![]() Mind you, this was a deliberate choice on Mattel’s part. Typically, after a few months of playing with your Major Matt Mason, the wire armature inside of this “Men in Space” action figure would break and it would then no longer be poseable. Which wasn’t the sturdiest thing on the planet. That material was poured into a mold that had a wire armature inside. Also, instead of hard plastic, Mattel used a rubber-like substance called Plastizol when it was making its “Men in Space” toys. Joe and Marx’s “Best of the West” toys were … Major Matt Mason was half that size. Instead of the sturdy 12-inch-tall poseable action figures that G.I. Now I have to tell you that Mattel’s “Men in Space” toy line had problems right from the get-go. Which brought up some interesting copyright-related issues at that time. As in: A lot of the outfits & ride vehicles that were created for Mattel’s “Men in Space” line were direct lifts of publicity images that NASA had already put out there of space vehicles that they envisioned building once man actually made it to the moon. Now what was kind of interesting about Major Matt Mason is that the toy line that he headlined was based in reality. Who is headlined by Major Matt Mason an astronaut-themed action figure “ … who lives and works on the Moon.” Credit: Vintage Action Figures Major Matt Mason – Astronaut-Themed Action Figure Which is why – just in time for the holiday buying season of 1966 – Mattel rolls out its “Men in Space” toy line. So rather than looking back to World War II or the glory days of the America West, Mattel decides to take a chance on what’s going on in the real world at that exact moment. Joe & “Best of the West” action figures, Mattel wants in too.īut now that soldiers & cowboys are the exclusive property of Hasbro & Marx, Mattel has to find some sort of hook for its new “dolls for boys” line. But now that Hasbro & Marx have blazed this brave new trail – poseable dolls for boys – with their G.I. Which has cornered the market when it comes to dolls for girls with its Barbie & Chatty Cathy lines. Those arrive in the marketplace in 1965 and are also hugely successful. Joe and decides that … Well, we want in on the “dolls for boys” market … So they come up with the “Best of the West” line. Marx “Best in the West” Cowboy DollsĪnd Hasbro & Mattel’s direct competition, Marx, sees what going on with G.I. And it’s a huge hit right out of the box. Which is a poseable doll for boys) in 1964. Joe, “America’s movable fighting man” (because – again – you can’t call this toy what it actually is. credit: The Toys that made usĪnyway, Hasbro introduces G.I. So this is why the phrase “action figure” came from. Just so you know: The executives on the marketing side of Hasbro knew that that nomenclature – “dolls for boys” – wasn’t going to fly. Which is a military-themed doll for boys. Which was to license a concept that Stanley Winston had been developing. Which is what prompted Hasbro to do something bold in 1964. They too wanted in on this mass-produced plastic toy market. Which then made Mattel’s competitors stand up and take notice. Mattel made money hand over fist from sales of these two products. Doll’s For Boys – Mattel’s Space Action Figure This story actually starts over 60 years ago when Mattel sent two dolls out into the world, Barbie & Chatty Cathy. Now how we got to the “Men in Space” toy line is kind of convoluted. But – rather – as a riff on a space-themed toy line that Mattel produced in the mid-1960s called “Men in Space” which was then built around a character called Major Matt Mason. Which honestly wasn’t supposed to be a spoof on Captain Kirk from “Star Trek” or Gil Gerad’s Buck Rogers from the TV show. Of course, because I’m a nerd and an animation history buff, I can’t help but think about how Buzz Lightyear – the character from the “Toy Story” films, rather than the really-for-real space ranger that Chris Evans voices in “Lightyear” – really started out. As far as they’re concerned, the movie that spawned the Buzz Lightyear action figure line was the greatest film they’ve ever seen. Which is why Andy & his friends at that party react the way they do. Which is supposed to be this huge Summer blockbuster. You see, Andy’s seen the movie that this action figure was based on. But Rather an explanation of why Andy is so excited at his birthday party in the first “Toy Story” movie when he gets that Buzz Lightyear toy. Angus MacLane’s “ Lightyear” is supposed to be … Well, not exactly an origin story for Buzz Lightyear, the action figure that we know from all of the “Toy Story” films.
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