I'll say again that Battle of the Planets was my all-time favorite show as a kid. I think it's odd that I never saw any of these items when they were new. Needless to say, they are really cool and offer a lot of variety! For me, the nostalgia makes BotP items very fun to collect and brings back a lot of memories when I find something new!
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Entex released these fantastic Models of the Gatchaman mecha in or around 1978. Each representation appears to be a re-release of the original Japanese models (the G1 you can see on the Gatchaman page). Box graphics seem to have remained pretty much original with the exceptions mainly being the large Battle of the Planets logos on each kit!
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The Signal Ray Gun pictured above left, is only one in a line of two or three different guns produced by Gordy International in 1979. They are smaller sized guns that generally sold at places like supermarkets or convinience stores. The Signal Ray Gun included it's own "long-life" battery (YEAH, RIGHT! This makes it next to impossible to find one that's not corroded!) and had a "flashlight" bulb in it's tip. The Battle of the Planets Boardgame (above right) was made by Milton Bradley. It features fantastic artwork throughout but for some reason, Gel Sadra is on there too. I don't remember EVER seeing Gel Sadra on BotP! The board alone is worth framing!
Gold key/Whitman released a short-lived series of comic books (Top row/left to right: issue #1-3) (Bottom row/left to right: issue #5, 6, 10) starting in June of 1979. These comics were based (loosely) on the Sandy Frank television show of the time, had really cool artwork and are relatively inexpensive and easy to find. They are a definate plus to any collection!
What kid wouldn't have been proud to eat lunch with the coolest group of angst-ridden teens this side of planet Spectra? The BotP Lunchbox (left) features some REALLY nice artwork all over it. (it's even got ZOLTAR on the flip side!!!!) The Thermos (center) has a nice little collage too with Mark up front and the Phoenix whizzing by in the background! Whitman made the nice Frametray Puzzle pictured far right. It features 12 peices and above average artwork.
