Playmobil Fi?ures Series 1 "Uncle Sam" - He's not your relative, he's the American government!

Uncle Sam (initials U.S.) is a common national personification of the American government that according to legend came into use during the War of 1812 and was supposedly named for Samuel Wilson.

Sam Wilson (1766-1854), who supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812, stamped the barrels with "U.S." for United States, but soldiers began referring to the grub as "Uncle Sam's." The local newspaper picked up on the story and Uncle Sam eventually gained widespread acceptance as the nickname for the U.S. federal government. [source: www.history.com]

Perhaps the most famous image of Uncle Sam (see picture below) was created by artist James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960). In Flagg's version, Uncle Sam wears a tall top hat and blue jacket and is pointing straight ahead at the viewer. During World War I, this portrait of Sam with the words "I Want You For The U.S. Army" was used as a recruiting poster. Flagg's image also was used extensively during World War II during which America was codenamed 'Samland' by the German intelligence agency Abwehr.

In the late 1860s and 1870s, political cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840-1902) began popularizing the image of Uncle Sam. Nast continued to evolve the image, eventually giving Sam the white beard and stars-and-stripes suit that are associated with the character today.

Playmobil Fi?ures Seres 1 "Uncle Sam" comes disassembled in loose parts all in a bag. The bags are all the same and you really have to depend on luck to get the Playmobil figure you want. If the shop lets you feel the bag, then you have a much better chance because each figure is unique and have unique parts that distinguishes them from another figure. In this instance, it's Uncle Sam's top hat.

Scroll down to see turnaround views of this Playmobil Fi?ures Series 1 "Uncle Sam" figure

I was keen to get this Playmobil Uncle Sam figure when I found out that the Statue of Liberty is going to be part of Playmobil Fi?ures Series 3 (for girls). Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty - what a fine pair they'll make :) The only other Playmobil Fi?ures female figure I've gotten is Lara Croft from Playmobil Fi?ures Series 2 For Girls (posted HERE)

To think that I initially only got one figure from this Playmobil Fi?ures Series 1 - ZORRO (posted earlier HERE). Now I've gotten three more - the "Headsman" (reviewed HERE), "Uncle Sam" and "Football Player" (to be reviewed NEXT).

Playmobil Fi?ures Series 1 "Uncle Sam" figure comes with a book. I'm not sure what the book represents. Is it supposed to be "The Constitution of the United States", the supreme law of the United States of America?

Here's the Playmobil Uncle Sam figure without his beard. The beard does lend an air of authority doesn't it? Without the beard, no one would take Uncle Sam seriously ;p

I remembered reading about Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters back in the 70s. DC Comics The Freedom Fighters was a team of former Quality characters that briefly received its own title. This team was initially based on a parallel world called Earth-X, where World War II had lasted into the 1970s. Uncle Sam was their leader.

NEXT: Playmobil Fi?ures Series 1 "Football Player"