Warriors of the Galaxy by Marty Toy

[countzackula]

I've really been into collecting Masters of the Universe knock offs and bootlegs for some time now. I don't claim nor aspire to be a guru but do really enjoy the wealth of weird knock off stuff out there. I usually stick to the standard look-alikes but have recently spread my horizons. I do have a few examples of smaller scaled figures and figurines as well. I recently acquired this set made in 1983 by M-Toy (Marty Toy).



The figure playset is called WARRIORS OF THE GALAXY. Look at the logo...pure MotU ripoff city, baby! Ho-ho!!! The box itself is about 17X14 inches and does indeed contain all the pieces boasted on the box.

Ah yes...it is indeed a "fantasy action playset"...and...it's electronic! Egads!!! Back in 1983, this was the wave of the future! By the looks of the package, it almost looks like a board game, doesn't it? Well, it is not...sadly...if I were more of a gamer, I'd rig up some weird rules and make up my own game with these little guys! Oh, and did I mention these were in true scale? What is true scale...well, apparently these toys were based off of real life beings and Marty Toy saw it fit to keep their size accurately...at least that;s what I can gather. Wow...to think...little gold humanoids are out there, somewhere battling galactic demons. Then again, this was produced in the early 80s and these guys may have stopped fighting by now.

Anyway, when you open 'er up, the playset has two loose mountain pieces rattling around, a box with the electronic castle thingie, and a big plastic sack of the other stuff.



The weapons are all on plastic trees and will need to be popped out. Wow, I love the fact that the weapons are separate pieces...now that's quality. Normally, army guys and such have their weapons sculpted into their personage...but that's not the case with Warriors of the Galaxy, no sir! The figures are loose...no plastic trees. The vehicles are the opposite colors from the box...as advertised...you know...the old "colors may vary from product shown" routine. No prob, Bob...it's cool.

The only thing electronic about this set is the weird little castle it comes with. Basically, a fancy noise-maker...that's all. It's just disguised as a castle. I'm sure this was more exciting 25 years or so ago. Nowadays...craaap! Comes in its own little white box with instructions on the outside...oh, how precious. Makes me want it more than ever! WHa-?! Batteries not included? And what the heck are pen light batteries? Pen light?!? Nobody even uses a pen light anymore...where the heck am I supposed to get those? Antiquing we will go!



I'll hafta splurge on stupid batteries...normally, I just make my own noises, but in this case...I simply MUST know! We shall touch on that subject.......in time......

At any rate, the castle looks like an easy riff on Castle Greyskull. It's kinda neat...sculpted to look like some mutant demon-baby grasping the classic castle turrets. There's a row of buttons with various sound effects with nice colored stickers to ID them. There even a swith and a LED light...wow, technical!

Out of the box...the hollow "hood" decoration fits over the battery compartment snuggly...almost TOO snuggly...annoying! Although the package and the inner box show the buttons in the front...on the actual toy component it makes more sense for the buttons to be hidden 'round back. Also, you'll notice a small set of stairs!



Too bad the castle is waaaaay out of proportion with the figures and vehicles. It's rather small. Darn...this thing would look great large!

Normally, I'd go on with a detailed look at the figures, vehicles, accessories and such...BUT...remember me griping about batteries? Well, the ol' camera's crying for more power itself...NOOOO!!! Check back for a closer look at ht e loose contents later!

[countzackula]

Here's something sadistically similar to Warriors of the Galaxy...they are SUPER TEAM OF THE UNIVERSE!!!



Now, these don't seem to have a year or manufacturer. They have the same figure sculpts/molds as Warriors of the Galaxy. They also have the same MotU rip off font in the title logo. The figures still come with separate multi-colored accessories...only they come in their own tidy little baggie which has been neatly stapled shut. Ooh...now that's quality!

The artwork is decent for 80s dime store or pharmacy rack toy style playthings. The characters depicted are actually included in the set! That's, like, so totally RAD!!!

[alfi]

Wow, I've never seen those packs before. Awesome!!!

[countzackula]

Okay...this set has totally lost its virginity...freshly ravished by myself! The packaging does not lie...you get all the stuff referred to. All pieces are copyrighted by Marty Toy. The only thing not really marked or date stamped are the tiny weapons...'cause...well, they're just too tiny!





Here's a close-up look at the vehicles and other equipment. The vehicle bodies are hollow...underneath you attach blue wheels to make 'em roll. You can attach radar dishes or missiles/guns to the fronts in the tiny holes. Both have two little pegs in the driver areas to attach figures...sadly, only one type of each figure has a hole in their base to fit properly. The flying saucer has a neat opening canopy, but sadly cannot close when a driver is present...bummer. There are four holes along the sides of the flying saucer. On the box it shows missiles mounted there, but the pegs are way to small...what gives?! You also get two stands to which you could mount cannons, missiles or even the radar dishes.



Now for the weapons! You get three sets of weapons...in three different colors...two of each piece in the various colors. I assume colors may vary in individual sets...maybe. Thankfully, they are made in a pliable plastic, otherwise, at this scale you'd hafta worry about breaking the precious little thingies. It's a shame they wasted all that plastic on the trees to hold 'em...I'd have rather got more accessories or something...jeez, Marty Toy!



Now, the figures, themselves...ahhh, yessss! Galactic power!!! Okay, you get two sets of figures...the Golden Heroes, done in gold plastic (duh!) and the Galactic Demons done in a drab grey or silver. I heartily assume there are no color variations...why would they make the Golden Heroes in grey? Anyway, you get eighteen of each color...seemingly random amounts of the same figure. I have at least two of every type in my set. There are five types on each side.



Very MOTUesque wouldn't you say? Yeah totally got the "Three Ss" down pat: SciFi, Sword 'n' Sorcery, and Superheroics. These are the three fantasy aesthetics melded to make the wonderful world of Masters of the Universe work! The villains are just awesome! One guy is some hooded gimp, another looks like Demo-Man (the supposed original MotU bad guy leader), you have your stereotypical skull-faced dude, a weird lizard/insect thing, and a beast-like creature. The good guys are basically humans with you typical fantasy space gladiator get-up. They're all scantily clad with a mess of horns, antennae, and weird Buck Rogers garb over their muscular bronzed frames. All ready for the midnight showing of Rocky Horror, I see!

Okay, here's a parting shot of our boys in another setting...couldn't resist! These guys go great with other small-scale plastic monsters and dragons from the 80s!



EXCELSIOR!!!

[countzackula]

Now, now, now...we certainly haven't forgotten about out other old friends, the SUPER TEAM OF THE UNIVERSE, have we? No, siree!

Okay, same colors...gold and grey, but made of a slightly lighter, shinier plastic...also a bit more metallic-looking. As you can see...*gasp*...no heroic characters used! All these seem to be based only off of the Galactic Demons from the Warriors of the Galaxy playset. They come in the gold and grey...seemingly random distribution...you get twenty total.



Weapon distribution is just as random...perhaps even more so! They come in green, blue, yellow, and red...oddly enough, there seems to be different shades amongst the colors themselves. Cheap-o!



Unlike the Marty Toy Warriors of the Galaxy, these guys do not have a date, manufacturer, or distributor stamped under their base...its blank...A-HA! Bootleggers!!! They are also much cheaper in quality. Some figures have extra plastic flaps or "dog ears" squeezing out around the seams. Some even have other defects like degraded parts or even holes or cavities...on the bright side...the holes are great for jabbing weapons into...UGH! Battle damage...alright!!!

[countzackula]

Okay kids...time for a little...Truth Or Dare...what? Oh! I mean: DARE TO COMPARE!!! Now we'll look at some key differences between some of the figures from Marty Toys' WARRIORS OF THE GALAXY and the bootleg SUPER TEAM OF THE UNIVERSE!

Keep in mind, STotU on the LEFT and WotG are on the right!


This guy's horns are different, plus he goes from studded waistband, to sheer and sleek comfort! Kinda looks like the love-child of Defenders of the Planets Quasar and Canis Major!

Sticks and stones may break his bones, but chains and whips excite him! Aside from the knobby horns oh his hood and different belt, he has a bit of an alteration on his chest harness. Is that supposed to be a wrinkly ape-lip or a moustache on his face?

Horns are different, belt is different. 'Nuff said!

Who loves short shorts? We love short shorts! Oh, we also love wings instead of horns, apparently...check out those gorgeous gams!

This guy has no Warriors of the Galaxy equivalent...I guess the lizard dude didn't make the cut for the bootlegs...anyone know? At any rate, here's this guy compared to a Golden Hero he resembles the most. Yeah, this is the guy featured on the card header.

Yeah, so as far as I know, the bootlegs from SUPER TEAM OF THE UNIVERSE have no vehicles or playset like WARRIORS OF THE GALAXY, so here's something I quick slapped together!



Much better than that dorky little "Castle TanDemon" from the Marty Toy set...in case you are wondering the castle is from a generic, old K-Mart knight-themed playset...I've seen the mold for it reused and repurposed many-a-time over the years...there you go!

On a final note...while I'm in "dare to compare" mode...here's one of these mini MotU knock off dudes compared with some other small-scale plastic figures...enjoy!

[countzackula]

Oh! I'm as dumb as a butt! I plum forgot...the castle sound effects from the WARRIORS OF THE GALAXY set...okay, plopped four batteries into the darn thing...it was tough...weird plastic tabs made getting the batteries in very uncomfortable...getting 'em out later was a hassle!

Anyway...the sound FX themselves were total 80s video game fodder...TOTAL!!! Straight-up Atari grade sounds...grainy, electronic, and fake, but oh so awesome! A real blast from the past. The thing even hums a bit when you activate it...if only I knew how to upload sounds onto this message board and share the absolute joy! Eh...oh, well.

[skullbooska]

Thanks for posting this count. I have a few of the figures and never knew what they were from!

[kylefromdirtnapp]

Just a great thread, man! I have like 3 of the little dudes. The little playset is awesome. Thanks for all the pix and descriptions! I had that same K-Mart castle set. I bought it just for the weapons.

[countzackula]

Had a real forehead-slapper moment last night...was putting the box away when I noticed...that prickly headed dude I thought was only in the Super Team set is actually shown on the box of the Marty Toy set! Annnnd...upon closer inspection (had to double check, 'cause I'm apparently that much of a dunce) there's a a sixth Golden Warrior character to boot! He's a viking type guy with a horned/crested helmet. What the-?! Hey! I didn't get either of those in my Warriors set!!! Why I oughta...!

So, if anyone else out there has or has had this set...did those guys come with it, or were they mysteriously nixed? Inquiring minds must know.

[victoryleo19]

Great collection! I love seeing stuff like this. I think I may have some of these guys also, I'll have to go dig em out. Thanks for sharing!

[countzackula]

Okay...just won a lot of these (again) on eBay...a mix of Marty Toy figures and bootlegs with weapons...had this cardboard header in the lot. No year, though. I kinda wonder if the bootlegs also came packaged under this header as well.



So, is it "DEMONS & WIZARD WARRIORS" or "DEMONS & WIZARDS: Warriors"? Hmmm...

At least I finally got the one character I was missing out of the whole deal!

[theformlessone]

Great. I remember those from Toys R Us back here in Germany. I myself had that weird looking dinosaur with the wide mouth once. I gotta check, if that one is floating around here somewhere.

[mantaforcefreak]

Apr 30, 2011 21:02:23 GMT -6 countzackula said:

Here's something sadistically similar to Warriors of the Galaxy...they are SUPER TEAM OF THE UNIVERSE!!!



Now, these don't seem to have a year or manufacturer. They have the same figure sculpts/molds as Warriors of the Galaxy. They also have the same MotU rip off font in the title logo. The figures still come with separate multi-colored accessories...only they come in their own tidy little baggie which has been neatly stapled shut. Ooh...now that's quality!

The artwork is decent for 80s dime store or pharmacy rack toy style playthings. The characters depicted are actually included in the set! That's, like, so totally RAD!!!

hi im new to the site,im not sure if im allowed to post a reply,but i wondered where you got these?i have been looking for these sets for years i had several sets of the copies back in the 80s i also remember the copies being in black and red aswell,ive trawled the net looking,i only found out what they were called thanks to your wonderful post(and i had no idea about the electronic playsets!),and i have to say a massive thank you for the pictures it was a joy just to see these again,you made my day! cheers!

[countzackula]

Woo! I don't log on too much these days due to my computer being waaaaay too old and slow (and I'd rather buy toys than a new computer). At any rate, always glad to spread the Toy Gospel! I actually found them on eBay. That, of you may be lucky enough to score some at a flea market or yard sale, a toy show or convention, or through social media trades.

Good luck...and don't pay too much!

[monsterinmypocket]

Zack: unfortunately several photos in this otherwise-wonderful thread have become inactive over time, and are no longer visible.  You previously told me that you no longer have a computer, and -- if I remember correctly -- that you also may have lost all your non-phone digital photos.  However, if there's any way you can repair or replace the missing photos, it would be greatly appreciated.

[figurecollector]

Zack has been gone for over 2 years, so I am not sure he will able to replace the missing photos.

[monsterinmypocket]

Aug 15, 2017 19:49:09 GMT -6 figurecollector said:

Zack has been gone for over 2 years, so I am not sure he will able to replace the missing photos.

Neither am I, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

I love the way this forum is moderated <3.  Thank you for your helpful input

[figurecollector]

Aug 18, 2017 9:28:48 GMT -6 monsterinmypocket said:

Aug 15, 2017 19:49:09 GMT -6 figurecollector said:

Zack has been gone for over 2 years, so I am not sure he will able to replace the missing photos.

Neither am I, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

I love the way this forum is moderated <3.  Thank you for your helpful input

I was not sure that you realized the posts went back that far. Apparently you are back after a long absence, so who knows, maybe Zack will be back too at some point.