 |
Buck Rogers outfit in the original
Ideal ring box. Buck Rogers was part of the second series of costume
releases in 1967 and was only available in a ring box version (although
someone seems to have yoinked the ring from this one). The accessories
include a suit, mask, Space Helmet, Gloves, Boots, Anti-Gravitational Belt,
Flashlight, Canteen, Heat Sensing Rockets, and Solar Gun.
|
 |
Captain Action Buck Rogers jumpsuit.
Excellent silver finish with red vinyl neck liner and mirrored logo.
Well made, durable one pieces design that snaps in the back. Silver
finish will wear with excessive play, so put it back on your shelf.
|
 |
A close up of the logo on Buck Rogers
suit. The text reads "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Rocket Ranger"
and it has a picture of my personal favorite planet, oriented, of course,
with the good old USA in the center. This actually makes sense, since
in the original book (Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Phillip Frances Nowlan*)
he was fighting the "mongolian hordes from the east". The editors
later went on to explain that they weren't actually asians, but creatures
from another world who looked like asians, or something to that effect.
Guess they were trying to be Politically Correct after the fact.
Did I tell you that my best friend Kirk is the grandson of Phillip Frances
Nowlan, creator of Buck Rogers? Small world, huh? Even in the
25th century.
|
 |
Buck Rogers facemask. He actually
has a slightly happy expression, a change from the usual stone faced persona
of the captain and most of his alter egos. Ideal did a really nice
job with this one. I am not sure if it is based on an actual person,
but it definitely suits the part. A better choice than Gil Gerard,
thank you very much.
|
 |
Buck Rogers Space Helmet. Metallic
blue with silver highlights. Covered earpieces, vertical ridges and
raised painted horizontal accents. Looks great on or off the figure.
|
 |
Buck Rogers gloves are durable black
rubber with white accents. The Buck Rogers costume set is unique
in that it actually has gloves. (A pair of flimsier gloves was also
included with the Power
Pack) Batman sure could have used a pair of these, and they actually
work fairly well with that set. Spider-Man looks ridiculous in them,
so don't even bother. The presence of gloves raises this set above
most of the other Ideal costume sets.
|
 |
Buck Rogers boots are similar to captain
actions, although instead of being angled from the front, they are angled
on the sides. This makes the left and right boot unique, which tends
to make piecing this set together a little more difficult than most.
|
 |
Buck Rogers Anti-Gravitational Belt
is actually pretty sophisticated. The "suspender" portions go over
his shoulders and hook onto the Jetpacks on his back (one reason the Jetpacks
are usually found with melt marks). There is a yellow painted "microphone"
which hangs from the belt. It also has a hook for hanging the flashlight,
and holes for attaching the gun and canteen.
|
 |
Buck Rogers Heat Sensing Rockets.
Two blue and yellow plastic pieces which are worn on his back and attach
to the belt straps on top and tuck into the belt at the bottom. The
complex arrangement of the belt and rockets makes you wonder how younger
kids would have figured the whole thing out. Of course, you could
always use them as projectiles for launching at Dr Evil.
|
 |
Buck Rogers Solar Gun. Cast
in the same metallic blue as the Helmet and Rockets, it has a pin on the
back side for attaching it to the belt. Kind of a weird arrangement
that allows the sidearm to be worn without the need for a holster.
Prevents melted guns too.
|
 |
Buck Rogers Flashlight. A mundane
accessory for a man living in the future. In space, no one can see
you without a flashlight. Painted silver and black, it has a loop
on the end to allow it to hang from his belt. Personally I think
he would have been better off with a light on his helmet rather than having
to schlep this thing around.
|
 |
Buck Rogers Canteen, front and back.
Metallic blue plastic painted silver with black top. Talk about a
strange choice of accessories, it looks like canteen design is going to
remain essentially unchanged for the next couple of hundred years.
Its actually just a facade, it is only the front half of a canteen with
the back opened and a pin that allows it to attach to the belt. To
Infinity and Beyond! and if you get thirsty...
|
 |
*More stuff you might not know about Buck
Rogers:
In the original short story "Buck" Rogers
was named "Anthony". The name was changed to Buck when the story
was transformed into a daily comic strip. "Buck" Rogers first appeared
as a short story in issue 28 of "Amazing Stories" dated August 1928.
Originally set in 2419, the date was incremented by one year, each year
as the strip ran, to keep it 500 years in the future. Finally they
dropped the increments and settled on "Buck Rogers in the 25th century",
or right now he would be in the 26th century. Then your Captain Action
set would really be out of date. |
|
BACK
|
Page design and content copyright Jan
2000 by Daniel Webster.
|
