In a year of several tribites to the classic Adventure People action figures, Fireyden
was a mystery figure this past November. Onell Design ramped up the
paint, and generally speaking their experiments are worthwhile. I was
wondering if it was going to be more than a Rayexx head on a Clawden
body, and indeed it was.
Argenesis! Cranberry and pumpkin await you - and a mystery figure, which I don't know what it is but I ordered it because I missed the last one and I'm still kicking myself. Click here to see the November 30 2017 Onell Design drop menu.
I'd say "this is a good one," but you know they're all good ones. The Outer Space Men Cosmic Radiation Inferno
the first time the mold has been sold as a glowing figure - that's
good! What stinks is that for whatever reason, there are no new glowing
red Glyos figures being made. If they jumped on it a few years
earlier we'd have flaming, glowing red men from Mercury, but it was not
meant to be. At least we got a glowing green one in a surprisingly
vast collection of figures.
Meet Inferno! If you love Cosmic Radiation The Outer Space Men figures - and you know I do! - three more are coming. The first of which is Inferno, dropping Wednesday, October 11, at 9:00 PM Eastern. (Or earlier a bit, if history has been any indication. 
That's the stuff. In popular culture, The Outer Space Men
got this guy right the first time. He's a little green man, after all.
He's also been blue, bluegreen, a creamy color, and in vague Mickey
Mouse-esque cosplay. Cosmic Radiation Alpha 7 brings one of the
more famous toy martians not named Marvin and brings him back to the
best hue of the atomic age - atomic glow green. If ever there was a
more appropriate combination, I'd like to see it. (Actually, they're
all pretty appropriate as glowing figures given the fears of atomic
energy in sci-fi schlock of the era.)
Ever since the line was introduced, I was looking forward to the Bit Figs Mega Bit Spectre Pheyden Set.
I wasn't sure if it would be painted or not, so seeing them do both
versions was a nice surprise. Naturally, I bought both - it's a big
pixel figure with soft, glowing plastic. It's also a small figure with
glowing plastic. It's two figures! The little one is the same size
as the Bit Figs you'll find in vending machines (and should buy), while
the bigger one is about the same size as a regular Pheyden figure -
about 2 3/4-inches tall.
Boy howdy am I glad I got a Bit Figs Matryx Pheyden.
This is the kind of thing you know and love if you're just the right
age - the Onell Design stalwart has been made in the colors of the
original 1989 GameBoy, which has been recolored many times, in many
formats. It's a good fit - and it has an insane multi-color tampo on
the chest that shows just how fancy these figures can be at a reasonable
price. It's basically the same old Pheyden with new deco. This is
good enough for me.
Another success in the mad science that is Adventure People cloning, Neo Astrovos
was a mystery figure in June for just $12.00. Surprisingly, the
Fisher-Price homage wasn't added to the Glyos database like many other
mystery figures. Why? I have no idea.
The Gendrone Alliance! The Villser returns in three new colors, as does the armored-up Knights of the Slice figure, the Glyknights, and a mystery figure. Click here to see the September 14 2017 Onell Design drop menu.
It's
easy to forget, but from 2010 to 2013 each and every San Diego
Comic-Con and New York Comic Con had at least three exclusive The Outer Space Men
action figures. Now you might see some at a New York show here and
there, but the sets you could set your watch to are long gone. One of
the last sets to be sold at New York Comic Con included a White Star Ohpromatem,
at least sixteen convention exclusives in 2013 - easily one of the most
prolific years the line had ever had for this kind of thing. The
figure shares tooling with Terra Firma and Horrorscope, plus a few of
Metamorpho's parts for good measure. It's a nifty figure, combining
the cartoon proportions of Playboy's comic panels with nightmares from
outer space. It's also largely unpainted.
I missed it due to being on a plane, but an awesome, amazing, I wish I got it Matryx Pheyden went up and sold out for $11 on Thursday night.
As any line goes on, you can be forgiven for saying "Hey, have I seen this before?" The Neo Granthan Reptoriun
is brown with green, similar to the copper with green Neo Granthan
Sendollest Hunter a while ago. That one had richer colors and different
paint masks, too - this new one looks sort of like an orc or an ogre
from a fantasy series. I quite like it - especially the new deco on the
Armorvor head.
Because
of the sheer, seemingly nearly endless variety of figures it's hard to
describe things as essential in the indie sphere. If you see something
you like, another recolor may be on the way and you might like it more -
but not the Armorvor Bopper. This 29-piece wonder will likely
never make an encore because it was part of a massive TMNT-themed set
that evoked one of the most popular series of the 1980s and 1990s.
Sadly, there was no room for Splinter or April, but you pretty much got a
tribute to everybody including the punk Warthog thug Bebop - a style of
music I assume nobody watching this cartoon really had in their record
stacks.
Going bright - not just white, the Outer Space Men continues the long march to the sea with White Star Orbitron.
I should be bored with the format, but I'm not - the unique body
types cast in white look worthwhile, so the unique space bug-esque parts
pop nicely when extruded in white with blue highlights.
Shadow of the Villser! A new mold is here - with multiple flavors - with the sizable and long-awaited Villser. The Argen/Buildman mold returns, and a lot of figures in classi Pheyden colors were also up for grabs. At press time, 14 of the 21 releases are still available and I would wager that might change by morning. Click here to see the August 3 2017 Onell Design drop menu.
As part of a wave of fantasy guys inspired by swords and magic and demons, the Outer Space Men refugee OSM Mystron Demonula
fits. Space-faring knights can do battle against a red being of evil
from another plane, who just happens to be from a popular compatible toy
line. By now you've had many shots at Mystron as a clear figure, a
glow figure, a plain white figure, a painted figure, with about 8
releases to date. It's not a lot by Glyos standards, but compared to
most other toy lines it's a ton. Thanks to new colors and new paint
masks, the results are pretty solid.
It feels familiar but it ain't! Standing about 2 3/4-inches tall, Pheyden Zardurac
is yet another take on the signature Onell Design creation. The
distinctive dome head with skull-like face and big, colorful eyes have
graced dozens (if not hundreds) of figures by now, with the savvy Onell
Design crew finding new and interesting ways to dress up the same basic
figure. Sometimes this would be an alternate head, a phase arm, or a
recent popular addition is a scarf. This one goes an extra step by
including the debut of a new "shirt" design on his chest plus a whopping
four bonus accessories from The Outer Space Men figures.
There was a Cyclops figure in this wave, and the runner shares
accessories for Gemini and Orbitron. This means you get a lot more
stuff for your money if you bought this particular Pheyden.
I know what you're saying - wasn't there already a glow in the dark version of Electron+? Yes. This new Outer Space Men Cosmic Radiation Electron+
is cast in a slightly different (and better) glow plastic with more
paint highlights and for the first time, bent arms. The original
release, for reasons not ever truly revealed, just had the straight arms
only. If you just need a glow Electron+, either version is great -
but if you want a matching glow set or the very best version you can
get, get this new one.
Altered Perceptions! Fantasy-themed sets are finally up for grabs right now, including a mystery figure of unknown origins and Mystron in red. Click here to see the May 29 2017 Onell Design drop menu.
With
monthly drops and all sorts of gorgeous figures, it's easy to get lost
in the output of Onell Design and the related Glyos family. We're now
seeing over 100 figures per year, which puts this family above even Star Wars in terms of sheer variety. The nifty Neo Granthan Rocker is made of 29 pieces, all of which come from existing toys specially (and heavily) painted to look like Rocksteady of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
fame. He might look like a familiar face - the color scheme and head
deco recall a popular character from a comic book, TV show, movie, video
game, and so on. But who? Obviously it's not Rocksteady - it's just
an armored dinosaur figure with paint that makes you think vaguely of
the rhino mutant from the classic cartoon series. By now you've no
doubt seen a few reviews of the Neo Granthan figures and the Armorvors
from which they were born, so know that this is a plussed up version of
those sturdy, nifty figures.
Was he sent here by the devil? No good sir, Cosmic Radiation Mystron's
on the level. The same figure mold is back for another go-round, this
time in glow plastic with silver highlights. Do we need this? No...
but yes. It glows, it's awesome.
Refugees from the past! Standing about 3-inches tall, a Neo Granthan Skaterriun Mimic
is named for Matt Doughty's elusive "Skate Wars" concept that he
whipped up in the 7th grade. The sci-fi military figures looked pretty
cool, and the Sketerriun figures are a nod to it. As usual, the nifty
new color schemes got applied to many of the figures in the Onell
Design catalog including the lovely Armorvor/Neo Granthan buck. It's
good.
Sometimes things stay unfinished for a while, like this look at the Aurustell Elite Armorvor.
I shot these pictures over four years ago when it showed up in the
mail, but I'm only just now getting around to writing about it. This is
a shame, because it's a good one. The Armorvor (and later Neo
Granthan) mold has since come out in dozens of flavors, but I think this
is the only golden one so far. (There is also a bronze one.)
One
of the recurring questions in any toy collecting game is, eventually,
the issue of "Do I want to buy another version of this character?"
Grumpy me says yes, because OSM Cyclops Zardurac is a different
and distinctive enough take on the man from beyond the Milky Way that it
becomes interesting. It also, surprisingly, had a larger production
run which had not sold out prior to arriving in my hands a mere 4 days
after placing my order. Not 4 business days, but I ordered Thursday and
got it Monday. That's bonkers fast. (As always, thank you Matt for the fast delivery and the bonus goodies. Oh, the bonus goodies.)
Encounter on Selogo! Classic LEGO Space (and Insectoids) themed sets are up for grabs right now, including a mystery figure of unknown origins. Click here to see the May 17 2017 Onell Design drop menu.
There are lots of glowing Outer Space Men now, some of which make more sense than others. Me, I want 'em all because I love glowing things. Cosmic Radiation Commander Comet
a sensible idea, given that an angel-looking thing could make sense as a
glowing, ethereal being. It's just like the other ones, but it glows.
And has silver paint. It's good.
If there's a reference to Capture Pheyden
beyond an early Capture Exellis - a cool robot figure - I don't know
what it is. This relatively new figure pays tribute to an older
figure, and possibly something else, but I don't know what it is off the
top of my head. How's that for a good start? The classic Pheyden
mold is, seemingly immortal. This time around the brown figure has
orange arms and thighs, with hands and feet in grey and brown. You can
really see that some good work went in to the paints here, and at this
point that's why you're here. You've got a Pheyden, but for the umpteenth
Pheyden it's gotta be special.
A tribute! Standing about 3-inches tall, Phanoid is the next in this year's series of ongoing tributes to Fisher-Price's surprisingly wonderful Adventure People
3 3/4-inch action figure line. The genius of it was that it was packed
with mundane normal then-modern Earth stuff, plus it had a swell space
line partially made up of mixing and matching parts from said mundane
line in wacky colors to create the likes of X-Ray Man and Clawtron. It
was a great example of how you could make something new out of a
recolor that doesn't generally feel like the original.
I am a huge, huge sucker for M.U.S.C.L.E.-style mini figures. Huge. So I when I saw the Mega Bit Pheyden Flesh Set
I was sitting here asking if I needed to buy yet another set of these
guys. After realizing I still had to order that Copper Tape from
Flying Vipers and a couple of t-shirts, the answer was a fast "yes."
Once I'm paying shipping, all bets are off - if you sell music and band
shirts drawn by Matt Doughty - in my size, no less? I'm going to give
you my business. So here we are, more figures I don't need, but do
want.
I
don't know how many of you know how these reviews work, but to do one
every day I have to basically set them up like an assembly line and do
them weeks - sometimes months - in advance. This Outer Space Men Cosmic Radiation Astro-Nautilus
comes out tonight, and getting it shot, reviewed, and up this
quickly can be a trouble. (Heck, this intro? Wrote it when the figure
was still in the mail.) That's one of the good and bad things about
reviewing toys - on one hand, I know what kind of quality to expect from
this ongoing line as the actual manifestation rarely disappoints. It
also speaks of a certain homogeny that creeps in to even the best indie
line - eventually I can tell you what a figure will be before it even
arrives. The Astro-Nautilus mold is an awesome, creative design that is
one of my favorites. The glow plastic from the Glyos factory is second
to none, resulting in some of the brightest glowing figures you can buy
today. I haven't even held the figure in my hands yet, and I'm
perfectly comfortable telling you that fans of glow and this design are
going to want it and should buy it along with whatever other glow
figures are in the store that you don't have yet. Scary, eh? Anyway,
let's open the bag.