For this weekend's post, I'm back in the rogues' gallery format, with some new acquisitions I hadn't been sure I would get. In the course of collecting space guys, I had long been aware that Marx and certain other companies had made alien figures to go with their astronauts. For the most part, I was not greatly interested in these, but I did keep an eye out for a good deal. A few weeks ago, I finally got a couple vintage aliens. Here's a lineup with our old friend, the Timmee turtle-crab alien, a Lanard Alien egg and face hugger, and another guy I hadn't gotten to.
The big score here was the helmeted alien figure. It was released by Marx as part of the Tom Corbett/ Rex Mars line in the 1950s (the clear source for the 70mm and 4 inch space guys), and became one of the most famous of several from the company. I find it distinctly ape-like and very suspiciously similar to the creature from the notorious Z-movie Robot Monster, released in 1953. Per the lore, that creation came about when the director tried to save money by putting a diving helmet on a gorilla suit rather than pay extra for a robot costume. Whether or not the likeness is intentional, the figure is certainly more believable. It's made from rubber, still somewhat flexible. It can go for about $20; I ended up paying a bit less and got a couple more figures in the deal. Here's a closeup.
"Actually, this is a thermometer. Guess what kind."
The other alien I got is from Lido, reportedly as part of a Captain Video tie-in line, typically described as a "bird alien". I was a lot less satisfied with this one. It's made from a hard, marbled plastic that seems unsuited to capturing the detail usually seen on vintage figures. There is a bit of "flash", especially around the gun, as well as a sort of splotch on the face that looks like either damage or a manufacturing defect. It would be tempting to regard him as an inferior copy, but the material and especially the subdued color is entirely in line with a "vintage" figure. Still, it's an interesting design with a far more modern, "hard-SF" feel than the Marx aliens. The shape of the alien is somewhat reminiscent of the Gernsback-era classic "A Martian Odyssey", in what looks almost like a combat exoskeleton. Here's a closeup of him.
Finally, I have included a more mysterious figure I picked up some time ago, in a set with some MPC space guys. I had been meaning to feature this guy, but he never seemed to fit with any other figures. As it is, I can't assess if he is supposed to be an alien, though he is clearly science fictional. To me, his getup feels like a cross between a radiation suit and samurai armor. I cannot guess at his origin; from pictures for the online listing, I seriously considered the possibility he was a MUSCLE figure (of course I have plenty of them), but the fact that he proved to be sculpted with a base was enough to rule that out. Here's a closeup of him.
Take Me to Hulk Hogan!
That covers the lot for now, though I certainly have other loose ends to cover in the near future. More to come!
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