Review: Galaxy Rangers Doc Hartford

Continuing my series of unpopular toys from the 80s, I move onto the Galaxy Rangers. My childhood memories of Galaxy Rangers are extremely hazy. I can remember watching it and I can remember it had robot horses in it. That's about it.

That's likely more than most people.

Galaxy Rangers was not very successful with children. It basically bombed. The reasons for it become clear very quickly if you watch the show - the storylines are very mature. Listening to the commentary tracks on the DVDs, the creators are very proud of their show. They're especially proud of not having any gimmicky catchphrases such as 'ThunderCats-Hoooo!' being shouted all the time. It seems, even 20-odd years on, not to have occurred to them that ThunderCats (and it's catchphrases) was incredibly popular with children, whereas Galaxy Rangers, well, wasn't. It was, however, very popular with late teens/early 20s but this doesn't really help a children's show. Galaxy Rangers was cancelled and no toys were released.

At least this was the case in America. In Europe Galaxy Rangers was more successful with children and a limited amount of toys were released. As is the case with European-only releases, the toys now command a very high price.

As a result, I have - and only ever expect to have - one figure: Doc Hartford. In the show Hartford was a computer genius who had a special implant that allowed him to control all computers. This being a little hard a feature to build into a toy, the action figure simply has a quick-draw action.

Or at least it's supposed to. One of the reasons I was able to buy Doc for a reasonably low price is because he's broken. While he does have his gun, the holster has broken at some point in his past and reglued (not completely straight) on his leg. The arm is spring-loaded and won't stay down without being held manually. There are screws in his back, so there is a chance (a small one, I'll admit) that I'll be able to take him apart and attempt a repair.

This will have to wait until a day when I'm feeling very brave.

In addition, as can be seen from the photos, Doc's chest is suffering that common ailment of white toys - yellowing.

Articulation is basic - 5 points at the head, arms & legs - as was standard at the time so I wasn't expecting anything more. The likeness is, in my opinion, very good.

There are few people who remember Galaxy Rangers, but those who do remember it fondly. If you ever happen to stumble across some of the toys going for anything under £50 it would be well worth considering opening your wallet. There may be a profit to be made.