Fisher-Price Adventure People: Set #307 Wilderness Patrol (1976-1979)

"Red" looks out over the marsh. Adventure People Set #307 Wilderness Patrol

The Fisher-Price Adventure People were first available in 1975.  These extremely durable 3 3/4" action figures and toys were very popular throughout their run from 1975 to 1985.  Even through the rigors of play, Adventure People and their vehicles were so well made that a large number of them are still around today in good condition.  They are also some of the earliest 3.75" action figures on the market and were even used as the base figure for many of the Kenner Star Wars prototypes.

My childhood Adventure People Set #307 "Wilderness Patrol"

Fisher-Price created many popular sets for the Adventure People line (see my post on the Cycle Racing Team set #356 here!)  Even though I only had a few sets as a kid, I was familiar with many of the other sets because most of the kids I knew had at least one or two of them that were different from the ones that I had.  One popular set that I did have back in the 70s was Wilderness Patrol - Set #307.  This was one of the earlier Adventure People sets and was available from 1976 through 1979!  The set consisted of 3 vehicles, 3 action figures, 1 dog, 2 sleeping bags, and 1 rope with a hook on each end which I don't remember ever having.  The vehicles were 1) a yellow airplane that seated one figure, 2) a green ATV with six wheels that seated two figures in the front, but also had a storage area in the back where more figures could ride, and 3) a green and white pontoon boat with a drop-down motor that seated two figures.  The pontoon boat could be connected to the plane to create a plane that could land on the water!

Scout the dog, Scott, and Red watch the sunrise before a day of adventure!

The figures from the set were "Scott" the Ranger in his green outfit and tan hat, "Greg" the Pilot who wore blue jeans, a brown jacket, and an orange cap with headphones, and "Red" the Mountain Climbing Woodsman with orange hair and beard, red jacket over a yellow turtleneck, black pants, brown boots, and (at least in the case of my figure) white socks.  I've read that he came with yellow socks in this set, but I've never seen a set with this figure wearing yellow socks.  Red's real name was most likely "Steve," but he also answered to "Dick" (I joke because this figure was also available with The Mountain Climber set #351 and on some packages, his name was listed as "Dick" while on other's it was listed at "Steve").  Also, the Wilderness Patrol set included a collie named "Scout" who is often found without his tail.  From what I can tell, Scout's tail was probably the least durable piece of this entire set.

Greg flying high over the forest keeps an eye out for trouble in the forest.

I thought this was a great set as a kid and it still holds up well today!  I showed this set to my father recently and he told me how much he liked it.  I responded that he must have liked all those years ago when he got the set for me for Christmas!  I had many adventures with this crew over the years.  Red was always a favorite of mine and the plane gave my Daredevil Skydiver the altitude that he needed to parachute into all sorts of fun.  Even after Star Wars became my obsession in the late 70s and GI Joe arrived a few years later, Scout and the sleeping bags always accompanied 3 3/4" friends into action!  In fact, I recently found these sleeping bags in with my GI Joe accessories.

Scout the dog and Scott patrol the wilderness!

Do you collect Fisher-Price Adventure People?  Which sets and figures are your favorites?  Have you ever owned the Wilderness Patrol set?  If so, were Red's socks white or yellow.  Tell me in the comments!

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