Major Matt Mason's friend from Mars, Captain Lazer was a giant twice as tall as the astronauts from Earth. With his special battery powered backpack the Captain's eyes, chest beam and gun would light up to help out with any emergency.

The gun would affix any of three different attachments. The radiation shield, a cosmic beacon and a long paralyzing wand. Each would light up with the guns power charge. The controls on the backpack were three buttons, one would activate all three light-up features. one would activate the gun only and the other would just operate the eye and chest lights.

Packaged in a very attractive window box with a colorful artist's illustration, the Captain also came with anti - gravity boot tredders that would just clip on. And he was equipped with a special helmet of his own. These two accessories were molded in a "silver / gray" plastic. Captain Lazer's body was molded in metallic "blue" plastic. His boots and backpack molded in "silver / gray" plastic. And his gloves, waste, belt and gun were painted "silver".

I had so much fun playing with the Captain and the Firebolt Space Cannon that sometimes I forgot the others existed. I know that I just irritated my parents with that cool noise he would make along with the flashing lights. I don't care how anyone else feels about this guy, he's cool in my universe. Afterall if there can be a green skinned, jelly headed mental being from Jupiter and "pink" and "lavender" insect men from another remote region of the galaxy. Why can there not be a giant from Mars?

The Captain appears in the incredibly illustrated Major Matt Mason coloring book as a vital character in the story. And check out those aliens, they look like something out of "War of the Worlds". If you ask me about Captain Lazer, I'd say the Major would be lost without him!

Mattel later recycled the Captain Lazer figure into the Colonial Warrior and Cylon figures for the Battelstar Gallactica toy line in the 1970's. These figures are common today and can often be found complete in their original boxes.

PACKAGE DESCRIPTION:
14 3/4" x 10" x 5" window box with colorful illustration that exposes him through the window via a jagged sort of cut of the graphics along the windows edge. The other box panels sport the usual "black", "blue" and "white" line art illustrations.

DEALER CATALOG SPECS:
Each in standard packs of 1/2 doz. Wt: 9 lbs. It is interesting to note that in a 1968 "Sears" catalog which has "black" and "white" photos of the toys, shows a Captain Lazer without a gun molded in his right hand. Both hands are opened just as the left hand is on the figures that were released. Shipping weight is 1 pound....each costs $5.44 without batteries.

VARIATIONS:
Capt. Lazer's flashing eyes, his chest beams and the three accessories for his lazer pistol come in three different transparent colors. The radiation shield, paralyzer wand, cosmic beacon, eyes and chest beams each are either aqua, purple or amber. Sometimes these colors tend to vary on the color spectrum. These colors are sometimes confusing as they are often mistaken for other colors. Depending on how much dye was added to the transparent plastic in production the pieces may be lighter or deeper in color.

For example, aqua if deeper in color is more blue and is dim when the lights flash. The lighter the pigment it takes on more of a green appearance and is considerably brighter when lit up. Below is the list of colors as they have been interpreted by many collectors.

Color Variations:
Each of the three colors, aqua, purple and amber, are my own designated names. this is not a must go by color chart. However, I feel that I'm fairly approximate with my colors and several people have agreed with me. But if the eye's look blue to you, fine. If things look red, orange, pink, then that's the way you see it. Perhaps you've a version I haven't seen. Or vision I've not experienced.

1) Amber-sometimes looks and is called orange, light red or pink.
2) Aqua-sometimes looks and is called blue, green, teal, and darker or lighter shades of the same.
3) Purple-sometimes looks and is called magenta, red, violet, fucia or lighter or darker variations of the lot.

Now with the gun attachments alone there are nine different variants. Usually Capt. Lazer will come with each accessory in a different color. For example, you may have a purple wand, amber beacon and aqua shield. Or you might find him with an aqua wand, a purple beacon and green shield. Making six different possible color combinations. You could also have the eye colors vary with either of the six gun attachment combos making about 18 different variations. And last to make things even more crazy, with the chest beam being either one of the three colors. There are a total of 54 possible different color combinations for the Capt. Lazer lite-up features. That would be a heck of a challenge for the completest collector.

Captain Laser Accessories Photo
Captain Laser Variations Photo

The amber seems to be the most common of the eye colors. People tend to notice this more than anything. Having Capt. Lazer with the aqua eyes seems to be the most desirable of the three. My personal favorite is the purple, those eyes just stab the darkness. The chest beam colors are the least noticeable of all. It can be very difficult discerning these, especially since they have painted details. These details are two painted colors. Orange and yellow. The painted colors in the shape of narrow pie slices that divide the round beacon into twenty-four sections. with the colors alternating orange, plastic color, yellow, plastic color, orange, plastic color and so on. Six orange, six yellow and twelve plastic color. Now just think if there were variants on the painted details. I don't even want to begin calculating those possible combinations. It could be hundreds. But actually I've never noticed any painted differences. Except maybe fading or different color batches.

It is possible I've heard, but not seen any evidence, that in foreign markets there could be other colors like yellow eyes or whatever. After all Callisto, the Space Station, Scorpio and other figures and accessories have definitely turned up in different colors in these markets.

Well that should be enough on the color variants. Now about that sound Capt. Lazer makes, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah or eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh. I have a dozen working Lazer figures and no two sound exactly alike. Some are higher pitched and faster. Others low pitched and slow. With all sorts of ranges in between.

COMMENTS:
Captain Lazer is often found, and is quite common without his accessories. Most always the gun attachments and boot tredders are gone. He usually will have his helmet, however many times it also is missing. Also a lot of times the figure won't even work anymore. With a little luck though, they can usually be made operable.

Most collectors seem to dislike this figure, claiming he does not belong or fit in with the rest because of his size. Others speculate that he could have been intended for a toyline of his own. Maybe so, then perhaps the Firebolt Space Cannon could also have been part of this other unreleased toyline. This was the only vehicle made to accommodate Captain Lazer.

ALSO INCLUDED IN:
Captain Lazer could also be purchased in each of these boxed action sets:

1) #6341 Firebolt Space Cannon Super Action Set
2) #6351 Captain Lazer Firebolt Space Cannon Action Set