{"id":11303,"date":"2011-01-21T16:46:53","date_gmt":"2011-01-21T22:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=11303"},"modified":"2011-12-05T02:36:02","modified_gmt":"2011-12-05T08:36:02","slug":"outer-space-men-infinity-edition-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=11303","title":{"rendered":"Outer Space Men:
Infinity Edition Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> One of the coolest things to happen last year was the return of The Outer Space Men. I admit, I didn’t know much about them at first, but the more I learned about them, the more excited I became. We’ve looked at the three exclusive editions but now the real deal, the Infinity Edition, is finally up for review. <\/p>\n

If you read my reviews, you know the drill. I open with a sometimes too long biography about whatever I’m reviewing. Well, for the OSM, I’ve already done that. If you’re not familiar with the history of the line, check out my article Who Are the Outer Space Men?<\/a> as well as the IAT interviews with the Four Horsemen <\/a>, Mel Birnkrant<\/a>, & Matt Doughty<\/a>. And, if that’s still not enough OSM goodness for you, I humbly suggest Mel Birnkrant.Com’s Outer Space Men Archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The Infinity Edition arrived at IAT just before Christmas, but with holiday travel, site updates, and my backlog of DCUC reviews, it’s taken me this long to get caught up to them. Since I’m behind on reviews, I’ve resolved to not open some of the figures I’ve bought until I’m ready for them (Thanos is staring at me from his plastic prison right now). Well, the Outer Space Men were an exception to that rule. And not just because they were cool and different enough that I had to open them right away, but because I could open them with a clear conscience. See, the OSM feature collector friendly blister cards.<\/P><\/p>\n

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The outer bubble slides off the card and lets you remove and replace the figure at your leisure. It’s one of the little things I appreciate about most of the Four Horsemen toys. I didn’t mind the simpleness of the previous bagged OSM exclusives, but the Infinity figures look fantastic in these packages and it’s cool that you can put them back in there and display them that way if you wish (though you will have to retie a twist tie or two). Right now, I’m using the packages to hold the extra parts and accessories from each of the previous releases. I hardly ever keep packaging, but it’s little things like this (possible because the OSM is an online exclusive) that always remind me that the Four Horsemen go the extra mile for their fans.<\/P><\/p>\n

In addition to their utility, the packages also look cool. They’re approximate replicas of the classic line right down to the biographical information on the back<\/a>. Of course, I never had the originals but if you’re a regular reader of IAT you surely know that I appreciate a card back packed with information about the line, the characters included, etc. There’s a checklist or three on IAT because of my love for the card backs of my youth.<\/p>\n

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There is really only one thing I haven’t liked about the Outer Space Men figures so far and I’m going to get it out of the way first. I wish they were a little bigger. I’m not saying I wish they were in a different scale (but how awesome would 6″ super-articulated versions be??). I mean just a little bigger.<\/p>\n

The scale is great between the figures. Nautilus is a little bigger, Xodiac a little smaller and I have every belief that Gemini, Alpha, Colossus, & Cyclops will be in-scale with these first four, but when I place them with other 3 3\/4 toy lines – like my trusty Mercury Astronaut GI Joe, they seem a little too small for that scale.<\/p>\n

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Since they’re aliens, they could be any height of course, but if you look at the picture you get the feeling that Metamorpho and Inferno should be the height of an average human. It’s probably unfair to criticize the OSM for not being compatible with other 3 3\/4 toy lines, so I’ll rephrase it this way. <\/p>\n

Since the OSM seem a little small for my “Matt Mason” stand-in, I really, really hope the Four Horsemen have some long term plans to get some “Men & Women from Earth” into the line to round out these figures. Continue to Individual Figures…<\/a><\/p>\n

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Xodiac<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Of all the figures so far, it took me the longest to warm up to Xodiac. He has the least unique pieces (he shares everything but his head & torso). His first two monochromatic releases didn’t really show off the sculpt and his one-piece torso wasn’t as nice as the two-piece versions on the other OSM. The details in the sculpt are much better on the full-color Infinity Edition and the metallic blue really makes the figure pop. He’s gone from being a zero in my eyes to rounding out the set and making sure all four figures ended up looking sharp.<\/p>\n

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I do wish his head could turn, but his design would have to have been significantly altered to allow that, so I understand. One thing I’m not sure on is why the 4H opted to not make his chest emblem a separate piece like some of the other figures. It would’ve been awesome to have swappable logos. Xodiac included his removable helmet, staff, gun (with a Glyos plug!), and two extra bent arms.<\/p>\n

For my Xodiac, the pink accessories and translucent helmet stayed in the package. The colors are based on the original, but my Xodiac is on display with the gold vac metal helmet and ray gun from the Galactic Holiday release. That vac metal helmet screams “outer space” to me.<\/p>\n

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Astro-Nautilus<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Astro-Nautilus is as easy figure to like. His design is so different from the other OSM that he stood out even in the translucent colors he was offered in last year, but again, it’s his full-color Infinity Edition that really impresses – the tentacles, the copper uniform, and that big ol’ noggin’.<\/p>\n

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His four tentacle arms are probably the most fun part of the line so far. Each arm is two pieces and they have some great range when they’re in the “factory” order, but swapping around the tentacles will increase that range further. Nautilus is one of the ones where I really wish I had more figures just so I could make some more elaborate arms. Again, I wish that his chest emblem had been a separate piece and that he’d had another joint in his “nose”. It would really open up the figure.<\/p>\n

Like Xodiac, I’ve swapped out his clear trident for the silver vac metal trident from the Galactic Holiday release. I like to think of his clear blue trident as a hard water construct, but the vac metal one is just too cool not to use.<\/p>\n

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Metamorpho<\/strong><\/p>\n

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When I first looked at the original 60s OSM, Metamorpho was the one that really jumped out at me. I loved the design and color scheme and I was impressed by the three-face action feature and the 4H sculpt replicated the original faithfully – all three of the faces look great and Metamorpho looks slick in his “basic” space suit. <\/p>\n

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I guess I should point out that the paint work is great on all the figures I received. I had one small scratch on Xodiac’s leg, but that’s no biggie. Metamorpho really exemplifies the paint work. The black\/white contrast lines are fantastic and the three faces are all spot-on. I do wonder about his color a bit though – the two accessories are bright white which leaves MM looking a little dingy. He’s look great, and this could simply be how the original MM was painted, but the colors are a bit odd.<\/p>\n

In addition to his two accessories, Metamorpho also included two bent arms. For my display, I’ve kept the Infinity Edition mostly intact using a bent right arm and his more pistol-like accessory, but I did swap out the knob for his action feature and his emblem piece for the vac metal pieces (am I starting to sound like a broken record?). <\/p>\n

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Inferno<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Inferno is my favorite of the figures. He shares a lot of parts with Metamorpho, but he does feature unique gloves and boots with gold flame accents, helmet, head, “backpack” flames, and I love the lightning bolt coming down through the chest emblem.<\/p>\n

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Inferno’s silver suit is also a nice standout on the shelf. Again, the high contrast on the paint has been well handled and the figure has a great “metal” look. The translucence on the head is a little lost by the design (the original line has a light-up feature), but creator Mel Birnkrant posted a short tutorial on how to fix it<\/a>. If you’re brave enough to cut a hole in the back of the helmet, more power to you. I don’t think I could unless I had a spare.<\/p>\n

Inferno is also one of the neater figures to play with because he looks great with any of his previous heads\/flames from the other releases. I would still like to see a clearer red or orange for these two pieces, but the colors available – red, yellow, & blue – all look great on Inferno. I’ve been using the blue for my basic one.<\/p>\n

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Click to Enlarge<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

The Infinity Edition Outer Space Men are actually the 13th-16th releases in the new OSM line. I’ve enjoyed the Alpha<\/a>, Beta<\/a>, & Holiday<\/a> releases, but they just didn’t compare to finally getting in the fully painted Infinity figures.<\/p>\n

The Outer Space Men exist in this new space between traditional action figures and the future represented by the “Glyos System”. The main appeal of the Outer Space Men for me so far has been their history, their design, and the sculptwork of the Four Horsemen to bring those designs into the 21st century. It’s definitely going to be a fun line to collect over the next few years, but I find myself hoping that future figures will take better advantage of their Glyos nature (as the 4H budget will allow).<\/p>\n

I hope to see more opportunity for customization – more opportunites for separate pieces, weapons that are more compatible with Glyos plugs, etc. I love the bent arms, but I wish I could get a little more range out of the legs too. In any case, the line has been fun to collect so far and I think it’s going to get better and better as we round out the original thirteen OSM (and hopefully some new ideas\/characters await us after that).<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the coolest things to happen last year was the return of The Outer Space Men. I admit, I didn’t know much about them at first, but the more I learned about them, the more excited I became. We’ve looked at the three exclusive editions but now the real deal, the Infinity Edition, is finally up for review. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":5651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[1279,14,34,10],"tags":[867,2562,866,743,865,510,868],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/OSMTN.jpg?fit=50%2C50&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-2Wj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23765,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=23765","url_meta":{"origin":11303,"position":0},"title":"Outer Space Men Waves 6 & 7: Alpha Phase Pre-Order","date":"June 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Four Horsemen"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17858,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17858","url_meta":{"origin":11303,"position":1},"title":"Four Horsemen Announce New Outer Space Men Releases","date":"April 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I lost track of time while working on the site redesign, so there\u2019s no 7th Market review this week, but I do have some exciting news to share. The Four Horsemen recently updated their site with the announcement of three new Outer Space Men waves (and a Gothitropolis tidbit to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7th Market"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16781,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16781","url_meta":{"origin":11303,"position":2},"title":"Outer Space Men Wave 4 Review & Toypocalypse News! (20+ Pics)","date":"February 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"With Toypocalypse just a few days away, the 4H have announced an OSM poster featuring all thirteen characters... could it be that the final three will be unveiled at the show? I\u2019m getting a little ahead of myself though- I still need to review Wave 4 featuring Electron+ and Alpha\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7th Market"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20719,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20719","url_meta":{"origin":11303,"position":3},"title":"Outer Space Men Cosmic Creators Four Horsemen Ed. Wave One","date":"September 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, well tonight now, I\u2019m taking a look at the figures in the Outer Space Men Four Horsemen Cosmic Creators Wave One, Megamorpho & Neonautilus. I know it sounds like a lot of proper nouns all strung together, so let\u2019s focus on the key words: cool toys, great sculpts, bright\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7th Market"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16047,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16047","url_meta":{"origin":11303,"position":4},"title":"Outer Space Men Waves 3 & 4 Galactic Holiday Edition (18 Pics)","date":"December 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I was hoping this Christmas would see another release of OSM with vac-metal accessories. I loved the 2010 set and was excited at the prospect of Waves 3 and 4, with their much cooler weapons cache, getting the same treatment. The Horsemen didn\u2019t disappoint, but... lavender & turquoise? Who knew?!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7th Market"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17973,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17973","url_meta":{"origin":11303,"position":5},"title":"Outer Space Men Cosmic Creators Series: Birnkrant Edition (21 Pics)","date":"April 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"You\u2019d be forgiven if you thought Seventh Market Thursday reviews were all going to be Glyos reviews. The January & March drops have swelled my Glyos collection quite a bit, but the Seventh Market is a big umbrella and one of my favorite things under it is the Outer Space\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7th Market"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11303"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11303"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15730,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11303\/revisions\/15730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}