Fans of Colourforms Outer Space Men will recognise Electron+, The Man from Pluto.
[pic:MCWToys]
Toy creator Mel Birnkrant's inspiration came from the movie The Man from Planet X [1951].
Mel's genius for absorbing older fantasy and sci-fi references into his Outer Space Men has always fascinated me.
I often wonder which other films influenced space figure toys?
To get the ball rolling here's one I'm throwing in the ring.
See the red helmeted guy in this poster for Phantom From Space [1953].....
.... well check out this action figure, a Gi Joe miniature Deep Sea Diver!
What do you think?
Have you any ideas?
With Electron+'s chestbox and silvery exterior, I wonder if the early Cybermen were also an inspiration. This was my absolute favorite line of toys as a kid.
ReplyDeleteI do see the Cyberman in there John. they scared me to death. So you had Outer Space Men too?
DeleteOh yes, I think I had all of the original Outer Space men, although not the Martian's saucer. I think my all time favorite was Colossus Rex. Back in the '90s, I picked up 1" hard plastic figures of Colossus Rex in St. Mark's square, NYC.
DeleteWhen you say the Martian's saucer do you mean the Orbitor John? Not sure it was produced. I certainly didn't have one either. Have you seen Mel Birnkrant's website? the creator of the toys. he's a nice old guy. You can email him! I did!
DeleteMuton makes a great Dalek Robo-man type army builder :-)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/teashot/8563916267/in/album-72157632950624495/
Superb Edwin. I love that black and white picture you've linked. Is that one of yours?
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