The Outer Space Men, LLC Outer Space Men Cosmic Radiation Terra Firma Action Figure The Outer Space Men, LLC, 2018
Day #2,599: July 14, 2023
Terra Firma The Glow-in-the-Dark Woman from Earth
Outer Space Men Action Figures
Item No.: n/a Manufacturer:The Outer Space Men Includes:Removable 3-piece helmet, magnet jetpack/Anti-Gravity Generator, Atomic Disintegrator, alternate arms Action Feature:Glows in the Dark Retail:$25.00 Availability: May 2018 Other: Still Available
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.
The 3 3/4-inch figure has some issues standing thanks to her narrow stance, but that's why she has a pole accessory to prop her up. I'd recommend leaning her against something for safety. Her clear colorless helmet lets the glow shine right through, and that Glyos glow PVC plastic is always spetacular. She keeps the same sculpt as her space siblings, and you can order a matching Luna Eclipse figure that keeps more or less the same paint masks except for her blaster accessory. I still need to open and review her, and I admit, I feel pretty bad that it took five years to crack them open. Even though they're all very much alike, it's hard to poo-poo glow figures and one thing they did that really made them shine is to add this great silver paint. In particular, Terra's hair looks absolutely incredible because the Four Horsemen sculpted some incredible strands of hair with amazing parts that normally look pretty good, but for some reason, the silver looks magical. It wouldn't be cost-effective, but I'd be curious to see some figures completely slathered in this silver paint. I assume it would show an incredible amount of detail.
Of course, maybe you don't want to see it all. The space suit itself is pretty light on detail, with the silver accordion joints, gloves, and boots coming to life with the paint. Her proportions are also the stuff 20th century dreams were made of, because there may not be any more gravity-defying breasts in the acton figure business. (Or at least in my collection.) It's ridiculous, but this line was all about imagination anyway. We saw angels from Venus and squid people from Neptune, so 10 years ago someone managed to apply the style of 1960s adult comic books to a space lady figure. Given that this particular look doesn't seem too common in this day and age, it was probably a smart choice to ground Terra Firma in the 1960s without copying Barbie or the G.I. Nurse. It also doesn't hurt as a reminder that this line of figures was for adults, anyway.
There's no real reason to be a completist with The Outer Space Men given there are two complete one-color sets of figures with the green glow Cosmic Radiation and plain white Whitestar figures... and the Bluestar group is getting pretty close to complete. As such, you don't need this particular Terra Firma when you can get two flavors of Luna Eclipse in glow plastic as well as perfectly nice Horrorscope, Ohpromatem, and Astrodite, glow figures. It's a small thing, but seeing her hair painted silver, with some strand detail underneath the coifs above her eyes, I was impressed by the Four Horsemen's sculpting work all over again. That's what I got out of this figure - if you just want more green glow guys, all the Cosmic Radiation figures shine brightly in the night. And if they were $5-$10 cheaper, I'd recommend them all to you.
The line itself has been going since 2010 and it's largely been excellent, but there have been repaints upon repaints which are great for making back the investment on an indie line but the variety has been light. I'd love to see Gary Schaeffer and Mel Birnkrant develop a new character, or perhaps do some more colorful figures like last year's Galactic Holiday quartet. For a line that's been off and on since the 1960s, I'm delighted to see it's still cranking out new figures, albeit slowly, over the last few years.
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