I saw this trio of action fellas on the Bay.
They're hip and lookin for a good time!
I know the Captain well but not the others. Two of them come from Mattel's place: Pulsar and Cap Laser.
The headless guy in the middle is Maskatron. He's from the house of Kenner.
But all three seem to have been given the same legs, give or take an inch.
Am I seeing things or are are they all borrowed from GI Joe/ Action Man?
*I love Pulsar's trousers! I want some!
They were all meant to compete with Hasbro's juggernaut GI Joe line.Even the Captain was offered in the notably smaller Matt Mason line as an alternative for kids who preferred bigger action figures.Maskatron was made by Kenner,so his body is slightly different from the other two. Im sure Mattel used common molds for parts whenever they could,so Captain and Pulsar have the same plastic DNA.
ReplyDeleteI thought so Brian. I wonder which one was the most popular of the three? I've seen some recycling of the body of Cap Laser before. I'd love to see Pulsar close up and in action. I get him confused with Electroman, another figure I'd love to see!
DeleteElectroman is bigger yet at a whopping 15 inches.I saw an Electroman at a collectible store I frequent last year an almost(but not quite) pulled the trigger on it.It might still be there,so soon it may be mine.I'll let you know if that happens.Its a very impressive toy!
Delete15 inches! Wow!
DeleteCompete with Joe sure but more successful? Not so much. Lazer was about the same height as Joe but the bionic line of toys including Maskatron were 13 inches so a bit taller while Pulsar was 14 inches. So if Joe was 6 foot tall, the bionic line would have been 6 foot 6 inches and Pulsar's line 7 feet! So you weren't going to get the taller guys into Joe's vehicles or outfits.
ReplyDeleteCaptain Lazer was a giant amongst the astronauts and had just 7 points of articulation, hips, knees, shoulders, neck. Mattel reused the mold in different colors and heads for the large Battlestar Galctica figures that were shelf warmers as the trending toys were much smaller in size.
Pulsar had more points of articulation than Lazer but was kind of a wtf toy that came out of nowhere. While the ability to see his blood pumping through his body was a neat gimmick, his face also flipped up like a knight's visor so you could insert mission disks inside to program his computer brain. His outfit was pretty snazzy and oddly enough in your pic, Maskatron is wearing one of Pulsar's boots.
Maskatron gave you an enemy that was the equal to the bionic man in power. Interchangable weapon arms also. One was a Dalek plunger!
Of the three, I've seen more Capt Lazers at toy fairs than the others. That said, I think Maskatron was probably the most popular due to advertising support and being featured on episodes of the six million dollar man. However with so many parts to lose, I suspect a huge amount of them are off in landfills. Capt Lazer was kind of a one of these things is not like the others in the MMM toy line and I suspect that made him less popular. Pulsar's gimmick was offputting to many parents much like Gre-gory the bat who also featured a clear abdomen and visible pumping blood.
Great info Lance. You really know your stuff. I had no idea that Pulsar pumped blood around his body! What an odd gimmick but one that would have appealed to me as a monstrous kid back in the Sixties. He came later though didn't he? I didn't have a Gregory either but I want one now! Captain Lazer was a special toy to me as a nipper and remains a clear symbol of my childhood in my mind. I can hear his strange d-d-d-ding coming from his battery pack even now. I even wrote a poem about him in my teens but by then my Captain had fled. Have you ever thought of writing a book or for magazines on vintage toys in the US?
DeleteHey Woodsy, this video just came up in my feed and I think you'll like it. Lots of Pulsar.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgyydMmHFMY
Wow! Toy Polloi is a professional! His restoration looks superb Lance. I love the way he makes his own decals! Inspiring! Thanks. Do you restore as well?
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