Big Little Men

The Coleco Starcom figures are some of the best astronaut toys ive come across. Intially released in 1986, way after the first true action figures appeared in the Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica lines, Coleco eschewed the standard 3.5 " range and went for a much small and in some cases, much more detailed figure. The Magna-Lock feature of including strong magnets in their boots added a distinctive weight to the tiny pilots, besides giving the facility to attache them to any ferrous metal surface, so zero-g conditions could be simulated with ease!

Each figure came on a lavishly illustrated card, with attendant bio, backstory and place in the various forces within Starcom.

The initial 23 figure line was divided into three units - Astro Marines, Starbase Command and Star Wing. Each cohort would be responsible for a certain section of the fleet, ground assault, base and space force. Some figures were only available in playsets or with vehicles.

After the collapse of Coleco in the early 90's, Mattel picked up the licence and distributed a few extra sets in Europe. Some of the figures were issued with re-decos and some in twin packs.

Even at the small size, about 5 cm high, each figure has excellent moulding, articulation and a lot of character. The Astro Marines look especially rugged and hard bitten and many of the figures have neat 'porn star' style moustaches!

One of the main failings - possibly the only one - with the figures was the visor. The fgure had a moveable neck joint and the moulded helmet had a tiny removeable transparent visor. Because the figures were small, playing with them or putting them into the confined cockpits of the ships, usually meant the little plastic visor came off and was easily crushed underfoot.

Next up Shadow Force! the baddies...