REVIEW: Four Horsemen The Outer Space Men

**JeffSaylor** · 04-11-2014, 08:53 AM

Waves 6 & 7, Deluxes 2 & 3 Infinity Editions Bring Great New Characters...

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Here at Figures.com we’ve covered closely what the Four Horsemen are doing with the Outer Space Men, their fantastic 3 ¾ inch take on a classic figure line. The original “Outer Space Men” were small scale action figures made by Colorforms at the end of the 1960s, and among those in the know are credited with helping to define the modern “action figure.” Long gone and unfortunately mostly forgotten, Outer Space Men seemingly vanished, never to return... that is until 40 years later when the Four Horsemen brought them back! Best known for their sculpting work at Mattel (DC Universe Classics, Masters of the Universe) and their amazing independent figure lines, the Horsemen resurrected the Outer Space Men and transformed what was a lost piece of history into a modern figure line with high quality sculpts and paint applications, not to mention fun accessories and impressive articulation. Our latest review takes a look at six of the latest OSM releases, Infinity Editions (fully painted versions) of Waves 6 & 7 plus Deluxes 2 & 3!

Following the trend of previous figures, the Outer Space Men are adventurous astronauts/spacemen from various planets and celestial locales. However, this new batch of characters takes things in some different directions with female figures, people from Earth, and more! Female aliens based on previous character races fill out Wave 6 with Ohpromatem and Horroscope, while Wave 7 brings humanity to the stars with Jack Asteroid and partner Terra Firma. Meanwhile, the larger figures in the Deluxe scale continue with Colossus Rex and Gamma X!

While they may have new themes and identities, these figures come with standard Outer Space Men packaging you’ve come to know and love. Cool, classic OSM-inspired blister cards pack each figure and its accessories in a sturdy bubble while the cardback behind it includes tons of great graphics and more. The front of each card recreates the original 1960s packaging with photos of the figure in diorama scenes like the surfaces of alien planets and spacecraft. Above those you’ll find the character’s name and where he or she comes from (planet, distant star, or beyond), and a list of what comes with it in the form of accessories and weapons.

The reverse of the cardback gives you the history of the Outer Space Men starting way back in 1968, followed by a biography of the character along with a photo of the original version or production sample/artwork as the case may be. At the bottom of the card is a series of photos of other recent figures.

So what kinds of figures are in Waves 6 and 7? The “ladies” of Wave 6 (and 7) feature variations on the same suited female body with wildly different heads and decorations. Horroscope with her multiple eyes and face tentacles stands at 3 ¾ inches and Ohpromatem is just under 4 inches at the top bulb of her helmet with its triple-face gag. Jack Asteroid and Terra Firma are traditional retro sci-fi Earth astronauts with sleek spacesuits and huge bubble helmets. Jack stands right at the 3 ¾ inch mark while his partner Terra is slightly shorter at about 3 5/8 inches. Moving on to the Deluxes, the lanky 4th Dimension native Gamma-X stands just over 4 inches without his protective gear, and the hulking Colossus Rex with his gladiator gear is nearly 5 inches to the top of his head fin!

As always with products from the Four Horsemen, the Outer Space Men excel when it comes to sculpts. Most of the standard figures are dressed in full-body spacesuits that include generally humanoid physiques along with uniform elements like belts and gloves, plus little sci-fi elements here and there like planet-shaped emblems and the rubber suit seals at the joints. The new female body too harkens back to retro sci-fi with its pin up shape, very feminine with a large bust and wide hips. Each figure in this group has a brand new head sculpt, and that’s where they really stand out from the crowd. The two humans, Jack and Terra, have really fantastic head sculpts. Asteroid has chiseled features and a full head of hair while Firma has a round face, almond-shaped eyes, and thick locks. Ohpromatem and Horroscope share the same basic body as Terra, and again have really unique heads. The Woman from Alpha Centauri has the same style head as the previously released Metamorpho (her twin). A domed helmet encloses a head with three faces, and the knob at the top is used to rotate them in and out of the porthole viewer. Her faces feature a skull, leering monster, and a spider-like visage. Meanwhile, the Woman from Saturn is a Lovecraftian nightmare with fluted ears, three eyes, vents, and a lower face erupting into seven segmented tentacles and two tendrils.

And then there are the Deluxes! As different as can be, the two characters represent massive brute strength and physics-defying genius. Gamma-X resembles some sort of automaton with a very tall and thin body made up of alternating flat planes and a hammered steel texture. The strange appearance is heightened by his enormous, pointy feet and Frankenstein monster-like head with its heavy brow, angular face, and antennae instead of ears. The other new Deluxe is the hulking Colossus Rex, a powerhouse from Jupiter. This figure has an awesome sculpt featuring scaly flesh and flat underbelly segments, and his huge neckless head has three fins and a brutish face.

While different versions of the Outer Space Men come in solid colors or translucent colored plastic, these Infinity Editions are fully painted, giving them a huge depth of character and bringing out all of the cool sculpted details. Again starting with the humans, Jack and Terra match in bright orange spacesuits with black joints with lots of additional details including their painted Earth-emblems. As good as their headsculpts are they’re made perfect by excellent paint applications down to their very small eyes. Horroscope is mostly a lighter shade of orange, broken up by the metallic pale blue of her suit’s joints; her belly emblem is a gold Saturn on a dark blue background. The Woman from Saturn’s head is the same metallic blue as her joints, with translucent yellow eyes. Ohpromatem rocks the same black and white color scheme as her brother but in reverse, and adds purple via translucent sections at her belly, breasts, and helmet knob. Her faces alternate through white bone with yellow eyes on the skull, blue-tinged eyes and clear mandibles on a black face for the spider, and a leering yellow face on the final visage. Gamma-X is two toned in silver and a chalky off-white, while Colossus Rex is resplendent in metallic green and a lighter matte shade with red beady eyes and white teeth. Note that the figures with translucent elements have light-piping effects with clear sections on their reverse sides.

As with all previous Outer Space Men releases, all of the figures seen here feature articulation courtesy of Onell Design’s Glyos System. All Outer Space Men joints rotate 360 degrees with interlocking parts that pop apart so you can customize pretty much endlessly by interchanging pieces between figures. The standard OSM articulation includes joints at the neck, shoulders, wrists (and most figures come with both straight arms and arms bent at the elbows), torso, waist, hips, knees, and ankles, though this can vary depending on unique body styles. In this set all of the regular-sized figures have the standard scheme with the addition of the rotating faces on Ohpromatem and separate joints for the tentacles and face on Horroscope. In the Deluxe figures Gamma-X is articulated at the elbows instead of further down his arms, and Colossus Rex has both elbows and wrists. As we’ve noted in previous reviews, there is a bit of a trade off when it comes to some advanced articulation (especially things like hinged knees or any ball joints); instead all figures have the full flexibility and interchangeability provided by the Glyos system.

In addition to all of the other great features of the Outer Space Men, they also come with fun accessories! All Wave 6 and 7 figures come with the aforementioned alternate arms so you can equip them with either straight or bent limbs. Horroscope’s bubble helmet (slightly ill-fitting on her strange head), ray gun, and UFO-topped staff are all recycled from her father Zodiac, except in this case they’re translucent pink. Ohpromatem has the same organic-looking scepter and blaster as her brother, but this time they’re black with translucent pink spheres. Jack Asteroid and Terra Firma come with the same set of accessories: three piece helmet with white sphere and tinted faceshield with silver connectors, retro magnet-shaped jetpack in red and blue with translucent yellow effects, American flag, and rad sci-fi ray gun in silver and gold (with some slight variations in paint between the two). Gamma-X has two high tech guns and a two-piece set of torso armor that at first I thought looked kinda silly... until I saw it in person. The front is totally clear except for strategically placed silver discs, and the two in front of the alien’s eyes look awesome. The matching back piece is lined in silver, and as a special bonus there’s even a hole at the top of the head where you can mount a weapon or other accessory. Colossus Rex, as usual, takes the cake. The fierce fighter wears a metallic purple armored chest harness complete with spikes and a fully painted Jupiter on the chest. In battle he carries three translucent purple items: a spiked mace, a huge double-headed axe/spear polearm, and a massive shield decorated with a stylized face.

If you’re somehow new to the Outer Space Men, these most recent series really show off just how cool they are. I was blown away by the unique female aliens, the cool humans (for the first time in the line), and of course the huge Deluxe figures with their added elements and hefty size. Another great thing about these figures is the huge variety of options you have. Like the sculpts but prefer something more artistic? Look for the Alpha and Beta phases or Galactic Holiday versions for alternate colorways and translucent colors. Mix and match by stocking up on OSMs and swapping out parts via the Glyos system. Ohpromatem and Horroscope go great with their brother and father respectively, previously released Metamorpho and Zodiac. The options and combinations are endless! All of these figures are available now for pre-order at shopfourhorsemen.com, with the Wave 6 and 7 members running $13 and the Deluxes $26. As anyone who’s shopped a toy store lately will tell you, those are solid prices for unique looking figures with as much value as the Four Horsemen pack into the Outer Space Men.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTER SPACE MEN PHOTOS!

Review and Photos by Scott Rubin

Review Samples Courtesy of Four Horsemen