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| Starlog Photo Guidebook Science Fiction Toys & Models Vol. 1 Cover |
Starlog would periodically publish special issues as stapled and later perfect bound (glued spine) books on specific topics. The Starlog Photo Guidebooks were a series of stapled guides with glossy interior pages featuring various topics of interest, like special effects, aliens, robots or spaceship designs. Interior images are in a mix of black and white and color. The Science Ficton Toys & Models Vol. 1 was published in 1980. I'm not aware of a Vol. 2 having ever been published but there may have been an online version. The Vol.1 issue has stiff covers and 35 numbered pages (oddly, the front and back covers seem to have been included in the numbering so 36 pages total including the covers).
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| Starlog Photo Guidebook Science Fiction Toys & Models Vol. 1 Page 19 |
Page 19 is entirely devoted to Major Matt Mason and shows an interesting image of a moonscape vignette - on closer inspection the color scheme is off on most of the vehicles and accessories and there's a Space Rover prominently displayed. This led to a lot of speculation as prior to this Guidebook being published, few copies of the 1967 Mattel Retailer Catalog were in circulation by collectors (the very similar image was used as the cover of the "Toy Fair" version of the catalog that featured the Space Rover and most of the same equipment). Transcript below.
Mattel sends up its own astronaut
In the late 1960s, a few years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, a brash Mattel Toys launched its own hero, Major Matt Mason. "Mattel's Man in Space Program," as the company called it, got Major Matt to the moon "with special space equipment designed by Mattel and adapted from official space program design." Of course Major Matt wasn't alone. He had a space buddy, Sgt. Storm, and an oversized protector, The Amazing Capt. Lazer. With the aid of two batteries, Capt. Lazer makes a whining sound and flashes his eyes and "lazer" pistol. His arsenal includes such niceties as a radiation shield and paralyzer wand. There are more than a dozen toys in this nicely designed line, which was the company's first major venture into science-fiction toys. Prime among them (above) is the three story, snap-together Space Station with a control center, flashing beacon light and swing-down acrylic "solar panels." Flying in from the left is Matt on his Space Sled with a Jet Pak attached to his back. Below him is a launcher with rockets that "collect atmospheric samples" and carry messages to earth. Next to it is a space probe launcher complete with chemical gun and flare signal. Around the bend and half buried is a Moon Suit for Matt with flexible arm joints controlled by a separate air bellow. At right, another astronaut rides in on his Space Rover. Below him a Satellite Launcher and, in the front, a Space Crawler. The Crawler's strange wheels get it over tricky terrain. When attached to the Space Station, the Crawler functions as an elevator for astronauts and supplies.
Every hero needs a villain and every spaceman needs a green creature to battle. Mattel's answer is Callisto, who comes equipped with a strange purple device that shoots forth a gold cord when a remote plastic bellows is pumped.
Ready for any menace, Sgt. Storm stands at controls of Mattel's Firebolt Space Cannon. The cannon's turret rotates as the barrel shoots red light-beams into space. The radar screen flashes and the radar antenna rotates. The cannon moves forward on extra-wide wheels.
John's Notes:
- There are a few inaccuracies to the Starlog description - Callisto was never marketed as a villain so is the most glaring error.
- Pretty much all of the vehicles and accessories in this photo are prototypes - note the gray Space Station girders, the presence of a dry-cell battery flashlight on the station shelf, the red satellite on the silver Satellite Launcher. The yellow line running across the surface is a flexible tube that Mattel used for Switch N Go playsets, which really should raise even more questions (like were there proposals for a Switch N Go vehicle that was eventually abandoned? My initial thought is that the tank (which became the model for the Mobile Launch Platform) may have originally been proposed as a Major Matt Mason toy but Paul Vreede pointed out that the front wheel on the Space Rover is grooved so it would fit the line (this is supported through a patent reference - see part 48 in the Patent) - thus the Space Rover could be used either in the air on cables or on the ground using the Switch N Go tubing). Even the stickers on the Crawler are "prototype." - this makes a lot of sense when you realize that the photo was originally shot as part of a set that ended up as the cover of the Mattel 1967 "Toy Fair" Catalog.
- The primary controversy that this image provoked was the Space Rover - like what happened to it, etc. It's obvious now that this became the Astro Trac but back in the 90's there was a lot of speculation about whether it had gone into production or not.
- Regarding Starlog Magazine - I still own a complete run from #1- 100 and a scattering of additional issues and guidebooks. I bought these off the newsstand as a kid and continued as an adult. The first issue I ever saw was Issue #7 that featured Star Wars (X-wing fighters in attack mode) on the cover. In my hometown in rural Tennessee I wasn't aware of Star Wars until I came across that issue at a mall drugstore (something like a Walgreens) - seeing that issue I was blown away - once I shared it with friends it was all we talked about until the movie showed up at our local theaters. These days movie releases are fairly comprehensive and ubiquitous but back then we had to wait as a secondary market. In any case, that issued caused me to be a lifelong fan of Starlog.
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