This week's vintage 3 and 3/4 inch action figure from the 1970s or 1980s is "Newt," a weird robot from Tomland's Starroid Raiders collection. Just what is the deal with this weird little guy anyway? Read on to find out!
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| "Take me to your leader!" |
The Starroid Raiders were a line of cheapo robot and alien action figures designed to cash in on the success of Star Wars in the 1970s. They were mostly all the same figure but with different heads, molded in different colors, a few minimal paint applications, and a sticker on their chests, to differentiate them from each other. They are all profoundly weird looking, almost like they were designed by a little kid. The line continued on into the early 1980s under various names such as Starroid Warriors, Space Raiders, Space Fighter, and Space People. For more information about this line check out the Tomland page at Toymania.com.
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| I didn't realize, until I was taking photos with the flash, how dusty this figure has gotten. Looks like it's time for a robo-bath. |
The Newt figure is molded in green plastic, with paint on his boots, eyes, and mouth, and a sticker on his chest. he looks like a man in a robot suit from a b-movie sci-fi flick from the 1950s. This is so NOT what kids were looking for in robot toys in the 1970s, but that's what makes it great. It's so oddball that it becomes kind of wonderful.
The figure originally came with a space gun and a laser sword, but I just bought him loose, and don't have either one of those. Tomland also produced a glow-in the-dark version of this figure, and also used the same head design on an 8-inch Mego-style figure as well.
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