Everything old is new again! Since the 1960s, the Outer Space Men action figure has been out of reach for most would-be collectors. Thankfully the Four Horsemen, a group of ex-McFarlane Toys sculptors and designers, decided to try their hand at remaking the large bendable figures as smaller, 3 3/4-inch scale Glyos-compatible action figures last year. Since their first series hit Comic-Con 2011, a grand total of 20 figures (with recolors of 8 different characters) have been released so far, with a special 21st figure hitting in August.
The convention exclusives were a quartet of new characters, the new Alpha Series featured Alpha 7, Electron+, Mystron, and Commander Comet in clear plastic. These are exclusive to the show (and pre-orders) and as of Saturday afternoon were still available. They're pretty nice figures, and I'll be posting reviews on this very site over the coming weeks. Stay tuned! The set was $40, and unlike previous series, only Alpha 7 and and Commander Comet included an extra set of bent arms.
Representatives for the Horsemen stated that the fully-painted Infinity versions of the four new molds should be available relatively soon when compared to last year's December release. Stay tuned to the Outer Space Men News for more as we have it.
As to what are most likely next year's releases, Orbitron, the man from Pluto, and Colossus Rex, the man from Jupiter, were revealed as fully-painted and seemingly nearly-finished samples. There seems to be much more in the way of new parts created for these figures, and the line is fast approaching what may or may not be its end-- only 13 characters were introduced in the 1960s, and with these reveals, we're up to 10.
In addition to a large slate of test shots and prototypes, the case showed a trio of upcoming Glyos releases from Onell Designs-- two brand-new figures with highly adjustabel Glyans were joined by a new version of Xodiac presently known as "Glyaxia Xodiac." There's a backstory to the figure, Matt Doughty described him as a "traveller" so I'm sure there's something fun coming up for this one. The figure is pretty close to being what's shown, complete with clear ABS plastic gear. Information on upcoming "Glyaxia" figures was not available, because I got so excited to see this one I neglected to ask. And that's why I am not a journalist anymore. Here's hoping for more painted-up versions of the Outer Space Men, to date the ratio of painted to clear is roughly 5:16.
--Adam Pawlus
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