Tag Archives: 90s

#0506: Han Solo – Bespin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

HAN SOLO – BESPIN

POWER OF THE FORCE II

HanBespin1

Hey! Do you like reading about Han Solo figures? I sure hope you do, cuz I’m reviewing another one today. Yes, after the barrel of laughs I had writing yesterday’s review, I thought, why not another one? So, I’ll be wrapping up this little subset of Power of the Force II reviews with another Han Solo. Yay!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HanBespin2This particular Han found himself released in the second year of Kenner’s Power of the Force II line. After doing the primary looks of most of the main characters from A New Hope (as well as one or two figures from the other two movies), the second year turned to the later looks of the primary characters, just to make sure the line didn’t run out of Hans and Lukes. So, Han is based on his primary look from Empire Strikes Back, commonly referred to as his Bespin look, as it’s what he’s wearing during all of those scenes. It’s definitely a fan-favorite look, and I’d say its popularity rivals the ANH look. The figure is about 3 ¾ inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation. The figure’s sculpt is mostly new, with the exception of the head, which is re-used from the previous Han figure. That was definitely the best sculpted piece on the last figure, but it’s still saddled with its own set of issues, chief among them being it just doesn’t really look like Han Solo. That said, it’s on an entirely new body here, and that does the sculpt a few favors, chief amongst them being that the head is just a heck of a lot more proportional with the new body. Kenner kind of caught on to some of the complaints about the first assortment of POTF II figures’ proportions, so later assortments ended up at least a tad less ridiculous. Han is still a little bulky, but it’s more evenly spread this time. He lacks the laughable hour glass figure of the previous Han, and his arms don’t look like they’re about to bust the seams of his sleeves either. Those are both pretty big improvements. The figure’s clothes also have a fair bit more texture this time around, especially the shirt and coat, which helps make the figure at least a little more interesting looking. Sadly, he still has some oddly posed legs, but at least they look more like a deep step this time than the freaking side lunge that smuggler Han was doing. The paintwork on Han is overall pretty clean and well handled, and it seems to be better that the other Han. However, there’s a paint chip on his neck, which is rather annoying. Also, the most glaring issue with that paint is that they flat out got the color of his coat wrong. In the movie it’s very definitely blue. Here, it’s black for some reason. I wonder why that happened. Han includes his trademark (and still way oversized) blaster pistol, as a large gun, which I am once again pretty certain he never actually carries in the movies.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Okay, so while I didn’t actually have this figure growing up, I did get to play with one on a fairly regular basis. See, my grandmother wanted my cousin Patrick and me to have some figures to play with when we stayed with her, so she had me pick out a handful of POTF II figures for the two of us. This version of Han was among them. Patrick and I had dug out a small little dirt pit in the back yard, which we used as a stand in for the Sarlac Pit, and one day, it started raining and we had to run back in. We thought we had grabbed all of the figures, but poor Han got left behind. The next time we were both at the house, our grandfather had filled in the pit. Patrick and I dug for a while, but Han was nowhere to be found. It’s always been that figure that got away. While at Farpoint this year, still high from the excitement of getting the other POTF II figures from the charity sale, I found this Han at one of the dealer’s tables. His package had yellowed so much that it looked like the poor guy had been encased in amber, but the figure was just fine. And now I have that Han figure again. Huzzah!

#0505: Han Solo

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

HAN SOLO

POWER OF THE FORCE II

HanANH1

I’m desperately trying to come up with a good intro here, and literally the only thing going through my head is “Han Solo Cup.” Of which I feel rather ashamed. Yesterday, I remarked that I never had any of the Power of the Force II Stormtroopers. Well, funny thing about that is, on the flip side, the only Han Solo I owned from the line was Stormtrooper disguise Han. And, in what seems to be the story of my adult collecting life in general, I’ve decided to fix that. So, let’s look at a Han Solo figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HanANH2Han was released in the first assortment of POTF II figures, which shouldn’t really surprise anyone. He was Han freaking Solo after all. He’s roughly 3 ¾ inches in height, and he has the line’s standard 6 points of articulation. He’s based on Han’s primary look from A New Hope, which is generally the look most people associate with the character. Han’s sculpt was original to him, and it exhibits a lot of the same style cues present in other POTF II figures. Let’s start off with the basic proportions of the figure: he has an overall body-builder-esque physique, but even by body-builder standards, he’s a bit absurd. His shoulders are really broad, and his arms are practically bursting out of his sleeves. He also has the huge hands and impossibly thin waist that were prevalent in the line. Han, more so than others in the line, feels like a cartoon caricature, not a human being. On top of the proportions, Han’s sculpt is plagued by a few issues. Like a lot of the others in this line, Han’s legs are somewhat strangely posed, requiring that he stand in a deep stance to be even remotely balanced while standing. Also, though his hands may be large, they haven’t been sculpted to really hold anything. This is the worst on his right hand, you know, the one he holds his blaster with, which is sculpted flat, so he can’t actually do so. Finally, there’s the head. Now, to be fair, the head is easily the best part of this figure, especially from a technical standpoint. There’s some really nice detail and texturing. However, it seems like the sculptor was working from pictures of Harrison Ford at the time these figures were made, instead of at the time of the movies. And even then, it’s hard to see a lot of Ford in this sculpt. He looks a bit like the lovechild of Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, which, needless to say, isn’t Han Solo. Han’s paintwork is pretty much typical for the time. It’s certainly not bad, but it’s not anything amazing either. Everything is pretty much where it’s supposed to be, and there aren’t really any issues with bleed over or slop.  Han included his signature blaster pistol, which is hysterically oversized, and a larger blaster rifle, which doesn’t appear to be one he carries in the film.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I mentioned in the intro, this isn’t the Han I had growing up. I think part of what turned me off to Han figures in general was that likeness he had. I just didn’t like that Han looked so much older than he should. But, over time, the old Han figure has started to grow on me. So, Han ended up being one of the POTF II figures that I fished out of the charity sale box at this year’s Farpoint. Like the Stormtrooper, he’s definitely a goofy figure, but I feel a twinge of nostalgia for this guy.

#0504: Stormtrooper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

STORMTROOPER

POWER OF THE FORCE II

StormtrooperPOTF2a

When I was younger, I had my fair share of figures from Kenner’s Power of the Force II line. Seeing as it was the only Star Wars line around when I was younger, it was these guys or nothing. So, these guys it was. For whatever reason, however, I never found myself with a basic Stormtrooper figure. In fact, until recently, the only Stormtroopers I had were the vintage ones my Dad gave me. But, now I’m looking to change that (I guess), so here’s a Stormtrooper from POTF II!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

StormtrooperPOTF2bThe Stormtrooper was released in the first 1995 assortment of Power of the Force II figures. He stands roughly 3 ¾ inches tall and he has 6 whole points of articulation. This is usually the point of the review where I’d say that I don’t know which of the three Stormtrooper designs was used for the figure, but in actuality, it’s fairly clear that this figure is an amalgam of those three designs (and Arnold Schwarzenegger). The entirely of the POTF II line was stricken by some serious steroid use, but the Stormtrooper seems to have been hit the hardest. The most apparent problem with this figure’s sculpt is the fact that he clearly has no neck. Previous troopers didn’t actually show the neck, but they at least made the helmet long enough that you could actually believe there might be one under there. Not the case here. This guy’s just got a head and then some shoulders, with nothing in between. The head sits atop a huge barrel chest that goes into a serious hour glass at the waist, which is certainly an impressive feat, I’ll give him that. The figure then has the requisite arms and legs with a 45 degree bend, just so he can look a little extra awkward. The legs in particular are bad, because they make him rather difficult to keep standing. On top of the oddly proportioned body, the armor is forced to either cooperate with these new found proportions or go home. It’s chosen the former, which means that the details are kind of a rough estimate of what they were in the movies. The figure’s paint is the simplest of the simple, with only a few spots or black here and there, to break up all of that white. The paint is rather sloppily applied; I guess it just follows that rough estimate thing that the sculpt was doing. The Stormtrooper includes his standard blaster rifle, which he can only hold in one hand, and a larger rifle, which he can also only hold in one hand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Just like yesterday’s Obi-Wan, the Stormtrooper was fished out of a rather large box of Star Wars figures being sold to benefit the Farpoint charities. I must admit to being rather excited when I pulled this guy out. Sure, he’s goofy as hell, but he really resonates with me, for some odd reason. I mean, how could my collection possibly be complete without a muscle-bound Stormtrooper?

#0503: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

OBI-WAN KENOBI

POWER OF THE FORCE II

ObiWanPOTF1

Power of the Force II is really important to me. The line is certainly rather dated by today’s standards, probably even more so than even the vintage line, but it brought the Star Wars brand back to shelves after almost 10 years of absence. And, more importantly, it was the line on the shelves in the mid-1990s, just as a certain toy reviewer was getting into action figures. So, today, let’s have a look at that line’s take on Obi-Wan Kenobi, from back in the days when he’d only been played by one actor!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ObiWanPOTF2Obi-Wan was released in the first assortment of Power of the Force II figures, which started showing up in 1995-1996. The figure is about 3 ¾ inches in height and he had 6 points of articulation. Oh boy, that waist articulation! Obi-Wan is based on the character’s appearance in A New Hope. Like the rest of the POTF II line, Obi-Wan’s proportions are a little bit whacked. He doesn’t quite have the body builder’s physique that some of the others did, but he’s got some fairly broad shoulders, and man, just look at the size of those hands! Also, his legs have a pretty odd leg posing, which kind of makes him have to stand with a strange stance. For some reason, his outer robes have been done using a removable add-on. The end result is that the figure ends up quite a bit bulkier than he should be. Since the sleeves are still brown to match the outer robe, I honestly can’t think of the practical use for a removable piece. Admittedly, the head is actually a decent sculpt. It has a passing resemblance to Alec Guinness, if perhaps a little squashed. Obi-Wan’s paintwork is decent. Not great, but certainly not bad. There’s a little bit of bleed over in a few of the transition areas. Also, it’s true to the film, but the figure is rather dull, color-wise. You know what makes people want a figure of an old guy? Dull colors. Obi-Wan includes one accessory: his lightsaber. The lightsaber is absurdly long (taller than Obi-Wan), which kinda makes you wonder if old Ben is compensating for something.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This marks the second of this figure that I have owned. I got my original around the same time as all the others I have from this line, which is when they were first released. I ended up trading that figure for a Val Kilmer Batman variant (what can I say, I was young and foolish!).  I’ve gone all these years without picking up another one. While I was at Farpoint this year, I fished Obi-Wan, along with a few other POTF II figures out of a box of various Star Wars figures that were being sold to benefit the two Farpoint charities. So, I not only got to replace my original figure, but I also got to feel sorta good about it. That’s pretty cool, I guess.

Guest Review #0027: Earthworm Jim

Posted by Christian Wilson in Guest Reviews and tagged with , ,

EARTHWORM JIM

EARTHWORM JIM (PLAYMATES)

EWJ1

Hey guys!  The following is a Guest Review from my awesome brother Christian Wilson!  Take it away Christian…

This figure, like my review of Ash and Pikachu, is from a game I’ve never played. However, that won’t stop me! I now have all the systems (including the 360, since there was an HD Remake on the 360) to play Earthworm Jim, but whatever! I’ll get to it. You don’t own me…….

Let’s get on with the review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

EWJ2Jim was an earthworm from Earth, in case you got lost, and got a suit that gave him the ability to walk around and defeat baddies. Ya know, cuz Aliens™. Also, he could disconnect from the suit briefly to use his head (or the worm body) to whip as a platforming maneuver. That’s just…. Eugh! His backstory may be odd, but once it gets going it’s a pretty typical rescue Princess Whatsername from Evil Queen Slugforabutt (both actual names of the characters. Again, Eugh!) Now, knowing that interesting lore, the figure itself stands at just under 6 inches tall with 6 points of articulation. I have to say that the paint job is pretty spectacular. It really captures the essence of Jim (that sounds like a perfume). I bought him used so there are yellow stains which I can’t explain. Sounds creepy, right? The one I bought only came with his laser gun, which I looked up. The figures I’ve seen in-package had green accessories, but mine’s red. The Battle-Damaged Jim came with red accessories, but mine isn’t the battle-damaged Jim. Nonetheless, I prefer the red gun as it was the color of his original gun. Even though there is not comfortable way to put the gun in its “holster.” In that 90s style, and to keep up with what Jim actually can do in the game (Remember…..Eugh!?), there is a button on Jim’s backpack that makes his head shoot off. Very far. There’s almost no easy way of getting it off without having to go pick it up off of the floor. Otherwise, this is a really well done figure and he has a place on my shelf.

Yes, I too have a shelf. Though it’s smaller than Ethan’s. But then again I don’t have 2800+ action figures, so there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I said, I got this figure used, but I can’t remember where or when. Must’ve been recent, but I don’t know exactly. Even though I didn’t play the game(cause I wasn’t born then), I still love the figure because I love it when I get to have an action figure of a video game character. That just hits the spot. I’ll see you soon guys. DFTBA.

#0435: Data

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

DATA

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (PLAYMATES)

Following its presence at Mego in the late 70s, the Star Trek license struggled to find a home. Most of the movies didn’t get a dedicated toyline (aside from a very strange offering of figures by Ertl, based on Star Trek III). Galoob held the license for two short series based on Next Generation, but a third never materialized. Then, with the release of Generations, Playmates, best known for their definitive work with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, picked up the license, and provided the largest selection of Trek characters that is ever likely to be offered. After having decent success with Generations, they moved on to figures based on the entirety of Next Generation.  Today, I’ll be looking at their second take on Data.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Data was released in the first series of Star Trek: The Next Generation figures. Following the one offered in the Generations line, this is the second figure of the character that Playmates offered. Data is based on his appearance in the middle seasons of the show, after the uniform had evolved a bit. The figure is just shy of 5 inches tall and he features 14 points of articulation.  As far as I can tell, Data’s sculpt is unique to him. It’s possible that he may share one or two parts with some of the other crew members, but I don’t have any to compare. For the time, it’s a pretty good sculpt. It’s simple, but not in a bad way. The Brent Spiner likeness is good. The proportions are a bit off, though; he’s definitely got a case of the monkey arms. The sculpt of his right arm is also disrupted by the addition of the flip up panel to reveal his inner workings, but that’s a cool enough feature that it’s worth it. The figure also featured a bulky phaser holster on his leg, but that could easily be removed, leaving a mostly unnoticeable peg-hole on his leg. Data’s paint is pretty decent, and it’s certainly good by early 90s standards. Everything is clean and well applied. A slightly less shiny finish would have been nice, but that’s another “true to the time” thing. Most of my Data’s accessories have been lost, but I’m pretty sure he had a phaser, a tri-corder, and a stand. The phaser is rather laughable because it had a molded beam that wasn’t removable, meaning the holster was pretty much useless, and he was left with this lightsaber looking thing. To make matters worse, he can’t even hold it properly!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure was the third version of Data I ever got. It was a figure I had wanted for a while, mostly because I really liked that flip up panel on his arm (I’m easy to please). I ended up getting him from one of the toy dealers at Shoreleave, for $5, I believe. This figure actually got me into a little bit of trouble, because I went down to the Dealer’s Room without my parents’ permission (I was like 7, and they were very much in the right on being mad. Shoreleave’s Dealer’s Room is no place for a lone 7 year old). Some kid’s sneak out to go to parties, I snuck out to buy action figures. There was no way I was escaping this lifestyle…

#0392: Professor X

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

PROFESSOR X

MARVEL 10-INCH (TOYBIZ)

Frickin’ Professor X! Dude just keeps showing up on the list of figures to review! I swear I’m not doing this on purpose. Anyway, when Toybiz had the Marvel license in the 90s (when Marvel was at the height of their 90s comic boom), they were milking the license for all they could. They had huge success with their 5-inch figures, and they decided to use the same molds, sized up, to create a line of 10-inch figures. Through use of a number of set parts, they were able to create a lot of characters at a low price. However, this meant some characters had to be tweaked to find their way into the line. Professor X was one such character.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Professor X was part of the KB exclusive line of 10-inch figures. The line never really had any wave or series structure; figures were just sort of stocked wherever they showed up. Professor X is about 10 inches tall, and he features 9 points of articulation, which was pretty much standard for the line. Obviously, due to the constraints of the line, he’s not a typical Professor X. He’s decidedly more toy-etic. The design’s not totally made up, though; it’s similar to the look he had during the 90s “Fatal Atrractions” story, minus the goofy headgear. The figure makes use of an up-scaled version of the body of Tony Stark from the Iron Man line, with a larger version of the same Professor X head used on the regular and astral projection variants of the character. The body is a pretty decent sculpt, even if it is in the goofy “techno underwear.” The head is rotocast (meaning it’s hollow), which ends up doing the sculpt some serious favors. It just looks a lot cleaner and sharper. Professor X’s paint work is pretty good, especially for the time. The body had a few spots where there is some bleed over, but it’s mostly good. The eyes and eyebrows are surprisingly clean, and they look very nice. Professor X included a recolored version of the helmet included with Weapon X Wolverine, presumably as a stand in for Cerebro.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t actually have a whole lot of memories about this one. I think my Dad got it for me, but other than that, it’s kind of a blank. It’s a nice enough figure, and it’s certainly a unique way of handling the limited tooling options available. The 10-Inch line really did a lot to boost Toybiz’s creativity!

#0389: Man-Bat

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

MAN-BAT

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES

Batman: The Animated Series started off with quite a bang (quite literally; it’s one of the first things in the opening credits). The first episode, “On Leather Wings,” showed the full potential of the series, and to this day remains one of my two favorite episodes of the series. One of the most interesting things about the episode was the choice of foe. They steered clear of any of the major Bat-Rogues, such as Joker or Penguin, or even Riddler, and instead turned their focus on Man-Bat, a character who to date still remains foreign to all but the most die-hard DC fans. When people do know the character, they tend to remember the animated incarnation. Today, I’ll be taking a look at Kenner’s version of the character from the tie-in toyline of the time.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Man-Bat was released in Series 2 of Kenner’s Batman: The Animated Series. The figure marks Man-Bat’s very first action figure, though Kenner themselves had planned to release a classic comic version of the character had their DC Super Powers line continued past Series 3. Man-Bat is about 5 ½ inches tall and he features 12 points of articulation, which was stellar for the time. Man-Bat had two appearances on the show, and the look was a little different in each. This one is based on the first version, which is the actual MAN-Bat (Kirk Langstrom’s wife ends up being the creature in the second, resulting in a “Woman-Bat”). Standards for figures have changed over the years, but for the time, this figure was quite good. It’s not a spot on recreation of Man-Bat, mind you. The shape of the head is a little off, the arms are a bit too skinny, and the legs are a bit too small when compared to the rest of the figure. But, as a whole, the figure makes a good approximation of the character from the show. It’s certainly as accurate as, say, Kenner’s Joker figure, so the inconsistencies help the figure blend more with the rest of the line. Man-Bat’s paint work is pretty straight forward. He’s mostly molded in an appropriate brown plastic, with paint for his pants, eyes, and mouth. Everything is pretty cleanly applied, so that’s good. Man-Bat originally included a small length of string and a hook so that the figure could be made to look as if he were flying.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I missed out on the first few series of BTAS figures, due to not quite being into collecting. So, Man-Bat was a figure I didn’t have while growing up. I went through a period immediately after my freshman year of college where I attempted to fill as many holes in my 90s collections as possible. Man-Bat was a rather pricey figure at the time, so I had to hold off on him. As luck would have it, while visiting that year’s Mego Meet, I come across a loose Man-Bat for $2 or $3. Man-Bat was certainly one of the more unique figures in the line, and his presence in the inaugural episode of the show means he holds a special place in the line. Incidentally, DC Collectibles has announced that a more accurate Man-Bat will be released in the second series of their own BTAS line. Until then, this guy’s still pretty important.

#0387: Professor X

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

PROFESSOR X

X-MEN

I feel like I’ve been writing a lot of X-Men reviews recently. In particular, I feel like I’ve been reviewing a lot of figures of their founder, Professor Charles Xavier. I think I own most of the figures of this character, which is a decent number, but he seems to have shown up more than characters like Cyclops and Wolverine, who I have literally dozens of. Perhaps my Xavier figures are influencing me a bit… ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD… wait, sorry, that’s not right. Anyway, today I’ll be looking at Xavier’s very first action figure, which didn’t see release until almost 30 years into his career. Guess there wasn’t a huge market for a bald guy in a wheelchair.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Professor X was released as part of the fourth series of Toybiz’s X-Men line. The figure is about 4 inches in height (due to his seated nature) and he features 8 points of articulation (thanks to the hinged arm-rests on the chair). Xavier is depicted here in his then-current look from the early 90s, which depicts him in his hover chair instead of the traditional wheelchair. It’s admittedly a more toy-etic look, and it was the look he had at the time, so it’s not a bad choice. The figure’s sculpt was previously used for the X-Men Hall of Fame 10-pack, but that was more of a display item, and Xavier was permanently affixed to the stand, making this release a necessity. It’s a pretty good sculpt overall. It’s in keeping with the work of the time, which is good. The right hand is sculpted to hold something, but I’m not sure what it would be, so that’s annoying. Also, the front of his chair has an odd latchkey piece, which I assume was used to affix the original Xavier to the stand. It would have been nice for it to have been removed for this release. Oh well. Xavier’s paint is pretty good for the time. Everything is pretty clean, but some of the details, like the eyes aren’t quite as sharp as they could be. Xavier included no accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Xavier was a later addition to my X-Men collection. I got into the line after the figure’s release, and he never saw a re-release like others. I remember my Dad getting one for himself in the early days of ebay, as a part of a lot. I got the other figures and he got Xavier, which honestly didn’t bug me. Professor X wasn’t really in on the action, so I didn’t feel like I needed one. Several years later, I got Xavier along with a bunch of other figures from a friend who was getting rid of his old toys. I was glad to finally have the figure, and he’s been a pretty cool part of my collection since. The figure actually snapped in half at the waist thanks to a fall from the shelf during the minor earthquake we got here on the east coast a few years ago!

#0374: Flying Alien Queen

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

FLYING ALIEN QUEEN

ALIENS (KENNER)

Okay, just one more Kenner Aliens review (well, I still have Bishop and the original Hicks, but they’re a ways off). Yesterday, I looked at Kenner’s first stab at the Alien Queen. That figure was actually pretty faithful to the source material, and the few changes they made actually made it a better toy. Today, I’ll be looking at another version of the Queen, this time with a few more liberties taken. So, do they make for a good toy?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Flying Alien Queen was released in the second series of Kenner’s Aliens line. Like the first Queen, she was a later addition to the assortment. This was Kenner’s second figure of the Alien Queen, and it’s a lot more out there than the first. The figure is about 6 inches tall and it features 7 points of articulation. As you can probably guess from the name, this figure’s shtick is that it’s aerial-based. One has to wonder what differences would have to be present in the host for this to come about. Did the Flying Queen hatch from a really large bird? Maybe an angel or something? I don’t know. What’s most interesting about this figure’s sculpt is the complete lack of overlap with the normal Queen. You’d think something like “flying Queen” would just be an excuse to re-use a bunch of parts from the original, but nope, Kenner went all new. For the Flying Queen, it seems Kenner has thrown out the movie Queen design entirely, and instead gone for something all their own. It’s almost as if the sculptor of the Flying Queen was given one of their other aliens as a reference and told “Make a queen.” So, this figure is much more basic alien inspired. The head has the regular Alien shape, and the tail is a bit shorter in length. It’s not bad, but it’s not quite as impressive as the first Queen. A lot of the details aren’t quite as sharp, and the proportions seem a bit sillier. The wings are decently done, but they honestly seem out of place with the rest of the Alien aesthetic. They feel like they’re from another toyline all-together. The paint on the Flying Queen is certainly unique. The figure is cast in a transparent greyish-purple plastic, with some silver airbrushing to bring out some of the details, and a little bit of red thrown in just for fun. The transparent look is actually pretty fun, but you have to wonder why the flying Queen would be transparent purple, while the regular Queen is an opaque black. Best not to think about it, I suppose. The Flying Queen included no accessories, but he does have a wing-flapping action feature, activated by pushing a button on her back. The claw on her left foot is also on a spring, but there doesn’t seem to be a clear way to activate it. It just goes off sporadically.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Flying Alien Queen is the last piece of the lot of Kenner Aliens figures I won on ebay. Of all the figures in the lot, this is probably the one I was least interested in. My opinion of it hasn’t really changed much, to be honest, but my lackluster feelings towards the Hicks Vs. King Alien set does mean that this one moved up a peg by comparison. It’s not a bad figure, but it’s not one of my favorites. It’s a better figure than something like the King Alien or the Alien Arachnid, but those felt like part of the line, while this one seems sort of out of place. This figure seems to mark when the line really started to move away from the movies, which is where I really start to lose interest. And with that, I am done with my Kenner Aliens stuff for a while. The timing actually worked out quite nicely, as they served as a nice little lead-up to Halloween!