STAR PATROL WITH X-WING ROCKET FIGURE SET (GALAXY LASER TEAM)

Tim Mee Toys/Processed Plastic Co. made sets of Star Wars inspired figures sometime during the 70s or 80s (and I've read that they were rereleased in the 90s, though I've yet to see proof). Here's the front of the "STAR PATROL WITH X-WING ROCKET" set.

Below is a back view of the set.

This set has 36 pieces, but there's also a 31 piece set.

The set was made up of eight different army-man-sized figures plus a vehicle. The figures came in four different colors: black, green, pink, and white.

There's a Roman soldier guy with a sword... or could he be Darth Vader with a lightsaber?

There was also a rectangular robot with two legs on its sides who I'm betting was inspired by R2-D2.

Probably my favorite figure in this set is Chewbacca, who is a hairy alien with a gun and a pair of slacks. He has the most hilarious looking facial expression (confused gorilla?), and the antennae don't make it any easier not to laugh at him.

The rest of the characters don't seem to be directly ripping off Star Wars. There's a space adventurer with a drawn gun. A dealer at a toy show once told me that these figures were Buck Rogers characters, so maybe the not so Star Wars-y ones are Rogers and crew.

Here's a guy holding a box in one hand and a tube protruding from the box in his other hand.

A spacewoman standing next to some sort of pedestal.

A waving spaceman whose holding a suitcase/ lunchbox/ toolbox. Or maybe it's an action figure carrying case...

And let's not forget the funkiest of all: Mutant Crab Man! Or at least that's what I call him... I own this guy loose, so I can get some better shots of him. I miraculously found Mutant Crab Man at a yard sale in a pile of random toys. I've read before that this guy is based off of a science fiction comic character, but I haven't been able to confirm or disconfirm this.

There's also an X-Wing Rocket. Isn't that such an original name? How creative of them!

It gets worse, though. The rocket came with some stickers for decking out the rocket. The sticker sheet says "LABELS FOR YOUR X WING FIGHTER". Fighter? The word "rocket" was the only thing trying to cover up the vehicle's relation to Star Wars, and then they outright call it an X-Wing Fighter.

The Star Patrol toys have been packed on other hanger cards. There's one that has a white card with black letters stating "GALAXY LASER TEAM with space monsters", "TIM MEE TOYS", and "MONTGOMERY, ILLINOIS 60538". There's also the Tim Mee Toys logo and colored illustrations of 'Chewbacca' and the spaceman with a blaster drawn (who's half covered by a barcode). I've only seen one example of this version so far, and it only included pink, white, and black figures. I don't know if it's always this way or not.

Another one I've seen is very much like the first one but at the top of the card it warns, "CAUTION: NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN UNDER 3 YEARS OLD". At the top right it says "26 PCS." in red. Instead of a barcode, there's a dotted line placed diagonally, forming a right triangle in the corner. In the triangle it says "NO. 0931". I've seen two samples of this version, and they both had all four colored figures.

A different hanger card I've seen has thick, horizontal, colored stripes and the words "VALUE PAC". It's funky looking, but it could really use some silly Star Wars knockoff art.

There's an orange/red hanger card that says "outer space FIGHTERS". It says Tim Mee Toys and shows their logo. This one's a 17 piece set.

I've seen a picture of a large, 66 piece play set that includes purple, green, and blue figures, plus some air and space craft. The set also contains a big mountain and a radio tower among other things. The cardboard box has "STAR BATTLE" written in bold, yellow letters at the top of the box's front, and to the right I believe is the Tim Mee Toys logo.

A reissue set of these figures exists with a hanger card that reads, "GALAXY LASER TEAM with SPACE MONSTERS & STARSHIPS". There's 24 black and 24 light gray figures and 2 ships included. This set was produced using the original molds from Tim Mee Toys.

There's also five inch tall versions of these figures. I've seen these on a few hanger cards, one labeled Star Battle giant size play figures. This five piece set included a silver colored figure.

Star Patrol is one of those funny toys where someone ripped off Star Wars, and then got ripped off themselves! I've seen a Mexican bootlegged set where the toys (which come in red, green, blue, yellow, and white) are packed in a bubble on a light blue card. It shows a guy riding a rocket and says "LINEA COMETA" and "JUGUETIMUNDO.S.A.".

Packed in a box of Screaming Yellow Zonkers!, a popcorn snack, was one of eight different creature figures. One of them, whose name is Zip, greatly resembles Mutant Crab Man! He came in at least two different colors.

There's one last thing I want to show you; he's a friend of mine that I'd like you to meet... His name's Ugly Spidey.

When I found the loose Mutant Crab Man at a garage sale, he was hangin' with this bootleg Spider-man figure. He has nothing to do with Star Wars, but he's cool nonetheless. I think he stole the Hulk's pants, though...