Sideshow Collectibles

I remember seeing Alien at the theater in 1979. The hype machine had done a great job, and both the posters and the tagline ("In space, no one can hear you scream") had the horror fans geeked. The relatively unknown actress Sigourney Weaver starred, with a solid cast of character actors supporting her. The film combined a great script with excellent direction and acting to create one of the top horror movies of all time.

But no matter how good the rest of a horror film might be, it absolutely has to have a fantastic monster design to become one of the greats. And Alien, and the follow-up films Aliens, Aliens 3, Alien Resurrection and Alien vs. Predator, had exactly that. The main protagonist was designed by the great H.R. Giger, who won an Academy Award for his work. The alien (or Xenomorph, as it was referred to in later films) taps into our basic fears of all things insect-like and slimy, and when you throw in not one but two sets of big nasty teeth, you've got the perfect nightmare on two legs.

Hot Toys has been producing sixth scale figures based on the various films. We've got the marine Hicks, with Apone, Hudson, and Drake along with Ripley coming soon. A sixth scale Power Loader for Ripley was shown at Toy Fair, and you can order all these goodies from Sideshow. They are distributing the figures in the U.S. for Hot Toys.

But what good would all those people be without Aliens to battle? Today I'm looking at their Alien Warrior based on the look in the film Alien vs Predator. They are also doing a Warrior based on the Aliens film that will be released in 2007. How far off can an Alien Queen be?

Packaging

Hot Toys has done some very nice packaging in their licensed lines. These figures are technically 'model kits', which is usually done for reasons in licensing and importing (models or anything that requires assembly is treated differently than an action figure with respect to tariffs). The box is wide, with an outside sleeve that sports excellent graphics and a nice mirror finish. Inside this sleeve is a box that holds the almost entirely assembled body. You add a leg, a tail, the spikes on the back, and you're good to go.

The box is collector friendly (you can easily remove the figure without damaging the package, put it on display, and return it later), but to put the figure back requires that you disassemble him. That's easier with the Alien than some other Hot Toys figures, like Robocop, but it's still a bit more work than usual.

Sculpting

Hootchie-mamma, this is one mighty fine looking Alien. This is an Alien that other Aliens oogle at the beach. And when Alien fans come by your house and see him on the shelf, they'll be doing plenty of oogling too.

The clear dome is made from a very hard plastic, and is not removable. However, it is *just* translucent enough to make out the inner workings underneath. It's also hard enough to resist scratching, at least with normal handling.

The face has a soft rubber cover, allowing the articulation in the jaw (more on that later!) to work perfectly. And while soft rubber often means softer details and a less realistic appearance, that's not the case at all. The amount of detail in the sinewy skin and rubber ligaments is excellent, and there's no obvious difference between the softer sections and the hard plastic areas in detail or style.

The soft rubber torso reaches all the way to the base of the pelvis, covering all the excellent chest and waist articulation. To make the hips as seamless as possible, there is a soft rubber 'fringe' on both legs that can mesh with the soft rubber torso. While it isn't a perfect solution (there's still some gaping that the fringe can't cover) it does look much, much better than if the core ball joint had been visible.

An issue for many past figures in the sixth scale arena was that they really weren't sixth scale. Typical adult aliens are supposed to be about eight feet in height, which translates to 16" in traditional sixth scale, the exact height of this figure. This is a perfect match up for your other Sideshow or Hot Toys figures.

As I mentioned earlier, these figures are really 'model kits'. The handful of pieces pop on easy enough, but I did find that the tail tends to come off a bit too easily. That's because you'll end up twisting it a bit when you're posing him, and by twisting it you can easily remove it. It's not a major annoyance, but one I did notice.

Paint

There have been many plastic versions of the Alien in many scales. Some have been cheap action figures, others expensive statues or busts. And the hardest thing for them all to do is capture the look of the skin through the paint application.

This alien is done in a traditional tarnished silver look, with the deeper areas of the sculpt much darker than the highlights. There's a semi-gloss look to the finish, not so overpowering as to be distracting, but just the right amount of sheen to appear wet. The soft rubber doesn't have quite as much gloss, but it's surprisingly close in appearance to the harder plastic arms and legs.

The color of the soft rubber and hard plastic is identical, which can be tough to pull off with such different materials. The rate of absorption and amount of absorption of the paint varies with the type of material, so getting a soft rubber and hard plastic to match in color can be quite difficult. They've pulled it off flawlessly here, and until you handle him you won't even realize there's a physical difference.

The only small paint details on this guy are the teeth, and these are extremely clean and neat. Both sets show impressive small detail work, especially the tiny but deadly inner fangs. This paint job adds tremendous amounts of realism to an already excellent sculpt.

Articulation

If you're a regular reader of my reviews, you know how much I love a great neck joint. No other single joint can provide as much personality and realism in the posing as the neck. This Alien has not just a good neck joint, but a fantastic neck joint. There are two ball joints in there, allowing for some very cool tilting and turning. Even without eyes, you can give the alien emotion just by tilting that head.

The jaw is also articulated, and opens as you push the small lever forward on the bottom of the head. The jaw and stringy flesh on the side of the mouth is made from the soft rubber, so it stretches smoothly as the interior jaw moves forward. This jaw can also be locked in the extended pose, making the feature even move valuable.

The ball jointed shoulders are only jointed at the torso, maintaining the appearance of the sculpt. That means they don't move to far out from the body, but the forward and backward movement is great.

To allow for more arm poses, there are also pin joints at the elbows and ball joints at the wrists. But these joints also turn on the posts in the arm, which gives them an excellent range of movement. The elbow joints are also covered inside with the same soft rubber, a nice touch that makes the articulation almost invisible.

Inside the rubber torso, there are two ball joints, one at the waist and one at the chest. These joints bend and twist and turn perfectly, and are tight enough to hold even extreme poses.

The ball jointed hips and ankles work well with the knee joints and tail to allow for dynamic stances. There are soft rubber tendons on the back of the knees that can bend and twist as the knees move, but there's also space inside the calves that these tendons slide into, and that's the kind of detail that takes this figure miles above the usual competition.

The five 'appendages' on his back attach by inserting pegs into holes. As you'd expect, they turn inside the holes, and because they are sculpted on various angles, turning them even slightly gives him a different look.

The long hard rubber tail has a wire inside to allow it to be posed as well. While this figure isn't *quite* as articulated as some sixth scale clothed human figures, it is much more articulated than it appears in photos. The excellent hidden neck and torso joints, along with the extra touches at the knees and elbows, make this a figure you really have to handle and pose to appreciate.

Accessories

There are no accessories included with the figure. While it might seem that there isn't much you could include, there are a few things. For example, how about a face hugger or egg...or both? At this price point it's not unreasonable to expect some extras.

Fun Factor

Great, sturdy articulation. Fantastic sculpting and paint. This is a figure that could actually handle normal play. Of course, no 10 year old is ever going to get the chance to put him up against G.I. Joe. But expensive 'collectible' action figures shouldn't forget their roots if they want to be great. This figure knows the heritage of action figures, and remains true to it.

Value

Hot Toys figures are not cheap. This figure runs $130 at Sideshow, and the very best deals I've seen anywhere have been over $100. While this is easily the finest Alien action figure ever produced, he's a tough sell at that price point. One thing to keep in mind is that these are limited editions, and the price on Hot Toys figures tends to rise once the edition is sold out. People that passed on Apone and Vasquez have learned that painful lesson already.

Things To Watch Out For -

Not a thing. The assembly on this figure is pretty minor, and you shouldn't have any risk of damage.

Overall

I own lots of aliens - action figures, statues, mini-busts, mini-figures, even plush. But if I could only own one, it would be this one. He fits in perfectly with a sixth scale display (my favorite scale), has a fantastic sculpt and paint, with plenty of articulation to set up some terrific displays. The locking inner jaw is just a bonus. Okay, he's also mighty expensive, and the only thing holding him back from a four star rating is a price tag that's high for what your getting, even when you're getting something this good.

But if you're in the world of high end collectibles, then you'll be a bit more insulated from the pain of this price point. This figure will look terrific with the Hot Toys Marines, or posed with the Hot Toys Predators. Add in the next Hot Toys Alien, Ripley and the Power Loader, and you'll have a truly amazing display for the hard core fan. BTW, there's also a brown version of this guy available through Sideshow right now, and he's limited to only 350 imported to the U.S.

Check out these Hot Toys Model Kits Today:

Alien Warrior 16-inch Fully Poseable Model Kit - Exclusive Brown Edition

Alien Warrior 16-inch Fully Poseable Model Kit - Regular Edition