Loved Buck Rogers as a kid. Heck, I wanted to BE Buck Rogers. One time my Father bought a Buck Rogers helmet and a cheesy toy-laser gun and was like, "here, you're Buck, now!" I wished I had the toys. Honestly, they must have been hard to come by even back then because of all my friends and other kids we knew...I knew of NO ONE who had any Buck Rogers toys. There were a few who had BattleStar Galactica toys.....but never Buck Rogers. I think this video is the first time I have ever seen them O_O.
My grandfather was Phillip Francis Nowlan, who created the character and wrote the original comic strips. My aunt has all the original Ray guns, rocket ships , and other toys from back in the day.
That intro was right up there with The Six Million Dollar Man as the coolest TV opening EVER! It was SUPER cheesy, but that was very 70's Buck anyways. Since I watched the old Flash Gordon serials with my Dad I had a pretty good idea of what was intended, and their close look with Black Hole and poseability was just a massive notch above what was available. The non removeable guns and brittle thumbs made for not a lot of great battle options besides imagination. I was too young to think of head swapping with Black Hole figures for more pilots, but at that age I would have ended up with a lot of body parts if I tried. I had that Starfighter, and it was the COOLEST! It wasn't a particularly strong plastic vehicle, and those bottom wings had a habit of snapping or just falling off, but I preferred it to my X-Wing and would have longer if it was more durable! My brother had a Landram, but that clicking noise was so annoying we never used the treads. The seats in the Command Center (on the box picture) were the same from the Mego Star Trek The Motion Picture Bridge set. Vacuform plastic lasted about a day though. A lot of those playsets used boxes as part of the set. NONE of us were interested in MIB back then. But those display style sets, like the Starbird base, were a lot like this.
Made a special journey to my local toy shop just so I could get a Twiki figure ( with Dr. Theopolis of course). I still have it today, 45 years later, and I still love it standing on a shelf. Very cool for its time.
I loved loved my Battlestar Galactica ships, and also my Buck Rogers starfighter. It's so interesting to me that the starfighter was the original Ralph McQuarrie design for the viper, which is why it's got that snake-head look compared with what ended up the viper. That starfighter was certainly fragile. The Draconian ship was sooo robust in comparison, except the canopy (!). But frustrating that the pilot obviously didn't sit where you wanted him. Anyway, what a nostalgic experience. Thanks.
The character on Twiki is Dr Theopolis. Loved this show as a kid, but never had any of these toys. There are some very cool 3D printing models out there for this show. Very nice collection
I'm so glad you made this video! This was one of my favorite lines growing up. I still have my childhood draconian marauder. I also have the Buck Starfighter and Land Rover. I'm hoping find a Command Center at done point. This line has been ignored for the longest time. Probably due to its rarity and being overshadowed by Star Wars and GI Joe. Thanks again for doing this. It was awesome!
Very nice. You have a great collection. I had the main space ship as a kid but no longer. I wonder if Mego could put these out today in their 8 inch scale? Cloth clothes and the whole bit. I don't need the 12 inch line. I don't need everyone but Buck, Wilma, Twikki (or Twiggy as I used to call him) would be great in that scale. I could put them with my vintage ones Super Heroes and Star Trek guys. Thanks for posting.
Pretty cool i never got any of those i had seen a few in stores way back ...never cooud afford them because my star wars habit took everything i had ....lol...great video yea
What's interesting or even somewhat baffling is the inconsistency of Mego in 1979. What I mean by that is they did use the less articulate "Star Wars" body type, as shown with the "Galactica" figure at the beginning of this video. Mego used that body type for their "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" line. But, for "Buck Rogers" and "The Black Hole," they went with the more articulate body type that bends at the elbows and knees. All three movies came out in 1979 with "Buck Rogers" debuting in March of '79, while "Trek" and "The Black Hole" closed out the year in December of 1979. I wonder why Mego changed the body type for the "Star Trek" figures? Personally, I preferred the more articulate Buck Rogers and Black Hole figures. But, despite being more articulate, the trade-off was that those figures were less durable. I went through two Buck Rogers figures because the rubber band in the waist area would snap.
The reason Mego didn’t have removable guns with the small size figures is that this line came out after the BattleStar Galactica line where a kid shot a missile in his mouth it got logged in his throat and choked and died . Mego did make a 12 inch Buck Rodgers with a removable gun.
These figures are all based on the movie which was the first two episodes of the tv show. That is why some of the figures look different than the tv show actors as a few actors from the movie did not do the tv show. All costumes on the figures were from the movie.
The only thing missing from your collection is the roleplay helmet. I remember seeing the starfighter & helmet in the same package when I was a kid. My dad talked me out of getting it because of how cheap the plastic was. So, he got me the X-Wing instead. Lol
@@tydiriumhanger1320 it may have been some sort of exclusive, I'm not sure. I was maybe 7-8 years old & it was at Sky City. I don't know if that was just a local store or a national chain.
If anyone hasn't watched it they need too, the last episode is the best one, it has the craziest plot twist. I wish they would remake it but use the the same effects and hilarious fight scenes. And yes the blue spandex was amazing on wilma.
If a remake with the same effects were made, we'd get it, I don't think most people younger than us would. What if Spaceballs came out last week? Would anyone get it? Legitimate question. Edit: I'm totally on your side with a movie like you described ❤
A lot of collectors love the Kenner style of Star Wars. Personally I hate them...for the simple reason of the Buck Rogers figures released only ONE year after the original SW figures. IF they had all the articulation of those Buck Rogers, the sandbox adventure would have been 10,000% better.
Would you consider having some of your friends on an episode? I would love to hear what a non collector thinks of your collection. You have one of the most expansive and diverse collections I have ever heard of and seeing what a civilian thinks of your hobby and perhaps how they have seen it change over the years would be interesting.
That would be a cool idea! Most of my friends know about this and help me track down stuff even if they do not collect they send me pics of what is out there
OK so not only do you have all these awesome toys, you have a wife... a family that loves you and now you tell me you have friends too?!!??? Stop showing off Mike! We get it... You are winning at life... SMH /s@@tydiriumhanger1320
Hi Buck Rogers fans could you please help me... On the back of the dvd release box of Buck Rogers it give you a small description of the story. And say that Buck Rogers crashes his ship into Antarctic and freezes and awakened in the 25th century. But he doesn't he freezes in his ship.
Hi there! Great review! Can you please tell me the measurements of the runway of the Command Center from the back of the box? I can re-create the pattern but I need to know the dimensions. Specifically, the dashed line where you're supposed to cut. Thanks in advance! :)
1:53 I didn't like Buck Roger could not hold his gun. I would have lost it anyway. I tried to break it off but it would not have fit into Bucks hands either.
It is a bit of a challenge to get them without broken parts on them these days. Funny they did not get any accessories yet so many have broken thumbs probably from an accessory that did not fit getting crammed in there
