The Outer Space Men, LLC Outer Space Men Cosmic Radiation Metamorpho Action Figure The Outer Space Men, LLC, 2018
Day #1,885: January 24, 2018
Cosmic Radiation Metamorpho The Man from Alpha Centauri
Outer Space Men Cosmic Radiation Figures
Item No.: n/a Manufacturer:The Outer Space Men Includes:Alternate glow arms, , helmet, knob, 2 ray guns Action Feature:Glows in the dark, pops apart Retail:$20.00 Availability: January 17, 2018 Other: Brings the total to 8 Metamorpho figures, 9 if you count weapon variants
Does this one look familiar to you? The Outer Space MenCosmic Radiation Metamorpho is new, but a glow in the dark Metamorpho was sold way back in July of 2010 as the very first release of this line, a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive. I reviewed it shortly before Figure of the Day launched - and it's different. This new one has a greenish hue rather than a bone one, and has completely different decoration.
Since this line debuted, we've seen a lot of changes - there are a lot more Glyos figures than their used to be, and we also learned that in the world of action figure collecting that 300 can be too many. This really helped to shine a light on the value of marketing - if people don't know your figures exist, collector momentum and speculators are a finite resource. You can still get the Alpha Phase 2010 SDCC Metamorpho for close to cost - maybe in a lot, maybe alone - despite the low run. The new one is different, and if you're collecting the entire line you might want both. If you're just collecting the Cosmic Radiation series, get the new one and have a uniform set.
The Man from Alpha Centauri was based on an unproduced Colorforms benadable figure from nearly 50 years ago - it would have predated a rotating face gimmick on Man-E-Faces and other action figures to follow, while giving us a reptile face, an ape-like face, and what I would basically just call an alien face. In bare glow plastic they're difficult to make out, but the silver highlights added to this addition help them to stand out. The alien face has a silver border and tiny eyes. The ape face has huge eyes and a big silver grin. The reptile has a toothy smile and scaly skin. They stand out.
The figure's construction is the same as the previous release, so let's focus on the paint - for example, he has some. Unlike his companions, his underwear on the outside is painted silver this time. The faux accordion bendy joints are painted, as are the fingers, the silver dot, the silver knob, and even the soles of the boots. You'l find more paint on this figure than it needs, even the base of the three-faced head has a silver bottom. Unless you remove the head from the body, you'll never even see it - you're paying for more detail, and they're giving it to you.
My only complaint about this one - aside from arguable redundancy - is that the head mechanism is a little stiff, probably due to the silver paint on the head piece. This causes it to get stuck in the helmet when I'm spinning it (I think) - it's stiff, regardless. It's pretty, but don't be surprised if yours is a little finicky. The alien look from the 1960s remains with its streamlined suit and ray guns that look like they could have existed just out of view if the children on It's a Small World at Disneyland. Stylistically it's a gorgeous relic, despite being made this century and sculpted by this generation's toy tastemakers, The Four Horsemen, back in 2010.
If you're an all-in collector this figure starts to hit the catchphrase you may recall from many of my Star Wars figure reviews - it's just different enough to make you mad. You might have the SDCC 2010 Metamorpho already, and if you do this is functionally a similar toy with more and better paint to match the other Cosmic Radiation figures. That's also why you might want it - a uniform set of every classic figure in glow plastic is a ridiculously satisfying thing to own, but given the higher price than the original release your wallet may determine if you want this one, too. I did. But I've got a closet filled with glow in the dark toys and a light bulb that's a source of great personal joy to me.
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