Rock Battle

Cosmic Gladiators

I've been literally waiting decades for a Colossus Rex like this.

Redesigned by the legendary Mel Birnkrant and sculpted by the inimitable Four Horsemen, the fully painted Rex shown above is really an out of this world figure.

I couldn't resist taking Rex outside today for a little battle with the completely outmatched Traveler Lymerran Pheyden (even with some Ultra Silver armor on). Who knows, maybe it was just a training exercise. Either way, it was quite surreal to take pictures of one of my personal super grails -an Infinity Edition of the remastered Rex!

The 4H have the whole new assortment of Infinity Editions OSM in stock now, including my childhood favorite, the mighty Man from Jupiter, Colossus Rex.

Huge, HUGE congratulations to Mel and the 4H for completing a cycle that was started all the way back in 1968! This line is without a doubt an integral piece of toy history, and I believe as the years roll on, it will become much clearer just how unique of an accomplishment bringing the OSM back to life has truly been.

Silver and Chrome

Lots of activity in the month of December from our plastic slinging brothers!

The Four Horsemen have posted some sneak peeks of their special Outer Space Men Holiday Edition Silver Chrome armor accessories, which come with the brand new 2013 OSM Holiday Editions. These newly decorated versions also just happen to be beautifully painted up by the previously mentioned Ni!

As I  reviewed the parts (hence the pics), the whole assortment started to look like a Micronauts inspired fever dream! We now finally have the option of outfitting the latest wave of OSM with chromed parts!

Seeing Gamma X in clear colorless PVC sporting silver chromed armor and blasters is something directly from my "Nerd Book of Things I Wish Would Happen"!

The silver completely turns Jack Asteroid into an OSM/Adventure People/Micronauts super fusion astronaut!

Of course, then there is Colossus Rex, now made even more fearsome with a shield so reflective, you can see your doom all the clearer when he approaches.

I freaking love the OSM!

Always have, always will.

The Alpha Waves

Continuing with the Outer Space Men spotlight, here are some pics of the new Alpha Wave assortment mentioned in the previous post.

The clear colors on these really pack a punch, and the additional gear adds just the right amount of contrast.
I pushed the lighting a bit to try and capture the satisfying hues and translucent effects.

Man, that Gamma X is such a great combination so many cool things!

Landmarks

These test shots hold a special place with me, as I've been anticipating new figure versions of two Outer Space Men characters in particular since the new OSM project started with Mel and the 4H back in 2010. The two characters are Gamma X and Colossus Rex!

When these showed up in the mail, it was like Christmas and a birthday fused into one. To see Mel's genius vision so masterfully realized by the 4H in hand was (and will always be) absolutely a dream come true.

Terra Firma, Jack Asteroid, Horrorscope and the menacing Ohpromatem were also packed in the box and all came out looking fantastic as well. It took me a little while to realize that I had a job to do, and that  reviewing the test shots was more than just a fan's paradise!

As I write this, the first production versions of these new figures (Alpha Waves) have already made their debut and have been on sale at the 4H's booth during SDCC. They are also currently available here and here in the 4H's shop (though the pics are of the upcoming Infinity Editions-the clear Alpha Waves are the ones on sale in these links).

Congratulations to the legendary Mel Birnkrant for finally seeing ALL of his original Outer Space Men in full production!

What Mel started back in 1968 continues to bring happiness and spark imaginations for people all over the world.

Thank you for the endless inspiration and for leading the way for literally generations of toymakers.

We love you, Mel.

In Outer Space

The talented crew (thanks Daniel) over at itsalltrue.net connected with us a while back and asked for some deeper details about our involvement in the Four Horsemen's OSM project. You can check out their interview here of a certain Bearded Fool in particular, and see how the trips to my Grandparent's house as a child opened the OSM vortex for me.

Also, if you really want some excellent information about the man behind the original Outer Space Men line, head over here to learn about Mel Birkrant's role in building the juggernaut that we all grew up with and loved - Colorforms. What an absolutely fascinating look behind the curtain from a man who could basically turn anything into gold.

I literally played with almost everything he had a hand in creating during the 70's and 80's! Now I need to search for those old Colorforms sets....