KO Operation Astronaut

Operation Astronaut 10 inch boxed front

Another oddity is the Operation Astronaut figure. This was first discovered as a 10-inch tall figure but has also been found as both an 8-inch and 12-inch figure - strangely the accessories, other than the helmet, seem to all be from the same-sized molds, the only difference is the size of the figure itself. There are also several variations of the suit - my examples have sewn black strips emulating the belts and accordion joints while other examples have them graphically printed.

Operation Astronaut 10 inch boxed back

The head sculpt and helmet copies a GI Joe and the astronaut helmet. The suit is made of cloth with either bands or printed graphics. The space sled is a somewhat odd pointed version with stickers emulating gauges. The Jet Propulsion Pak in my example is molded in yellow and somewhat small in scale. Some might argue that this wasn't intended as a MMM copy but the accessories, and especially the front painting and back instruction graphics are obvious copies.

Operation Astronaut 8 inch boxed front

Operation Astronaut 8 inch boxed back

Operation Astronaut 8 inch boxed instructions detail

The boxes share the same text: "Operation Astronaut" - "Travel through space with the all action astronaut" - "complete with space scooter and super jet booster"

Later boxed version with printed suit

John's Notes:

1. I don't remember who sent me the images of the 8-inch figure box (I only have a loose one and my example has sewn details).
2. Note the scale differences between the figures in the two boxes and the accessories - also I really dig the yellow helmet and boots.
3. I've only seen the 12-inch figure loose so I'm not sure what the differences are in packaging.

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