Space 1999 was the ground breaking sci-fi television series of the 1970's where a group of men and women of Moonbase Alpha found themselves hurling through space after an accident blasted the moon out of earth's orbit. It was a tale of survival, as the Alphans, not able to control the course of their wandering moon, encounter strange and often hostile forces in their quest to find a home.
A large number of toy lines began to hit the shelves as the television show grew in popularity, with the most common detailed herein.
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Mattel Eagle 1 Spaceship
Mattel Action Figures Mego/Palitoy Action Figures AHI Parachutist
Toys
Remco Utility Belt AHI Stun Guns Did You Know?
"It's a space vehicle! It's a headquarters and living quarters on Moon Base Alpha! With three 3" TV characters!...Command and engine modules detach! Make a mini-spaceship!...Module hatch opens, room for 2!...Over 2 1/2 feet long! With 3 characters from Moon Base Alpha!"
Probably recognized as the most popular Space 1999 toy, the Mattel Eagle 1 was a huge hit. I remember my brother flying his around the house and I loved it! Maybe it was all of the parts this thing had - and it had a lot of parts - but there was something about it that just fascinated me. I will say, the figures are plain and that is an understatement. One of them (Bergman) is molded in a seated position so what good is that? They are cheap, Russell and Koenig are opposite sexes yet have the same body, but still, this is a great all around piece of toy nostalgia.
There were two side doors that opened, as well as a command hatch. All of the non-white pieces are removable, which means there were lots of parts to loose! Included was a space crane as well as a weapons rack that came with 4 stun guns and a laser rifle (see last photo below).
Mattel released their 9 inch Space 1999 action figures in 1975. Three figures were part of the line: Commander Koenig, Professor Bergman and Doctor Russell. A fourth figure was due to be added in 1976 but was cancelled before mass production. A few figures exist, which may be sales prototypes or early production figures and they are very rare. Mattel sold the mold to Cipsa in Mexico, who produced a taller 10 inch version called Nocton for their Big Jim line of figures. One playset, Moon Base Alpha, was part of the line.
Articulation wise, these figures are extremely poor. Why Mattel could whip out Big Jim figures with great articulation and then produce these bendee type bodies with no articulation is beyond me. Torso and legs are hard plastic while the head and arms are soft plastic. They are jointed at the neck, shoulder, hips & knees. Each came with a plastic belt, comlock and stun gun plus soft plastic slippers.
Moon Base Alpha
In 1976, Mattel released the Moonbase Alpha playset for their 9"
action figure line. It is fairly boring but decent on display. The center
console does light up, which is a nice touch. Set includes the Starflash computer
(with blinking light and attached chair), another plastic chair and small table as well as
the vinyl case.
Mego/Palitoy 8" Action Figures
In 1975, Mego expanded it's 8" action figure line in Europe following the hit of their Star Trek series with five action figures based on the Space 1999 series. Unfortunately for US kids, these were only released in the U.K. They are typical Mego figures, well articulated and have great accessories. Very hard to come by today.
Left to right:
Mysterious Alien, Captain Zantor, Paul Morrow, Captain Koenig and Alan Carter
Ahi released a number of parachutist toys in the 70s for several lines including Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, Super Heroes and, believe it or not, Space 1999. Only Koenig was made, but there were two versions, Koenig in his normal uniform and Koenig in his astronaut suit. The second release included a launcher to catapult the poor Captain into space.
What toy line would be complete without a Remco utility belt? Mainly released and marketed in the UK by Irwin, these sets are really great. Included were: belt, watch-compass, stun gun and radiation detector.
Azrak-Hamway (AHI) released a variety of Stun Guns as part of the Space 1999 line, from disk shooters, to water shooters to clickers. The disk shooters use the same disks as the Star Trek set and were sold
Larami Corp Toys released a huge assortment of cheap dimestore like toys. They basically purchased the rights to make any previously unreleased toy (excluding action figures). Since a number of guns, helmets and other toys were previously snatched up, they came out with junk like:
Have a question about a toy you have or one you are looking for? Send me an e-mail!
