SDCC Alien Minimates Review
Action Figure Xpress and Diamond Select Toys teamed up to bring us one of the coolest exclusives in the Alien Minimates line at SDCC this year, A single boxed Alien Minimate based on Kenner’s 1979 Alien!
One of the cool aspects of this exclusive is that the single figure box is made up similar to the packaging the 1979 Kenner Alien had 36 years ago. The box has a window on the front that allows you to partially see the Alien Minimate inside. The box is primarily light blue with images from the movie along with the Alien logo that was also on the Kenner Alien box.
Like all of the Alien Minimates, this one is highly detailed in both tampos and sculpt. This is also the same mold as the Big Chap Minimate in the Alien Minimate Box Set.
The clear dome is removable (just like the Kenner Alien) and can be easily lost as the piece basically just sits on top of the head with no noticeable latching system. Underneath the dome we get to fully see the head sculpt for the first time since the Big Chap Minimate had the dome glued in place. The sculpt and paint job on the head are excellent and just as good as any of the previously released Alien toys based on this version.
As you can see, the dome on this Alien Minimate is lighter than the one on the Big Chap Minimate. The body tampos are also a much brighter silver tone which makes them much easier to see. The black plastic on the Alien Minimate is more of a dark grey (unlike the black of the Big Chap) which is closer to what the original Kenner toy (and even the first Reaction Big Chap figure) looked like
Just like the Reaction Big Chap figure, This Alien Minimate claims to glow in the dark too, unlike the Reaction figure, this toy actually does glow in the dark! The two sets of teeth, skull and spots in the head that are painted white, also have a layer of glow in the dark paint on top of them that glows really well (especially after being exposed to a blacklight as seen in the below picture) I have found that the clear dome can restrict the paint from absorbing as much light to glow and can diffuse the glowing effect a bit.
In conclusion, this SDCC exclusive Alien Minimate is a great exclusive in that you don’t exactly NEED it for your collection since the same figure comes in the Alien Minimates Box Set, but the glow in the dark paint, silver tampos and special homage box makes this a must buy. It works great as a fun figure or a nifty display piece (especially if you have the 18″ original to set beside it) I would have liked to see some silver highlights on the sculpted pieces to tie it together with the tampos, but the actually working glow in the dark paint makes up for that greatly.
You can get your own from AFX on Amazon
(FULL DISCLOSURE: The links to pages on Amazon where you can buy these toys support Needless Essentials through their Associates program.)
