Xodiac

So who are the Outer Space Men?

Back in 1968, toy designer Mel Birnkrant created the Outer Space Men, a line of bendable action figures designed to co-exist with Matt Mason Toys. These fantastic designs, while not as popular as other toys at the time, captured the imagination of those fortunate enough to have them.

The Outer Space men were long gone before I was playing with toys as a kid, so I never really knew much about them. In fact I had never heard of them until Matt introduced me to them at Onell Design HQ. He had mentioned that the Four Horsemen and Onell were collaborating on something with these characters.

The Four Horsemen are superstars in the world of toy sculpting. People go crazy over their stuff for DC and their own independent works. Myself, I was not a big fan, not because their work was bad, but I just never cared for the characters they sculpted.

When I found out about this collaboration, I needed to take a second look. The Four Horsemen went and created modern toys of the classic Outer Space Men Designs, and they used the Glyos joint system to articulate them. I thought this was a stroke of genious.

I ordered directly from the Four Horsemen’s online store, and the items arrived quickly and well-packed.

Each OSM figure is presented in collector-friendly packaging. Because these are not sold at retail, you can create a package like this where the card simply slides out without having to remove any tape.

The backing card for each figure is unique and captures the feel of the original packaging. Each figure has its own backstory, printed on the back of the card.

The figure itself rests in a molded plastic tray, with its accessories on the side.

The first figure I open is Xodiac, The Man from Saturn.

I’m taken back by how much like an actual toy this is. This feels like an old star wars figure, only better.

The figure is made out of high-density PVC, the same stuff Glyos figures are made out of. Xodiac is molded in metallic blue with orange paint applications. There isn’t a single flaw with the paint.

The transparent orange dome on the head is removable, and surprisingly thick. Below the dome is a well-sculpted, menacing head.

Accessories include a blaster and staff made out of the same hard clear material as the dome. There’s no chance of these bending or warping.

Also included are extra arms. If you recall, standard Glyos figures ship with one straight and one bent arm. The OSM come packaged the same way, but also include the corresponding arms for you to swap out. It’s a really nice idea. This brings us into the greatest part of the OSM figures – they are modular.

Each OSM figure is made to be taken apart, re-arranged, and combined with not only other OSM figures, but figures in the Glyos universe as well. You can make some really interesting combinations when you start to mix and match.

Overall, I really like these figures a lot. If you think you might like them too, get them now because I am sure that quantities are limited. There are also various color versions available through the on-line shop, and there have also been convention exclusives.