Atlantic Galaxy
Encyclopedia
Atlantic Galaxy was a science fiction
themed toy line produced by Italian
company Atlantic
from 1978 to the early 1980s. It was commercialized in several Europe
an countries, including Italy
, France
, and Greece
. The toy line comprised a series of action figure
s and a set of vehicles, as well as a chess
-inspired board game
called Cosmo Checkers ("Cosmoscacchi" in the italian
edition) that employed the Galaxy action figures as pieces. Most boxes included comics
booklets describing the setting and characters of the toy line.
"Humbot", his opponent the evil alien "Zephton" and Zepthon's robot, "Dynathlon". All these were made in plastic and composed of several pieces; random permutations of 10 base colours were available. Eachfigure had a few items such as laser gun, rocket-thrower, helmet, and so on.
A second generation of action figures was marketed later and more limitedly. This included "Sky-Girl" (Sky-Man's female partner), "Hypnos" (an alien ant-man, the only figure in the series to be composed of metallic parts as well as plastic), and "Sloggy" (an alien snail-man).
", "Interstar Car", "Falcon" (a fighter
starship), "Land Air", and "Tempest"; Sky-Man's "Cygnus" (a futuristic motorbike); and Zepthon's and Dynathlon's "Skorpion" (a chariot pulled by a four-legged monster). An additional vehicle, the "Supercar Interceptor", was in a smaller scale and could not accommodate any of the series' action figures; instead, it had built-in, fixed pilots.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
themed toy line produced by Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
company Atlantic
Atlantic (company)
Atlantic was an Italian toy manufacturing company based in Treviglio from 1966 to 1984. In the 1970s it became widely popular both in Italy and in Europe as a producer of 1:32- and HO-scale toy soldiers...
from 1978 to the early 1980s. It was commercialized in several Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries, including Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. The toy line comprised a series of action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s and a set of vehicles, as well as a chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
-inspired board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
called Cosmo Checkers ("Cosmoscacchi" in the italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
edition) that employed the Galaxy action figures as pieces. Most boxes included comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
booklets describing the setting and characters of the toy line.
Action figures
The original and main action figures of the Atlantic Galaxy series were "Sky-Man" (a human "space legionary"), his companion robotRobot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
"Humbot", his opponent the evil alien "Zephton" and Zepthon's robot, "Dynathlon". All these were made in plastic and composed of several pieces; random permutations of 10 base colours were available. Eachfigure had a few items such as laser gun, rocket-thrower, helmet, and so on.
A second generation of action figures was marketed later and more limitedly. This included "Sky-Girl" (Sky-Man's female partner), "Hypnos" (an alien ant-man, the only figure in the series to be composed of metallic parts as well as plastic), and "Sloggy" (an alien snail-man).
Vehicles
Atlantic also marketed some Galaxy vehicles, also in a limited number; these are now as rare as the second-generation action figures and thus sought after by collectors. Most were battery-operated. These included Humbot's "Flying saucerFlying saucer
A flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...
", "Interstar Car", "Falcon" (a fighter
Fighter
Fighter or The Fighter may refer to:*Warrior, a person skilled in combat*Soldier, someone in the army*Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplanes in air-to-air combatFilms...
starship), "Land Air", and "Tempest"; Sky-Man's "Cygnus" (a futuristic motorbike); and Zepthon's and Dynathlon's "Skorpion" (a chariot pulled by a four-legged monster). An additional vehicle, the "Supercar Interceptor", was in a smaller scale and could not accommodate any of the series' action figures; instead, it had built-in, fixed pilots.