Why are Galaxy Rangers toys expensive?

If you’re a fan of ‘80s cartoon series, The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, raise your hand.

Keep your hand up if you would love to own a full set of the original toys, released in 1986 to coincide with the series.

Now keep your hand up if you own a full set of the toys.

Anyone?

Yeah, the truth is, you’ll be hard pressed to find many people who own a full set of the Galaxy Rangers toys. And in this post, I’m going to discuss why.

But first…

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What is The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers?

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers is a short-lived animated series, which hit TV screens in 1986. The series – a sci-fi Western – ran for one season comprising 65 episodes and focused on a team of law enforcement officers, with enhanced abilities.

The main characters in The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers were Zachary Foxx, Shane ‘Goose’ Gooseman, Doc Hartford and Niko. Villains included The Queen of the Crown, the Scarecrow, and Nimrod.

If you have never watched The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (not even one single episode), then I recommend you check out my posts: The 13 best episodes of The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers and The best Galaxy Rangers villains. These posts will give you a flavour of what to expect.

OK, so that’s the cartoon – now let’s talk toys.

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The full set of Galaxy Rangers toys

As noted above, in 1986 a set of Galaxy Rangers toys were released to tie into the series. The toys were produced by Galoob and included six action figures, three horses (remember, the cartoon was a Western), two accessory/playsets, and two guns.

The collection broke down as follows:

• Figures: Zachary Foxx, Goose, Doc, Captain Kidd, The Queen of the Crown, and Lazarus Slade
• Horses: Mel, Triton, and Z-100
• Playsets/accessories: 2 x Zap Pack playsets
• Guns: Light & sound blaster, and a six-shooter pump-action water blaster

Beyond this wave of figures/playsets, no further Galaxy Rangers toys were produced. The line – just like the cartoon series – ended pretty quickly.

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Are the toys easy to come by?

From the time the Galaxy Rangers toys first hit shelves, through to today, I have only ever seen five of the figures out in the wild, and maybe two of the horses. And I’m saying this as a toy collector who goes to toy fairs/flea markets, who owned a Goose figure fresh out of the store back in ‘86, and who looks out for Galaxy Rangers toys wherever he goes.

On eBay/online I have come across the sixth figure, as well as one of the playsets/accessories, but both command high prices and are far too expensive for my meagre income.

To date, I own one Galaxy Ranger figure. But it’s not the Goose figure I owned as a kid – I foolishly gave him away when I became a teen. Instead it is this guy: Doc Hartford.

I picked Doc Hartford up at a toy fair back in 2019. And while I would love to obtain some of his buddies, to keep him company, he remains the only Galaxy Ranger I have in my toy collection.

I haven’t purchased any further figures (yet) because a.) Galaxy Rangers toys are expensive and/or b.) Galaxy Rangers toys are hard to come by.

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Why are Galaxy Rangers toys so expensive?

There are a number of reasons why the Galaxy Rangers toys are expensive. Let’s deal with the most obvious one first: Popularity.

Despite a cult following today, the show wasn’t a huge hit like many other ‘80s cartoons. The show didn’t stick around that long and that meant kids didn’t care about the toys that much either. 

Case in point: I liked the show when I was a kid, and I owned a Goose figure, but I didn’t get any more of the toys. There were so many other cartoons/toys vying for my attention, that Galaxy Rangers fell by the wayside.

The Galaxy Rangers toys simply weren’t that popular back in the day. However, nowadays, collectors find them cool (they are) and this means their popularity has done a 180!

Another reason they are expensive is due to availability. Galaxy Rangers toys are hard to come by because they weren’t so readily available back in the late ‘80s.

Transformers were everywhere, as were ThunderCats, Masters of the Universe, My Little Pony, and G.I. Joe (aka Action Force for us Brits), but Galaxy Rangers weren’t. The toys were not so easy to find and that means they are harder to find today.

Of the toys that are available today (via the secondary market), few of them are around and even fewer are in packaging. The toys that are in packaging are of course worth a pretty penny.

From what I have seen, most figures that are available today are loose (i.e. unboxed) and not always complete. And this is another reason why they command big prices – it’s getting increasingly more difficult to find figures that are complete, with all their accessories.

The three Rangers came with a gun, a Stetson, and a replica badge (for kids to wear). The villains also came with weapons, as well as cloaks. All of these items were easy to lose down the back of the sofa – especially the Rangers’ Stetsons – so many haven’t survived to present day.

Then, on top of all the above, a number of the figures suffered the usual wear-and-tear of toys from this era. Some figures got bashed up, others faded in the sun, and some lost vital body parts.

Of course, if you have one or all of the Galaxy Rangers toys, the toys are boxed, and those boxes are in good condition, then you are sitting on a nice little earner. The Galaxy Rangers toys are becoming harder to find, and they have continued to increase prices.

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What is the most expensive Galaxy Rangers toy?

All of the Galaxy Rangers toys sell for good prices. Loose figures (even with missing accessories) sell for between £40 – £50+.

As a general rule of thumb, Goose is a popular Ranger, so his action figure is also popular. While the villains are a little harder to come by, and are therefore also more sought after.

Of the figures, The Queen of the Crown commands they highest price. She is the hardest to find – so get checking your attic, just in case you have one knocking around.

The horses, guns, and playsets are the rarest toys.

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I hope this post about Galaxy Rangers toys has proved useful. For more Galaxy Rangers content, check out the highlighted links in this post.

And for more posts, be sure to take a look at the recommended reads below.

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