Monday, March 14, 2016

NECA TOYS ALIEN Concept Figure Review

Translucent Prototype Xenomorph Suit


Although it never made it to the movie, the first Xenomorph (Big Chap) from the original ALIEN movie was supposed to be translucent so that you could see its inner workings. However, due to several unsuccessful attempts to make a translucent Xeno suit the color of it was changed to the dark colored version that we all know and love. The backstory about this is fascinating. If you have the time and the desire to learn more and see pictures of the original prototype suit then head over to the Strange Shapes blog. There are two articles in particular on this topic which you can find here and here. If you are a fan of the ALIEN franchise then you will want to give them a look.

Packaging:

This Xeno comes in the standard clamshell packaging that comes with all the rest of the ALIEN and ALIENS figures. It has a cool looking sticker with Alien egg designating it as a "concept figure." The back of the packaging gives you a brief overview about the history of the translucent flesh-tone Xenomorph.


Figure:

I will tell you right off the bat that this is my favorite ALIEN figure in this scale since NECA came out with the Dog Alien from Alien 3. This figure is a perfect example of why NECA is so great. They are continually pushing the envelope and thinking of new and creative products to release. NECA is not a afraid to try something different, and they do their best work when they think outside of the box. Some companies would be too scared to take a risk making a figure that never appeared in the movie. However, due to Randy Falk's hands-on approach to his fans he has his finger on the pulse of what they want. This is what separates NECA from their competitors in the market.

At first glance the figure appears to be a creamy almost bone like color. However, once you get it under lighting you really get to see what makes this figure special. When you get this figure in the right light you will see the light shine through it. I took mine outside and had a field day taking pictures with it. The pictures don't even do it justice though. To get the full effect of the translucence you need to get one of these in your hands and play with it in person.

The plastic is good quality and very durable. The Xeno figures continue to improve in quality with each one. The Concept Xeno also has a ton of articulation which is great for someone like me who likes to take my figures out, pose them, and photograph them. Upright it stands at roughly nine inches tall, has twenty-five points of articulation, and has a bendable tail (which again is very helpful when posing him). 

Speaking of posing, as you can see in the pictures NECA has put a hole in the feet of this figure so that you can use him with your NECA stands. This Xeno also has bendable toe joints.

As you can tell I highly recommend you pick this guy up. He stands out from the rest of my ALIEN collection, and that is a good thing. Not only is it a fun piece, but you can enjoy telling the backstory of this guy when showing your collection to others.

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 Sample figure provided by NECA TOYS

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