MMM Alien Or

Or Prototype Seated

The Alien OR™ - Who is he?

The mysterious alien Or appeared more as an accessory to Mattel #6356 ORBITOR™ and #6380 VOYAGE TO GALAXY III™ (this latter was a combination set that included the Or/Orbitor, a Star Seeker and MMM Cat Trac) in a double solicitation within the Mattel 1970 "Fall" Catalog. He does not appear anywhere else and while he may have been test marketed (there are some anecdotes of people playing with the toy as a child), I don't believe any survive other than as sales samples or test shots.

Mattel 1970 "Fall" Catalog Page 28 Half-page Ad

Or was constructed as a hollow, hard-plastic torso and head, with soft plastic rather insectoid arms and legs. I believe this was to keep the weight down in the primary toy, the ORBITOR.™ The Orbitor was a somewhat ingenious flying toy that resembles a large Satellite from the Satellite Launch Pak - there's a launching system that relied on someone pulling up on a handle attached to a rope that would crank a hub "drive dog" until some engineered escape velocity was attained, causing the satellite to spin up into the air with Or safely stored in the center under a clear dome.

From the main Solicitation:

NEW! ORBITOR  #6356

Up… up it soars, whirling towards space adventure! Launch this unique space craft with a pull of the power cord - no batteries needed! OR, strange-shaped visitor from Orion, pilots the big 12" rotor from its central dome. Hi-impact plastic and steel launcher. Space decals included.

As far as I know, I own the only intact example of Or, the Orbitor and Launcher. Or is intact if a bit rough (his back is sanded, I'm guessing to add a bit of friction tension to his back. The Orbitor has "Sample" stamped on the underside and is missing the part that connects to the launcher. The launcher is cast-molded with metal parts, a fiber rope and wooden handles.

Or Prototype Seated in Orbitor on Launcher

Orbitor Patent:

ROTOR LAUNCHING TOY (Orbitor and Launcher)

3,605,328 Sept 20, 1971 Filed Dec 10, 1969

Eugene .J. Kilroy, Jr.

"A toy which facilitates the launching of a large rotor, comprising an elongated frame with a launching end having a drive dog for receiving the rotor and an operating end where a handle is located that can be pulled by a child to rotate the drive dog and launch the rotor. The axis of the drive dog is angled away from the vertical so that the rotor will not hit a child at the operating end. The launching mechanism includes a cable having one end normally wound around a spool fixed to the drive dog, and an opposite end extending through the frame to the operating end, where it is attached to a handle. A child launches a rotor by placing his feet on a pair of foot rests at the operating end of the frame, and pulling up on the handle which is attached to the cable."

Patent Found by John Eaton

John's Notes  

WOW! What a great toy! Too bad it never went into distribution. The only example to have surfaced thus far is a sample.

Mattel Catalog Images

Prototype:

The above images were from the Mattel Catalog. Looks like the launch platform was intended to be molded in red - my prototype is molded in a slightly fleshy-white plastic - same material as the XRG-1.

Or Prototype Seated in Orbitor

Figure Variations:

Unknown

Or had a circular raised area molded in his back (my example has most of this sanded off but you can still see traces) with "© 1969 MATTEL INC USA". The launcher also has "© 1969 MATTEL INC USA" on the bottom.

Packaging by Catalog Year:

Or could only be found in two different packages but since he never made it into production there are no known examples. Here's a list of where you might find him by year and the case size (solicitation size from US Mattel Toy Trade Catalogs:

• 6356 ORBITOR
  
• 1970 Std. Pack: 1/2 Doz.
• 6380 Voyage to Galaxy III Set
  
• 1970 Std. Pack: 1/2 Doz.

Accessories:

• Figure
• Dome
• Launcher

John's Notes:

Since this figure seems to have never been released into production it's difficult to gauge what impact the toy may have had. Since it's really a vehicle toy with a figure as an accessory, I'm not sure how much interaction Or would have with the other characters during play.

Note that since I acquired the prototypes I possess, an example of Or's body sans limbs has appeared and been advertised for sale on eBay - I can attest that the form is the same as what I own, actually it's in better condition (with the exception of the missing limbs).

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.