Alpha 7 The Man from Mars Outer Space Men Alpha Series Comic-Con Exclusive 2011 Item No.: n/a Manufacturer: Four Horsemen Includes: Two-piece helmet, ray gun, spare arms Action Feature: n/a Retail: $40.00 (sold as a set) Availability: July 2011 Other: First release of Alpha 7 in this line
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While the first batch of 2010 Outer Space Men figures had only one figure with a hard-plastic helmet, the 2011 quartet is lousy with them. Alpha 7 is a translucent greenish/bluish figure capped off with an ABS plastic helmet and gun in matching clear purple. The accessory fits quite securely, removing it from his head for the first time may prove challenging so be careful-- but be prepared to apply some force to it, but take care to not crack the pegs off.

The tiny 2 1/2-inch figure is roughly the size of a Minimates figure, and its design is something of a departure from other figures in the Outer Space Men line. Rather than use the usual t-crotch design which allows the legs to easily swing forward, this one has the legs attach to the hip at a v-crotch angle. To preserve the integrity of the original bendable figure's design-- and the durability of the figure-- it makes sense. You rotate the leg around and twist the boot to simulate the leg moving forward-- it's a clever design on such a small figure, but it's going to limit a customizer's ability to swap parts with other toys in this style. The size and Glyos system basically requires the Horsemen use a different kind of leg articulation, and while it does look nice it is a little wonky compared to the fairly straightforward Kennerness (I'm using that as a word now) of the previous OSM releases' hips.

His innate playability isn't quite as good as the previous year's designs. His hands are a little looser relative to his gun, and he's the first (and only) Outer Space Man without fully closed fists. As such, he's dropping his gun fairly easily so far, and his wrist and ankle pegs are smaller than other Glyos and Outer Space Men figures'. (You can swap his fists and feet, and the holes in his feet can fit the smaller-size Glyos peg.) While he can sit, his legs are splayed apart and gravity keeps him falling backward-- so don't make him sit. Standing isn't too much of a problem but it's slightly harder to properly align the legs with this design. A first in the line, he has a fully-removable jetpack. If you want, you could give this to your other Glyos figures like a Buildman, and it looks pretty good if a teensy bit small for them-- but it's a nice extra, to be sure.

The figure has about 9 points of articulation, and is still completely compatible with other Glyos-system action figures. As a figure that's one of the shortest Glyos figures outside the Onell Designs Crayboth, you might not really want to swap his parts with the other, taller figures. Due to his size your opportunities to customize this one are going to be a little more limited, but as a stand-alone toy it's quite charming. I mean, how often do we get "Martian" action figures these days? The whimsy of space life on other planets has been eroded by NASA and their hoity-toity "facts," so I have a hard time not enjoying a little green man with antenna and a fishbowl helmet. Factor in a radar dish-bedecked ray gun, and what you have here is a nifty throwback.

As of today it is not known just how many Alpha 7 figures they're going to make-- the 2010 figures were produced in 4-5 colorways (this is how they say "repaint" I've noticed) and a normal fully-painted Alpha 7 is on deck for 2011. If last year is any indication we should expect a New York Comic-Con redeco and maybe a special for Christmas, but after the recent announcement maybe we'll get another exclusive as well.

These seemingly didn't sell out at the show, but online pre-sells did close a few weeks ago. Given the fervor over the 2010 Alphas and the reduced enthusiasm and lack of press on the 2011 line, it's a safe bet these will be cheaper even if they did ultimately sell through. I would suggest getting this one to anyone actively collecting the line, but I would wager the fully-painted one I would probably suggest you track down. I still like this guy a lot, even more if he had a display stand to keep him from falling over. So when do we get the "red planet" variant?

Additional Images

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