Review: The Outer Space Men, LLC Outer Space Men Bluestar Gemini Action Figure

The Outer Space Men is one of my favorite batches of toy designs ever, and I've still got tons of unreviewed figures. Granted, most of them are glow green, glow blue, or plain white... which is why I've been dragging my feet. I've got some really nice fully painted ones, and can't complain about a single one of them as a stand-alone thing. If they were doing new fully-colored figures, I'd be shouting their praises from the hills. And new characters? You couldn't shut me up if we got The Man from the Sun or The Woman from Ceres. But I've got eight two-headed guys on my shelves now.  Check out Bluestar Gemini!

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Review: The Outer Space Men, LLC Outer Space Men Bluestar Orbitron Action Figure

With the line's 50th anniversary having come and gone, we didn't get a heck of a lot of exciting new surprises and that's kind of a shame. Since then, there was a very expensive vinyl figure, some glock parts, and a series NFTs, but I'm toy people and Bluestar Orbitron is more my speed. I missed out on the original toys by virtue of my parents not meeting and getting it on faster, and these weren't really a kid thing in my lifetime - I read about them in Tomart's Action Figure Digest when I was pretty young, and thought "these are amazing!" I'm happy the line keeps pumping out the occasional new release, although there are few wild recolors and when there's a set like Cosmic Radiation, White Star, or Bluestar, it got to be pretty overwhelming. They didn't do one or two or four figures, they did every single mold - and for that reason many of them are still available. Some of the figures had their prices go up since being issued originally, but there are also occasional 50% off sales. 

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Review: Outer Space Men Cosmic Radiation Jack Asteroid Action Figure

It's kind of funny, but it's possible that Cosmic Radiation Jack Asteroid sat unreviewed in my house for close to five years - I picked up a lot of these guys to open and enjoy, but also to review, and the reviews frequently take precedence. Who needs to be written and shot quickly? That's who gets opened - so I just grabbed Jack since he's been one of many glow or white OSM who needed to finally be opened up. 

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Review: The Outer Space Men Bluestar Glow-in-the-Dark Blue Gamma-X Action Figure

As one of the second year prototypes from the 1960s, most people didn't get any flavor of the figure that would become Bluestar Gamma-X until about 10 years ago. He's neat! Peak midcentury design with nifty b-movie antennae, clamp-on armor, and a couple of blasters make for a notable figure. You can get him in green, a painted version, or a white version - but the blue one is pretty spectacular. The blue back armor is glow plastic with a painted blue interior! It's striking, to say the least.

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Review: Outer Space Men Bluestar Maximilian Gravity Action Figure

 Having launched at a surprisingly fair (if not cheap) $15, Bluestar Maximilian Gravity is kind of a fascinating figure. (The Cosmic Radiation Zero Gravity [FOTD #2,310] was $25!) As of my writing this there have been four versions of this mold - or rather, this head - and three of them glow in the dark. It's a little silly, but I'll allow it. The first ones were called "Zero Gravity" and now they're being sold as Maximilian Gravity.

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Review: Outer Space Men Bluestar Colossus Rex Action Figure

I swore off completism until a 40% off sale hit the same week I got a little something extra in a paycheck. I'm not made of stone. The Bluestar Colossus Rex normally goes for $30, which was too much for me to pounce on in early 2022. But $18? With the rest of the line, also mostly 40% off? I can do that. At this point I recognize that what I'm paying for is a big wall of glowing blue plastic more than an action figure I'm going to cherish in and of itself, but I was surprised to see that this guy delivered more than Cosmic Radiation Colossus Rex [FOTD #1,546] in new colors.

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Review: The Outer Space Men, LLC Outer Space Men Cosmic Radiation Terra Firma Action Figure

I slowed my roll reviewing the glowing The Other Space Men figures because we got a lot in short order. Too many, you might say, since she's still available for retail price and that retail price was on the higher side of things. Cosmic Radiation Terra Firma shares parts with Luna Eclipse - and functionality, there really wasn't a good reason to do both - bringing you what may well be the epitome of midcentury adventure and space fantasy during the space race. We got a really great Infinity Edition Terra Firma [FOTD #944] way back in 2014, and we've also got an orange Alpha Phase one, a white Beta Phase Whitestar figure, a couple of custom Galactic Holiday figures, and I assume a complete run of unreleased Bluestar Terra Firma sitting in a storage space somewhere in New York as I write this.

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Review: Outer Space Men Cosmic Radiation Astrodite Action Figure

I love glow figures, but too much of a good thing is possible. Cosmic Radiation Astrodite stayed in her baggie since I got her in 2018! White Star is still bagged, but I opened Astrodite Infinity Edition [FOTD #2,025] immediately. She's good! But the allure of repaints diminishes as time goes on - especially when it's a repaint of a figure you have to look like another figure you have. I'd love to see more variations on this mold, and while glow is exactly the kind of thing I want (and bought) she's just another glowing figure on a shelf of glowing figures. Excellent, but not special. 

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Review: Outer Space Men Galactic Holiday Darkoneth of the Voidrillion Command Cthulhu Nautilus Action Figure

 You never know how time will change your favorites! This was the last of the four "Galactic Holiday" figures I opened from the 2022 series. Galactic Holiday Darkoneth of the Voidrillion Command Cthulhu Nautilus is a redeco of the somehow still incredibly striking Outer Space Men Cthulhu Nautilus Action Figure [FOTD #2,015] from 2018. The metallic skin, gorgeous clear blue eyes, striking metallic blue costume, and shiny gold trim made it a perfect figure right out of the gate. We weren't subject to Alpha Phase prepaints, it was just blammo - here is a stunningly weird statement of space toy awesomeness, and it was a then-whopping $35, and I still love it. But we later got a green version from Onell Design, a plain white version, green and blue glow versions... and none of them were as impressive as the original, although that green one is a personal favorite. This purple alien one looks like some amazingly weird late-1980s toy (or bronze-age comic nightmare) and the colors drastically change the look and feel of the figure. It's kind of amazing how the Glyos figures, thanks to their ongoing repaints, can highlight different aspects of a toy and make you see a figure you have in a new light.

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Review: Outer Space Men Galactic Holiday Cobaltus of the Voidrillion Command Colossus Rex Action Figure

I have plenty of The Outer Space Men figures. I really didn't need this Galactic Holiday Cobaltus of the Voidrillion Command Colossus Rex but, also, I did. These guys are a lot of fun to mess with thanks to their accessories and how they scale with a lot of my favorite childhood figures... plus they look like they could have and indeed should have been in the background of 1970s space comic books. Mr. Rex was based on a bendy figure from Colorforms from 1969 who was big and green and had a mace. In 2013, the very first pull of the mold came out and the manufacturers added an armor, a big axe, and a shield along with alternate hands. It was a lot of plastic, and the hefty Jovian stands five inches high.

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Review: Galactic Holiday Voidrillion Command Orbitron Action Figure

I feel kind of silly that I still get really excited for new The Outer Space Men figures. If I'm getting a new head or an all-new paint job, it's difficult for me to be cynical. When the quartet that includes Galactic Holiday Voidrillion Command Orbitron dropped in December I went from "Well I skipped wave 2 and beyond for Bluestar" to "Get my wallet" in about 4 seconds. They're weird magical beings. I shouldn't spend too much time being concerned about this, I'm just going to throw on a Les Baxter record and write about the silly space man.

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Review: The Outer Space Men, LLC Outer Space Men Cosmic Radiation Ohpromatem Action Figure

When toy lines slow down, and display space dries up, things stay in a box for a while. I've had Cosmic Radiation Ohpromatem since some point in 2018 - but didn't open it until about three weeks ago, in part because I was holding back on a bunch of White Star and Cosmic Radiation figures to talk about when we got new molds or new painted figures. Turns out, that didn't happen - other than Bluestar figures and a couple of big Sofubi special edition custom jobs, the line has been more or less dormant. Which is unfortunate, we were shown a jumbo sofubi Astro-Nautilus and told to expect some more things for the lines 50th anniversary. Well, at least we've got mountains of pretty great 3 3/4-inch figures to enjoy!

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Review: Outer Space Men Bluestar Xodiac Action Figure

Who loves more of the same, but different? Bluestar Xodiac brings you the same basic color layout of the Cosmic Radiation edition, but now with blue glow plastic and light blue painted highlights - and two helmets. You get a bit more here than a basic Xodiac, but it also costs more than double what the figure did in its debut 10 years ago. Is it worth it? If you like blue glow, yes, yes it is.
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Review: Outer Space Men Bluestar Metamorpho Action Figure

As shared experiences go, toys are great. Unfortunately The Outer Space Men are one not shared by my peers - they're before my time, but I love the designs as sci-fi space race-era toys go ever since I saw them in Action Figure Digest, which was a real magazine a million years ago. For this reason, Bluestar Metamorpho is a fun, weird figure that stands on his own. [ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Outer Space Men Bluestar Astro-Nautilus Action Figure

You know the drill - The Outer Space Men are awesome. These 3 3/4-inch action figures are magical and got wildly expensive to make in recent years, so the Bluestar Astro-Nautilus is $25 today when you used to be able to get a fully-painted and carded set of four figures for about $40. That's inflation for you. This mold is one of the ones they used in 2010, and it's a gorgeous design - is it worth $25 though? ...well, I bought one.
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Review: Outer Space Men Bluestar Inferno Action Figure

Since the 2010 relaunch The Outer Space Men has been pretty stop and go - periods of inactivity are followed by huge bursts of releases, and Bluestar Inferno kicked off the impressive-but-pricey blue glow series late last year. As you no doubt know, the blue glow plastic used by this series (and all Glyos or Onell Design figures) tends to shine incredibly brightly. A short exposure to UV or sunlight means hours of blue glow, be it dim or brightly depending on when you examine it. I've seen these figures glow after eight hours... just not incredibly brightly when hour eight rolls around.
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Outer Space Men Sofubi Pink Original Orbitron Action Figure

I like it. The Sofubi Pink Original Orbitron is a design I like, in a color I like, and Gary Schaeffer and Mel Birnkrant gave me a tour of the figure's ins and outs when I visited them in February of this year.
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Review: Outer Space Men Sofubi Glow in the Dark Orbitron Action Figure

After over a hundred small figures at increasing prices, I dragged my feet on Sofubi Glow in the Dark Orbitron - obviously I want a glow guy, but I held off until it was in stock. I was given the opportunity to preview it during Toy Fair (thanks Gary and Mel!) and what we have here is pretty close to what I saw there - but it's a little shinier, and the joints are a little looser. It's not as solid as the Colossus Rex [FOTD #2,131] and it's also a bit taller than the "giant," with looser joints. I'm not loving that. The accessories are gorgeous, with a much more three-dimensional star accessory. When I got him, I set him up on a shelf - and he was missing when I came home. The leg joints are loose enough that gravity pulled him down and he was hanging from a shelf by his star, for dear life, for at least a little while. He's got a strong grip. Orbitron's claws may be the most perfect hands to grip any action figure accessory in quite some time.
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Review: Outer Space Men Cosmic Radiation Zero Gravity Action Figure

I have enjoyed the Cosmic Radiation Zero Gravity figure, but it's wildly inessential. Regular Zero Gravity [FOTD #2,041] already glows in the dark and for $5 more has a cardback and a more interesting paint job. The Infinity version has a preposterously detailed human head, thanks in part to some of the best paint you'll see on a human head the size of a peanut. Commander Comet is often similarly as good - you can't not be impressed by it. 
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Review: Onell Design Glyos OSM Colossus Rex Tyraxsis

Crossovers are far and few between in this line - cosmically speaking, anyway - as it has been nearly eight months since the last one. OSM Colossus Rex Tyraxsis must have been in the works for a long time, as I remember Matt Doughty of Onell Design talking about doing a special version back in 2011 - years before the figure even saw production for the first time - and I had no idea what he had planned for the mold. According to his notes, the Tyraxsis is a dinosaur-inspired colorway, and I see it - it looks like it would fit nearly any terrible lizard toy.
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