Who Produced the First Battlestar Galactica Figure?

Battlestar Galactica Quote:

"There are those who believe...

that life here...

began out there.

Far across the universe. With tribes of humans...

who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians...

or the Toltecs...

or the Mayans...

that they may have been the architects of the Great Pyramids...

or the lost civilizations of Lemuria...

or Atlantis...

Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man...

who even now fight to survive...

somewhere beyond the heavens."

 

In 1977 a new era in cinematic history began with the opening of Star Wars. The swashbuckling heroes of the past were transported from their ocean faring ships into the vast oceans of space.

 

One of the most popular sci-fi programs to follow and capitalize on this new trend was Battlestar Galactica.

Battlestar Galactica was a story of betrayal, heroism, love and courage.

 

A story of survival against all odds.

 

The story of one species fight for survival, against the merciless onslaught of another.

 

The story began in a distant part of the universe where a series of planets, known as the 12 Colonies, was home to a civilization of humans.

 

The Colonies had been at war with the cybernetic race known as the Cylons for many years and at last it seemed like the war was about to come to an end as a Peace Conference was held to sign a new treaty between the two adversaries.

 

But the colonies were ambushed by the Cylons, helped by a the traitor Baltar, in a surprise attack that laid waste to all the planets and all but wiped out their population and the human race.

 

Fleeing the colonies in any spacecraft they could find the few human survivors sought refuge in space. Of all the Colonial Fleet an all the military ships only the Battlestar Galactica survived the attack to lead the survivors in the search for a new home and the mythical planet "Earth".

 

Battlestar Galatica boasted similar effects to those seen in Star Wars, probably because John Dykstra head of special effects on the Star Wars movie, now worked as producer on the show (an argument that eventually ended up in court).

 

But, despite its success, the show was cancelled in 1980. Richard Hatch tried to re-launch the series in 1998, which ultimately failed, but Universal Television was set on a new mini series and finally made in 2004 the new re-imaged Battlestar Galactica had it's TV debut.

 

The success of the new series has since led to a resurgence of interest in the original Battlestar Galactica figures and merchandising, particularly the vintage Mattel Battlestar Galactica figures, which can still be found at very reasonable prices.

 

The original line of Battlestar Galactica figures was first released in 1978 and stood approximately 3 3/4 inches in height with very limited articulation. At the time Mattel had high hopes for these figures and had planned many different figures as well as playsets and vehicles but two series were ever made it in to stores.

.

These figures, even by 1978 standards, were fairly crude and bore little resemblance to the characters they were supposed to portray unlike Hasbro's Star Wars figures, even Kenner's figures (which I'm not a huge fan of) were generally better.

 

Series one consisted of Starbuck, Adama, Daggit (the robot dog)*,  a Cylon Centurion (Silver), Ovion (a fly-like alien) and the Imperious Leader. These figures are generally easy to find and can be acquired for a very reasonable prices, so shop around before committing yourself to buying any.

 

Series two was released in 1979 and included a Gold Cylon Commander with a gun, Lucifer, Boray (a pig headed creature) with a club, Baltar with a gun and Daggit (tan)*.

 

*Note: There were two different colored versions of Daggit, the robotic dog, a brown Daggit in series 1 and a tanned Daggit in series 2.

 

The second series seems to be much more difficult to find and as a result they tend to be more expensive, although still very reasonably priced.

 

It's also worth noting also that the weapons are generally a lot harder to find and are often absent from the figures.

 

As well selling these in their regular blister packs Mattel also released a six figure and four figure gift pack.

 

Mattel also released two 12-inch figures in 1979, a Colonial Warrior and a Cylon Centurion.

 

The Colonial Warrior was based on the original mold from Major Matt Mason's Captain Laser figure and came with a laser beam, scanner device and Arial, the Cylon Centurion figure had the added bonus of a manually operated moving red eye and glowing chest.Both figures also had battery operated light up weapons.

 

These figures are extremely hard to find now, especially in mint condition complete with their box and weapons and are worthwhile looking out for.

 

In 1980 Mattel introduced a limited edition mail away offer featuring a Gold Cylon Centurion Leader but in order to get this figure you had to send four proofs of purchase from any four of the six figures in the series.

 

Mattel had also planned to release a series of Battlestar Galactica vehicles which were advertised in their catalog and prototypes were displayed at the New York Toy Fair in 1979.

 

The Colonial Landram was released in Canada and a Viper Launch Station was also produced but  the Holy Grail of them all must be The Battlestar Galactica Command Ship which proved to be far too ambitious and costly at the time and was cancelled.

 

BUT a prototype of this does exist and was sold for just over $5000 on eBay in 2004!

Article Written and researched by Colin Dorman, owner of http://www.mcfarlanes-figures.com.

Discover the full range of Battlestar Galactica figures past and present with a free downloadable checklist.

Colin has gained much experience and knowledge over the years on the subject of collecting action figures as both a collector and trader. He previously owned two retail stores and a successful internet business selling collectibles and now enjoys passing on his knowledge through his current site.