Adventure 2000, Raider Command; Metal & Plastic, English, Lesney, 1977

Boxed toy space vehicle with accessories. The vehicle consists of two sections made from die-cast metal, painted pale green, with black and transparent orange plastic parts. The forward section is wheeled and roughly streamlined, with a tapering front. A spade is cast on its left side. The rear section has caterpillar tracks and a missile launcher on top. The front section fits into the rear section and clips into place, it can be ejected using a button at the back.

With the vehicle are three red plastic missiles which can be shot from the launcher on top of the rear section. There are also three grey plastic astronauts: two are armed with space rifles, one wears a cape and is armed with a pistol.

The box is of printed card with a transparent front, inside is printed card packaging to keep the toys in place. The box and packaging are printed with images of extraterrestrial planetary surfaces and artist's impressions of the Raider Command vehicle. On the back of the box are images of the vehicle and notes annotating its various features. On the underside are shown other vehicles from the Adventure 2000 series. The astronaut figures can be slid into slots in the packaging, and the vehicle can be secured inside by the action of two blue plastic clips.

Part of the Edward Castle collection.

Manufactured under Lesney's 'Matchbox' brand.

The futuristic 'Adventure 2000' line was debuted by Matchbox in 1977, it recycled several vehicles from their 'Superfast' line of the earlier 1970s. The sets were produced until about 1980, later ones being painted blue rather than green. Set in the context of an interplanetary war, the vehicles are highly detailed and imaginative. In an example of cross-promotion, the design for the Raider Command vehicle was used in a Judge Dredd story, 'The Cursed Earth', (May-October 1978) found in issues 61-85 of the acclaimed British comic book, '2000 AD'. The toy line was reciprocally advertised in the comic, and the Command Raider toy itself was offered as a competition prize.

B.44:1 to 12-2016