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MMM Astronaut SGT. STORM

SGT. STORM Flight Card Detail (lighter head, blue straps)

The Astronaut SGT. STORM® - Who is he?

"Major Matt Mason's Space Buddy, Sgt Storm - Ready and able to tackle any space job on his Cat Trac." (from the Cat Trac card back). The second astronaut to be released was introduced in 1968 as SGT. STORM™ (no first name given but people call him Steve or Steven for some reason, probably because of the alliteration). He's basically the manly, heroic companion to Major MATT MASON, providing a different perspective to the US Space Race. He wears a red suit to distinguish him from Matt. He was introduced in the second Mattel commercial in 1968:

Note this is the same for all astronauts and included here as a reference:

Mattel's astronaut figures were based on a bendy frame, much like what was previously used for the Gumby figure but with a bit of space age design added - there are hard plastic fins molded onto the wire armature that allow the limbs to keep their relative positions so handheld objects remain upright if needed. Other manufacturing processes used were so unique that patents were awarded:

Mattel Figure Patent:

ADJUSTABLE FIGURE TOY HAVING IMPROVED ARMATURE MEANS (MMM figure)

3,325,939 June 20, 1967 Filed Nov 21, 1966

J. W. Ryan and Ralph Dunn

"A simulated spaceman doll has a soft, pliable body supported by a soft wire armature which is encompassed by rigid stiffeners embedded in the limbs of the doll between its joints and in its body for preventing bending of the limbs and body between the joints. The stiffeners have a non-cylindrical shape and the portions of the wires which are encompassed by the stiffeners are flattened to a non-cylindrical shape for preventing relative rotation between the limbs of the toy and the stiffeners and between the stiffeners and the wires, respectively."

Patent Found by Graeme Walker

John's Notes
It's interesting to note that on the patent document, the figure originally was to have magnets in the boots so the figure could attach to surfaces, like the sled shown (you would pull the sled with a string to have the figure move). Sounds like the beginning of the Space Sled concept to me, and probably predates the Space Station with the boot tabs for holding the figures to the platforms.

Prototype:

Repainted MMM as SGT STORM

For all astronaut figures released after Major MATT MASON, Mattel repainted MATT figures, probably to market the figures prior to actual production. This image from the 1968 Mattel Catalog shows SGT. STORM on a Cat Trac and if you look closely you'll see that it's actually a repainted MATT figure.

There's also an interesting back-view of SGT. STORM on the Satellite Locker showing him with a red helmet (this led to rumors that some figures came with red helmets - thus far none have surfaced).

Satellite Locker Back with SGT. STORM
Note that to date, no repainted MMM figures representing SGT. STORM have surfaced. The only prototype that I'm aware of is a SGT. STORM packaging prototype:
SGT. STORM Packaging Prototype Front
SGT. STORM Packaging Prototype Back

Figure Variations:

SGT. STORM was initially released with white painted cuffs, black dots painted on the arms (like the red dots on MATT) and blue straps. Later figures lost the white cuffs and then the blue straps became black.  As a note, Sgt Storm has "Mattel, Inc. / © 1967 / Hong Kong" printed on the back of his neck.  

SGT. STORM with Blue Straps - back showing tiny lettering

These initial figures all had "© 1966 MATTEL, INC." and "U.S. PATENT PENDING" molded in tiny letters on their backs, and "HONG KONG" molded on the right calf.

Like Major MATT MASON, later figures were changed to "© 1966 MATTEL, INC." and "U.S. AND FOREIGN PATENTS PENDING" in larger type, presumably with the change to black straps.

SGT. STORM (darker head, black straps)

At some point Mattel began using a darker flesh color for the head mold (similar to the later Major MATT MASON pudgy figure variation).

From my observations of many packaged figures, all SGT. STORMS came with the taller helmet (see below).

Packaging by Catalog Year:

SGT. STORM could be found in a number of playsets and/or assortments - he's the second  most common of the astronaut figures (after MATT) produced by Mattel. Here's a list of where you might find him by year and the case size (solicitation size from US Mattel Toy Trade Catalogs - Note that the assortments are all one large case of multiple items so the counts are of the contents):

The most common SGT. STORM packaged figures are the Cat Trac (Lunar Trac) cards as they were produced in the most quantity and for the longest time.

Accessories:

Tall Helmet (taller neck-ring)

All Mattel Man-in-Space Astronauts came with a helmet (as noted above, there are two different versions - the short helmet is only found on early MATT figures). Depending on packaging the figure could come with other items but most fall into one of four categories:

  • Flight Card - only Major MATT MASON and SGT. STORM
    • Helmet w/visor
    • Jet Propulsion Pak
    • Space Sled with Control Column
    • Space Labels
  • US Cat Trac (Lunar Trac) Card - Note that there are Fakes in the market displaying unusual variations.
    • Helmet w/visor
    • Red Cat Trac (or Lunar Trac depending on packaging - same item with two different names)
  • Non-US-Issued Cat Trac Card
    • As above only packaged in a different language and usually supplied by Mattel GmbH Spielzeug
  • Boxed Astronaut produced for US Space Centers and some limited overseas markets. Note that there are Fakes in the market.

John's Notes:

I noticed that in Mattel materials Major MATT MASON is initially Trademarked but by 1968 had become Registered. Storm was the same converting to Registered in 1969 with Doug following in 1970. No evidence of Jeff being registered after the initial Trademark in 1969. So about a year after release each figure except Jeff went from a Trademark to being Registered.

As with most things, SGT. STORM's story deserves to be fully explored - see Capitán Meteoro and Atomo in the Non-US CIPSA area.

I tried to be as thorough as possible with this information but as always, if you see something that's inaccurate, want to have the information updated for some reason or want to contribute, contact John Eaton.

All Mattel images and captions are copyright Mattel and used without permission. All other content, including images and editorial, is Copyright © 1997-2024 John Eaton and/or contributors unless otherwise stated. If there are any comments or objections, please contact John Eaton.

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