New Outer Space Men Arriving, Shipping

A couple of weeks after Comic-Con, the Four Horsemen are now shipping 2.0 sets, Alpha 2012 sets, and Cosmic Creators sets. They write:

Three of the Outer Space Men sets have just arrived in our warehouse and we're preparing shipping now.  About 30 sets of the re-issued Infinity Edition waves 1&2 shipped out today and more are soon to follow (shipments leave the warehouse every Tuesday). The Cosmic Creators: Four Horsemen Edition and the Alpha Phase wave 5 and Alpha Phase Deluxe 1 are also now in stock and are soon to be packaged and/or signed so they can be shipped out soon as well.

 

I haven't got my notice yet-- have you?  Leave a comment! Also read the whole story.

Major Matt Mason Shows Up at SDCC 2012

With no new products planned, no new movie coming, and really nothing at all to report, Mattel devoted a surprisingly large amount of space to Major Matt Mason at San Diego's Comic-Con International last week.  Matt Mason, for those who don't know, is the line that came out as Mattel's Man in Space, which begat Mel Birnkrant and Colorforms to create and distribute the Outer Space Men as a compatible line of aliens.  (Mattel would eventually make an alien, but well, we know which ones are more fun.)

When I asked people at the booth, I was assured the items are basically just putting out feelers to fans, which is interesting as I assume the average Comic-Con goer would need Wikipedia to know who Major Matt Mason was, but you're good people and you know the connection to Outer Space Men already.

Numerous toys from the Mattel archives were out for the viewing, which is a real treat for someone like me who missed the Space Race and the toys it inspired.  This gallery at 16bit.com shows what Mattel had in their booth, but there was a surprise bonus item-- a Brawlin' Buddy of Major Matt Mason, presented as a fun concept with zero chance of coming out.  One was shown for He-Man as well.  These are mixed in with the WWE Wrestling coverage along with a few classic wrestlers which also won't be seeing production.

While you likely won't be seeing much more out of Major Matt Mason in the near future, it will get some coverage on this blog, especially if by some miracle Mattel hires The Four Horsemen to make the figures in a 3 3/4-inch compatible Glyos line.   I'd support the heck out of that, wouldn't you?

Cosmic Creators: Mel Birnkrant Edition, The Sequel

Here's a fun surprise!  The always fun Mel Birnkrant posted another batch of Outer Space Men "custom" figures which are a little bit more fancy than the original 2011 deco figures.  Needless to say, I love 'em.  (Also needless to say, I hope they aren't $125 for the set again.)

You can find them all here with tons of production notes and pictures.

The new figures are as follows:

Red Devil Mystron: Clear orange figure painted purple. Looks really nice, the face is also orange.  The weapon is gold, as are all the weapons in this subset.  The purple gargoyle gun looks particularly nice, too.

 Fire and Ice Electron+: At first glance it isn't super-different, but it is. The figure is made of translucent blue plastic with silver armor painted over it.  The head is clear blue, and there are some orange bits to be "fire."  It looks nice.

Alpha 11: Based on an unproduced concept for a refresh of Alpha 7 from the late 1960s. Does not include the little starhopper vehicle, but has a nifty new deco and a new "garment" painted over his head.  Gold gun, orange helmet.  I approve.

Blue Angel Commander Comet: Rounding out the set, this figure now has metallic blue armor plus a two-piece helmet which is purple in the front and blue in the back.  I really like it too.  The metallic, iridescent deco on the armor looks like it might be even cooler in person.

So there ya go!  Four more new guys.   Now go get a bigger shelf, because there will probably be some new Four Horsemen ones coming too.

SDCC 2012: Outer Space Men Coverage

Go to 16bit.com's SDCC 2012 Outer Space Men coverage for the full galleries and tidbits, but here's a summary of what you missed in San Diego this past weekend.

Terra Firma (pictured) was on display for the first time in 3D form, giving you a look at how this figure has a lot more going on. Not only are there numerous pleasing bulges, but the deco seems to be amped up quite a bit as well.

Numerous custom figures were on display, but no new characters (or colorways) beyond those previously announced were shown.  As such, there's no sign of the rumored-but-not-a-rumor Pheyden or hints as to other convention exclusives for the year.

Check it out!

Review: Four Horsemen Outer Space Men Cosmic Creators Mel Birnkrant Astro-Nautilus Action Figure

This is what $75 looks like.

My initial reaction to the first-ever painted Astro-Nautilus redeco was an eyeroll and much complaining, as the black armor didn't do it for me and the metallic purple head seemed kinda bland. And I went to New York, bought it, and shrugged-- I wanted the set, so I got it. It looked OK. And then I got it home to compare it to the original painted release and it was painfully obvious that the "Deep Blue Ultra-Nautilus" was like a kajillion times better. This shows me that if I initially dislike something from Mel Birnkrant or the Four Horsemen, it's entirely possible I'm just wrong.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Four Horsemen Outer Space Men Cosmic Creators Mel Birnkrant Xodiac Action Figure

Yup, another one! The sixth Xodiac comes out at a much lower run at a much higher price, and hasn't quite sold out in a fast manner. And then, they announced they're doing more redecoes of this guy, so I'm not entirely sure how enthusiasm for the line can fly with higher prices and the same molds-- but I'm supporting the line for now, and this one (at a regular price) would've been really cool. Series creator Mel Birnkrant described this bearded redeco as Xodiac's dad, so I guess we have a new character here-- and of course, that's a good thing.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Four Horsemen Outer Space Men Infinity Edition Mystron Action Figure

While I sometimes complain that some Outer Space Men figures felt a little light in terms of value, Mystron is not one of them. He's packed with parts and pieces, and has a paint job that should knock your socks off. Just take a look at the head close-up shots. That gold paint looks better than pretty much any other gold action figure I've bought in years, including releases from Hasbro and Mattel. It's gorgeous. He wears an equally gorgeous silver and purple suit, with gold highlights. One of the three bolts on his chest is removable, too, a fine example of making the figure more customizable (and adding cost) when it clearly wasn't necessary.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]