Synopsis of Toy

In 1968, the Colorform company made a bold attempt at cracking the action figure market with a set of seven bendable rubber "Outer Space Men," each named after a different planet in Earth's solar system. Although the toy line was not initially successful, the innovative and fantastical design made lasting impressions on those children who owned them. Much like Star Trek, their popularity only grew after cancellation, and Colorform Aliens are now one of the more expensive toys to collect, a fact made even more acute because of the toy’s somewhat fragile elements.

Encased in the rubber at the limbs and neck, Colorform Aliens were fitted with stiff lead wires that allowed for a semi-permanent articulation of the figure's body. Unfortunately, as many sad, sad children discovered, the more posing effected on the figure, the more the internal wires had a tendency to bend out of shape or, worse yet, break—rendering the Outer Space Man a hopeless, gimpy mess.

The design of Colorform Aliens both on the packaging and the figure itself was indisputably one of their coolest features. Colorful, space age motifs combined with the tantalizing elements of mythology, science fiction and obscured lines of good vs. evil (who was to say which Alien was the hero and which was the villain?) made for an especially alluring toy. Several of the figures, such as Alpha 7 The Man From Mars, had permanently fixed colored plastic bubble space helmets around their heads, which instantly and mysteriously made them highly coveted. That is, with the exception of Commander Comet—the only human looking figure in the bunch—who was apparently just too white bread to be cool. Even with the space helmet.

Many kids spent fruitless hours trying to complete their collection of Colorform Aliens. Several of the original sets of figures were produced in such low quantities as to make them nearly impossible to attain. These were invariably the best figures and the ones that only your most hated schoolyard enemies owned. Of course, this made it necessary for you to humiliate yourself by making alliances with kids whom you normally feared and despised, just to get your hands on their sweet, sweet Colorform Aliens.

Colorform planned a second set of figures called The World of the Future, which was unfortunately never mass produced and now only exists in the hands of collectors rich or crazy enough to pay the exorbitant prices these rare prototype units fetch. Instead of more figures, the company produced a few puzzles and a traditional Colorform set based on both the original figures and the never-produced second line of aliens. The Colorform set is worth having just to look at the hauntingly rad images of the figures you could never buy.

Although Colorform Aliens were innovative and eventually enjoyed a nearly pagan-like popularity among those who owned them at one time or another, the Colorform company never again tried to make action figures.

Release History of Toy

1968 - The Outer Space Men
Alpha 7 The Man from Mars with Laser Pistol and Helmet
Astro-Nautilus The Man from Neptune with Trident
Electron+ The Man from Pluto with Laser Pistol and Helmet
Colossus Rex The Man from Jupiter with Mace
Commander Comet The Man from Venus with Crossbow, Wings and Helmet
Orbitron The Man from Uranus with Weapon
Xodiac The Man from Saturn with Weapon

Unreleased - The World of the Future
Cyclops Giant from Beyond the Milky Way with Weapons, Helmet and Armor
Gamma-X The Man from the 4th Dimension with Weapon
Gemini The Man from Twin Star Algol with Helmet, Septre and Weapon
Inferno The Flame Man of Mercury with Weapon
Metamorpho The Man from Alpha Centauri with Accessories
Mystron The Man from Hollow Earth with Septre and Helmet

Related Accessories
1977 - Set of Four 250 Pc. Space Warriors Puzzles
1977 - Colorforms Space Warriors Adventure Set
Multiple Series of Minatures

Sub Categories of Toys

action figures

Toy and Game Manufacturer

Colorforms

Other Toy Links