Stretch Armstrong

Associated With

Kenner Products division of CPG Products Corporation - creator or operator

Defining Feature

A rubber-skinned muscular figure filled with high-viscosity corn syrup so it could stretch and slowly recover

Status

Discontinued - Original Kenner production ended; the design survives in patent, court and museum records

Overview

Kenner’s Stretch Armstrong looked like an action figure but could be pulled far beyond human proportions.

Beneath its elastic skin was a thick sugar-based filling that included concentrated corn syrup. This allowed the limbs to stretch and then recover slowly rather than springing back at once.

A 1980 federal court decision identified the patented construction as the one marketed for Stretch Armstrong and Stretch Monster.

Why It Mattered

Stretch Armstrong made the physical material of the toy more important than accessories or a complicated backstory. Pulling the figure between two people was the attraction, while its slow return to a muscular shape distinguished it from a conventional action figure.

Patented Construction

• The patent specifies a shaped elastic skin with memory and a sealed high-viscosity filling.
• Its claims include an aqueous sugar solution, while the description identifies concentrated corn syrup.

Stretch and Recovery

• The patent claims elongation of at least 300 percent followed by a return towards the original dimensions.
• The viscous filling slows movement and recovery instead of producing an immediate spring action.

Kenner Identification

• A 1980 federal court decision identifies CPG’s Kenner Products Division as the operating toy business.
• The Strong preserves a 1976 Kenner Products catalogue image of Stretch Armstrong.

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