Astrosnik
Encyclopedia
Astrosniks, called Sniks for short, are fiction
al characters created by the German
company named Bullyland
in 1975. Astrosniks toys are highly collectible
, especially the plastic
figurine
s.
(most have two, but Galaxo has only one) and prominent buckteeth
. There is a notable racial diversity; although most Sniks have green
skin
(with yellow
or orange
hair
), some are orange (with yellow hair), black
(with silver
hair), pink
, or blue
skin.
A subspecies of Astrosniks, Marsmen Sniks (also known as Walkman Sniks), do not have any arms or visible noses. They too have a wide range of skin tones: blue, orange, red, yellow, green, black, and white.
Sniks are frequently described as happy, lovable, and friendly. They are said to be eager to learn
and "they always take time to play, to be funny, and to enjoy life and friendships". Sniks are called "friends of mankind", but the nature and extent of their interaction with human
s has not been revealed.
Astrosnik transportation includes dune buggies
, rocket
s, and flying saucer
s. Their design has a retro-futuristic
look.
, "Sniklish". They possess space travel
, as well time travel
technology.
The Sniks originate on the planetoid Snikeria, which is close in size to Ceres
, Pallas
, and Vesta
. This means Snikeria is between 469 and 950 km in diameter. The planetoid is mobile, and powered by the mysterious "quasar-force". Millions of years ago, it was moved to the Sol System
, where it settled into orbit behind Mars
; it is permanently occulted
by the planet and not visible from Earth
.
In time, Snikeria became overpopulated
. So, many Sniks slowly immigrated
to Mars, and developed a subterranean system of paths
and supply lines. Besides a Head Office of administration, other important locations include store rooms and lecture halls.
in the 1970s, the Astrosniks were licensed to about 50 manufacturers to produce memorabilia in 1983 and 1984. One prominent outlet for Astrosnik figurines during this era was McDonald's
, which issued the toys as a part of a long-running Happy Meal
promotion (List of Happy Meal toys). The toys were usually offered as consolation prizes on the game show Starcade
.
The Snik figurines were reissued in 1999.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al characters created by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
company named Bullyland
Bullyland
Bullyland AG is a manufacturing company founded in 1974 and based in Spraitbach, Germany, known worldwide as a manufacturer of hand-painted collectors' models and figurines...
in 1975. Astrosniks toys are highly collectible
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
, especially the plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
figurine
Figurine
A figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay...
s.
Anatomy and culture
A Snik is about 5 to 6 cm (2" to 2.5") high, and possesses enormous strength and intelligence. They have antennaeAntenna (biology)
Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....
(most have two, but Galaxo has only one) and prominent buckteeth
Tooth
Teeth are small, calcified, whitish structures found in the jaws of many vertebrates that are used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores, also use teeth for hunting or for defensive purposes. The roots of teeth are embedded in the Mandible bone or the Maxillary bone and are...
. There is a notable racial diversity; although most Sniks have green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
(with yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
or orange
Orange (colour)
The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 585–620 nm, and has a hue of 30° in HSV colour space. It is numerically halfway between red and yellow in a gamma-compressed RGB colour space, the expression of which is the RGB colour wheel. The...
hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
), some are orange (with yellow hair), black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
(with silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
hair), pink
Pink
Pink is a mixture of red and white. Commonly used for Valentine's Day and Easter, pink is sometimes referred to as "the color of love." The use of the word for the color known today as pink was first recorded in the late 17th century....
, or blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
skin.
A subspecies of Astrosniks, Marsmen Sniks (also known as Walkman Sniks), do not have any arms or visible noses. They too have a wide range of skin tones: blue, orange, red, yellow, green, black, and white.
Sniks are frequently described as happy, lovable, and friendly. They are said to be eager to learn
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and "they always take time to play, to be funny, and to enjoy life and friendships". Sniks are called "friends of mankind", but the nature and extent of their interaction with human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s has not been revealed.
Astrosnik transportation includes dune buggies
Dune buggy
A dune buggy is a recreational vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes or beaches. The design is usually a modified vehicle and engine mounted on an open chassis. The modifications usually attempt to increase the power-to-weight ratio by either lightening the...
, rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s, and flying saucer
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
s. Their design has a retro-futuristic
Retro-futurism
Retro-futurism is a trend in the creative arts showing the influence of depictions of the future produced prior to about 1960...
look.
Backstory
The Astrosniks have an ancient culture is said to have developed rapidly due to their communication system called "Sniknet", which is not to be confused with their languageLanguage
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
, "Sniklish". They possess space travel
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
, as well time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
technology.
The Sniks originate on the planetoid Snikeria, which is close in size to Ceres
1 Ceres
Ceres, formally 1 Ceres, is the smallest identified dwarf planet in the Solar System and the only one in the asteroid belt. With a diameter of about 950 km, Ceres is by far the largest and most-massive asteroid, comprising about a third of the mass of the asteroid belt. Discovered on 1 January 1801...
, Pallas
2 Pallas
Pallas, formally designated 2 Pallas, is the second asteroid to have been discovered , and one of the largest. It is estimated to constitute 7% of the mass of the asteroid belt, and its diameter of 530–565 km is comparable to, or slightly larger than, that of 4 Vesta. It is however 20%...
, and Vesta
4 Vesta
Vesta, formally designated 4 Vesta, is one of the largest asteroids, with a mean diameter of about . It was discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers on March 29, 1807, and is named after the Roman virgin goddess of home and hearth, Vesta....
. This means Snikeria is between 469 and 950 km in diameter. The planetoid is mobile, and powered by the mysterious "quasar-force". Millions of years ago, it was moved to the Sol System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, where it settled into orbit behind Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
; it is permanently occulted
Occultation
An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. The word is used in astronomy . It can also refer to any situation wherein an object in the foreground blocks from view an object in the background...
by the planet and not visible from Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
In time, Snikeria became overpopulated
Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
. So, many Sniks slowly immigrated
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
to Mars, and developed a subterranean system of paths
Martian canals
For a time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was erroneously believed that there were canals on Mars. These were a network of long straight lines that appeared in drawings of the planet Mars in the equatorial regions from 60° N. to 60° S. Lat., first observed by the Italian astronomer...
and supply lines. Besides a Head Office of administration, other important locations include store rooms and lecture halls.
Toys
Released as several sets of figurines in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the 1970s, the Astrosniks were 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
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, which issued the toys as a part of a long-running Happy Meal
Happy Meal
A "Happy Meal" is a meal specifically marketed at children, sold at the fast-food chain McDonald's since June 1979. A toy is typically included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a small box or paper bag with the McDonald's logo....
promotion (List of Happy Meal toys). The toys were usually offered as consolation prizes on the game show Starcade
Starcade
Starcade was a game show where contestants competed against one another by playing arcade video games. The series originally aired on WTBS from 1982–1983, followed by a run in syndication for the following season....
.
The Snik figurines were reissued in 1999.
List of Astrosniks
Airport, Astralia (female), Astro, Baby, Banner, Baseball, Bob, CB, Commander, Copter, Diogene, Drill, Frigo (snowman), Galaxo, Golf, Hockey, Jet, Jockey, Jog, Junior, Kick, Mechanic, Perfido, Potamus (dragon), Pyramido, Quick, Racing, Robo (gold robot), Scout, Ski, Space, Surf, TennisBooks
- Astrosniks and the Quasar Caper, The ISBN 0-394-86392-5
- Astrosniks in Snikv ISBN 0-394-86247-3
- Astrosniks in Space ISBN 0-394-86227-9
- Astrosniks Stamp Fun ISBN 0-394-86606-1
- Bully Reference Book - pictures and describes all Sniks and their history, as well as all Bully figures made up to 1998.
- Junior's Day in Space ISBN 0-394-86393-3