What is the story behind AJ's artwork being PotA Astronaut?

[Jetjungle75]

Clemso, do you still have Jet Jungle? Great picture of the figure.

[robbo1970]

Deleted my original reply, because I think I misread your post.

I may have made a couple of typos. I of course meant "without" the Heston likeness. It was only a guess. It would be great to know the true story first hand, but until then, it's fun to come up with a few theories.

[apes3978]

My guess is that the original AJ head was going to be the Astronaut and the artwork was pre-designed on that basis. Mego then decided that the Astronaut head was going to be Don, so they held back production and rushed out a replacement AJ head (hence some of the crude sculpting, which I happen to think adds real charm). That could also explain the Astronaut head being used on some Dinah-Mite advertising.

Deleted my original reply, because I think I misread your post.

[robbo1970]

I haven't been on here for ages, but as I am getting really into the AJ line, I'd like to add my theory/guess to this question.

My guess is that the original AJ head was going to be the Astronaut and the artwork was pre-designed on that basis. Mego then decided that the Astronaut head was going to be Don, so they held back production and rushed out a replacement AJ head (hence some of the crude sculpting, which I happen to think adds real charm). That could also explain the Astronaut head being used on some Dinah-Mite advertising.

Mego then decided that the Superman sculpt would be Don, which left the Astronaut redundant. Then, needing to create a generic Astronaut within the Heston likeness, they used the said head.

That's just my guess.

[TheNewGiJoeWithKungFuGrip]

Well actually Action Jackson was released in 1971, while the POTA Astronaut head was sculpted in '72, So it can't be the head sculpt originally intended for AJ. Perhaps the head was sculpted as a replacement for the original Action Jackson head, but was rejected?

[jwyblejr]

Sadly I don't own the majority of these anymore, but I owned them long enough to take this pic. All the Mego figures together that have used the Bruce Wayne Sculpt, from left to right SI Bruce Wayne, RC Batman, Jet Jungle, Tex Willer and your Mystery Astronaut.

Between stuff like this and your AJ stuff,I admit to a little jealousy. But in a good way.

[clemso]

No, sorry dude, long gone.

Clemso, do you still have the Mystery Man? If you are interested in selling, please let me know...

[MegoCapnMike]

Clemso, do you still have the Mystery Man? If you are interested in selling, please let me know...

[clemso]

Sadly I don't own the majority of these anymore, but I owned them long enough to take this pic. All the Mego figures together that have used the Bruce Wayne Sculpt, from left to right SI Bruce Wayne, RC Batman, Jet Jungle, Tex Willer and your Mystery Astronaut.

Bruce Wayne was used for the Mego Mystery Man figure. I'd like to know more about that figure.

[MegoCapnMike]

Bruce Wayne was used for the Mego Mystery Man figure. I'd like to know more about that figure.

Here is some info and some theories from a post I started way back when. The pics all appear to be gone, but there are descriptions of them or the most part.

http://megomuseum.com/community/showthread.php?82320-Why-can-t-this-mystery-be-solved

[mpramuk]

To add to the mystery, the PotA Astronaut head has a (c)1972 while the rest of the Apes figures show (c)1974. So clearly he is an earlier sculpt re-used with PotA.

So was the Astronaut head intended for Dinah-Mite's boyfriend Don (as speculated here at the MM) or AJ (As the art would suggest)?

Perhaps was this head originally meant as a hoped-for expansion of the AJ figures? Or even the original proposed sculpt for AJ? Just seems too odd to have the AJ figure art and the Astronaut sculpt so similar and there not be a story behind it... Maybe someday we'll learn the story!

[MIB41]

That's a good question. When I envision him with a beard though, he does begin to take on a strong likeness to GI Joe minus the flocking. If I had to guess, the creative brass along with their legal partners might have felt they were walking too fine a line to a GI Joe so they went an entirely different direction. I say that too because if you look at the finalized AJ, it doesn't look much at all like this one. So I have to think likeness concerns may have been on their mind with Hasbro's products. But since the packaging was probably already in production, they likely left that the same. Just a thought.

[megozilla13]

The astronaut head was kicking around Mego before he became "the POTA Astronaut" as he is pictured on the box of the Dinahmite inflatable pool accessory in 1973. I think it's no coincidence that he looks just like the figure on the AJ box. Over the years we've gotten the chance to ask ex-Mego employees many questions, but I don't remember anyone ever bringing this one up. It would be interesting to find out.


mikej

[Action Martin]

Bruce Wayne was used for the Mego Mystery Man figure. I'd like to know more about that figure.

[clemso]

I've often thought the same about POTA Astronaut, but i don't know if there is any real story to back it up. Also the Wayne sculpt would have worked well as seen in one of the Baravelli ads, but perhaps his facial sculpt was too close to GI Joe.