In 1975, British toy company Palitoy released a range of 8-inch action figures based on the new Gerry Anderson TV series Space: 1999.
Unlike previous Palitoy action figure lines, these were not licensed from America but were newly originated toys that Palitoy produced under agreement with Gerry Anderson’s UK production company.
There were five figures in this Space: 1999 range: Captain Koenig, Paul Morrow, Alan Carter, Captain Zantor (from the episode ‘Earthbound’), and ‘Mysterious Alien’ (from the episode ‘War Games’).
The figures were blister packed onto large card backing boards with the series logo and eye-catching artwork front and back, and initially retailed for £2.25 each.
At the same time, the US toy company, Mattel, also acquired a licence for Space: 1999 figures, and released their own set of four figures in America and Germany in 1975 (but not in the UK, as Palitoy’s licence prevented them from doing so).
Mattel’s range of characters were Commander Koenig, Professor Bergman, Doctor Russell, and a weird alien called ‘Zython’ (whose head glowed in the dark, and who was a complete invention of Mattel, having never appeared in the series at all).
This Mattel range was accompanied by a ‘Moon Base Alpha Control Room’ playset.
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There were five figures in this Space: 1999 range: Captain Koenig, Paul Morrow, Alan Carter, Captain Zantor (from the episode ‘Earthbound’), and ‘Mysterious Alien’ (from the episode ‘War Games’).
