Alien (Big Chap)

Review by NekroDave

From the classic 1979 sci-fi/horror film "Alien", H.R. Giger's horrific creature design has become one of the most iconic images in modern monster movie lore and now the definitive toy version is here. Just released from Hot Toys, this 1/6th scale, fully articulated figure is a really impressive piece.

The toy comes packaged inside a double box, with the exterior box protected by a wrap-around clear plastic sheath that protects the front and back, while simultaneously mimicking the design of the creature's head!

Naturally, the artwork on the side of the box depicts the side of the Alien's head as well.

The design is well thought out but not overt in its depiction of the creature. The subtlety of its design is very appealing.

Removing that outer casing reveals the toys actual box which features a clear window showing the toy inside, with production notes on the opposite side.

Box front

Box rear

Inside that box, the toy rests in a plastic vacuformed tray. The clear plastic dome of the head is covered by a smooth piece of plastic for extra protection while the legs and spines on the back also feature specially molded plastic supports ensuring that the toy arrives in top condition. Best part? NO TWISTY TIES!

Accessories are stored in a separate plastic piece beneath the figure.

The first thing that struck me upon removing the figure from the box was how awesome it felt. With it's full body rubber suit, I immediately thought "this is how an Alien figure should feel". Much like chogokin collectors feel when they pick up a nice heavy diecast, it just felt right.

The figure also features more articulation than I was expecting. For some reason, I was under the impression that it was more of a fixed posed figure than it is, but for all intents and purposes, it's a normal 1/6th scale figure (approximately 14.5" in this case) wrapped in a rubber suit. The suit does restrict movement in some areas, particularly the legs where the instructions specifically note that it can only more 15 degrees. But the arms can move up and down, the elbows bend, the waist and the knees bend, the wrists and ankles both bend and rotate, even the large head still has a full range of motion. And of course, the tail probably has a wire inside as it can be bent and posed in every position.

Even the fingers on the figure can be bent, but they seem to just revert back to their initial form pretty quickly. Maybe they just need to be broken in. Of course, the figure comes with two sets of hands. One set has bent fingers and the other has them straight.

One of the things I love about the look of the figure is the depth that is provided by the exterior plastic rib cage around the chest, as well as the spines on the back. The rubber/plastic combination really gives the impression of flesh and bone. This is a very life-like figure.

The clear domed head and visible brain are enough to send chills down your spine.

Of course, you may have noticed in some of the previous pictures the toys best gimmick, the extending superfluous mouth! There is a sliding button on the underside of the back of the head that when pushed forward, opens the jaw and pushes the interior mouth out. Now, this would be cool if that were all it did, but the thing that I really love about it is that when this happens, the pieces of rubber flesh along the side of the mouth actually stretches out! Again, life-like!

Also not mentioned but seen previously in the pictures is the other additional accessories included, a realistic cardboard backdrop and a plastic base. The display is a two part set up with the floor being laid in front of the corridor piece, which needs to be slight folded to form the diorama. Then you place the plastic base at the front. These are nice additions if you've got plenty of room for display, but I wish that they actually attached to one another somehow. As it is, you simply place them there and if you move the figure around, they get knocked out of place. Also, the figure does not attach to the base in any way either. I would have assumed that it was there to help the figure stand, but you will basically end up using the tail for that. This is just fine for me since I don't have the room for the display base anyway and it will just end up back in the box. So the fact that the tail effectively acts as it's stand is no problem.

I'm very impressed with this figure, moreso than I expected to be honestly. I was never a huge fan of the Alien franchise and outside of some fond memories of the vintage Kenner toy, never had any attachment to the creature itself. But this one has won me over, so much so that I wanted to make sure I got this review done today, before the end of the year, so that this figure could be added to our Toy of the Year Monster category. I think it would be the frontrunner and it would be a shame if it didn't win because it wasn't reviewed in time!