It was a few months before Christmas of 1977 when I first saw Mattel’s Eagles I from the hit show Space: 1999 at a local store called Zody’s. I could not believe my 10-year-old eyes.  It was enormous, and it looked just like the actual ship from the show.  

But then I saw the price tag: $12.99! (In today’s dollars that’s about $38,000! Or something close to that). By 10, the big secret of my parents actually being Santa was well known to me.  And the fact that I had four other siblings who would probably be asking for high dollar gifts was slowly diminishing the chances of me even possibly hoping I would be able to ask for the toy of the century.

I came up with an ingenious idea of only requesting one gift for Christmas.  And that gift would be the Eagle! As destiny would have it, my plot would be successful. I’ll never forget that Christmas.  

Unwrapping the Eagle and just admiring the graphics and schematics on the box was half the fun.  It would remain my favorite toy for years.  Eventually, my little brother would get a hold of it and break it.  As years went, I never forgot that toy and wondered if I would ever be able to find one again. When eBay invaded the public consciousness, I thought, ‘What the heck?!’ I typed in Mattel Eagle I Space: 1999 and BOOM!!  

Long story short, I now own 15 Mattel Eagles. Yes, 15.  Why, you might ask yourself? Because the Eagle was and is one of the greatest sci-fi ships ever created, and one of the the most awesome parts of my childhood.