If there was one toy I could take to Mars it would be Mattel's Captain Lazer. With his Leonard Nimoy looks and glam rock boots the Captain is the coolest toy ever. I adored him as a kid. My old Mum must have forgot to leave it out for me on Xmas morning 1968 (I think), so on hearing my sobbing she quickly retrieved it from under her bed, came down stairs and handed it to me wrapped in paper.
"There you go Son, Santa didn't forget after all".
Good old Mum. She was the real Santa!
I even wrote a poem about ol' Cap when I was a young teenager. Such is the power of the Captain's dazzling eyes and chest plate. I think the neatest stuff though, were his lazer attachments; the rod, the barrel and my favourite, the purple shield. Callisto and his cissy string pistol never stood a chance against the might of the glowing Captain!
These three coloured lazer parts reminded me of the cool weapons and accessories which came with Colorform's Outer Space Men, probably the best space toy range ever made. In fact Mattel's Major Matt Mason range and the Outer Space Men fit together perfectly. Callisto could easily be an Outer Space Man! Ol' Cap was so cool that Mattel used his body again for a new generation in the Seventies, by which time Captain Lazer will have been but a distant ray blast.
Finally I'd like to mention the sound the Cap's backpack made. I've talked about it before and will no doubt again. It is one of those iconic sounds unique to a Sixties childhood, like a spring rattling round a paint tin.
Words like 'bodoingggggg' and 'de-de-de-de-de' don't do it justice. What do you think readers?
What was that sound like?
*Pics of my second Captain bought in 2014.
I can't share your enthusiasm for this space oddity! Why Mattel included an 18" figure in a six inch line is beyond me. He grudgingly 'sits' on the Firebolt Space Lazer Cannon, but is utterly alienated from all the other sets in the line! Scorpio is bigger than Matt and Callisto, but still sits a lot better with the other figures. A real weird choice! Bill
ReplyDeleteHmm, I don't see the size problem Bill but I am biased seeing as the Captain and me are pals. I like the fact that he's huge compared to the rest. Like Mr. Manhatten in the Watcen.
DeleteWatchmen.
Deletedespite its awkwardness ,size etc i have very fond memories of getting this one christmas with lots of other space toys. it also sums up for me a joyous sixties spacey christmas from childhood.
ReplyDeleteMe too. I feel exactly the same about the Captain Anon.
DeleteI've always been fascinated with Captain Laser, having seen the TV commercials as a kid. He was way too expensive and he didn't fit size wise with the others. He was also a jointed doll, whereas everyone else was a bendy toy!
ReplyDeleteI've Googled repeatedly, but I've never come up with any hard information on how or why Mattel introduced such an odd toy to the range.
I've read that he might have been a Japanese toy, that was absorbed into the MMM line, but no hard information.
The styling is so odd, with his flared boots and double breasted jacket -almost like something out of the American wild west!
I had the Battlestar Galactica Cylon rebadged version.
But always, more questions than answers!
All very interesting Looey especially the Japanese angle. It's a good question where they got the idea for him from.
DeleteTalk about re-use!
ReplyDeleteI just discovered Mattel re used the name and the vague styling, for a subsiduary character in their Big Jim range in 1980!
This was a new tooling, so it wasn't a cost cutting exercise, like the Battlestar Galactica version.
https://www.lulu-berlu.com/big-jim-space-series-captain-laser-ref3264-a22971-en.html
Great link Looey! Such a cool bit of recycling by Mattel! His chest plate looks like his earlier shield!
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