The Man from Planet X was a black and white sci fi movie made in 1951. A little over a decade later it inspired toy genius Mel Birnkrant to create Electron +, The Man from Pluto.
Electron + was of the plastic action figures from Mel's meisterwerk and my all-time favourite space toy line, the Outer Space Men by Colourforms [ Colorforms in the US]. I only ever had series I as a kid but they were rare things of real artistic beauty on my toy shelf. No other toy line takes me back to those happy carefree days of the 1960's as much as the Outer Space Men.
It irks me that I can't recall if my Mum and Dad got them for me from the local toy shop in Preston called Thomas Mears or whether my Dad stocked them at his Cash and Carry warehouse [Richard Oldham Ltd]. Even more frustrating is that they were all chucked out in the early Seventies by the same Mum and Dad! Damn! I can't afford any of them now but I do so love the memory of them!
To read the real story of how all of these rubber space figures came to be then go straight to the horse's mouth, the website of the inventor himself, the great Mel Birnkrant, the most brilliant toy designer of his generation.
Picture: the one and only Mel Birnkrant
I would also, on behalf of me [Woodsy], Bill and Scoop, like to welcome Gary Schaeffer and The Outer Space Men. Com website as new followers of Moonbase Central. Its a great pleasure to have you on board especially as you went online in the same year as us, 2008!
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