Marion Ravenwood, Toht, and the Cairo Swordsman. Four more were released in the second wave in 1983: Belloq, Sallah, Indiana Jones in German Uniform, and the German Mechanic. Keeping in line with their tradition of amazing playsets, Kenner released the Well of the Souls large scale playset, as well as two smaller ones, Streets of Cairo and the Map Room. The released vehicles for the series, were the Desert Convoy Truck and Arabian Horse.

The packaging for the line of Indiana Jones figures was very bright and definitely eye catching. It featured the Adventures of Indiana Jones logo across the top of the card in big bold red letters, which was set onto an illustration of the Indy cracking his famed whip. The classic Raiders of the Lost Ark logo sat just underneath the Indiana Jones logo (so double logos!). Kenner chose a bright yellow as the basic tone of the card, with each character having a different colored backing behind the figure. The figure itself sat on the left hand side of the card, in a traditional blister pack bubble. A beautiful photo of each character adorned the right side of the card. The name of each character was inside of a circle, just above the actual figure bubble. Kenner actually did a great job with the packaging on the Indiana Jones line, and it was definitely memorable.