The Home for Odd, Ugly and Neglected Toys

Take me to your Imperious Leader.

Take me to your Imperious Leader.

So, here it is – Part 2 of my toy-finds at the Greater York Toy Extravaganza. Let’s keep it simple and just itemize what makes this toy so weird.

Ready?

(Click to enlarge)
Imperial Leader of Battlestar Galactica

1. Freaky alien fish face

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Imperial Leader of Battlestar Galactica

2. Big, purple, 70s afro

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Imperial Leader of Battlestar Galactica

3. Flippers for hands

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Imperial Leader of Battlestar Galactica

4. Weird, split, flippery things for feet

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Imperial Leader of Battlestar Galactica

5. Weird, cracking neck thing

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Imperial Leader of Battlestar Galactica

6. And she’s completely nude (I’m calling her “she,” because she’s pink, dainty and just kind of girly looking.)

She actually looks like a crabby, old, alien grandma.

I saw this little gal at a guy’s booth. And I literally exclaimed to the guy, “What the hell is this thing, and how much is it?!” The guy kindly rejected my enthusiasm with a slight shrug of his shoulders, walked over to his buddy, mumbled with him a bit, came back over and simply told me, “It’s from Battlestar Galactica and it’s $5.”

(Click to enlarge)
Imperial Leader of Battlestar Galactica

So what do you think? Worth the five bucks? I dunno. It’s a bit run down and scraped-up. I’d usually pay one or two bucks for something like this, but I guess I was eager to buy since I’d never seen it before. I have since tried to convince myself that the wear-and-tear of the toy gives it more “character.” Who am I kidding? I could’ve gotten this toy MOC (that’s mint-on-card for all you non-dorky types) for $10 probably.

Well, it didn’t take long, but I did find more info about the toy. It’s Imperious Leader from the Battlestar Galactica toyline released by Mattel in 1978.

Imperial Leader of Battlestar Galactica

Looks like I’m missing the cape/shroud thingy.

Wow! With the blanket accessory, the alien grandma look is complete. You know how cold grandma is all the time. Maybe we need to get her a Snuggie, so she can drink tea and stay warm at the same time.

Ya know… now that I think about it, maybe the nude alien is best. That way we get to see all the hidden freakiness.

I never really watched Battlestar Galactica (classic or modern era) or cared about any of the toys, so I’m not really familiar with this character or what her role is in the show. I guess she’s a bad guy. Probably the leader of the Cylons. The description on the package actually reads: “Sinister mastermind from the TV Space Saga!” But how imperious of a leader or sinister of a mastermind could you possibly be if you have no opposable thumbs or even sleeves to let your flippers out?

Imperial Leader as Rick James

Oh, and one last thing.

Is it just me, or does that hairstyle look like it’s really inspired by Jheri Curl? Classic.

Buy Imperious Leader toys on eBay!


13 Responses

  1. Jason says:

    first reaction:
    Holy crap.
    What the heck?
    Freaky!
    I want it!

    now see if you can find anymore naked Battle Star Galactica figures.

  2. Jerom says:

    “She” has a mushroom-snail head… Very disturbing!

  3. Chris Pitzer says:

    I think I have that figure stashed in a Captain Power lunchbox somewhere.

  4. J Chris says:

    I love him and that green guy. Those guys and Daggit are some great old school action figs.

  5. Justin says:

    @ Jason – Glad you like. I’ll do my best to find more nude battlestar figures.

    @ Jerom – Yeah. Freaky. I know it’s a “he,” but I don’t care.

    @ Chris Pitzer – Captain Power? You should be ashamed 😉

    @ J Chris – Yeah, I like the green guy too. I’ve seen Daggit a lot over the years. Something about it doesn’t interest me. Not sure why.

  6. BubbaShelby says:

    I remember this pink grandmother frog. A neighbor kid had all the Battlestar Galactica figures when I was a wee lad.

    The green guy with four arms was hands down (haha get it?) the best. Lucifer was pretty cool too.

  7. Mittens says:

    horrifying.

  8. Steve says:

    I used to have one of those and one of the green guys with 4 arms, they were the only 2 galactica figures I had.

  9. Justin says:

    @ BubbaShelby – Yeah. The green guy is pretty cool.

    @ Mittens – Definitely

    @ Steve – I definitely think you had the best figures of the set.

  10. i just found your blog. I am in love with it. that is all.

  11. Justin says:

    Thanks, surfing pizza. It’s in love with you too.

  12. Finklemass says:

    I remember picking this one out at the toy store as a kid for all the reasons you did. I remember immediately ditching the purple poncho so that it looked a whole lot freakier. In play scenarios it would often come out of nowhere and scare the crap out of the other figures I was playing with. They would ask “Who are you?” and the answer would be silence as he/she slowly closed in. I also like him because he reminded me of the creature in “The Creeping Flesh” so he/she played a similar role when interacting with the other figures I had (mostly poor, innocent, Fisher Price ‘Adventure People’.

  13. TIM says:

    I have 2 of these in my loft!

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