Toy Review: NECA Alien Xenomorph 35th Anniversary
The surrealist works of H. R. Giger depicting a biomechanical, turned inside-out themes of sexuality were brought to life by Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien. The film, if I'm not mistaken, marked the beginning of the science fiction-horror genre in the movie industry. From small creatures bursting out of people's bodies to phallic-headed, acid-blooded, hard-to-kill Xenomorphs (as they were referred to in the 1986 sequel Aliens), the film left its mark in Hollywood history. The Xenomorph itself became one of the most memorable movie monsters in Hollywood.
NECA released a Xenomorph action figure some years ago, though I never opened it. Then in 2014, NECA re-released an updated version of the iconic monster in time to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the first film, and I am very pleased to own one.
The first release:
The 35th Anniversary re-release:
The re-release features better articulation than its predecessor. The actual Xenomorph suit featured human eye sockets which was hidden to make it look more menacing and project fear through uncertainty if the creature was looking at you or not. The 1st version featured a white-brown-tinged carapace, where you can clearly see the eye sockets and a large portion of its phallic skull. The 2014 version had a translucent, white-colored carapace, which is more screen-accurate.
The 2014 version had a retooled body to support better articulation and sculpt. The pelvic area is made of soft plastic to cover the hip joints and to make look more organic, compared to the 1st version's V-shaped hip joints.
The 1st version's matte black paint became glossy black with a mix of dark gray/brown in the 2014 version to replicate the gooey texture of the Xenomorph. Ewww!!!
The bendable tail is made of soft plastic with probably an aluminum wire inside to make it rigid. If you own one, do be careful not to bend it too much or you'll tear up the tail!
The bony protrusion on its nape is removable so the head can be tilted to look upwards.
Talk about great pedicure from NECA, because those toenails look fabulous!!!
Unfortunately, the feet are not actually using ball joints, so motion is limited to frontal up and down and a lateral 360-degree rotation. There is also articulation on the toes.
The signature profile view of the Xenomorph.
The Xenomorph's most unforgettable feature is its inner mouth that can pierce any skull in the movies (Yikes!). The inner mouth is manually extended and is painted a weathered white color with black to mark the detailed ridges.
Some let-downs of this figure are actually the most notable complaints to NECA's quality control. The left arm of my figure is somewhat stuck. I had to force it on the first try, but I ultimately let it be as I'm afraid it will break. I don't like the soft plastic pelvis that much, since it hinders the legs when I make it do crawling poses. The figure itself is not stable, thus requiring a display stand. Finally, the open mouth of the inner jaw prevents the outer mouth from being fully closed. The inner jaw is also a bit loose, so it falls out when I open the outer jaw. But even with these imperfections, it's still a great figure.
Sealed in a blister package, I bought this figure for $24, a reasonable price for collectors of Alien figures. While it has been three years since its release, there is still a lot of stores selling them.
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