Matt Mason Mattel’s Man in Space Major
Did you know Matt Mason was the first man in space?
Well before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969 came Mattel’s Major Matt Mason, the Man in Space
Do you remember being a kid in the 60’s and 70’s?
Every kid on the block wanted to be an astronaut.
Well Mattel made that possible, without your ever needing to leave Earth!
Kids were fascinated by space in the 60’s and 70’s and dreamed of becoming astronauts and Mattel answered those dreams so these figures proved to be very popular until the mid 70’s when interest in NASA’s Space Program began to wane.
Mattel’s Man in Space, Major Mat Mason was originally released in 1966 based on design information found in Life Magazine, Air Force Magazine, Jane's, and other aviation- and space-interest periodicals.
In fact if you look through a Mattel catalog is incredible how accurate some of the playsets and vehicles were considering a lot of them were released before the first ever moon landing, they even had a Space Shuttle!
The Best + Biggest Action Figure Database in the World!!
- 60,000+ Action Figures
- Release Dates
- Checklists
- Video Library
- eBooks + Guides
- Historical $$ Values
Recent updates
A Collapsible Table:
He worked and lived on the moon along with the “Men in Space”: Sgt Storm, his army buddy; Doug Davis, Space Scientist-Radiology and Jeff Long, Space Scientist-Rocketry.
These figures were “bendies” rather than traditional articulated action figures but this worked well for this concept. They were made of a rubber-like material called "Plastizol" which was molded over a wire armature, which gave them excellent flexibility, movement and poseability but over the they were prone to metal fatigue due to the excessive bending of the frames causing them to break at the joints and making mint and unbroken figures difficult to find.
Another problem with these was that the paint didn’t “stick” to the molds very well and often peeled off to reveal the molding underneath. The initial molds used white Plastizol but due to complaints and production problems this was later changed to black Plastizol.
As with the G.I. Joe and Action Man figures this line relied heavily on the accessories and outfits for its popularity which were all space orientated vehicles, space suites and flight suites which drew their inspiration from the official NASA Space Program.
Despite having common body molds each character featured different head molds and body paint: 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.
The line included two alien figures; Callisto, who was an ally and Scorpio, who was the line’s protagonist. Callisto was a Jovian alien from the planet Jupiter with superior mental abilities which were represented by his transparent green head. There are three known variations of Callisto known to exist: the first of these had taller boots and a white spot painted on its chest; a second with without the white spot and the third with shorter boots.
However all heroes need an enemy to fight and his was Scorpio, an evil looking insect like creature with a large mouth and eyes that glowed yellow. This figure was released towards the end of the line so had limited distribution. He came with small Styrofoam “search globe” balls in a small plastic bag, which are often missing. The lite up effect on the mouth and eyes were powered by a AA battery in his chest cavity. There was also a Mexican version of this figure released that used the same mold but different colouring.
As well as these figures a 12-inch Capt Lazer figure was released who was advertised as “Major Matt Mason’s friend from Outer Space” but many collectors think he was originally produced for his own toy line as he towered above the other 6-ich figures in the line.
The captain came with several gun attachments as well as other features including glowing red eyes, a glowing breastplate, and a laser pistol permanently attached to his hand. etc. A little known fact is that 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.
As well as the Astronaut and Aliens released Mattel also released several accessories and play sets. Many of these were based on actual NASA concepts and the "Moon Suit", "Space Station” and "Jet Pack" were actually seen as concept drawings in such magazines as Look and Life.
These figures have become prominent collectibles over the years and are eagerly sought after by collectors of both action figures and space memorabilia.
Some of the items featured in Mattel’s catolgues remain elusive with many collectors still searching them out along with the many variations and prototypes still thought to exist somewhere.
Man of the figures and items also received dubious distribution and then add to the mix the foreign releases and bootlegs etc trying to track them down is no easy task and as such genuine figures and accessories fetch premium prices and are the mainstay of many collections.
The Major Matt Mason figure and accessories are hugely popular among collectors and mint, MOC or MIB items are extremely hard to find, this is mainly due to the metal fatigue many of the figures suffered and the chipping of the paint and disintegrating of the rubber over the decades.
This has resulted in the prices of these sky rocketing over the years with the 1970 Scorpio figure selling for as much as $1,000 up.
The carded paks generally sell for between $20-$100 and the playsets for around $150 up. The figuers start from around $200 but a pristine mint condition figure can go for as much as $1000 or more.
The most popular, or expensive of them (at this time), seems to be the 1970 Scrpio figure.
Trivia
(from Wikipedia)
- In the pilot episode of Stargate SG-1, Samantha Carter attempts to defend her femininity by claiming that she played with dolls as a child. On further questioning, she reveals that the dolls were the action figures of the Major Matt Mason toy line.
- In the first few moments of the motion picture The Wedding Planner, a Major Matt Mason action figure is seen dangling on his flight backpack delivering a toy wedding cake to Barbie and Ken dolls.
- On Dark Shadows, the popular gothic soap opera of the late 1960s and early 1970s, David Collins had the Space Station in his room at Collinwood.
- In the British show, Here Come the Double Deckers, there is a toy shop in the episode "The Case of the Missing Doughnut" that has many Major Matt Mason items, including the Space Station.
- Major Matt Mason USA is the performing name of Matt Roth, a New York City-based musician and record producer, who is active in the Anti-folk and DIY music scene of New York's East Village.
- In Kenneth Lonergan's play This is our Youth, Warren Straub a 19 year old from the upper west side, reminisces of playing with the Matt Mason line from Mattel as a kid.
Mattel Major Matt Mason Checklist
Basic Series
- Callisto
- Captain Laser
- Doug Davis
- Jeff Long
- Major Matt Mason
- Scorpio
- Sgt. Storm
4-Packs
- Space Mission Team
Matt Mason Carded
Gulf Exclusive
Major Matt Mason
Doug Davis
Jeff Long
Sgt Storm
Callisto
Scorpio
Space Mission TeamSpace Packs – Carded 1968
- Gamma Ray-Gard Pak
- Major Matt Mason & Space Power Suit
- Mobile Launch Pad
- Moon Suit Pak
- Recono Jet Pak
- Rocket Launch Pak
- Satellite Launch Pak
- Space Probe Pak
- Space Shelter Pak
- Space Travel Pak
- Supernaut Power Limbs
- Talking Major Matt Mason
- XRG-1 Reentry Glider
Recono Jet Pak
Rocket Launch Pak
Supernaut Power Limbs
Satellite Launch Pak
Space Travel Pak
Space Probe Pak
Space Shelter Pak
Moon Suit Pak
Space Power Suit Pak
Gamma Ray-Gard Pak
Major Matt Mason & Space Power Suit
XRG-1 Reentry Glider
Mobile Launch PadSuper Packs - Boxed
- Astro Trac
- Astro Trac Gift Set
- Astro Trac Missile Convoy Set
- Astro Tred
- Capt. Lazer Firebolt Action Set
- Fire Bolt
- Firebolt Space Cannon Super Action Set
- Gamma Ray Guard
- Lunar Base Command Set
- Satellite Locker
- Space Bubble
- Space Crawler
- Space Crawler Action Set
- Space Discovery Set
- Space Power Suit
- Space Shelter
- Space Ship Case
- Space Station
- Space Station & Space Crawler Deluxe Action Set
- Star Seeker
- Star Seeker Walk In Space Set
- Super Power Set
- Talking Command Console
- Talking Flying Major Matt Mason
- Uni-Tred & Bubble
- Uni-Tred Space Hauler
Astro Trac
Astro Trac
Space Bubble
Space Station
Space Ship Case
Space Crawler Action Set
Star Seeker Walk In Space Set
Super Power Set
Astro Trac Gift Set
Astro Trac Missile Convoy Set
Fire Bolt
Firebolt Space Cannon Super Action Set
Satellite Locker
Space Crawler
Space Discovery Set
Space Shelter
Uni-Tred Space Hauler
Uni-Tred & Bubble
Star Seeker
Lunar Base Command Set
Space Station & Space Crawler Deluxe Action Set
Talking Command Console
Talking Command Console
Talking Major Matt Mason
Capt Lazer
Space Power SuitResearch Sources:
One of the best sources of information I found for these figures and toys was Wildtoys.com, particularly their listings for the play sets and accessories with excellent images and information on the various variants etc.
• The Official Guide to Action Figures – Second Ed Stuart W.Wells III and Jim Main
• Toyfare Magazine
•Wild Toys
Vintage and Modern Action Figures for Sale
- The AFR Action Figure Store
- Worldwide Delivery
- Multiple Currencies
- Special offers
- Monthly Sales
- Customer Loyalty Prog
 Mego Super Knights |
 Mego Wild West |
 Kidirobot Dunny |
Recent Articles
-
Mego Star Trek Action Figures: A Look Back at the Iconic Toy Line
Feb 01, 23 12:37 AM
Mego’s first Star Trek Action Figures were released as far back as 1974, pre-Star Wars, and were based primarily on the live-action TV series [ read more ] -
Baseball Action Figures: A History of Sports Figures
Jan 23, 23 11:08 PM
The very first baseball action figures were similar in design and look to Hasbro's popular GI Joe figure with interchangeable uniforms and a generic look -
NHL Action Figures Guide
Jan 15, 23 10:53 PM
NHL Action Figures: A Look at the History and Evolution of These Collectible Miniature Hockey Players -
NBA Basketball Action Figures Guide
Jan 15, 23 09:07 PM
In 1986 Pat McInally, while browsing through the toy aisles of a local store saw rows of toys featuring super-heroes, but none based on sports heroes -
NFL Action Figures Guide
Jan 15, 23 09:06 PM
As sales of sport trading cards continue to drop alarmingly sales of NFL action figures continues to grow despite the current economic crisis [Read more] -
The Mattel Toy Company Story
Dec 26, 22 02:58 AM
Mattel is one of the biggest toy manufacturers in the world and was founded in 1945 by -
The Justice League of America
Dec 20, 22 01:17 AM
The Justice League of America or JLA is a fictional superhero team that, as well as striking fear into villains around the world [ READ MORE ] -
The NECA Toy Company
Dec 13, 22 02:41 AM
The NECA Toy Company or the National Entertainment Collectables Association are a toy manufacturer based in New Jersey...[read more]
PLEASE NOTE: All prices and values quoted on this site were correct at the time of publication based on the average value across several online and offline auction sites etc. The prices quoted ARE NOT an offer or solicitation to buy any figures at these prices.