Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Review: Four Horsemen Outer Space Men Galactic Holiday Electron+ Action Figure

Continuing a holiday tradition (for two years now), Electron+ comes to you in a clear colorless plastic-- this is only the second completely "clear" figure in the line, the first being last year's Galactic Holiday Xodiac. This time around, the figure features painted eyes, bright blue accessories... and not much else. Arguably, he's the best of the bunch.
[ FULL REVIEW ]

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Galactic Holiday 2011 Outer Space Men Arrive!


They're here! Rounding out the deliveries for this line in 2011, the Galactic Holiday 2011 figures arrived. As previously reported they include blue helmets, purple helmets, or a random mix-- I elected for "random mix" and will be reviewing these over the coming weeks as slots in our 16bit.com Figure of the Day column permits!

Expect the first one on December 27, 2011.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Beta Phase Mystron, the Man from Hollow Earth

Four Horsemen Outer Space Men Beta Series Mystron Action FigureThe redder, the better! I expected the first clear release of the Outer Space Men Mystron, the Man from Hollow Earth to be red and the Horsemen surprised me by making it clear, smokey grey. Thankfully, they made the devilish being in a really nice clear red for the second release, more or less satisfying my demands for alternate color schemes until the real, painted version shipped.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Outer Space Men Galactic Holiday Shipping, Infinity Series Delayed

Straight from the Four Horsemen on Twitter:
"Good news & not so great news: Galactic Holiday OSM 3&4 shipped out today. Infinity Edition OSM 3&4 won't be in stock until about Dec. 28th"

I got my shipping notice earlier today, so at least we've got something on deck for the new year too.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Alpha Phase Commander Comet, the Man from Venus

He's an angel! Commander Comet, the Man from Venus comes from an era where women in the action toy aisle were far more unwelcome than they are now-- and that's saying something! Today it seems almost unthinkable that you'd have anything but a female delegate from Venus, but back in the 1960s it was determined that the line's chief hero would come from the somewhat but not really similar-to-Earth planet, playing off the cloud motif with an angel-like presence. This version of the figure-- the first release of the mold-- brings back most of what made the original so striking, save the paint. [ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Monday, December 5, 2011

Outer Space Men Galactic Holiday 2011 On Sale Now

Over at Store Horsemen are the Galactic Holiday 2011 Figures. They're up for pre-order now and, as previously reported, available with turquoise or lavender accessories-- or random! (I picked random.) A post on the Horsemen forum alluded to these going fast... which... well, you can still get the 2010 guys. But they did run out of the 2010 Infinity Series finally (for now) so you might not want to wait too much. A set of the 4 figures (not including both variants) will set you back about $63.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Holiday Edition 2011 Outer Space Men Revealed

While no pricing has been listed just yet, the Four Horsemen posted shots of all 4 (technically 8) flavors of their new holiday figures, due to ship real soon. Mystron is green, Electron+ is clear colorless, Alpha 7 is blue, and Commander Comet is, oddly, red.

Pre-orders start Monday, and there are turquoise or lavender accessories. You can pick this time! They look really nice.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Holiday Edition Outer Space Men 2011 Coming

...and here we go again. The Horsemen confirmed these exist via Twitter today. They write:

"Remember the silver & gold plating on Galactic Holiday OSM 1 & 2 figures! Well wait until you see the lavender & turquoise! #wowzers!"

And there you have it!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Mel Birnkrant Updates His Outer Space Men Returns Page

Your pal and mine Mel Birnkrant updated The Outer Space Men Return with tons of new photos, details, production notes, preproduction art, and all sorts of crazy things you'd stab your own mother in the eye to see. (Yes, it's that good.)

Of note are numerous updates on the new figures shipping in a few weeks, specifically Alpha 7, Electron+, Commander Comet, and Mystron. The photography is really sharp and the fully-painted final figures should be shipping in December.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Outer Space Men 2011 Infinity Packaging Revealed

Due to ship in December, you can get a preview of the Outer Space Men 2011 packaging at FourHorsemen.biz. As always, they feature exceptional graphic design and awesome photography, so you should be glad to know (if you didn't already) the packaging is meant to come apart easily so you may re-insert the figures. As direct-to-consumer figures, they have no UPCs and aren't sealed-- you can slide the plastic bubble off the cardback and replace the figure as you see fit.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

More Preview Shots of 2011 Infinity Edition Outer Space Men


If you can't wait for these figures to show up-- and you know I can't-- you'll want to see the article Galactic Clarity at Onell Design. In it you'll find 7 new photos of the final product, which, if you're a fence-sitter, should convert you. The painted figures always look gorgeous, and these are no exception.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Alpha Phase Mystron, the Man from Hollow Earth

As the original Outer Space Men line was set for expansion, the creator Mel Birnkrant turned away from the planets and to other dimensions and-- surprisingly-- Hollow Earth. That's where the devilish Mystron, the Man from Hollow Earth comes from, and it's right there in the name. Clad in a space suit for presumably thematic reasons, the original bendable figure prototype included a helmet and a staff, but the Gargoyle-themed gun is new to this release. The nifty accessory is, according to Birnkrant on the Four Horsemen forums, a tribute to his wife and the events of their first date.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Friday, November 11, 2011

Reminder: OSM On Sale Tonight, Packaging Peek

At 11:11 PM EST (or so we're assuming) the newest Outer Space Men should be going on sale. Get those browsers ready! Or... go do something else, come back, and THEN get your browsers ready!

While you wait, Onell Design posted a preview of the product photography and it's really cool! Do check it out and read up on it.

UPDATE: They're up! They're also $50 a set before shipping-- last year's collection was $40. They're due to ship in early December.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

2011 Infinity Edition Outer Space Men Coming Soon

From the Four Horsemen Twitter Account comes this:

Infinity Edition (fully painted) Outer Space Men waves 3 & 4 go up for pre-order at StoreHorsemen.com on 11-11-11 at 11:11pm! -FH-

That pretty much says it all! Fully-painted Mystron, Commander Comet, Alpha 7, and Electron+ are on deck but what does "pre-order" really mean? Last year, the 2010 Infinity Edition shipped roughly December 18... so that would be my rough delivery guess, but they'll confirm it for sure soon!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Alpha Phase Electron+, the Man from Pluto

Why the break? Well, after doing this for about a year it became apparent that October 2011 needed more prep work than I could handle-- I had a trip to two of the major US toy companies, a convention in New York, and I'm moving into a new office all within a 3-week period. So let's continue with Electron+, the second glow-in-the-dark release in the Outer Space Men line after Metamorpho in 2010. As the first action figure of Electron+, it's worth noting that while the arms, legs, and lower torso were recycled, the figure is actually shorter than other figures in the line. [ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Saturday, October 22, 2011

NYCC 2011 Outer Space Men Exclusive Pre-Order at AFX

In case you missed them at the show, ShopAFX.com has the 2011 Outer Space Men Beta Wave up for pre-order for $49.99.


Before you complain about the price, note that at the show, each PAIR of figures was $25, effectively making the quartet $50. (Obviously, shipping is extra, but that sort of makes up for the hotel and cabs and whatnot.)

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

NYCC Outer Space Men Pricing Revealed (and Increased)

The Four Horsemen posted news on the prices and sellers for the 2011 Beta Wave figures. That's the good news. The bad news is that they're $25 for 2 sets at each of 2 booths rather than $40 for a set of 4 at 1 booth.

200 sets will be brought to NYCC. 100 sets will be sold online after the show... and for all I know it might be $49 shipped for all 4. So if you're in New York, happy hunting! And if not... happy clicking!

Friday, September 30, 2011

The Final Outer Space Men for NYCC 2011 Revealed

The final two reveals! Electron+ will be cast in a clear blue, while Alpha 7 is a little green man. Previously, he was a little blue-green man, so it's not a tremendous difference. But it's different.

Details on how these will be sold are said to be approaching next week. Obviously, it's in New York, but things like prices and booth numbers are to follow.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

NYCC Reveal Continues: 2011 Beta Wave Mystron

The reveal continues! Today's New York Comic Con exclusive is Mystron, the Man from Hollow Earth in an appropriately devilish red color. Details as to which specific booth will sell it are unknown, but for now go here and check out the photos!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

NYCC Reveal Begins: 2011 Beta Wave Commander Comet

Yes Virginia, there will be New York Comic Con exclusive Outer Space Men this year! The first is Commander Comet in yellow, with orange plastic gear. Only 300 will be made, and figures will be sold via the Action Figure Xpress and Toy Tokyo booths in New York. More details will follow but for now, check out more on the Four Horsemen site!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Outer Space Men Orbitron Resculpt Revealed



Over on The Four Horsemen's Fantastic Exclusive Forums you can find the very first pictures of the presumably final sculpt of Orbitron, the Man from Uranus.

It's a slightly different sculpt than the one shown at Comic-Con in San Diego last July, better and funkier. The hands are open claws, as opposed to the closed fists most of the figures have. There's also a waist joint, and the posting makes confirmation of a 14th "Space Man," which could well be Pheyden from the Glyos line or something completely new-- or one of those swell head variants they've been teasing over the past few months! I'm looking forward to it.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Alpha Phase Astro-Nautilus, the Man from Neptune

When I first saw pictures of the original 1960s bendable figures, I never assumed that I'd own a version of Astro-Nautilus, let alone one in a low-cost action figure form. This translucent purple edition was the very first release of the mold, and legend has it that the edition size is about 300 pieces. It's a low-run figure, as low-run figures go... but since nobody seems to be collecting the line, well, maybe 300 pieces was the right size. [ READ MORE ]

Monday, August 29, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Alpha Phase Inferno, the Flame Man of Mercury

Before Hasbro decided to make a number of figures painted to be on fire, Colorforms and Mel Birnkrant pioneered a concept for a space man made of flame. Made in a tiny run of about 300 (reportedly), the Four Horsemen Outer Space Men Alpha Phase Inferno the Flame Man of Mercury Comic-Con Exclusive Action Figure has an unreasonably long name. The very first release of this figure, this translucent red figure is really bright and one of the best figures in the line. Subsequent releases were many included a fully-painted release, clear blue and clear yellow figures were also cranked out. At this time there are no known plans for additional releases of this mold, so complete collections will have four (five if you count variations) in them.
[ READ MORE ]

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Outer Space Men Customs of the Week (Or Whenever)

Since Glyaxian Xodiac sold out (you did get your order in, didn't you?) you might need something new. Because you, like me, are impatient. To kick things off, THEGODBEAST made a special Bio-Jumper specially designed for the Alpha Phase Alpha 7 figure. (He sells the spider-like creature and others as Bio-Jumpers, read more about them here. At press time, this one can be found for sale here for a mere $15.00.) Bio-Jumpers don't plug in to the neck sockets like Glyos heads, but rather sit atop their heads sort of like a hat or a helmet. They're based on sketches from Matt Doughty, but sculpted, molded, and forged by the force of nature known as THEGODBEAST.

On the October Toys forum, user Ericso posted some crab add-ons that are some of the most amazing things I've seen as add-on part. (I gotta find a way to get the crab head and claw in pretty much any color.) His customized parts are colored to match Alpha 7 as well, plus the Beta Phase Inferno figure from last year's New York Comic Con set.

While not Outer Space Men-specific, Ericso also made this figure. It's friggin' beautiful. The crab parts were also crafted by THEGODBEAST from an actual crab part. If you're interested in these bits and pieces, you can go to his blog, read more, and contact him directly for making a purchase-- no price list on these specific items, but most of his stuff is pretty darned reasonable, especially considering the edition size.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Onell Design Exclusive Outer Space Men Xodiac Glyaxia Command Special Edition Action Figure

This fully-painted figure sports a blue head, a grey suit, a Relgost Wind Division (I think) symbol on his chest, and a trio of clear hard plastic accessories which just look friggin' fantastic on this and other figures. I believe Matt Doughty was more than a little responsible for the deco on this figure, and he did a fantastic job. [ READ MORE ]

Update: Sold out! In under six hours, it no longer appears in the Onell Design store.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Price Update: Onell Xodiac Pricing Confirmed, Bio Revealed

You might have missed the update, but the pricing for the Xodiac special edition figure has also been confirmed at $12.00. You can see this on an updated post from earlier this week.

This figure is going to be Friday's Figure of the Day, so be here really early Friday for a look at our review just before the order goes live. Exciting!

But wait, there's more! In the post "Reality" the Onell Design crew give a backstory to Xodiac's appearance in the Glyos toy universe! An excerpt:

"Thanks to a chance encounter with Pheyden long ago, Xodiac learned of the Glyos System and how to travel through the Edge of Space to get there... " Go to Onell Design and read this post for the rest of it.

And be sure to read the comments-- apparently the Four Horsemen are kicking around designs for a new Pheyden head (Pheyden being the lead character in the Glyos line.)

Monday, August 22, 2011

Xodiac Glyaxia Command Special Edition On Sale Friday

Previously known as "Glyaxian Xodiac," the Xodiac Glyaxia Command Special Edition is coming Friday! It will go on sale at 9:00 PM Eastern, along with new figures galore plus some new kits. The price of the new Xodiac is still unknown, but Matt from Onell Design writes:

"Special Note - The Glyaxia Xodiac is a triple crossover with the combined forces of Mel Birnkrant and the Four Horsemen. This version of Xodiac is the guest 'Traveler' for this wave, helping to train the Glyans to be better soldiers and maybe teach them some Space History 101 from the Milky Way. HUGE thanks to Mel and the 4H for letting us play around with one of their creations, it is truly a dream come true! I am personally crazy about how this figure came out, a true testament to the craftsmanship that those guys put into everything they do."

You can (and should) read more at the Onell Design Blog update on this new collection of toys. There's going to be a Rig figure which matches Xodiac, complete with large tampo designs on the wings, for $25.00. It looks good!



If you are not familiar with the Onell Design Glyos toys, we have a blog for that. Also, let me suggest some items to add on to your Xodiac purchase:
Gendrome Buildman (any color)
Glyan (any color)
Crayboth (come in 2-packs, any color)

The Crayboth are particularly neat-- they feel sort of like Battle Beasts, and yet somehow also seem right at home with the Outer Space Men. A 2-pack is about $6.00, so really, you'd be foolish to not buy them. (Heck, I regret missing the glow-in-the-dark ones.) They're scheduled to appear in an upcoming Figure of the Day at 16bit.com.

You can swap parts between these figures and your Outer Space Men, plus they're fun. If you're ordering on Friday anyway, it's not like you can avoid paying shipping, so throw some more toys in the box.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Glyaxian Xodiac Preview Figures Getting Out

Word is getting out-- the Glyaxian Xodiac is approaching! I got a sample a few weeks ago (you may have seen him sprinkled in some pictures) and this thread on the Fantastic Exclusive Forums shows others have too! It's a fully-painted figure with clear ABS plastic accessories, so you can have clear gear on a clear Xodiac if you're so inclined.

I'm waiting for a few details on the "production" piece before posting the review but it'll be up very soon. I was told this should be included in the next Onell drop, so keep an eye out!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Vintage Outer Space Men TV Ad

Here's something neat-- an Outer Space Men TV spot from the 1960s!


It focuses on the first batch of characters-- the ones that actually made it out-- from Colorforms.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Custom Outer Space Men Head Concepts from Famed Sci-Fi Illustrator Bruce Jensen

An amazing talent (and book cover illustrator) named Bruce Jensen has posted Outer Space Men custom head drawings so good, you'd swear they were real plastic. Or at least, I would. A post on his own blog highlights his latest entry, a modified crescent-inspired cyclops for the Xodiac body plus three other really nifty original designs for use on the painted bodies.

At this time there are no known plans to produce these, as they are not real three-dimensional things. You might also want to check out his alien paintings and other stuff, unrelated to the brand, but cool stuff all the same.

Hey Bruce: if you're reading I'd buy some figures. Just saying that if you put up a massive investment of tens of thousands of dollars to make these happen, I WILL buy a set. That's literally tens of dollars, right in your pocket.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Last Chance: 2011 Alpha Phase Outer Space Men

From the Four Horsemen twitter feed:

"OSM waves 3 & 4 Alpha Phase waves FINAL 13 SETS up for sale tomorrow (Wed.) night at 9pm at StoreHorsemen.biz !! -FH-"

So there you have it-- just 13 sets remain! They're really good figures, so if you're on the fence just buy them.


Watch this page for ordering information. I like my set, so unless you plan to hold off for the painted editions, just get them.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Weirdness: Alpha 7 Name Reused in New Zibits Line

The Outer Space Men have some unusual names, but apparently they're not too unusual for another company to borrow. Senario makes a toy robot line called Zibits, and they're about $9.99 a pop. Each is a remote controller robot that's about two-inches tall. I saw these at Kmart earlier in the week and again at Toys R Us today, and felt obligated to share with you, the six or seven people who read this.

For the ultra-curious, the cardbacks of Zibits show a gold Alpha 7, but the toy is actually red.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE: Thanks to the great Mel Birnkrant, we got this information:

"...the issue of the Alpha Seven name being used by Senarlo. Gary has been on top of this from the get-go. A search on Google will disclose and verify, that he filed legal action against Senario officially in January. But I believe he was in communication with them before that. Gary writes me today:

'The pieces that made it out with our name on it were very few and Amazon pulled them. I guess that Toys r us grabbed some. As you can see here:
http://www.senario.com/products_zibits.html
they changed the name of the toy real fast.'"


In case you're reading this in the distant future and that Senario page may have been changed again, the aforementioned Zibits Alpha 7 has been renamed "Epsilon."

Friday, July 29, 2011

Custom Outer Space Men: Metamorpho Redone

Reader Seth sent us a link to his blog, which features a series of revised Metamorpho figures. There's a nifty deep red version pictured, plus you can see some close-ups of his otherworldly head repaints on his blog The Man Purse.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Alpha Phase Alpha 7, the Man from Mars

While the first batch of 2010 Outer Space Men figures had only one figure with a helmet, the 2011 quartet is loaded with them. Alpha 7 is a translucent greenish/bluish figure capped off with an ABS plastic helmet and gun in matching clear purple. The accessory fits quite securely, removing it from his head for the first time may prove challenging so be careful-- but be prepared to apply some force to it.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

New Star Wars Vehicles have Glyos-Compatible Weapons

Gun HandFrom 16bit.com: Here's a surprise from 16bit labs! We discovered new Clone Wars Mini-Vehicles have weapons which can connect to Glyos creations. if you have Buildmen or Pheyden or other similar releases, they can hold these weapons in their fists or can connect them to an arm or head joint. Due to the smaller fist size, Outer Space Men can use them as limbs, but not as handheld weapons. For more, click here for a gallery and additional information.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

SDCC 2011: News Update at 16bit.com

..in accordance of the bylaws of this site, the OSM News coverage is actually over at 16bit.com this time around. Of note: new figures, a rough timetable for a new shipdate, and a new, fully-painted Xodiac variant is on the horizon.

Pictured is the Onell Design exclusive Glyaxian Xodiac, due in August.

You may also be interested in the Onell Design booth which had some neat stuff, including Japanese packaging for Glyos that's as fascinating as it is colorful.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

2011 Alpha Wave Heads-Up

A quick note as I slowly unpack from San Diego-- the 2011 Alpha Wave for Comic-Con is slightly different from previous sets. For example, Electron+ and Mystron do not include alternate arms-- they each have one set. Also, a few Alpha 7s have been sold with slightly incomplete packaging. The set I picked up was missing the header card, which was added later in the show. If you pick up some from an eBay seller, it's possible he may be missing the card.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Meet The Man From Uranus

Orbitron was revealed at Comic-Con International today, bringing the man from Uranus to your... home. The figure uses the always-awesome Glyos construction, and we have other images to share too-- but I'm tired and have a lot of stuff to do, so have this for now.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

First Look: New Outer Space Men Colossus Rex

Twitter user and all-around cool guy Paul Nicholasi posted the first-ever shot of the new Colossus Rex figure from the Four Horsemen's Outer Space Men line. Presumably, this figure will be sold next year. Click here for the image, and click here to follow him on Twitter.

Monday, July 18, 2011

New Concept Heads from Mel Birnkrant

Designer Mel Birnkrant added several new head concepts to his online sketchbook. I particularly love the idea of Matt Meteor (pictured), an alternate to Commander Comet based on the real-life head of the super-cool dude and Glyos patriarch Matt Doughty from Onell Designs. (Be sure to say hi to him at Comic-Con, I plan to. Nice guy, good talent.) Another really slick design is an inverted Electron+, where the head is basically a clear solid helmet with an empty place where the head goes. It's really mind-blowingly neat to consider and I can't imagine another line that pulled this off, it's a really great idea and I hope these-- and the other new designs-- see production.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Comic-Con 2011 Pre-Orders Up Now - Alpha Series Outer Space Men

As promised, the pre-orders for the 2011 Comic-Con Alpha Wave figures are up now, complete with pictures of what they're calling "rough prototypes." I have to assume they're pretty darned close given you're going to pick them up in San Diego in about 3 weeks. As they have not immediately sold out, odds are they're not going to be quite the bear the 2010 series turned out to be, but you can order them now to skip the hassle of tracking them down at the convention (or going to the convention). The set is $40.00 before shipping.

UPDATE: Online allocation sold out on July 11, 2011. The bulk of the quantity should be on sale at Comic-Con next week.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Onell Designs Reveal Mystron, Commander Comet Test Shots

If all that weren't enough for you, Onell Designs Glyos Transmission Web Log added more pictures showing the first look at plastic test shots of Mystron and Commander Comet figures. They look really great!

SDCC 2011 Alpha Wave Test Shots

Over at The Four Horsemen Blog is a post showcasing test shots of Alpha-7 and Electron+, our first "final" looks at plastic product. According to the design sheets, Electron+ will be glow-in-the-dark while Alpha-7 seems to be a clear green.

The version pictured is, again, just a test shot in opaque green with clear ABS plastic bits. For more, click through to read/see the pictures.

SDCC 2011 Alpha Wave Pre-Order News

While specific colors are not yet shown in plastic, the Fantastic Forum confirms that pre-orders for these figures will go up Friday (tomorrow) night at 9:00 PM Eastern.

...we'll post more as anything becomes available.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Onell Design Reveal Even More Outer Space Men Concepts

Also exciting, toy design impressario Matt Doughty at Onell Design revealed even more figure add-on and repaint possibilities including a Cthuloid-inspired creature (pictured) and numerous other helmet and head variations. These are all pretty great, so naturally you'll want to check them out too.

Mel Birnkrant Showcases Potential Expanded Outer Space Men Offerings

Father of the Outer Space Men Mel Birnkrant added 8 swell original concepts based on the currently known action figures to his page. Each represents another being from the species we've seen, such as a man from Neptune with more tentacles or the swell Ohpromatem (pictured) who is an evil spin on Metamorpho. I'm particularly jazzed by these seemingly old-school spins on the line, so I suggest you check them out when you get a moment.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Infinite Edition Metamorpho

Rounding up the Infinity Edition series of reviews is Metamorpho, a space alien with a transforming face. According to some notes, the heads are inspired by such things as apes and reptiles, with a splash of 1960s graphic artistry mixed in. (Seriously, doesn't the red face look like something Shag might do? Maybe not the best example as timing goes, but you know what I'm getting at.) [ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Friday, April 29, 2011

Onell Design Reveal Future Outer Space Men Concepts

Matt Doughty from Onell Design posted OSM Variant Concepts Part One showcasing several original concepts which expand on the existing Glyos-compatible figures. Really wonderful stuff here.

More armored squid monsters and cool heads-within-heads are shown, and I hope some of these make it out. Wonderful stuff to check out, if you're in to this stuff, and I know you are.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Outer Space Men Series 3, 4 Production Updates

According to the Four Horsemen, Series 3 and 4 of the Outer Space Men are in production now and they're showing some early samples of the newly tooled parts to prove it! Check out new accessories and limbs, plus an idea of what's being used from the original series.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men SDCC Holiday Edition Astro-Nautilus

Now it's red-- and why not? Ocean life takes on all kinds of colors, so why not space-based sea-creature-people? The Holiday Edition Astro-Nautilus is quite similar to the existing figures, with one exception-- well, two actually. The first is that the figure is now cast in a deep, red, clear color. The second big difference is that his accessory is not clear, but rather, it's vac-metalized like those old Tomy drivers in Starriors or Zoids, or like some of the weapons on the original Transformers line.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Mel Birnkrant's Outer Space Men Tales Updated

The great Mel Birnkrant updated his personal website with a section on the new Glyos Outer Space Men toys. In it, he relays stories of development as well as offers a ton of photos of the new toys, including a few as-of-yet unreleased ones. It's a great use of an afternoon if you like this line, and I know that you do!

He's included a number of customized figures and shots from reviews from around the web, so it's great to see someone so involved with their own property really take charge of a site based on it.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men SDCC Holiday Edition Xodiac

I wanted the silver one, but that's life. The Holiday Edition Xodiac took the same mold you love and may have bought one, two, or even three additional times and casts it in clear, colorless plastic for your enjoyment. Unlike previous clear releases, this time around he has a little Saturn painted on his suit, plus he comes with opaque vac-metalized accessories. Depending on the luck of the draw, you got metallic silver or gold gear, meaning his helmet and blaster are nicely blinged out for a change. While I can take or leave clear colorless figures, with a predilection for "leave," I do think it was worth shelling out for the set just to get the nifty accessories. [ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Beta Phase Metamorpho Action Figure

Sometimes enthusiasm trumps common sense, which is why I own four different versions Metamorpho, the Man from Alpha Centauri. Proof positive that pre-paints work, I bought two versions of this figure before the regular "standard" edition came out-- and then got another one. This particular version was bright clear pink, and while I really can't knock it for being a bad figure it's not really as interesting as the first glow-in-the-dark release or the third "main line" Infinity Series release. It's merely OK. [ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Infinity Edition Astro-Nautilus

It's rare that a figure you see in a magazine makes an impression on you that lasts for years, but Astro-Nautilus, the Man from Neptune was just that kind of toy. The original figure from the 1960s was featured in Tomart's Action Figure Digest in the 1990s, a magazine which used to be one of the twin bibles of the hobby but is now really tough to find. But I digress. It showed Astro-Nautilus as this big, roughly 7-inch tall Gumby-style bendable figure with four tentacled arms and a staff... and a secondary market price in the very high hundreds-of-dollars range. In short, "See this figure? You can never have it." Skip ahead a few years, and in 2010 the very talented Mattel and Ex-McFarlane Toys sculptors The Four Horsemen announced they got the license, and they were going to make action figures out of them. Well, that's close enough for me! [ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Series 3, 4 to Get Repaints at SDCC

The Four Horsemen posted to Twitter that production was going to start soon on series 3 and 4 of the Outer Space Men line-- so I asked if Alpha Waves were going to be made, like the clear figures from 2010. Their response:

"@Adam16bit You're hearing it here first. We're going to try to have Alpha Waves 3 & 4 ready in time for SDCC! Keep yer fingers crossed!"

Well! That's good news. Wonder what colors we'll get?

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men SDCC Beta Phase Inferno

Another review! Today it's NYCC Beta Phase Inferno which, at press time, finally seems to have sold through.

It's a clear yellow repaint (there are also red, blue, and normal versions) and I gotta say, it looks fantastic against a dark or black background. Well worth picking up, even if the head looks like a golden raisin in the regular body's helmet.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Review: The Outer Space Men Holiday Edition Inerno

Yes, another review! This time it's Holiday Edition Inferno, today's Figure of the Day at 16bit.com!

We've had him in red, we've had him in yellow, it's only sensible that we now get him in blue. I like this one a lot, so read the review for more!