How successful was CTVT's 1999 line?

[samurainoir]

Given that there were so many waves of figures released, was this a success for CTVT?

I wouldn't have thought there were so many Space 1999 fans from a nostalgic perspective, and the desire for these figures was the fact that the Palitoy one's were such a rarity. It's not like there was a reimagined tv show or movie to keep them on the pop cultural radar. Usually conventions are a great way to gauge which portions of fandom are quite active, and I have to admit I don't ever seem much action when it came to Space 1999.

[TrueDave]

I got the whole set from a magazine ad for way less than a hundred. within a month I sold them to a buddy. I was dissapointed. i thought it would be like me and a box of old Empire Strikes back figures. But not a lot of action play value.

[renegade]

I feel they were well done. You can't beat the price. I buy them from time to time just for the parts rather than buy each part indiviually. Space 1999 was HUGE in UK and CTVT must have invested alotta money in those. They sell the whole set of 20 for about 100.00 and a few kitbash security officers. CTVT gets alotta dissin on here but the last thing we need is to lose another retailer in 1/9 scale. Everyone go buy something from them.

[johnmiic]

The only places that seem to be stuck with them are Whona.com & fabgearusa.com. Otherwise I am under the impression they sold reasonably well. I think more characters could be added to the line.

What I really wonder is how many people out there have broken body issues & don't know they can get a sturdier Doc Mego replacement body for $5?

[tllgn]

i do know about using emce bodies,i fixed up maya ,for example ,and she looks great.i even got her boots on,and i bet a lot of mayas and sandras have broken ankles,i hve yet to see on on card with the boots on correctly

[palitoy]

I bought a case of wave one, could not give them away at toy shows or at the comic shop. People mention the price, when these came out they were normally $15 each.

The biggest handicap IMO (other than the quality, ALL of mine are broken) was the lack of the main stars of the show. 1999 hasn't had the syndication breadth that Star Trek has, so figures of anicilliary characters don't have quite the same impact as the Keeper or the Romulan.

[AcroRay]

The space-suit figures are a must-have. But you really need to put a new body in them and be prepared to do some work. Across the board the bodies are cheap and the construction is really shoddy. But if you put a little work and a new body into them, they're really beautiful.

[david_b]

The space-suit figures are a must-have. But you really need to put a new body in them and be prepared to do some work. Across the board the bodies are cheap and the construction is really shoddy. But if you put a little work and a new body into them, they're really beautiful.

Agreeing with everyone here.. Replacing the bodies with standard T2s improves the look considerably. Agreed on the space suits; in fact, just looking at eBay last night for the $5 figures they're listing now for more space suits. Just got some vintage Paul Morrows to suit up.

I didn't like the larger head sculpts (like Victor Bergman..), but Dave McCormick had the best heads to use.

As for choice of characters, they had some BAD advice. Androids from 'One Moment of Humanity'..??? Why..? For that matter, they should have just went with a Dorcon guard or something.

What would have been SUPER would have been the blue snow suits from "Deaths Other Dominion".. I know it the CTVT budget was low, but focusing on the cooler aspects of the 1st Year rather than more single-episode 2nd Year variety would have been the preferred way to go.

As for the 1999 conventions, they still continue. I met Barry Morse a year before he passed on, and they're still being held each year both in the States, Canada, and Europe, although with the power of Internet and using VoIP, the in-person cast autographs are becoming harder to get I'm afraid.

The whole concept of 1999, without continuing alien characters (outside Maya) and heavies like Klingons.., doesn't lend itself to as much continued success as Trek like Palitoy said.

However, on that note, I am still hunting for the Exclusive red jacket Carter to use on my Bill Fraser, if anyones got one to sell. Would like to add little zippers on them as well.

david_b

[Mikey]

I think the fact Landau and Bain weren't produced made the line look illegitimate in many collector's and fans eyes.

I personally know a few fans/collectors who refused to buy them because the "main stars" weren't made.

[GUYx1]

A lot of things could have been done better. I remember longing for space 1999 toys for a couple decades and then being just devastated when the ctvt toys arrived.
I agree that if you use real mego bodies, I find them to be almost tolerable.
But I also agree that REassembling the spacesuit is one of those projects that is complicated enough that to this day I have not finished assembling my 2nd space suit figure. (This is coming from someone who can totally unscrew, disassemble and reassemble Takara NHC cyborg figures in a matter of minutes)

With Everyone working so hard this time around with the new retro toylines, I actually love the toys ENOUGH to want to swap out the bodies.
Comparatively CTVT is a period of my life I try to repress.
Aside from the space suits, the ctvt figures are all in a box in the basement.

[Trappy Trek Freak]

I have used a few of them to make some Trek customs and other than the body situation I'm glad they were made and hope they make more.

[megocrazy]

I can't say anything they did was "successful" IMO. They're still selling stuff years after it was released, so the turn around time was probably out of their original estimate. They also aren't remaking anything, except for some new police stuff, so it could not have been too successful. If it had been I would think they'd restock.

They had some decent heads, and the suits are OK. When put on Doc's bodies they are drastically improved. For the effort they put in on the licensing I would have thought the end product would have been much better. the funny thing is I could see an unbroken CTVT body being worth a great deal in 25 years to a serious collector of 1/9 scale figures. They will definitely not be a common item then, since an unbroken one is almost impossible to find now.

I personally do think they made a great contribution to the hobby, by creating characters that were never done, but the quality caused the company to fail, probably earlier than it would have if they had better made items.

[david_b]

I agree that if you use real mego bodies, I find them to be almost tolerable.
But I also agree that REassembling the spacesuit is one of those projects that is complicated enough that to this day I have not finished assembling my 2nd space suit figure. (This is coming from someone who can totally unscrew, disassemble and reassemble Takara NHC cyborg figures in a matter of minutes).

Taking off the space suits are EASY..:

1) All you have to do is hold the figure at his waist, and YANK both arms and legs off with a moderate pull (you're throwing away the CTVT figure anyways...).

2) Slip off the life support pack, and put the space suit on the new figure. Note, if you want to use the white hands/wrist box, I just put those arms on the new figure, then put the space suit on.

3) As for the life support pack, just loosen the phillips screw you'll find on the inside of the back portion and allow the straps to come in/out of the slots (not TOO loose or they won't stay in..) and you're DONE.



Whole process takes less than 5 minutes. Just need to make new numbering for the packs

david_b

[renegade]

While were on this...I bought just the space pack for the space 1999 spacesuits. Anyone know how to get it on a figure? I may need pictures.

[david_b]

While were on this...I bought just the space pack for the space 1999 spacesuits. Anyone know how to get it on a figure? I may need pictures.

...Just follow the outline I said above, no pictures needed.

On the inside of each 'space pack' (front and back packs), there's a screw. Loosen it up and that separates the outside 'pack' and inside 'back plate' (which rests against the space suit when it's on the figure).

Loosening it up will allow the black straps to come out of the pack 'slots'. Once you loosen it enough to take any of the straps out (each strap has a tab at the end), put it back on the figure and put the strap in.

The secrets are 1) only loosening up a screw on one pack, not both, and 2) not loosening up the 'space pack' screw too much or the straps'll never stay back in. Personally, I've always just loosened up the back 'space pack' screw.

Trust me, it works fine.

david_b
{..Resident CVTV Alphan Space Suit expert..}