S is for Starguards & Aliens

Another post from the 'Seen Elsewhere' folder, this one actually combining two posts from elsewhere, the loose figures from Britains Starguard (or Star Guard, 1981-1987'ish) and friends, and the rare boxed set (there's one on evilBay at the moment for a hundred-quid, which might be cheap?), which can go here as they're not going to generate a too-long tag-list, and it gets KP Foods on the tags!

I'm guessing these were a mail away offer, there aren't enough in here for a counter-top or behind the counter multiple-purchase offer type thing, so they must have been a save so many packet tops or coupons or something, but you get six of the standard yellow Starguards, and six of the black Aliens with the 'divers' helmets.

 

 

My set is definitely missing a decent sample of the kneeling-squat guy! But they aren't that uncommon, in any variation, so I'll pick up the rest one day, probably just get everything missing in a single feeBay session in a year or two. And, as we'll see in the next few minutes; my sample is currently quite small, overall!

 

The trouble with this set - as I see it, and it's only my opinion - was that they were dated the day they hit the stores, and not only dated, but incompatible with anything that had come before; Captain Video, Hill/Cherilea hollow-cast, similar lead-solids of Buck Rogers from the 'States, or latterly, the vaguely NASA stuff from Europe, Marx/MPC or Cherilea's 60mm giants in plastic, so there was little to do with them . . . if you know what I mean.

However, the plethora of space toys which have been issued since the Star Wars (and Battlestar Galactica) phenomena of the late 1970's means that actually they have grown on me a bit, and you can, if so minded (I'm really just a collector) now paint them up and add them to, or add-in all sorts! While they will enhance any space-toy display shelf!

The original Aliens, these are just the Starguard bodies in black with a red 'deep sea diver' helmet, another problem with the range; repetition throughout the range! Technically they should all have silver weapons, but over time other colours would be issued, and the slight 'swoppet' nature of the range, means anything goes to get the shot!

The Cyborgs! Again Starguard bodies, but with more complicated add-ons and a universal head/computing-unit! These have always suffered (from nearly new) with a stickiness caused by a reaction between the gloss, metallic green (possibly the Humbrol 50 enamel, which makes renovation easy), and furry lumps of these were a common site at car-boot sales or in rummage trays a few years ago, all covered in pet-hair, carpet fibres and dust!

My only 'Raider', he should have a gold weapon, and in catalogues is shown with a black or blue base. These are just the Aliens in an orange/blue scheme, and went up against white-bodied Starforce (or Star Force), of which I have none! Well, I say that, there may be one or two in storgae, in the TBS piles?

 

The Mutants, who would become Mutant Raiders are also lacking at Chez Smallscaleworld, they were similar to the Cyborgs, but had whackier heads/plug-ins and sometime come ina  metalic grass green.

Eventually, in 1985, a set of green, polyethylene aliens called Terror Raiders (which I do have somewhere, we'll see them here another day) were issued (after about the time it takes to realise your figures are going sticky in people's play-boxes!), which had actually been shown in the earlier 1984 catalogue, as different sculpts in a chrome-finish. By 1987 they were the only aliens in the catalogue alongside the orange Raiders and white Starforce, then the curtain closed on the whole Starguard 'experiment'!

 

Ten minutes later - I'd forgotten we looked at all the weapons here; lower shot.

 

And later the same day - Many thanks to John Begg for letting me photograph the KP Outer Spacers set in his private collection.