Sixteen 12 are adding two more Moonbase Alpha astronaut figures to the two already released, plus a special edition Commander Koenig.
Alan Carter with Moonbuggy and Commander John Koenig
New releases announced: Professor Victor Bergman and Controller Paul Morrow.
The Special Edition Commander John Koenig.
Some additional photos from Sixteen 12.
Fine, but... where's Helena?
ReplyDeleteit crossed my mind too, Arto, a Helena figure would certainly sell.
DeleteIt might be simply down to the costs of licensing Barbara Bain's likeness . MPC did replace Landau and Bain with Nick Tate's photo on their Eagle reissue which might have been for similar reasons.
Of course, and this is just me speculating, it might just be that a third set of figures are planned for the future - Helena & Maya maybe ?
That would be swell, Scoop. One would think having Dr. Russell included would be an asset for the copyright holders of Barbara Bain's likeness too.
DeleteAbsolutely, Arto, Like most collectors, I'd certainly like to see a Helena included, we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed.
DeleteVery good likenesses. I wish I could get into these, but it would all add up to a pretty heavy investment.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree, these pre-production figures certainly do have good likenesses, kittenpurse, which will hopefully transfer well to the finished models.
DeleteLike most limited quality collectables there's always costs to consider, and nowadays those are usually over the odds unfortunately.
I quite like the Last Sunset alien device, I've been tempted to make one a few times.
ReplyDeleteI've seen plenty of resin versions for sale at various events, Kev. You'd need quite a few to recreate what we saw on screen, though!
DeleteI can't help noticing -- and this is just an observation -- not a criticism -- that all the figures employ the same castings for the arms, legs and torso (to list them alphabetically!).
ReplyDeleteConsequently, with the changes between figures limited to the head sculpts and chest pack detailing, Sixteen 12 can release four figures at a reduced outlay.
I would imagine that is why there isn't a Helena Russell; creating one would require an entirely new body sculpt.
An accurate likeness of Sandra (who I'd prefer over Maya!) would require yet another body sculpt, too!
I can understand the decision behind this; I am aware that Sixteen 12 have had to abandon some releases because of low order numbers...
I also cannot help thinking that Sixteen 12 are following in the lunar footprints of some previous astronauts...
Mattel used the same approach with Major Matt Mason, Sgt. Storm, Doug Davis and Jeff Long back in the day -- and I found that acceptable!
I do think, though, that the cost of these (£56:00 each) is... a little high -- but maybe there are reasons...
D.C.
Yep, all the figures are the same apart from the numbers on the packs, and the heads. This obviously means some savings, and less of a gamble in terms of sales. You never know we might get a Tony at some point
ReplyDeleteIf Sixteen 12 are going to release female versions, I've no doubt they'd do new sculps;
Helena and Maya as main characters, I'm sure they would be the front runners.
When it comes to price, these are limited releases aimed at a relatively small market.
They're licenced, and obviously Sixteen 12 will have their overheads, and are entitled to a profit. Most of their products sell very well, and often third party sellers charge more in some cases.
Oh, sure; I do appreciate the costs involved -- and the fact that the SPACE: 1999 (and general Gerry Anderson) market is small -- and unpredictable.
DeleteI was surprised, the other day, to see that NETWORK DVD still have units of the Deluxe Edition SUPERCAR and FIREBALL XL5 Blu-ray sets available; I would have thought they would have sold out by now -- the fact they haven't says something.
I also meant to say in my original post that I do think the 1999 figures look really nice!
:-)
D.C.
Yes, interesting that the deluxe Supercar and Fireball XL5 sets haven't sold out, I wonder how many were produced? The Captain Scarlet deluxe set sold out fairly quickly,as did the Super deluxe Stingray set (not sure about the Joe 90 deluxe set).
DeleteExcellent action figure review and pics, Scoop. I do like these.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony, the Sixteen 12 stuff is always popular.
DeleteCool!
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid it's beyond my budget, but I'd love to see Maya, Helena, Sandra in the collection.
Though, as others noted, the figures only differ in their head sculpts. Putting a female figure out would require making more than just a head.
Given that they are wearing bulky spacesuits, chest packs and back packs, you could easily get away with just switching the head sculpt for a female figure. The few episodes which see Maya or Helena in a suit do not betray the feminine body shape, the material that the space suits were made from is very tubular and does not cling to the wearer. Bill
ReplyDelete