Battlestar Galactica

If you’re from Generation X, chances are that you spent countless hours in front of the boob tube watching the exploits of the colonial heroes in search of a place called Earth. The Cylons totally creeped me out and I hated Baltar, the human traitor. Battlestar Galactica was definitely one of the best Sci Fi series to grace the small screen.

Mattel produced a line of toys to accompany the film, giving kids the chance to play with all their favorite characters and ships. But they didn’t stop there! Mattel also created toys and ships that were at best “based on” the TV series. There are four main types of toys in the Battlestar Galactica category.

The first set is the 3 1/2 inch figures. Action figures were the staple of every afternoon play date and the BG toys were usually in attendance. Surprisingly, there are only a few of the figures, and some obvious characters like Cassiopeia are missing.

The next bunch of toys is probably the most infamous, the missile firing ships! Reportedly, some kid fired a missile down his throat and choked, causing Mattel to create “peace bonded” versions of these ships. There are pre and post choking versions of a Cylon ship and Colonial Viper, as well as “based on the show” Stellar Probe and Scarab ships.

The third line of toys is less well known. A 12 inch Colonial Warrior and Cylon Centurian. Both toys were very cheaply produced but sport battery powered lights! After Rom the Space Knight, though, these boys are just wannabes.

The fourth group can only be identified as miscellaneous. There’s everything from plastic badges to laser guns and die cast ships that have nothing to do with the series.

18 thoughts on “Battlestar Galactica”

  1. some of the first waves of ‘firing’ raiders came with missiles other than red, some came with yellow, some with blue, one being rarer than the other, some boxes actually show the yellow missiles……i have a few yellow, but am looking for more, as well as the blue ones!

  2. The 12″ GALACTICA figures were awful. They were made from old MAJOR MATT MASON tooling. The 6″ Major Matt had a giant friend named Captain Lazer, who was poorly cast in rigid plastic. This clunky toy was the basis of both 12″ GALACTICA figures.

    The whole story is here, with big color pics of all the toys:

    http://www.captainlazer.com/a2f.htm

  3. I have a Tootsie Toy die cast Buck Rogers Spaceship that I can not find any information on anyone have an idea? It has the following on it BUCK ROGERS BATTLECRUSIER TSDM 3030 white and blue in color made in USA it is made to hang on a string approximately 5 inches long.

  4. Hi, iam moving and may be selling my Btlstar Galactica toys. I have one Raider and one Viper. Both are firing, with the red missiles. The action figures are still in tact too! Let me know if anyone interested!? Scott

  5. Hello there, found an Apollo action figue in my treasure trove of old toys. He still have the fabric cape but unfortunatly the gun has gone.

    Like the post i did about the Black Hole figure ive found, are these things selling?

  6. Apollo figure??? Do you mean Starbuck? As far as I know, they never made Apollo. Rather typical of Mattel. Cool toys but they always left out major characters in their collections based on TV shows and movies.

  7. Re:an Apollo figure – agreed!

    Always wanted Apollo and Boomer figures as a kid. Also wanted the Starbuck and Apollo figures in flight jackets. Sigh.

    When I was little, the second series of figures were on clearance where I lived for months on end – I only have them because somebody got them for me as a birthday present (*and I’m really glad I still have them now!!!). I saw them at local department stores but always passed on them for Star Wars figures 🙂

  8. I’m sure an Apollo figure would have came out, plus some of the other characters had the show gone on. This toyline like the show itself had a lot of potential and I’m sure would have rivaled the Star Wars toyline.

  9. This is my favorite Sci Fi line of 1978-79 by Mattel I think I own almost all the ships and figures boxed and carded

    Battlestar Galactica is alo my fav Sci Fi show of the late 70,s

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Classic toys and ephemera from the 70s