Child’s play expert Dr Tara Woodyer, of Portsmouth University, said: “Play has frequently been overlooked as irrelevant to how people come to understand the world yet it’s precisely this apparent banality, the taken for granted nature of play that allows its role to go unchallenged. "Toys – and how children play with them – are not just a response to the world, they help shape our culture. "The role of action figure dolls has been unduly neglected especially given the enormous academic attention focused on their female equivalent Barbie.” The study will include tracing the history and development of the action figure toy in British homes and the toys’ role in wider geopolitical climates and cultures.