OTTAWA, OH — Two scarce Mattel action figures from the short-lived BraveStarr animated ‘space western’ series for children beat their expectations August 27 at Vintage Auctions. Complete results for the Childhood Unleashed auction are now available at LiveAuctioneers.

Created by legendary animation studio Filmation and Mattel, Bravestarr was a Western set in space on a desert planet named New Texas, where prospectors searching for ‘kerium’ tangled with outlaws and law enforcement. Marshall BraveStarr was the title character, facing off against outlaws such as Tex Hex, a magic power-equipped villain who had originally been designed for Filmation’s Ghostbusters animated series, but was pulled and repositioned for BraveStarr.

The Mattel line sold well but the initial 65-episode order for syndication was not repeated, so a planned second line of toys was shelved. The sale included two boxed examples dating to 1986 (interestingly, the syndicated shows would not air until 1987). Marshall BraveStarr and Thirty/Thirty, his robotic horse, were rare-to-market examples from this forgotten series. Thirty/Thirty carried a $150-$300 estimate, while BraveStarr followed with $100-$200. In the end, the horse hammered for $470 ($552 with buyer’s premium) and the action figure went for $270 ($317 with buyer’s premium).