The Merchandise GuideFigures
Compiled by Martin Willey
The Merchandise Guide
UK, December 2021 (was December 2020)
Item No: FIG-CMB, £140
This Alan Carter, and the astronaut Koenig figure, were the "Wave 1" release of 1/12 figures from Sixteen 12. The standard figures in this "deluxe action figure collection" contain the figure, tiny commlock and stun gun, and a stand with photographic card backdrop. This Carter figure includes a moonbuggy, a larger backdrop in addition to the regular stand, and an in-scale hexagonal storage box.
The regular price is £50; the Carter figure with moonbuggy is £140. The 1/12 scale gives a size of about 15cm (6 inches), and is a popular size for collectible figures. The hip joint is particularly noticeable and toy-like, but the articulation is pretty close to figures from other manufacturers.
The box is 39.5cm x 28cm x 12cm and has the same dark blue pattern as the Sixteen 12 die-cast Eagles
As usual for Sixteen 12, there are a number of typos in the description ("Gerry Andersons", "rolling wheelss" and "Acessory"). The spelling of "comlock" is also dubious. The two backdrop displays do not show either Eagle cockpit or Moonbase Alpha, there are different scenes entirely (see below).
Head of the Reconnaissance Section and chief Eagle pilot of Moonbase Alpha, Captain Alan Carter was on his fourth tour of duty when the Moon broke away from Earth in September 1999. Carter was the only resident of Moonbase Alpha to be absent when the Moon broke away from Earth; instead he was piloting an Eagle spacecraft on a high-altitude observatory flight of the nuclear waste dispersal operation. When the nuclear explosion which blasted the Moon out of Earth orbit occurred, Carter decided to return to Alpha rather than chance the trip to Earth.
Carter remains Alpha's Chief Eagle pilot and is arguably the best pilot on Moonbase.
Featuring a stunning 1/12 scale, fully articulated action figure, in ALPHA SPACESUIT, complete with MOONBUGGY and accessories, Sixteen 12 Collectibles is delighted to bring to life this iconic character from one of Gerry Andersons most beloved television shows, SPACE: 1999. Featuring:
- Captain Alan Carter In Moonbase Alpha spacesuit
- Stunning character likeness
- Full articulation for maximum pose-ability.
- Highly detailed comlock and stun gun accessories
- Detachable space helmet with hinged visor
- Display stand and two photographic backdrop displays - "Eagle Cockpit" and "Moonbase Alpha"
- Authentic, in-scale Alpha moonbuggy with rolling wheelss
- Alpha storage container acessory
Pre-production box art was different, similar to the trapezium design used for the 2021 comlock and stun gun. The asymmetric box isn't as stackable, so the old style rectangular box is welcome.
Sixteen 12 continues their devotion to plastic packaging inside. There are no instructions on how to put things together, but at least you can't put the chest pack and front pack on the wrong way. In particular the moonbuggy aerial and the backpack air hose are easily missed and the latter is difficult to fit.
There is a big photographic backdrop of Moonbase Alpha (a shot from The Last Sunset), which is the full dimensions of the box.
The figure is 15cm tall. The face is a little bland, but it looks better without bright light. The figure has square cavities in the chest and back, into which the chest pack and back pack must be plugged. This means the figures can't be displayed without the packs,
Rather cutely, just like Woody in Toy Story, the figures have a name written on the base of their feet- ITC Entertainment on the left, Sixteen 12 on the right.
The figure has good articulation; the stiffness of the plastic keeps the figures in poses. The hands and fingers can't be posed, but you can slot the stun gun and commlock into them.
The helmet, chest pack and back pack are accurately detailed. The packs are Year 1 style with Year 1 detailing and lettering. The helmet is hinged and works nicely.
The figures come with a tiny stun gun and commlock. The commlock is just 1.5cm long and even has an accurate ID plate with text and photo (although the photo is actually Martin Landau). The stun gun is less than 1cm long and while nicely detailed it is unfortunately silver (the same mistake they made on their prop-sized comlock and stun gun). The commlock fits into a tiny hook on the belt of the spacesuit (it can't be fitted to the side of chest pack as in Breakaway). There is no stun gun holster.
The regular stand is 9.5cm x 9cm x 2.5cm in black plastic with the series logo and character name. The reversible backing card is 17.4cm tall and 9.4cm wide.
The packaging says there are two backdrops: "Eagle Cockpit" and "Moonbase Alpha". The Eagle door is shown in a preproduction publicity shot. In fact, we get a live action shot of NDA2 from Breakaway, and an effects shot of the waste dome and Eagle from The Bringers of Wonder.
The figure on the display stand.
The moonbuggy is 17cm x 11cm x 8cm. The wheels ("wheelss" according the packaging) turn. There is a thin white aerial which can be attached to the rear of the buggy. It is closely based on the full sized Amphicat prop. Detailing is good and follows the late Year 2 markings, but with the addition of the wing mirrors (only seen in year 1). The dashboard airlock controls are from the 1978 Blackpool exhibition, not from the series. The buggy should sit two astronauts figures side by side, but they have cheated the scale. The control levers have been moved to the centre (they should be on the left), there is no throttle and the transmission shift lever under the seat has become a big gear stick.
With the Sixteen 12 Alpha Moonbuggy from 2018 (1/24 scale). They have corrected the seat back width to better match the original vehicle, but otherwise these are pretty similar. There is actually more detail on the smaller buggy dashboard than this one, although neither is accurate to the series. The orange of the spacesuit and the helmet visor colour are definitely better on the bigger figure.
With an original effects prop (more photos). Although larger, the figure is still a little too big.
UK, December 2021 (was December 2020)
Item No: FIG-K1, £50
UK, March 2023
£56
Re-issue of 2021 figure, with "A.P.L. laser rifle" (as featured in Alpha Child). Not explained on the packaging, APL does not refer to the animal protection league or the alkaline phosphastase blood test, but probably denotes "armour piercing laser".
UK, March 2023
£56
As featured in The Last Sunset. Includes Ariel probe to scale
UK, March 2023
£56
As in Earthbound. Includes "Spectro X scanner" and Earthbound backdrops, but with wrong suit number.
Copyright Martin Willey