Major Matt Mason
| Toys | |
| Manufacturer(s) | Mattel |
| Era | 1960s |
| Category | Action Figures |
| Web address | http://www.mattel.com |
Major Matt Mason was an action figure created by Mattel. He was an astronaut who lived and worked on the Moon. When introduced in 1966, the figures were initially based on design information found in Life Magazine, Air Force Magazine, Jane's, and other aviation- and space-interest periodicals. Later, the line attempted to transition into the realm of science fiction.
The toy line included four astronaut action figure characters sharing a common body molded of a rubber-like material called "Plastizol" (which was also used in the Mattel "Thing Maker" toy line and "Mister Twister" line of fishing bait). The body was molded over a wire armature, with a separately attached head and a removable space helmet based on early NASA helmets. The wire frame often suffered from metal fatigue, breaking at the elbow, knee, and hip joints, giving the toy a limited life span as a result. The space suit paint adhered poorly to the body molding and often peeled off to reveal the black molding beneath. Each character body was painted in a different color and had a separately modeled head. Matt Mason had a dark brown crew cut and a white space suit, Sgt. Storm had blond hair and a red suit; civilian astronaut Doug Davis had a yellow suit and brown hair; Lt. Jeff Long was African-American, with a blue suit (almost two decades before Guion Bluford became the first American black man to orbit the Earth). Mason figures produced in 1966 are identified by blue straps on the space-suit. These straps were painted black in subsequent production years.
The primary alien of the sci-fi period, Captain Lazer, was a giant who towered over the astronauts. The character was originally depicted as a mysterious and possibly hostile entity, but later appeared to be the astronauts' ally against other, more hostile extraterrestrials. The figure had glowing red eyes, a glowing breastplate, and a laser pistol permanently attached to his hand. Transparent purple plastic attachments came with the figure that could alter the size and appearance of the weapon. The visual design included Caucasian flesh tones with dark brown hair styled to resemble the Vulcan hairstyles from Star Trek. The figure's "costume" was dark blue metalflake with silver accessories and trim. Although the head, arms and legs could rotate, it was not as poseable as the astronaut figures, and was made out of hard plastic. It has been suggested that the figure was either intended for a different toy series, or may have been purchased from a Japanese toy line. The tooling for the Captain Lazer body was later used to make large-size Battlestar Galactica action figures, including Colonial Warrior and the Cylon Centurion.
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