Out of the Toybox (53): 'Science Fantasy'

Battlestar Galactica 1978 Mattel

Disney Black Hole 1979 MEGO 

Flash Gordon 1979 Mattel

Dune 1984 LJN Toys Ltd.

Crystar: Crystal Warrior Remco 1983 [Zardeth], 1984 Voltron: Defender of the Universe [King Zarkon, Prince Lotor], Gross Out, 1986, Animax by Schaper

In the late 70's and into the 80's the 3 & 3/4 inch scale ruled action figure design. Companies not only wanted their toys to be compatible for play with the enormously popular Star Wars line to encourage sales, they may have even hoped that they could somehow compete with Kenner. Every science fiction franchise had to have their merchandising, and several toy lines were created out of thin air in the hopes that their odd designs and bright colors might appeal to the kids.

You can see that most of the silvery paint has worn off of the Cylon. We still have the Battlestar figures' cloaks; one is used on the old Knickerbocker Frodo.  The Flash Gordon figures are from the 1979 cartoon, not the movies. I know there is another Vultan and another Ming, as well as two Beastmen somewhere. We used to call the Lizard Woman Zitrone, the German word for lemon or lime. The Thun was a late acquisition, a present from Kenny if I'm not mistaken.

That Baron Harkonnen is a weird standout; we selected him from a whole bin of Barons (going for a dollar apiece, I believe) at the old Paper Bear store in San Marcos. Can't understand why the figure never sold. Who doesn't want a figure of a fat man with bare feet in what looks like some kind of bondage suit and who is compatible with no other format?

The wizardly Zardeth from Crystar: Crystal Warrior of course appealed to my taste for magic users. One of them is clothed in an old Indiana Jones robe. King Zarkon and Prince Lotor should have been joined with a figure of Haggar the Witch, which, again, is 'somewhere'. And you would think a figure of a biker pigman with an eyepatch and a hook arm would be easy to locate and name, but no.

Update 10/15/23: I found the pigman Gross Out while I was looking through a file of old toys and things I had made and hadn't looked at for a while. It was a catalog page showing all the Animax line by Schaper (1986). "He who has patience shall obtain."