Have always wondered about "The Adventure People" by Fisher-Price. First introduced in 1975 when our household was fixated on G.I. Joe's Adventure Team and Mego's 8" clothed figures. We also associated the F-P brand with pre-school kid's stuff and aside from seeing pix in the Sears catalog I never encountered them in person. Come 1977 "Star Wars" became the vogue toy subject and already ten years old with few toy-wanting years ahead of myself and my two brothers.
So by the time Fisher-Price had responded to Kenner's "Star Wars" success by adding space playsets to "The Adventure People" line 1979/1980 I was more interested in having an electric guitar rather than more space toys. And thusly missed out on how cool the TAP space sets and their fantastic figures were: If we wanted more Star Wars stuff we'd just go get more Star Wars stuff - Brand loyalty is what keeps the franchise alive, and any toy-buying dollar that went for anything else was one less that could go into getting Star Wars bling or Queen albums.
Newbies like me should start with a read-over of the Fisher-Price Collector's Club website pages on The Adventure People including a detailed rundown of every figure made in the toy like's impressive 10 year run.
All I knew about the toy line was that they were about the same size as a Kenner Star Wars figure and had somewhat peculiar looking hands. Broke out my cherished "Wave B" 1978 Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot to be sure. Can now also say that the AP astronauts are heavier than Kenner's and are designed to sustain far more abuse. Tough and rugged, with slightly oversized heads & feet, which make characters friendlier to younger children.
Had no idea the helmets are not detachable. I'd seen some offered for sale without helmets, concluded they must have been removed and lost. No, or at least not without a vice, pliers or all day to vigorously bang it against a chair leg until something gives. Probably the chair.
That does ratchet down the Fun Factor a bit. Some of my favored science fiction scenarios involve spacemen with their helmets off for assorted reasons, and how do you scratch your nose? But if your target consumer was 4-12 year olds it makes sense to fix them in place.
The half ellipsoid shape obscuring the mouth/nose makes me think of the Swoppet Spacemen with the breathing apparati blocking their faces.
Peg holes to fix them onto a clever tethering device so they can spacewalk outside of their spacecraft. Will confess being pretty much disinterested in the playsets or vehicles: I'm all about the astronaut figures and these two are keepers even without the Alpha Probe shuttle.
The Alpha Probe contraption with spacewalking astronaut from somebody else's collection. Scout vehicle fits into the cargo bay and the set would ship with one each male & female astronauts. I'd have been all over this thing if it had streeted in 1975. The dirt bikes, hang gliders and deep sea diver sets were easier to dismiss, have the parents focus on more Mego Star Trek figures. They didn't get us too many toys so we had to be choosy and go with known winners. But by 1980 I wasn't asking for space toys. Never saw a scrap of any of this.
Odd thing is that it took the success of Kenner's "Star Wars" toys to convince Fisher-Price and both of them made a fortune selling this stuff until "Return of the Jedi" screwed it all up by sucking. Kenner's line remained active because of the franchise recognition factor, though the magic of those first few years of "Star Wars" toys would not be repeated.
Huh ... Can't decide if he's a smidgen taller or not. And already decided they will be brother/sister in my fictional space art universe. Maybe twins? "Clarisse and Clarke". They're also both single and looking for dates to the Astronaut Ball so they won't have to be seen going together.
Only thing near a complaint: I don't necessarily get "female" out of her form. And unless I be mistaken her body sculpt is identical to the male figure. Though I do know females who wear shoes which have those sort of proportions. How do they not fall?
I like the big chunky shoes.
Yeah those are peculiar looking hands. Most action figure hands are configured parallel to the body, these are perpendicular and scrunched up like for a gymnast holding onto a bar. I can only suspect that the reason was to make it easier for young fingers to have them hold onto things.
I want this. Eyestalks = Winning. Looks like the composite creature with eye stalks sticking out of its brain case from "The Brain of Morbius" with Doctor Who.
This one too, though if you can't take his helmet off ... Both he and the orange dude have like, undertones of Doctor Who character design, that show just breaking through in the US c.1978/1979.
He looks like the big head space suit designs made for "The Invisible Enemy" with enough room inside of the helmet so viewers could see the lobster face makeup effects, and none would break off when the helmet was being removed on camera.
"No, really. Tom Corbett still owes me $10 from the Academy Bash when Cadet Happy lifted his wallet."
"I'm telling you Luke, Soylent Green is made out of people, and ..."
"I hate to break it to you, Clarke, but that guy from Glencoe Squadron is hitting on Clarisse again ..."
"Great. Wish him luck. She's my sister. He can have her for all I care."
Five minutes later.
"No, really. It's Corellian. I smuggled it past the blockade myself ..."
