Tonto died this morning at around 9am from either suspected asthma or lung cancer, we couldn’t afford the tests to find out. I hope you guys don’t mind me posting old photos.
Tonto and the Lone Ranger action figures from Gabriel Toys.
From what I've been able to gather, this line was originally released in 1973, with several figures, horses, and accessories made available. The figures were between 9" to 10" tall, so they were smaller than G.I. Joe (11.5"-12"), but bigger than the Mego figures (8"). Apparently the only other action figures (at the time) of the same scale was Mattel's Big Jim line.
I completely missed this figures when they came out, which is hardly surprising because there were no toy stores near me, and I rarely got to go to department stores with toy aisles. I'm not a huge Lone Ranger fan, but I did enjoy the 1950s TV series and the 1960s cartoons that aired on CBS (and later in syndication) and had a The Wild, Wild West-vibe. And I definitely would've wanted to collect these guys.
Interestingly enough, Gabriel Toys (aka Gabriel Industries) is the toy manufacturing division of CBS, which would later broadcast the Filmation series The New Adventures of the Lone Ranger (1980).
I'm surprised these figures were released at all, given that there was no corresponding television series, animated series, or film at the time. But from what I can find out the line did quite well, especially overseas, which lead to a reissue (with new outfits, playlets, and accessories) in the late 1970s.