You know, I realize that in essence, toys are meant to be fun. I know that has a lot to do with why I have amassed such an extensive collection over the years, but every so often you come across a line of figures that is just a delight. Call it toy joy, plastic crack, hand candy, whatever you like, sometimes you get a figure in-hand you just cannot put it down because it is so much fun to play with. Such is the case with the latest round of the Four Horsemen’s Outer Space Men. The new Infinity versions of series three and four arrived on my door step yesterday and I have not been able to pull myself away from them long enough to get anything done. Really, it’s true – I had to force myself to sit down to take pictures and I have them sitting right next to me as I write this. Yep, Mystron, Electon+, Commander Comet and Alpha 7 join the likes of Metamorpho and Astro Nautilus in your throwback-tastic collection of the men that come from outer space and they bring you fun. Lots of it.
I think fans and collectors often underestimate the difficulty of balancing an update to a classic toy line with tribute, but with modern sensibilities. Updating classic toys lines is all the rage at the moment, and I love it (did you see those classic TMNT figure revealed yesterday? Be still my beating heart!) but I think the Four Horsemen have made it abundantly clear that they are the current kings of making your old toys more awesome than you could have imagined. The funny thing is, even when they update toys that would not consider to be “mine”, they seemingly find away to make them as such. Case in point: The Outer Space Men. Yeah, Mel Birnkrant’s original creations from the height of the space era 1960’s were a couple of decades ahead of my time but I can tell you that if the originals would have been 80s toys, I would have been all over them.
Even though I have to admit that I had never even heard of this property prior to the Four Horsemen’s involvement and what I know of the mythos has been gleaned from card backs and Wikipedia, there is just something undeniably appealing about these figures to me. As a kid, I would have learned their names and what planet each character was affiliated with and tossed everything out the door. I KNOW I would have wanted to may my own mythos about them and at the end of the day, that is a very strong compliment about a toy property (in my opinion). The idea and the designs are so strong that just looking at these guys would spark hours of imagination in the back yard. It is funny, I have always enjoyed stories about outer space for my own part, but aside from MAYBE Star Wars, I have never had much association with them. That would have been different if the Outer Space Men would have been a part of my generation. Going on adventures through diverse landscapes, pretending these guys were the last living beings in the universe, all of that is high adventure. I cannot even imagine how exciting these characters would have been for a young kid living in the height of the space race era with all of the Cold War and extraterrestrial paranoia, the Outer Space Men must have been such a blast for kids. Well, since we don’t have time travel (yet) I am just going to have to live out the adventures today.
Unlike a lot of the recently updated lines, the Four Horsemen are keeping very true to the overall look of the characters. The sculpting is spot-on of course, but all of these figures really look just as they did decades ago (at least in their overall “personalities” and head sculpts). For instance, there is absolutely no mistaking the new MOTUC He-Man for the vintage, even though the spirit is there, with the OSM, Birnkrant’s creations are painstakingly recreated and it works. I think the close collaboration with Birnkrant himself helped with this, but the OSM also embody such a time and place that changing them would lose the overall feel of the original intent I think. The point is, these are very creative looks and creations from a time when our culture was really starting to play with imagining men from outer space, and I love that these figures capture that era.
Now, normally I am not much of a 1:18 figure collector. I don’t know why really, maybe I just never got into the scale or I need something more substantial, but sometimes there are exceptions. I think the scale of the OSM really works well for the line. After all, Alpha 7 is a little green man. I like the feel of this size for the line and even though a small part of me cannot help but wonder what these figures would be like at six inches. I have to say, I don’t think they would be as successful. Maybe I just think that toys from the 1960s are best suited to this scale, but whatever it is, the smaller scale works for this property. The OSM also take advantage of the interchangeable Gylos construction system. If you are at all familiar with this, you know it means endless possibilities when it comes to part-swapping and customization. The OSM are the only figure I have ever had that utilizes this but I love how well it works. I am not normally one to swap a lot of parts around with my figure, but again, for the OSM it is so much fun and completely appropriate. Again, Alpha 7 is wonderful as a tiny character, but if you think he might look better with a little more height, you can change out as many parts as you want with any of the other figures to make him perfect for your liking. Like I said, creating new creatures is so great for these characters and it brings so much to the property in terms of playability and imagination. I have never really been tempted to get any other Gylos figures, but now that I am four series into the OSM, I am strongly considering getting more to expand the universe.
Alpha 7
The little guy is actually my favorite figure from these two assortments. Colossus Rex and A7 have always been my favorite designs (I am a huge fan of Astro Nautilus too) and I really cannot wait to team the two up, they just seem like they should work together. He is most certainly the most classic-looking alien and even if you did not know that he was from Mars, you could easily make the guess. Don’t let his size fool you though, he has just as much movement and changeability as any of the rest. The color scheme also really appeals to me as blue and green are my favorite colors, and the translucent pieces match the figure colors perfectly. I don’t know, I might be the only one, but I can totally see A7 being the leader of the OSM or the one that you underestimate, much to your misfortune.
Electron+
Electron+ is another very classic feeling Outer Space Man, but he takes a bit more from the Hollywood interpretation of the extraterrestrial unknown. His silver suit with the big boxy front looks right out of the 1950s invasion movie. His face even looks like a mask that might have been used in a black and white film. It makes sense since his outfit is a containment suit to house his essence of pure energy. I jut feel bad for him that Pluto is not considered a planet anymore. He carries my favorite weapon of the set and the vintage ray gun matches his front pack so I can see him sapping your energy with the gun and then touching it to his pack to absorb it. You are doomed! Putting him in the same assortment as Alpha 7 works perfectly since they are steeped heavily in the classic space man feel, as we move to the next two, they carry the mythological side of the outer space.
Mystron
He is most certainly the most imaginative of all of the designs in series 3 and 4 in my opinion. He combines the essence of space, but keeps a lot of the Earthly ties (he is from Hollow Earth) with designs older than the figures from series 4. He was never actually released in the original line so it is cool that he has found his way out after all these years and in true fashion, none of his design elements were sacrificed. There is a winged bat/demonic quality to him and his black pieces are finished in a paint very similar to that used on the DCUC Black Manta wet suit from his two pack release. He has a very odd gun, something that looks like it could be used by a member of the Evil Horde, but it fits with the quality of the character. He has the most detailed head sculpt and his expression and beard give him a Greek god quality. Which is very appropriate with so much of our own outer space naming coming from mythological pantheons.
Commander Comet
The look and name say it all, Commander Comet has by far the most heroic qualities to him. His wings and classic bust style head sculpt scream Icarus to me, and the crossbow seals the deal. Oh yeah, and did I mention he is from Olympus upon Venus? I love running with a theme, and the Commander makes the most of it, with history coming straight from our own planet. He is described as being an emissary of surveillance on Earth, but I would have certainly named him as the leader of the heroic Outer Space Men as a kid, he has those classic good looks that make the role well suited for him.
I would be remiss if I did not mention how much I love the OSM packaging too. It is collector friendly like most of the Horsemen’s other properties but the card art is what really does it for me. I love pop art from the 1960s and just like the figures themselves, the art is updated with painstaking homage. The fonts and colors are all so striking and they all fit together while remaining unique and befitting to the individual characters.
The Outer Space Men are fun toys, plain and simple. The Four Horsemen are modernizing yet another imaginative property and making it better than ever before. They are offering many different decos and exclusives for all of the OSM so follow the link below to go to the store and check out the offerings. I will be picking up at least all of the Infinity Editions of the OSM but some of the bright neon colors are so much fun as well. I REALLY wish I was able to head to the Toypacalypse in a few days because I would love to get a chance to speak with Mr. Birnkrant about the characters and it is always great to see the Horsemen. If you are in the area, I strongly suggest that you check it out. Even though the Four Horsemen supply the figures to so many of our favorite big licenses, they have also been working hard to give us the labors of love too. The Outer Space Men certainly qualify and I love supporting a great concept and the push to still do toys in a DIY philosophy. Okay, now, bring me my Colossus Rex. Now!
*Thanks for reading and thanks to the Four Horsemen for keeping up the great work on this and all of their great properties. Toy Fair cannot come soon enough!
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