10 classic 'Star Trek' toys that had absolutely nothing to do with the show

Who could forget that classic 'Star Trek' episode with the… space helicopter?

Star Wars was a seismic event in pop culture, but the 1977 movie perhaps has a more profound effect on the toy industry than the movie biz. Up until that point, popular films and TV shows might offer a tie-in doll, or perhaps a little toy car. But when Kenner launched its expansive line of action figures and playsets, suddenly a hit film needed dozens of little plastic figures, true-to-the-movie ships, miniature replicas of the sets, carrying cases, so on and so forth.

Heck, in the 1960s, tie-in toys didn't even have to resemble the franchise at all. Take Star Trek for example. Remco, a New Jersey toy company that had been around for a couple decades, produced a line of Star Trek toys around when the series originally aired. Quite blatantly, Remco simply took existing molds and models and slapped "Star Trek" stickers on the side. Green army men? Why not just make them red? That's kind of the like Redshirts on Star Trek, right?

Remco also cranked out licensed toys for the Beatles, Batman and Lost in Space. But the Star Trek toys stick out for their sheer silliness in relation to the show — in that they had no relation to the show. Take a look.

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1. Rocket Pistol

This blaster bears some resemblance to the one carried by Han Solo. Trek was not so into the heavy arms, outside of the briefly used Phaser Rifle. This looked nothing like the Phasers carried by the Enterprise crew, but it did shoot a fat yellow dart.

Image: Hakes

2. Spock Helmet

Not even "Spock's Brain" looked this ridiculous. Is his head supposed to be a police siren? An alarm? This product was not from Remco, rather from a competitor called the Enco Company. The two toymakers had rival helmets on the store shelves…

Image: Vintage Toy Archive

3. Astro-Helmet

Okay, the Spock Helmet is starting to look a little more on-brand now. This bug-eyed cap looks more like a Sleestak from Land of the Lost.

Image: Vintage Toy Archive

4. Astrocopter

Psst… helicopters don't work in space. They need an atmosph… ah, who cares, right? Kids'll love it. Is that Andy Griffith piloting the thing? It also came with three red army men.

Image: Hakes Americana and Collectibles

5. Mighty Mike Astro-Train

Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a choo choo conductor.

Image: Pop Culture Safari

6. Astrocruiser

At least this war buggy has the Star Trek insignia on the hood.

Image: iCollector

7. Astrotank

Gene Roddenberry went out of his way to show a galaxy at peace, but here's a tank.

Image: iCollector

8. Sky Diving Parachutist Spock

Why beam down when you can slowly, dangerously drift to the surface?

Image: Vintage Toy Archive

9. Astro-Wrist Radios

Calling Dick Tracy… calling Dick Tracy… I lost my communicator.

Image: Plaid Stallions

10. Flying Rocket Plane

Again, we hate to spoil the fun, but that's a propellor, not a rocket. If you look very, very closely, in the Brady Bunch episode "Kitty-Karry-All Is Missing," this toy can be spotted on a shelf behind the store clerk in the toy store.

Image: superunderdoggie

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13 Comments

bdettlingmetv 14 months ago
Had the Astrocopter but even as a six- or seven- year old I knew the thing wasn't really functional, and what the heck is with the red army men?
Toml_12953 28 months ago
I had a Star Trek Tracer Gun. It shot plastic disks.
Snickers 29 months ago
I was a kid back then and a hard core trek fan but I would have never wasted my money on that junk.
007BondNotJames 37 months ago
Believe it or not, the "Star Trek Helmet" has been made canon, with an appearance in Star Trek: Lower Decks!
HerbF 46 months ago
The wrist radios predate by several years the similar idea for wrist communicators seen in The Movies Star Trek:TMP and Star Trek 2:The Wrath of Khan. Although in ST2 they brought back & updated the classic "flip-style hand held" communicators which eventually replaced the wrist communicators for the next 4 films.
sandman 46 months ago
Trust me even as a kid I wasn’t fooled!
Lacey 56 months ago
You forgot the Star Trek Tracer Guns that shot the plastic discs. They came in both pistol and rifle configurations.
Wiseguy Lacey 54 months ago
I had one of those. For years afterward I would come across one of those plastic discs. I also bought another pistol years later after the Star Trek name was no longer on it.
Mockschnel 61 months ago
All of these were originally produced for failed toy lines, including the Monkey Division and Hamilton's Raiders but were rebranded with Star Trek labels to get a little more life out of them.

PS - the "rocket gun" toy was retooled slightly and used as an actual prop on the first season of Lost in Space . .

Fred_Clampett 62 months ago
Lack of good toys and action figures has been cited as a big reason why Star Trek has lost out to Star Wars.
Wiseguy Fred_Clampett 54 months ago
Whoever said Star Trek lost anything to Star Wars? And, if any decision would be made, it would be based on the product itself not anything so irrelevant as toys.
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