MMM Astronaut Lt. Len

Lt. Len Game

The Astronaut Lt. Len - Who is he?

Lt. Len appears in the Major MATT MASON Space Exploration Game by Mattel. He's one of 4 game player tokens. All the other tokens reference the astronauts by rank and first name so we don't know what Lt. Len's last name is or was intended. I tend to call him Lt. Leonard "Len" Lee, in homage to Bruce Lee (assuming an American of Asian ancestry), another childhood hero.

Four Game Tokens with coordinating Command Posts

Since each token is basically identified by color with Sgt. Storm orange/red, Major Matt blue, Capt. Chuck yellow and Lt. Len pink, we can assume that Len had a pink suit.

The game tokens have "© 1967 MATTEL, INC." U.S.A." in tiny letters on bottom so I'm counting this figure as canon.

Packaging by Catalog Year:

Lt. Len only made the single appearance in the Game. 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):

• 1968 3-D GAME ASSORTMENT #A5450 
• Std. Pack: 1 ea (1 carton)
  
• 1968 THE Major MATT MASON™ SPACE EXPLORATION GAME #5453
• Each in Std Pack: 6/12 Doz. Wt: 9 Lbs.
  

The game was only offered during 1968 (January, "Toy Fair" and "Fall" catalogs) which might explain it's rarity and obscurity to collectors.

Accessories:

Lt. Len Command Post Token

The Lt. Len game piece came with a small plastic stand, usually found in green or black, so the cardboard token could stand upright. He also came with a "Command Post" token that bears Lt. Len's signature with "U.S.A. at the bottom.

John's Notes:

I think that Capt. Chuck and Lt. Len were offered up as "throwaway" characters for the game and never intended to be actual figures. This token was somewhat controversial due to the pink background - the stance with hand on his hip and the thigh bellows makes the figure somewhat feminine (also the Barbie "pink") - I've been told anecdotally by some who had the game as kids that they always assumed that Lt. Len was female so I get it. The other alternative is that he may have been the first gay astronaut (closeted, of course, this was the 60's). Looking at the face he looks male to me from the haircut but what do I know? Being Asian I really want him to be Asian so he's Lt. Len Lee in my book.... I still like to think of Lt. Len as a part of the world of Major MATT MASON, just a character with a minor role.

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.

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