The Toy I always wished for... but was never made.

[David Kerin]

It's cool seeing all these toys come out for the original Battlestar Galactica. The 12 inch figures, the Mego style, and the various ships, comics and what-nots over the recent years.

BUT... the one toy I always wanted there to be (and would buy in an instant today) would be a Viper to go with the (Star Wars size) action figures. And of course better action figures. I actually love the ones that were done for Buck Rogers, and they had the toy designs of the Marauder and Starfighter down really well. So why for Battlestar did we get those crappy small Mattel Vipers and Raiders? There was an entire market of Star Wars figures sweeping stores and we got those?!

Please, someone out there make one... and a Raider too (though it may have to hold only 1 Centurion, otherwise it'd be huge).


Other than that, if I had a wish list of toys, I'd add a nice detailed Blaster with functioning lights and sound... as they have done with the Star Trek phaser, communicator and tricorder.


What else did people want?

[Lara]

Lego Centurion alarm clock. I've got a storm trooper one.

The bad dudes always have the best uniform(armour)

Come to think of it a matching sized Lego warrior version would be cool, too..

Cheers

[Charybdis]

I remember the Buck Rogers starfighter, in fact, I had one! But yeah, the larger size BSG ships would have been cool. Also, a huge Battlestar ship would have been totally awesome!

[Rhaven Blaack]

For those of you who are interested in models of some of these iconic ships and planes. There are very good paper models of some of the BSG ships (and props) as well as the Buck Rogers Thunder Fighter (all three versions, the David Jones Concept Thunder Fighter, and a couple of fan based versions as well. Not only that, but the Hawk Fighter is also available), out on the internet. All of these models are FREE!!!

For the BSG models, you can find them here:
https://stevespaper.com/

For the Buck Rogers Thunder Fighter and Hawk Fighter, you can find them here:
https://www.paperaviation.de/

ENJOY!!!

[Jayworld]

At one time, I had all 10 of the Mattel 3 3/4" Battlestar figures, and I'm with you; wish there would have been a Viper or Cylon Raider. Although I liked the figures (because they were Battlestar), they were inferior to the Star Wars figures due to lack of detail, no painted features on the face, and severely limited articulation. Both Cylons only moved at the head (swivel), arms, and waist, so even if there had been a Cylon raider produced to scale, the figures would not have fit in them because they were unable to sit. Further, there was never an Apollo figure produced. Also, the Boray figure was just awful, with limited articulation, and an orange, non-detailed head. Mattel really missed the boat on this line.

One reason the Buck Rogers figures were so well done was that they were produced by Mego, who had started producing 3 3/4" figures at that time instead of the 8" line. Mego also did a great job (detail, articulation, etc.) with the Black Hole 3 3/4" figures. The Mego figures had high detail, incredible articulation (on a par with the 1982 GI Joe Real American hero line), and fabric costuming in some cases.

It was also sad to see the excellent Majestic 12" figures discontinued, and then when revived by Amok Time toys, not enough sales to warrant the production of the Lucifer, Athena, Tigh, Boomer, and Cain figures. The prototypes (1 of 1) were auctioned off a couple of years ago. Seems that where collectible action figures are concerned, Battlestar has always had the short end of the stick.

[Rhaven Blaack]

I think that a GREAT deal of why BSG got the short end of the stick is because, Glen Larson (and company) did not actively pursue the merchandizing like they should have (unlike George Lucas). If Glen Larson would have done so, I think that there would have been far more toys (and other memorabilia on the market).

[David Kerin]

Originally Posted by Rhaven Blaack

For those of you who are interested in models of some of these iconic ships and planes. There are very good paper models of some of the BSG ships (and props) as well as the Buck Rogers Thunder Fighter (all three versions, the David Jones Concept Thunder Fighter, and a couple of fan based versions as well. Not only that, but the Hawk Fighter is also available), out on the internet. All of these models are FREE!!!

For the BSG models, you can find them here:
https://stevespaper.com/

For the Buck Rogers Thunder Fighter and Hawk Fighter, you can find them here:
https://www.paperaviation.de/


ENJOY!!!

I've checked those out before... absolutely fantastic looking! Some day will have to try one, but I don't know if I have the patience it may take.

[David Kerin]

Originally Posted by Jayworld

At one time, I had all 10 of the Mattel 3 3/4" Battlestar figures, and I'm with you; wish there would have been a Viper or Cylon Raider. Although I liked the figures (because they were Battlestar), they were inferior to the Star Wars figures due to lack of detail, no painted features on the face, and severely limited articulation. Both Cylons only moved at the head (swivel), arms, and waist, so even if there had been a Cylon raider produced to scale, the figures would not have fit in them because they were unable to sit. Further, there was never an Apollo figure produced. Also, the Boray figure was just awful, with limited articulation, and an orange, non-detailed head. Mattel really missed the boat on this line.

One reason the Buck Rogers figures were so well done was that they were produced by Mego, who had started producing 3 3/4" figures at that time instead of the 8" line. Mego also did a great job (detail, articulation, etc.) with the Black Hole 3 3/4" figures. The Mego figures had high detail, incredible articulation (on a par with the 1982 GI Joe Real American hero line), and fabric costuming in some cases.

It was sad how poorly done the Battlestar 3 3/4 figures were. The Cylon looked ok, but the articulation was ridiculous! I forgot about the Mego Black Hole figures. I still have somewhere the VINCENT figure, and the detail on that was fantastic! The head would retract into the body, as well as the side clasps and the bottom... black sphere thingies. Oh what could have been if they got the license to Battlestar instead of Mattel. Even Mattel's laser pistol was just some old toy with a Battlestar Galactica sticker slapped on the side. And the 12 inch Cylon and "Colonial Warrior"? At least they made the Cylon head, but the rest were just repackaged old toys. Terrible to a 10 year old kid in 1978.

One toy that did meet my childhood satisfaction, and remains probably my favorite Christmas toy to this day, is the large Space: 1999 Eagle. That with my large Millenium Falcon toy were the pride of my star base setup I had in the family room. As for favorite fighters in said "star base" was the Star Fighter (BR) and the Snow Speeder. And just to fill out the image of the childhood star base for ya, it all centered around the main control tower, which was of course the Death Star playset. Oh the hours spent playing with that stuff!

[Rhaven Blaack]

Originally Posted by David Kerin

I've checked those out before... absolutely fantastic looking! Some day will have to try one, but I don't know if I have the patience it may take.

The Thunder Fighter was my very first "kit" paper model that I started on. It also is my favorite!!!

The best word of advice that I can give you, is "TAKE YOUR TIME"! There is no need to attempt to make the model all at one time (that is how people get frustrated). Work on it for about an hour (or two, if you have the extra time), walk away from it. Come back to it when you feel like working on it. Just remember one thing, "ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN ONE DAY"!

Have fun with it and ENJOY!!!

If you do build it, I would really like to see photos of it!!!