GALAXY LASER TEAM

This is a figure from the set called "GALAXY LASER TEAM with space monsters". The set was made in the late 70's/early 80's by Tim-Mee Toys, a division of Processed Plastic Co (PPCo). The set was likely created to cash in on the popularity of Star Wars, released in 1977.

This spaceman reminds me of Buck Rogers, slightly less of Flash Gordon. As you can see he's wielding a ray gun, wears a finned helmet with a stubby antenna, and sports a practical jumpsuit, complete with leather gauntlets and cuffed boots. He's clearly a throwback to the golden age of pulp Sci-Fi, quite different from the more realistic space men in NASA-like spacesuits that started to be made in the 1960's.

I don't know how common these figures were, but I recall at least two of my friends having some. The set would come in a bag of 25 or 35 assorted figures in four colors: black, white, lime green, and magenta. Some of the other figures were a helmeted warrior (think Darth Vader) with thigh-high boots and a raised sword , a miniskirted woman standing next to a console, an armless rectangular bipedal robot, an antennae-sporting alien with a turtle shell and upraised lobster claws, and a tall wookiee- or gorilla-like alien (with antennae) holding a laser rifle and wearing shorts. A couple of incongruous astronauts from the 60's rounded out the set. Some sets also included a not-to-scale vehicle that looked like a cross between a fighter jet and an x-wing.

You can see more pictures at the following blog: GALAXY LASER TEAM.

EDIT: In November I managed to snag a bagfull off of eBay!

EDIT: Here's another write-up at The Log Book: GALAXY LASER TEAM