- So as everyone probably knows by now, the Four Horsemen have teamed up with toy legend Mel Birnkrant and Matt Doughty of Onell Design (makers of the Glyos figures) to bring back the 1960s sci-fi toy line The Outer Space Men. I was going to do a write-up about it, but NoisyDvL5 already wrote the definitive post about the whole thing. Damn whippersnappers totally stealing my thunder and taking advantage of my laziness. Anyway: my opinion. Like many, I have no nostalgic attachment to the property, but retro-looking 1960s aliens are something most self-respecting geeks should appreciate. 3 3/4″ isn’t my favorite scale but was probably inevitable given current production costs. The decision to work with Onell Design was a savvy move on everyone’s part. So will I be buying these? Definitely–they look great and represent a great step for everyone involved. Also, if it’s successful, perhaps the Four Horsemen will be able to license Power Lords from Revell…
- Speaking of the Outer Space Men, look for some cool features about it here on the site soon.
- He-Man.org has a revealing interview with Mattel brand manager (and recent new dad) Scott Neitlich, a.k.a. Toyguru. I didn’t realize Adora’s laser pistol was based on Teela’s gun from the 1987 movie.
- Super He-Fan James Eatock, a.k.a. Busta Toons, is publishing an unofficial guide to the Filmation He-Man cartoon. Eatock’s blog is necessary reading for any He-Fan, and the book will no doubt be great, too.
- I added a new plugin called WPTouch that optimizes PGPoA for Iphones/Ipod Touches. I think it’s pretty cool, but it does prevent you from seeing the site as it looks on the Web. Has anyone else tried it out yet? Thoughts?
- Pre-review roundup: Fwoosh has Optikk, Walter Peck and Tytus; AFI has Tytus; CoolToyReview has Optikk; Pixel Dan has Optikk and Tytus. Disappointing discovery: Tytus has swivels at the shoulders and neck, not ball joints.
dayraven
@Poe: ah, well, shows what i know then… then damn you for stealing their thing! ;p i think the poe-thing now should be an upskirt shot… what do you say? 🙂
Mountain-man
Passing on Tytus here also, though not really due to the articulation; I just have zero interest in this thing.
Poe
@The Flash III: I’d swear I owned some rotocast figures will ball-and-hinge shoulders…7″ Mezco Goon, 18″ Mezco Hellboy…well, there’s two. And actually I’m only sure about the Goon.
RM
@Poe: ToyBiz's rotocast Hulks had swivel/hinge shoulders too.
Personally, I can live with cut hips, but not shoulders, and for a figure that towers over others in it's line, it needs to be able to look down too.
Tytus is a pass from me due to these issues.
Dan C.
I realize Tytus has the joint issue and his weapon doesn't have pop and lock ability like the original, plus he's seriously undersized compared to his vintage counterpart.
But its funny people would rather pay $80 for a smelly green repaint of Beast Man, instead of a larger figure that looks cooler towering over its 6" MOTUC bretheren and doesn't stink.
NoisyDvL5
Thanks for the link, Poe! And seconded on Power Lords. That'd be sweet.
Your WPTouch threw me the other day. I'd downloaded it to see how it was over at IAT and then I came by your site and it was similarly enabled. For a second, I was confused and thought I might have messed up my iPhone settings!
I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. It does make the site load faster when I'm out and about, but some of the tables on my checklists don't get reduced well and extend well past the WPTouch frame.
Nicholai
@americanhyena: Hmm. Craptastic battery life is a consideration. Damn phone shopping.
The only 12" figures I own are General Zod from Mattel and the Thor put out not long ago. I shall be skipping Tytus not because he isn't neat, but because of cost and my lack of knowledge/nostalgia about him.
The Flash III
I think if you asked Mattel, they'd say Tytus won't have the shoulder articulation because of rotocasting. It's why my 12" Giants of Justice Flash can't shrug his shoulders.
Poe
@dayraven: You've got it backwards–I copied that from CoolToyReview. And, you may have noticed, I haven't really kept at it. It's really time-consuming. Kudos to them for keeping it up.
americanhyena
@Nicholai:
It's great other than the craptastic battery life.
Philip Reed
The Outer Space Men toys are using the same plug/socket articulation as Glyos toys. This means you can pop the parts apart and swap them between toys. Which means my Glyos collection is getting a huge boost of new pieces once these toys are launched.
Ben
A little birdy told me that the Four Horsemen are seriously working towards a new Power Lords line…
Also, as a retro toy enthusiast, I would LOVE to own any and all of the original Colorforms Outer Space Men (and I'm bound and determined to find at least one cheap at a flea market), but I'm really impressed with the update, and if the price point is appropriate, I can see myself with a set of these.
Newton Gimmick
I checked out the mobile PG site. Not bad. Though I don't really havce any problem loading regular sites, it's probably good for phones that do.
I'm all for the Outer Space men, but I can't seem to find where Onell Design comes in to play. Maybe I'm missing something, but I keep hearing that it'll be compatible with Glyos, but in what way?
I have a dusty old bendy Outer Space Man here somewhere, so it'll be good to get some new friends for him.
Dead Man Walking
Why do I get the feeling that these "Outer Space Men" are a The Sentry-style scam?
Either way, those designs are pretty ugly. The 4H are sticking way to close to the purported source material.
izdawiz
Hooray for Outer Space Men, for the Four Horsemen, for Mel Birnkrant and for Matt Doughty and Onell Design!!
Can't wait to see what those combined talents end up giving us. I just know it's gonna be great!
Mario
God! I'd so be down with a Power Lords re-visit.
Come to think of it, there aren't many '80's toy lines that I would mind seeing re-visited.
dayraven
@Nicholai: mosey on over to IAT and learn all about it man.
i was kind of excited to see the CTR review used a poe-esque breakout on the articulation/accessories… but then it kind of bummed me out. they need their own thing!
i'd be up for one or more old properties getting remade, but i don't think the 1:18 scale would work for everyone… if we got blackstar or crystar or warrior beasts, i'd like to see a motuc-compatible scale w/ those, if we got power lords, i'd like to see NECA pick those up for their seven inch scale lines… etc… if we got inhumanoids or manglors back, i want them BIG! my kids have tons of tiny, they're lacking BIG.
Nicholai
Depending on price I might pick up the Outer Space Men because I dig retro sci-fi stuff even though I don't know the property.
@americanhyena: How do you like your HTC Hero? I've been thinking about getting a new phone.
Fengschwing
I'm not much of a MOTUC fan but the lack of articulation on Tytus is a real bust! What a shame. How much are they charging for that thing?
americanhyena
I normally visit the site about half the time on my HTC Hero and the plug-in works on that too.
It's servicable, though I don't quite get the little burst of excitement at seeing a splashy new picture or article head. :-p