Battlestar Galactica – Trendmasters

Battlestar Galactica
1996 (Trendmasters)

Battlestar Galactica aired episodes on the ABC network from 1978 until 1980, with the last toys being released in 1979. With no new television or movies on the horizon, interest in the series simply faded over time. That is, until Richard Hatch decided to bring Battlestar Galactica back in the form of a new comic book series by Realm Press. In 1996, Trendmasters took a chance on new Battlestar Galactica toys which were based on the revived comic series with a small line of new items. The line didn’t last very long and was cancelled before the end of the year.

For more information about Trendmasters Battlestar Galactica line, see bottom of the page for a complete summary.

Battlestar Galactica (1996): Basic Figures

Trendmasters released four basic 6 inch figures in 1996, with the Cylon Centurion, Cylon Commander, Imperious Leader and Starbuck. While the Cylons appeared pretty much unchanged, Imperious Leader and Starbuck were different interpretations of the characters based on their new comic book appearances.

Cylon Centurion

Market Value:
Carded $20 – $30
Loose $7 – $12

Cylon Centurion
Accessories: Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, Short Sword, Light-Up Visor
Years Released: 1996
Scarcity Factor: Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: The Cylon Centurion figure was produced in a silver chrome color, and featured the classic version of the dreaded Cylons. They were the foot soldiers and pilots for the evil Alliance Military. Despite similarities to Star Wars’ Stormtroopers, the Cylons held their own as an iconic character. Fun Fact: Ralph McQuarrie designed both the Stormtroopers and Cylons. The figure included a Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, Short Sword, and Light-Up Visor.

Cylon Commander

Market Value:
Carded $20 – $30
Loose $7 – $12

Cylon Commander
Accessories: Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, Short Sword, Light-Up Visor
Years Released: 1996
Scarcity Factor: Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: The Cylon Commander figure was essentially the same as the Centurion version, but was painted in a toned gold color. They acted as the military commanders for the Cylons and their evil Alliance Military. The figure included two weapons, a short sword and laser blaster, along with a display stand. The figure included Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, Short Sword, and a Light-Up Visor.

Imperious Leader

Market Value:
Carded $10 – $17
Loose $3 – $5

Imperious Leader
Accessories: Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, Mask of Pain
Years Released: 1996
Scarcity Factor: Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: Imperious Leader was the supreme authority of the Cylon Empire and was prominently featured in the original movie. However, this figure was not that version, but rather a version based on a short lived comic series in the mid 90’s by Ricard Hatch. The figure included his Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, and Mask of Pain.

Starbuck

Market Value:
Carded $10 – $17
Loose $3 – $5

Starbuck
Accessories: Firing Missile Blaster x 2, Missiles x 2, Colonial Blaster, Battle Blade
Years Released: 1996
Scarcity Factor: Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: Lieutenant Starbuck was the fan favorite Colonial Viper pilot portrayed by Dirk Benedict on the series. However, this figure was not that version, but rather a version based on a short lived comic series in the mid 90’s by Ricard Hatch. The figure included his Firing Missile Blaster x 2, Missiles x 2, Colonial Blaster, and Battle Blade.

Battlestar Galactica (1996): Talking Figures

Trendmasters released four basic 6 inch figures in 1996, with the Cylon Centurion, Cylon Commander, Imperious Leader and Starbuck. While the Cylons appeared pretty much unchanged, Imperious Leader and Starbuck were different interpretations of the characters based on their new comic book appearances. Those same figures were also released in a new talking format. Each figure came with a built in voice box with a chest button that would activate the unique sounds for each one.

Cylon Centurion

Market Value:
Boxed $25 – $40
Loose $7 – $12

Cylon Centurion
Accessories: Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, Light-Up Visor, Humanoid Voice Encoder
Years Released: 1996
Scarcity Factor: Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: The Cylon Centurion figure was produced in a silver chrome color, and featured the classic version of the dreaded Cylons. They were the foot soldiers and pilots for the Cylon Empire. Despite similarities to Star Wars’ Stormtroopers, the Cylons held their own as an iconic character. The figure included a Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, Short Sword, and Light-Up Visor.

Cylon Commander

Market Value:
Boxed $25 – $40
Loose $7 – $12

Cylon Commander
Accessories: Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, Light-Up Visor, Humanoid Voice Encoder
Years Released: 1996
Scarcity Factor: Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: The Cylon Commander figure was essentially the same as the Centurion version, but was painted in a toned gold color. They acted as the military commanders for the Cylons and their evil Alliance Military. The figure included two weapons, a short sword and laser blaster, along with a display stand. The figure included Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, Short Sword, and a Light-Up Visor.

Imperious Leader

Market Value:
Boxed $12 – $20
Loose $4 – $7

Imperious Leader
Accessories: Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, Mask of Pain, Humanoid Voice Encoder
Years Released: 1996
Scarcity Factor: Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: Imperious Leader was the supreme authority of the Cylon Empire and was prominently featured in the original movie. However, this figure was not that version, but rather a version based on a short lived comic series in the mid 90’s by Ricard Hatch. The figure included his Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, and Mask of Pain.

Starbuck

Market Value:
Boxed $12 – $20
Loose $4 – $7

Starbuck
Accessories: Firing Missile Blaster x 2, Missiles x 2, Colonial Blaster, Battle Blade, Viper Helmet
Years Released: 1996
Scarcity Factor: Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: Lieutenant Starbuck was the fan favorite Colonial Viper pilot portrayed by Dirk Benedict on the series. However, this figure was not that version, but rather a version based on a short lived comic series in the mid 90’s by Ricard Hatch. The figure included his Firing Missile Blaster x 2, Missiles x 2, Colonial Blaster, and Battle Blade.

Battlestar Galactica (1996): Exclusive Figures

Trendmasters released only one exclusive figure for their Battlestar Galactica figures in 1996, with the Stealth Cylon Centurion. The figure came with a button that would activate his light-up visor and was an exclusive to the Hangar 18 online site.

Cylon Centurion (Stealth) (Hangar 18 Exclusive)

Market Value:
Carded $22 – $35
Loose $8 – $15

Cylon Centurion (Stealth) (Hangar 18 Exclusive)
Accessories: Double Firing Missile Blaster, Missiles x 2, Light-Up Visor
Years Released: 1996
Scarcity Factor: Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: This Cylon Centurion exclusive figure was produced in a stealth black tone, and came from the same basic mold as the Cylon Centurion and Commander figures. This figure was an exclusive to the Hangar 18 online store, and limited to 5,000 pieces. The figure included a Double Firing Missile Blaster, along with two additional red missiles.

Battlestar Galactica (1996): Playsets

Trendmasters did not release any playsets for their Battlestar Galactica action figure line.

Battlestar Galactica (1996): Vehicles

Trendmasters released versions of the Colonial Viper and Cylon Raider as part of their Battlestar Galactica line. The ships were not scaled with the figures, but still had some pretty nifty features like firing torpedoes, and lights and sounds.

Colonial Viper

Market Value:
Boxed $50 – $75
Loose $20 – $30

Colonial Viper
Accessories: Removable Starbuck, 4 Laser Torpedoes
Years Released: 1996
Scarcity Factor: Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: There are certainly similarities from the Colonial Viper to Star Wars’ X-Wing Fighter, but the Viper definitely holds its own as a unique ship from Battlestar Galactica. The ship came with battle sounds, landing lights, turbo lasers, ultra light drive capability, four firing torpedoes and a removable Starbuck pilot.

Cylon Raider

Market Value:
Boxed $50 – $75
Loose $20 – $30

Cylon Raider
Accessories: Removable Cylon, 6 Laser Torpedoes
Years Released: 1996
Scarcity Factor: Easily found on the secondary market
Notes: The Cylon Raider was distinguishable by its unique shape and markings. The Raider came with battle system sounds, landing gear, engine lights, six firing laser torpedoes, cockpit light module, retractable wings, Wing-mounted turbo lasers and a removable Cylon pilot.

Battlestar Galactica aired episodes on the ABC network from 1978 until 1980, with the last toys being released in 1979. With no new television or movies on the horizon, interest in the series simply faded over time. That is, until Richard Hatch decided to bring Battlestar Galactica back in the form of a new comic book series by Realm Press. In 1996, Trendmasters took a chance on new Battlestar Galactica toys which were based on the revived comic series with a small line of new items. This was during a period when Trendmasters was grabbing up several different toy licenses, like Godzilla, Independence Day, Lost in Space, and Mars Attacks. Their Battlestar Galactica line didn’t last very long and was cancelled before the end of the year.

The Trendmasters line of Battlestar Galactica products included a mix of 6 inch action figures and iconic ships featured in the re-imagined comic book series from Realm Press. Four figures were released, that included Cylon Centurion, Cylon Commander, Imperious Leader and Starbuck. These same figures were also released in a box packaged version and billed as “Talking Figures”. These talking figures had built-in voice boxed with unique phrases to each. The two released ships were the Colonial Viper and Cylon Raider. The ships were actually nicely done with some fun features on them. Additional items were planned for additional waves but never made it to production due to slow sales and a general lack of interest in the line.

The packaging for the Trendmasters line of Battlestar Galactica figures was certainly not bad, and maybe even a little eye catching. It was done in a blue sci-fi style, with a Cylon on the top left of the package and a Colonial Viper/Cylon Raider dog fight on the upper right. The carded figures the character name across the bottom of the bubble and the iconic Battlestar Galactica logo across the top of the card. The boxed talking figures were not as attractive to say the least. They used the same Cylon and ship dog fight design, but with a lot more bubble space for the accessories. This created a lot of empty space on the box package. This line wasn’t very well received and came to a quick end by the end of the year.