Wandering Planets Toys co-founders Gavin Hignight and Chris “Doc” Wyatt have made names for themselves in the craftsmanship and genuine affection for the action figures they bring to consumers’ hands. From toys based on Nancy Drew, The Prisoner, Kolchak the Night Stalker, and so many more, the quality and care the duo have for their work is on display again and again.
Now the team has created a brand-new project that’s blasting off to new heights: The Planetoid Raiders! A line of retro-style, space-inspired action figures that harken back to the bombastic, colorful toys of the 1960s and 1970s, the Planetoid Raiders is now funding on Kickstarter, with its funding goal met and two days left in the campaign as of press time.
I spoke with Gavin Hignight and Chris “Doc” Wyatt recently about the creation of the Planetoid Raiders, the Kickstarter campaign itself, what spurred them to focus on this project, and the sweetness, fun, and craftsmanship behind these so-called “knock-offs.” This interview and this line of figures transported me back to a place and time in my life where these toys held a special place in my heart, and many of you will feel the same way. Read on!
FreakSugar: Before we get into the Kickstarter, what can tell us about the genesis of the Planetoid Raiders?
Gavin Hignight: Both of us, Doc and I, are avid toy collectors, and feel down a sort of rabbit hole/wormhole about the classic vintage Starroid Raiders action figures. Amazing and rare action figures from the late 70s/early 80s. They inspired us, making us want to make something as a sort of homage to that time and aesthetic.
Chris “Doc” Wyatt: At least, that’s what we think happened. It is possible that, in our deepest sleep, cosmic communications invaded our brain via dark matter radiation, which then INCEPTED in us the idea, leading us to believe we thought it up organically. It is possible that this is all part of the Universe’s plan. No way to prove otherwise.
FS: Did you own any of the Star Wars-knockoff action figures? I know I owned a few.
GH: The only KO Star Wars item or space themed generic toy of the era I really have strong memories of is the SONIC PHASER. It was a Stormtrooper-like kids roleplay blaster toy that could make different sounds. I loved that toy and destroyed it having adventures in the backyard and in the neighborhood. Also… don’t be surprised if one of the Planetoid Raiders comes with a scale version of that iconic space gun.
CDW: I didn’t have any Tomland Toys as a kid, only after coming across them as an adult collector. I did have that same Sonic Phaser that Gavin is talking about, though.
FS: What can you tell us about the Planetoid Raiders figures themselves?
GH: THEY ARE SUPER FUN! Seriously, this is one of the most joy-filled projects Wandering Planet has put together. The Planetoid Raiders are like the SCI-FI SITCOM you never knew you needed. They are colorful, weird, and imaginative. They are created to not only spark nostalgia, but also inspire new stories and adventures. Did I mention they are fun? Also, details: 1/18 scale, they look good on a shelf with anything from 1/18 scale 3 ¾ action figures to Sofubu, and they live in a unique space between vintage 5pt articulation figures and modern art toys. They’ll include awesome accessories and I may be biased but think the packaging is amazing.
CDW: These Planetoid Raiders figures will NOT come to life and raid your house. No toys ever do that, and these won’t either. Trust us. It’s fine. They are NOT real little aliens. They’re just plastic. Anyone who says otherwise is mad– yes, MAD, I say.
FS: What kind of research beyond your personal experiences did you pull from in creating the Planetoid Raiders?
GH: The entire reason Doc and I have a toy company is so we can tell our wives the hours and hours spent playing with toys, looking at toys, and discussing toys is RESEARCH. We are always in action figure research mode… so it’s a blur.
CDW: But for research we did NOT go to space and get small aliens from a small alien planet to come back to earth with us and pretend to be toys. To be extra clear: We did NOT do that… These are only plastic toys. That’s all they are. Anything else you’ve heard is just a wild conspiracy theory.
FS: That theme song is a bop! Who composed it?
GH: I have to confess, we have THREE AMAZING SONGS that have been created for Planetoid Raiders… so I’m not sure which you refer to… but they are all mind blowing. And for Doc and I, working with Wordburglar, is always an amazing time. We’ve been lucky to create with him in the past… and love all his other work.
CDW: Johnathan Pushcar did our retro AD JINGLE track, elle AVA did our PLANETOIDS LOVE SONG track, and Wordburglar did our RAP track. All of them are geniuses.
FS: There’s something very charming about those knockoffs from the 1970s and 1980s. Yes, I know it was to cash in on the moment Star Wars was having, but I always thought that there’s something kind of sweet about them. What are your thoughts on that?
GH: Oh— agreed completely. It’s that charm and sweetness that attracted us to these figures a good forty years after they were created. Toys for toys sake, for fun, to play, to be imaginative, and use with your other action figures. They are very world-building and imagination stoking and we love that. They are absolutely quaint, and we hope to create that fun vibe for modern fans and collectors.
CDW: They seem sweet… until they come to live and raid your house!!!! Oh… But, I mean, these won’t do that, because they’re just plastic.
FS: On to the Kickstarter itself: What are some of the rewards available to backers?
GH: We’ve worked hard to create a campaign that everyone can participate in. From pledging for one single figure of your choice, to getting an entire set on classic cardbacks, or an entire set packed in a collectible tin lunchbox! In addition to the 8 core figures of wave one, we’ve also created a bonus line called the Arcade Raiders, which are unlocked as we hit milestones in the campaign. As of this interview three of the Arcade Raiders have been unlocked and tons of fans/backers have added them to their figure pre-orders. I am very excited that we just unlocked our fourth Raider, “Professor Cosmos.”
CDW: Professor Cosmos knows some deep secrets about the universe, but his time on the prison planet, Archting-9, where brain-worms are used to control prisoners, has left his mind shattered, and he cannot always access the great knowledge his brain holds.
FS: If you had a final pitch for the Kickstarter, what would it be?
GH: Thanks for asking… not to sound too much like a pledge drive… but WE CAN’T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU! We really can’t. Fun, niche weird toys like the Planetoid Raiders and all the other awesome figures we’ve been able to make… cannot exist without crowdfunding and amazing collectors, fans, backers coming together to pledge/pre-order and make these action figures happen with us. We’re so appreciative of the community we’ve built around us for toys, and the support we’ve seen for other lines… and it’s been fun seeing the beginning of the Planetoid Raiders community forming! JOIN US! Get your favorite space weirdo, and know that these figures will become reality because of support from early backers and collectors who support the campaign… We have TONS of fun ideas for Planetoid Raiders as a line, and hope the toy fans and collectors help us make them happen!
CDW: Here’s my pitch– we live in a world where all is madness. These toys are madness too. But a good kind. Embrace the madness.
The Kickstarter for Planetoid Raiders is fully funded! You can check out this phenomenal campaign from a team that is known for producing excellence time and again, but act quickly! Check out the link here and preorder before the Kickstarter ends TODAY, Thursday, October 16, 2026!
From the official press release about the Kickstarter:
Wandering Planet Toys has turned heads with their line of collectible action figures that celebrate the pop culture icons of yesteryear, with can’t-miss collectibles for fans of Kolchak the Night Stalker, Nancy Drew, The Prisoner, Laurel and Hardy, and even cartoonist Fletcher Hank’s cult classic character The Headless Ones. And now Wandering Planets Toys co-founders Gavin Hignight and Chris “Doc” Wyatt are teaming up once again for an all-new and entirely unexpected line of retro-style action figures, featuring the coolest, quirkiest space travelers ever known to the universe: The Planetoid Raiders! Who are these intergalactic aliens? And who (or what) are The Arcade Raiders?
Fans can find out now on the Kickstarter campaign for the PLANETOID RAIDERS! The figures in PLANETOID RAIDERS: Wave 1 will be available on retro-inspired card backs or pre-packed in a metal lunchbox-style collector’s case. Wandering Planet Toys will also be creating Planetoid Raiders baseball hats, and an 8 page “Sloog Interlude” mini-comic titled written by Chris “Doc” Wyatt with art by Chris Anderson (American Caper) available exclusively through the Kickstarter campaign.
Inspired by Kenner Toys’ 1978 Star Wars action figures, and their off-the-wall competitor Tomland Toys’ Starroid Raiders – each PLANETOID RAIDER is a lovingly designed tribute to classic scifi toys and a striking piece of contemporary art. Fans can collect each limited edition, 5-point articulated, 1:18 Scale figure on Kickstarter, including brave Captain Oton, heroic Helmsman Ryot, WarLor the Mysterious Space Traveler, the trusty rusty robot Yogun, and the rest of the team! Wandering Planet’s motley crew is ready for whatever cosmic adventures collectors can dream up.
In 1977, the year before Kenner officially licensed their classic Star Wars figures, Hong Kong-based indie toy manufacturer Tomland Toys released a wave of action figures loosely inspired by Star Wars. The Starroid Raiders were cheaper and leaner than their Kenner counterparts and could be bought in drug stores and gas stations at low cost. These figures were ugly space weirdos that definitely resembled aliens from a galaxy far far away… just maybe not the exact galaxy fans were thinking of. While many viewed these otherworldly characters as “knock-offs,” their attention-grabbing head sculpts and bright color schemes made them lovable. These misfits and underdogs of the toy box have become highly sought after by collectors around the world. Now, Wandering Planet Toys’ PLANETOID RAIDERS action figures honor Tomland Toys’ wacky tradition of retro cosmic madness. The odd space characters sport designs that look to the past, while also playing with modern design concepts that breathe new life into their retro-futuristic aesthetic.
“Starroid Raiders are great because they’re gloriously ugly space weirdos. A combination of wild imagination and nonsensical random strangeness, they were intended as cheap knock offs but managed to be so awesomely unique.” says Chris “Doc” Wyatt. “Our PLANETOID RAIDERS figures honor the imaginative history of knock off space figures, but push a modern approach, marrying outrageous design with bold colors and a retro space age aesthetic.”
By day, Chris “Doc” Wyatt and Gavin Hignight are professional writers. Fans might recognize Wyatt from he and Luke Arnold’s graphic novel series The Essentials or his work writing for LEGO Ninjago and Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85, while Hignight has written and produced animated series like Gundam: Requiem For Vengeance and Tekken: Bloodline. But their love of pop culture doesn’t stop there!
“Doc and I go way back,” says Gavin Hignight. “It’s kind of crazy. Writing for Iron Man: Armored Adventures was the beginning and creating PLANETOID RAIDERS is the current chapter! He grew up in Atlanta, I grew up in Denver, but wow did we grow up the same. We spoke the same nerd language from the beginning. Same toys, same TV shows, same joys. We can talk 4th Doctor Who episodes, well, really any Doctor episodes, and we can talk toys. That’s how it began, in writing rooms on shows, when we had downtime it was toy talk. That evolved into ‘Let’s make toys’ talk, and that has evolved into ‘Everyone in the known galaxy needs PLANETOID RAIDERS in their life, how do we make this happen?’ talk. SO yes, there is a synergy! In toys, on screens or as fans. Also, he has the uncanny ability to tolerate my madness which is no short order and much appreciated.”
BUT WAIT… WHO ARE THE PLANETOID RAIDERS?
NAME: OTON
POSITION: Captain of the Planetoid Raiders
HOME PLANET: Ontaria
FUN FACT: Otan is not sure exactly what captains are supposed to do.
NAME: RYOT
POSITION: Helmsman (and former space racer)
HOME PLANET: Kaaldor
FUN FACT: The others have no idea, but Ryot’s long since disabled the ship engine’s
safety features.
NAME: BUZZ
POSITION: First Mate of the Planetoid Raiders
HOME PLANET: Also called “Buzz”
FUN FACT: Buzz is on all the apps.
NAME: SNATOON
POSITION: Celestial Cartographer for the Planetoid Raiders
HOME PLANET: Stanoonian Planetoid
FUN FACT: Snatoon doesn’t like your new haircut.
NAME: SLOOG
POSITION: Security Officer for the Planetoid Raiders
HOME PLANET: (too hard to pronounce) but translates to Slime World
FUN FACT: Sloog plays jazz on the sax when no one is looking.
NAME: Warlor
POSITION: Mysterious Space Traveler
HOME PLANET: Unknown
FUN FACT: One day Warlor will either save us or kill us all…
NAME: Yogun
POSITION: The Computational Rapid Assessment Processor robot
HOME PLANET: None
FUN FACT: Highly intelligent, yet somehow also very stupid
The PLANETOID RAIDERS don’t ride alone! Wandering Planet is also introducing fans to the all-new ARCADE RAIDERS, which will come bagged with a hang tag, like Japanese sofubi figures. Retro arcade cabinet blind box packaging will be available as a stretch goal after the campaign raises $65k. The PLANETOID RAIDERS Kickstarter campaign will launch with a single Arcade Raider available as an add on, and for each funding milestone raised above the funding goal, backers will unlock additional Arcade Raiders that will be made available as a new add-on option to everyone!
“Starroid Raiders are everything that is magic about toy collecting to me.” adds Hignight “The vibe, the memories and visions they evoke. These are toys for toys’ sake. They possess an element of time travel for me. They take me back to being a kid, when the universe we lived in was so large and grand and beautiful, when ideas, daydreams and hope were limitless. Just being that small kid, in the toy aisle, looking at the bright colors and rayguns, laser swords, the different shaped alien heads and space themed card art. These were and are toys that fire up the imagination. It’s no wonder, decades later, toy collectors like us seek them out, searching for their magic, They are artifacts of a different time for so many of us, and we respectively hope to spark up those good feelings, good times, and bring wacky characters like these to new generations and to those who never had a chance to experience the fun of the originals.”
Fans can support the PLANETOID RAIDERS on Kickstarter now. Don’t miss Wandering Planet Toys’ new YouTube Channel, and be sure to follow Wandering Planet Toys on X, Bluesky, Instagram, and Facebook for more updates.
