THE JUMBO GALAXY LASER TEAM

The Galaxy Laser Team (a.k.a. Star Patrol) by TimMee are a collection of plastic figures that showed up in dollar shops and grocery store toy racks soon after Star Wars hit the big time. Their mixed heritage and "blank slate" nature often managed to tempt me away from my officially licensed space toys, leaving me with many fond playtime memories. The group was the subject of one of my early blog posts, and two years ago I was proud to announce their triumphant return in reissued form. Now I've got— get this, bigger news (haw haw!), the jumbo, five-inch versions have been reissued as well!

I never saw the large versions when I was a kid, in fact, I didn't know they existed until a few years ago, which is some indication of how rare they are. Suddenly, all of those cocky jumbo Laser Team owners have been taken down several notches, and the rest of us formerly ebay-sniped collectors are finally in on the joy.

Five of the seven small scale designs are available in one set. (The other astronaut and the heroine were never released in this size.)


 I was caught off guard by how substantial these really are. Having been so familiar with their two-inch counterparts, my brain had to readjust to the new scale, and it's still strange to feel their weight in my hand. The big format also reveals new details in the sculpts.

Here's an obligatory comparison shot...

 

The sixties astronaut with the tape recorder is so super jumbo that a fearsome claw creature is reduced to the catch of the day...



 I also got a sample of more TimMee sets that are new this year...

The Dinosaurs!...




I had lived on this planet less than two years when my parents shoved these monsters into my tiny hands. It doesn't seem like plastic dinosaurs should possess 'meaning' and yet these little objects were some of the foundational building blocks of my perception of this world. Plus, my cavemen finally have a proper challenge!

The light green Vs. dark green Army Men...
These classic TimMee army men have been re-released in number of different color combos, but nothing could be more appropriate than good ol' green.

Just don't forget who the star of this post is...





Cut-offs wearing alien makes his bed among his fallen enemies.

The Frontiersmen figures...
These date back to my dad's childhood, when they were marketed as Davey Crockett or Daniel Boone depending on who was more popular at the time.  For me the age of these designs makes them extra special.

One possible drawback is that a significant portion of the set were intended to mount horses.  So until those get reissued you'll probably want to track down some old ones. Or there's another solution...


All of these sets and many more are available on Amazon.

(To borrow a line from TV show credits: Promotional consideration was made possible by TimMee toys.)