The Merchandise Guide
Confectionery
Compiled by Martin Willey

UK (Space/Alpha set) & Europe (Space/Cosmo set) , artwork packet, with cards to collect inside each packet.

Cards are 7 x 5 cm, with colour photos on one side (Yr 1, almost all reversed). Two sets of 64 cards, with identical photos were issued. One set also had parts of a large bw photo on the back.

• "Space/Cosmo: 1999". (1976) Unnumbered, backs building into bw photo of RATM astronauts.
• "Space/Alpha: 1999". (1978) Numbered, no picture on back.

Poster was 52 x 38 cm, titled "Space/Cosmo: 1999", with the same bw photo of the RATM astronauts as on the back of the unnumbered card set.

US 1976, 10c a packet

Eighth of an ounce of bubble gum, with cards to collect inside each packet.

Packet: red background, with art of Koenig (blue uniform), Helena (yellow uniform) & Victor in tense pose (based on Gray Morrow's cover for Charlton bw comic 1). A small blue Eagle over the yellow logo. Banner across bottom promises "Bonus: Full Color Puzzle"

Cards: 9 x 6.5 cm, with colour photo (Yr 1), numbered with pithy caption. Back of cards builds into a large photo of an Eagle launching from a pad under a yellow logo. Set composed of 66 cards.

Sold from display boxes of 24 packets. Box top (which would be folded upright) has yellow logo over photo of base, with Koenig, Helena & Victor looking tense on left. Box is 21.5 x 9.5 x 4 cm.

From the collection of Robert Ruiz.

• Store Display Box.
• Gum and Cards in Wrapper.
• Cards 1-6.
• Cards 7-12.
• Cards 13-18.
• Cards 19-24.
• Cards 25-30.
• Cards 31-36.
• Cards 37-42.
• Cards 43-48.
• Cards 49-54.
• Cards 55-60.
• Cards 61-66.
• card box

UK 1975

A vanilla-flavoured ice cream base, with a lime shell and strawberry jelly filled centre.

The blue packet (13 x 5.5 cm) features rather crude art of an Eagle & Koenig, Helena & Victor.

Initially each ice lolly came with a card, 7.5 x 4.5 cm, with crude art based on a photo on one side, with a description on the back. There were 25 cards in set.

Back of packet at first featured art of Koenig saying "There are 23 Amazing Full Colour Cards In The Series- Of me, Dr Helena Russell, Professor Bergman, all the Heroes & Villains For You To Collect!"

Later the backs featured one of two short & very crudely drawn comic strips (10 x 4.5 cm, titled "Child Of Evil" & "Planet Of Terror"), or one of two descriptions of Alpha life ("Transport", with Eagle, buggy & travel tube described, & "Communication", about the commlock)

This product was launched with an animated television commercial, illustrated by Frank Bellamy and shown from summer 1976.

• Ice Lolly Wrapper - Front
• Ice Lolly Wrapper - Back
• Cards #1
• Cards #2
• Cards #3
• Cards #4
• Cards #5

Australia 1975

Set of 50 cards, each 5cm x 8 cm with colour photos. One card with each loaf of Sunicrust bread (they were baked in the bread, with no protective wrapper). Some interesting and unusual photos, including a fairly high proportion of SFX shots, and some wildly inaccurate text descriptions ("Deep freeze on Moonbase Alpha, on collision course with Ultima Thule", for a shot of Space Brain foam filled Main Mission).
The card backs advertised "Alpha Shirts Plus Trip To Disneyland USA for 4 People". For the Alpha shirt you had to cut the bottom section from all 50 cards and send them to Sunicrust by November 14th 1975. For the Disneyland competition you had to send a drawing of a "Space: 1999 spaceman" (there were 500 runners-up prizes of Timex calendar watches.
Illustrated in The Gerry Anderson Memorabilia Guide (Dennis Nicholson) p238.

• Pictures of all the cards (307k)

Italy 1979?. Price 150 lira per bag (150g?).

In UK English crisps, in US English potato chips. The packet art is identical to the Panini year 2 album, and it is possible that packs contained a number of Panini stickers. Thanks to Andrea Gualco.