Manta Force was a toy

Toy

A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...

line produced by Bluebird Plc in the 1980s. MANTA was an acronym for Multiple-Air-Naval-Terrain-Assault Force, which referred to both the "good guys" and their spacecraft

Spacecraft

A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....

, searching the galaxy

Galaxy

A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...

 for a "New Earth". Their foe was called Viper Squad, who traveled in a spacecraft called Red Venom. The back-story

Back-story

A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...

 involved the sending of a spaceship to find a "New Earth" for colonization by the World Government

World government

World government is the notion of a single common political authority for all of humanity. Its modern conception is rooted in European history, particularly in the philosophy of ancient Greece, in the political formation of the Roman Empire, and in the subsequent struggle between secular authority,...

, given the overpopulated

Overpopulation

Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...

 and polluted

Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...

 state of Planet Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

. The Viper Squad aimed to take over MANTA and colonize New Earth themselves.

The plastic

Plastic

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

 toyline consisted of small toy soldiers and much larger spaceships, as well as a "battle fortress". Several of the gun

Gun

A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...

s were capable of launching plastic projectile

Projectile

A projectile is any object projected into space by the exertion of a force. Although a thrown baseball is technically a projectile too, the term more commonly refers to a weapon....

s, including the infamous "Zip Gun", a hopper-loaded, gravity fed. crank handle operated design that launched 5mm plastic spheres at an extremely high rate for a distance of around eight feet. There was a series of book

Book

A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...

s as well as a cartoon strip in the Eagle

Eagle (comic)

Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published from 1950 to 1969, and then in a relaunched format from 1982 to 1994. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Lancashire. Morris edited a parish magazine called The Anvil, but felt that the church was not communicating...

 comic manner. The books, The Enemy Within and Red Venom Attack!, written by Royston Drake, illustrated in Dan Dare style, featured storylines based on the 1984/5 Miners' Strike, an attack by Red Venom revolutionaries led by Major Leon Vex, and an encounter with unfriendly dinosaurs. Later the two opposing sides joined forces to fight off attacks from an alien known as Karnock who was served by an army of robots. Another enemy emerged as well in the form of Stinkhorn who led the 'vile' Stenchoids who appeared to be either another alien grouping or the native dominant lifeform on New Earth.

Bluebird Plc. also produced the Polly Pocket

Polly Pocket

Polly Pocket is a toy line of dolls and accessories. The name comes from the fact that many of the original Polly Pocket dolls came in pocket-size cases. The current Fashion Polly dolls sold by Mattel differ significantly from those originally sold by Bluebird Toys. The original Bluebird dolls...

 toyline, for which reason the company was purchased by Mattel

Mattel

Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...

.