Tomart's Action Figure Digest Vol. 1, No. 2

Tomart's Action Figure Digest Vol. 1, No. 2 Cover

Tomart was a publishing company that specialized in price guides geared towards collectibles. It first published Tomart's Price Guide to ACTION FIGURE Collectibles in 1991. It followed up with Tomart's Action Figure Digest in 1991, the second issue of this 9 1/2" x 11" magazine featured Major Matt Mason on the cover with 15 pages of the line, 14 of those pages reprinted from Mattel Retailer Catalogs (the pages are mixed between 1967-1970).

This issue is relatively easy to find on eBay, but back in mid-late 1990s was quite elusive. I remember first seeing images, (and understand, this was before the Mattel Trade Catalogs were readily available - pre-internet and pre-eBay), and asking around pretty much everywhere for a copy. What was intriguing were the lists of stock numbers and Mattel descriptions from the reprinted catalog pages. The actual prices provided were mostly reprinted from that first price guide - to a certain extent made up from prices listed in Toy Shop Magazine. Transcript of the text of page 4 below:

Tomart's Action Figure Digest Vol. 1, No. 2 Page 4

COVER STORY-Major MATT MASON

Major MATT MASON was created by Mattel in the days of the NASA Gemini and Apollo manned space programs. Unlike most action figures, Major MATT and his friends were wire-reinforced "flexies" with accordion joints. The series is one of the most creative figure lines ever produced, and enjoys a great deal of popularity among modern collectors.

Precise dating of some Major MATT MASON items can be confusing, because all of the human figures are marked "Copyright 1966 Mattel Inc." This is the year the mold for the original figure was made. This space suit was later re-used as the body for all of the human figures. The series was not actually sold until 1967.

Major MATT MASON was the only figure available during the first year. He was sold on a blister card with a set of accessories (later called the "Flight Set") or with a "Moon Suit." The original master retail assortment included 12 packs with the Flight Set and 6 with the Moon Suit. The Moon suit was also sold by itself on a blister card. The Moon Suit and several later products had moving parts powered by a small plastic bellows. The Space Crawler vehicle and Space Station playset were also sold during the first year, and were continually produced until the end of the line. Deluxe sets were marketed with various combinations of figures and accessories. Major MATT MASON's head mold was changed at some point to a larger version painted with a darker skin tone. Additionally, the straps on MATT's space suit can be found in blue or black.

Two new characters were introduced the following year: Sgt. Storm and Capt. Lazer.

Sgt. Storm was essentially a Major MATT MASON figure with a red suit and a new head. Major MATT and Sgt. Storm were both sold individually with a "Cat Trac," (later called a "Lunar Trac") which was a non-articulate "tracked" space-exploration vehicle. A child's imagination could make it come to life, but otherwise it was a hunk of plastic. Sgt. Storm was also available with the Flight Set.

"Major MATT MASON'S Friend From Outer Space" was Capt. Lazer, who appears to have been designed for something else. In addition to being molded in hard plastic, Capt. Lazer is about twice the size of the other figures (being from outer space has its advantages). The Capt. has lights in his eyes, chest, and left arm. Three clear plastic accessories could be attached to the arm. The figure also came with a removable helmet and "space-tredder" boots. Capt. Lazer's molds were later cannibalized to produce the large Battlestar Galactica figures.

Doug Davis (orange suit) and Jeff Long (blue suit) were produced in 1969. Jeff Long was the only black character in the series, and is the most difficult of the human figures to find.

Callisto, an alien, was made the same year. Its major accessory was a shoulder mounted "Space Sensor" which could fire and retract a plastic line.

One of the toughest Major MATT MASON items to find is the alien Scorpio, who was produced in 1970. Scorpio came with a bellows-controlled vest projector which fired "search globes" ("No, really mom! It's not a gun!") The figure has removable arm and leg shields which are frequently missing, and the head has a small light inside. Scorpio was not included in the 1970 master figure assortment - he could only be ordered in separate packs of 12. After four years of Major MATT MASON, this sales strategy may have contributed to the figure's scarcity. Packaged figures are almost nonexistent.

Even rarer is a third alien figure called Or, which was packaged only with the Orbitor.

Accessory "Paks" were sold mostly on bubble cards. The original three were the Space Probe, Rocket Launch, and Moon Suit. The Reconojet, Space Shelter, and Satellite Launch Paks were added in 1968. The third year saw the release of the Space Power Suit (also sold with Major MATT MASON), Supernaut Power-Limbs, Gamma Ray-Gard, and Space Travel Pak (the last of these was the original "Flight Set" packaged without a figure). In 1970, four of the Paks were re-packaged in chip boxes. The Space Power Suit and Supernaut Power-Limbs were also sold together as the Super Power Set.

A revised listing of Major MATT MASON items appears on the opposite page. This listing replaces the section in Tomart's Price Guide to Action Figure Collectibles. Special thanks to Mike Blanchard for his help in updating this section.

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John's Notes:

• As already mentioned, the pricing from page 5 is part made up, part "sale" prices from Toy Shop, and part wishful thinking. Obviously no one had seen an Orbitor w/Or sell for $1500.
• All of the Mattel Catalog pages were reprinted, I'm guessing without permission from Mattel, which to me was a bold move for a publisher. Note that there aren't any references to the source material - they're just presented as separate black and white pages.
  
• The original Action Figure guide published in 1991 was updated and renamed "Tomart's Encyclopedia and Price Guide to Action Figure Collectibles" published in 1996 as a 3-volume set. It's still considered one of those definitive sources for action figure information.
• Mike Blanchard, who is credited with helping to update the pricing of this issue, is still occasionally active in the MAJOR MATT MASON Facebook group.
  

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.