Astrosniks, commonly known as Sniks, are
anthropomorphic space aliens created in 1975 by the German company
Bullyland
Bullyland AG is a German–based manufacturing company founded in 1974 and based in Spraitbach (Ostalbkreis), known worldwide as a manufacturer of hand-painted collectors' models and figurines. Bullyland has offices in New York City and Hong Kong, ...
to market collectible toys, especially plastic
figurine
A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...
s, designed with a
retro-futuristic
Retrofuturism (adjective ''retrofuturistic'' or ''retrofuture'') is a movement in the creative arts showing the influence of depictions of the future produced in an earlier era. If futurism is sometimes called a "science" bent on anticipat ...
look.
History
Astrosniks were released as several sets of figurines in Germany in the 1970s, and were then licensed to about 50 manufacturers to produce memorabilia in 1983 and 1984. One prominent outlet for Astrosnik figurines during this era was
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
, which included them in a long-running
Happy Meal
A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food Chain store#Restaurant chain, restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard b ...
promotion. The toys were usually offered as consolation prizes on the game show ''
Starcade
''Starcade'' is an American game show where contestants competed against one another by playing arcade video games. The series originally aired on WTBS from 1982 to 1983, followed by a run in syndication for the following season.
The seri ...
''.
The Snik figurines were reissued in 1999.
Books
* Astrosniks - El Heroe Snik
* Astrosniks - SNIK Contra SNIK
* Astrosniks - El Circo Snik
* Astrosniks - El Tesoro Snik
* Astrosniks in Snikville Coloring Book
* Astrosniks in Space Coloring Book
* Astrosniks Stamp Fun
* ''Junior's Day in Space: An Astrosnik Adventure'' by Melinda Luke
* ''The Quasar Caper: An Astrosnik Adventure'' by Melinda Luke {{ISBN, 0-394-86392-5
* Bully Reference Book - includes images and descriptions of Sniks characters, alongside other Bully figures produced before 1998
Audio
* ''Die Sniks: Abenteuer auf einem fremden Stern'' - Ein Hörspiel von
Wolf Orloff -
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label that started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. Fontana Distribution, an independent label distributor, takes its name from the label.
History
Fontana began in the 1950s as a subsidi ...
(Cassette: #7252 206 — Vinyl: #6434 337)
See also
*
Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (; ) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was created and introduced as a series of comic characters by ...
*
Snorks
''Snorks'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and SEPP International S.A. in collaboration with 3M France and ran for a total of 4 seasons, consisting of a pilot episode and 65 episodes (108 segments), on N ...
References
Toy figurines