Kenner’s Stretch Armstrong looked like an action figure but was built to be pulled far beyond ordinary human proportions. Beneath its elastic skin was a thick sugar-based filling, including corn syrup, which allowed the arms and legs to stretch and then slowly recover. The patented construction claimed elongation of at least 300 percent.
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 the slow return to its original muscular shape made it feel unlike almost any 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, and the description identifies concentrated corn syrup.
Stretch and recovery
- The patent claims elongation of at least 300 percent followed by return towards the original dimensions.
- The viscous filling slows movement and recovery rather than producing an immediate spring action.
Commercial identification
- A 1980 federal court decision identifies CPG's Kenner Products Division as the operating toy business.
- The decision states that patent 4,169,336 covered the construction marketed as Stretch Armstrong and Stretch Monster.
- The Strong preserves a 1976 Kenner Products catalogue image of 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
- All four image sources are not yet verified — editorial review required.
Rights Notice
Images are included for historical and archival reference.
Rights holders may contact Forgotten Archive through the publishing account to request a credit correction or removal.
Kenner packaging; listing supplied by eBay seller chignon, individual photographer not identified
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Stretch Armstrong's box makes stretching the figure the attraction, marketing a superhero-like toy through a physical trick rather than a set of accessories.
