I'm forever stumbling across these Tim Mee plastic figures online, the Galaxy Laser Team. I didn't have any as a kid and have never seen them in the flesh.
They seem to have been endlessly recycled and repackaged although the distinctive designs stay the same.
They get renamed too and these STAR PATROL set mention an X-Wing, perhaps giving away their origins in the vast world of Star Wars knockoffs.
They got bigger too as in these giant sized STAR BATTLE figures.
and appeared all over the world.
The designs do remind me of certain characters. The green martian with his rifle recalls this proto-Chewbacca drawn by John Schoenherr.
and the lady stood next to the console recalls all those comms officers in space shows like Uhura in Star Trek.
The guy with the helmet has got to be Magneto!
and the warrior turtle is a deadringer for Gamera!
What do I know! Do you know anything about these Tim Mee figures readers?
PS. see the cool SECRET FUN BLOG for more info on these figures.
PSPS. there's some really beautiful pictures of Tim Mee's space figures on this flickr gallery
The robot (or is it a walking vending machine?) certainly seems to back up your idea these are Star Wars knock offs. Never heard of the range, though.
ReplyDeleteI do so remember these! What I remember most is the F-16 fighter with an X-wing configuration. You couldn't go into a grocery storein the 70's without seeing a set of these on the toy rack!
ReplyDeleteIt came in two sizes! the Big one had a clear opening canopy and was sold unpackaged in Bins.
DeleteHere in the states such were repackaged in the 1990s and commonly seen in 'dollar' item stores.
ReplyDeleteI've got a boxed set of these I believe by Aurora. Haven't blogged them yet as they and the rest of their spacemen brethren will be featured sometime next year.
ReplyDeleteHi All, I worked with the new owners of 'Tim Mee Toys' to reissue these figures using the original molds. They were indeed released in '78 to capitalize on the Star Wars craze. At least some of the figures seem to be pulled from older sets, but I haven't found any pre-78 examples of any of the figures. Processed Plastic (Tim Mee's parent company) also owned a tool and shop that made molds for many other manufacturers, both domestic and abroad, so it's possible the figures were pulled from various leftovers of other projects.
ReplyDeleteHey VictoryBuy, that's fascinating! Sounds feasible that older figures might have formed part of this set. It'd be great to identify them. But that's interesting, there were no Galaxy Laser Teams in the US or anywhere before 1978? What's the best way for readers to get hold of a new re-issued set? Thanks for getting in touch PS. do you have any pictures of the manufacturing process for the re-issues that I could show on the blog?
DeleteIn America they were common peg toys. Chief Inspirations were Buck Rodgers, Star Trek, Star Wars (obviously) and illustrations from science fiction magazines... The guy in the helmet has more of Darth Vader than of Magneto, if you see him in the flesh...
ReplyDeleteThe 'Space Figures' were first introduced in 1978 according to Kent Sprecher (Toy Soldier HQ). He visited the Processed Plastic factory and had access to thier records shortly before it closed and wrote a 2 part article about the history of Tim Mee /PPC for 'Playset Magazine' a few years ago. I believe the first version was labeled as 'Outer Space Fighters'.
ReplyDeleteYou can get the reissues from our webshop, or Amazon, or eBay.
VictoryBuy.com
I've asked the factory for photos, but so far all I have is this pic of the classic M16 soldier mold:
Link