Hot Toys 14" Alien Warrior Model
Written by SiL Wednesday, 26 September 2007 19:49
A while ago Alien Experience was running a competition to win a Hot Toys 14” Alien Warrior Fully Posable Model Kit, worth about $200 Australian, which I was fortunate enough to win (Yay me and such). I was asked to do a review, and maybe post some pictures, but being the lazy bastard I never got around to it.
Until now, obviously.
And even then I didn’t take these pictures, but they’re the same type of model anyway.
Le Review
The first thing I noticed, obviously, was the packaging the thing was in. It really is very well done; a simple box shape, yes, but covered in pretty images and made in that material that glows pretty when you catch it in the right light. It also had a slip case covering it, and a fold-out section so you could see your model inside before you opened it.
Next, the model itself. Spend any length of time with me talking about the creature design of the Alien and it’s no secret I violently detest the newest iterations of the Alien (It’s just not the creature I fell in love with, damn it), but pulling that model oh-so gently from its case, it truly didn’t matter. The size and detailing of the thing makes you forget any prejudices you might have and lets you love it as a freaking cool sculpt. It has detail you never even knew existed on places you didn’t think were ever there.
If you ever bought Hot Toys’ smaller snap-kit figures, you’ll know how much of a pain in the ass they are to assemble. Lots of time and care must be taken to ensure that you don’t break off a joint, or snap one of the delicately designed limbs.
Not so here. The size of the model makes assemblage easier, and all the joints pop in with minimal force (Not to say it’s entirely effortless). Hands have to be snapped onto wrists, shoulders snap into shoulder joints, hips attach to thighs, feet to ankles, tail to ass, and back spikes to, well, the back. It’s all self-explanatory, although they do provide handy pictures in case you’ve never seen an Alien before and try to attach the foot to the left shoulder.
Then we get to the really cool bit. All the joints bar the shoulders, wrists and ankles are covered in a rubbery material. It really masks the fact that it’s a toy, because essentially all the points of articulation are hidden. You can bend it into almost any shape and it still looks more or less like that was how it was designed to be all along, like a statue.
From this rubbery covering of goodness, which raises our Alien above mere toy, we get two of the best additions I’ve seen on a model. The first is bendy hands. Yes, that’s right – bendy hands. No more hard-cast pre-selected pose hands ruining your chosen dynamic pose, no sir. Now you can bend all six fingers into any shape you want (Within reason, obviously) to complete whatever image you want to give the Alien. I have him firmly grasping a MacFarlane 12” cloaked Scar Predator, and he looks wonderful.
The second best addition comes in the jaw mechanism. While it’s certainly not the first Alien figure to have an extendable second jaw, or even the first model to have a moving mouth to accompany said jaw (Mez-Itz got there years ago, but with nowhere near the sophistication. Not that it mattered.) But it is, as far as I can recall, the first model to have a rubber covering over the mouth to realistically simulate the look of the tendons surrounding the Alien’s mouth as it opens. The lever for the mechanism is located on the underside of the back of the head, as it always is for Aliens, although not as well hidden as the image on the box would have you believe. Push the lever forward and the mouth opens, jaw extending; push it all the way forward into the back of the neck and it locks in place. Press the lever again, and the jaw shoots back inside the mouth.
And it’s got a bendy tail, but geez, what Alien toy doesn’t?
A point should be made on the articulation. This puppy can move. It has joints I didn’t even know existed, and the fleshy rubber body suit allows for such a wide freedom of movement it’s not funny. There are very few limitations in the poses that it can strike – It can’t touch its shoulders, for example – and it can’t really stand on its own two feet without the aid of the tail. Anything else is pretty much fair game.
My only complaint against the model, and this is solely a nit-pick, is that under the translucent dome (Which looks awesome) is the Alien’s brain. In the movie, they had a ribbed skull like they always did under the dome, with the brain then inside that. Of course, the brain design is much more visually interesting, so it doesn’t really matter in the long run.
Other than that, regardless of preferences of design, it truly is a wonderful model and, from a technical stand point, the best damned Alien toy, or figure, or whatever you’d like to call it, that I’ve ever seen.
If you’ve got the money spare, I highly recommend it.
Summary
Great packaging. An incredibly detailed sculpt. Not even MacFarlane’s 12” AvP Alien comes close.
Enough articulation to get you darn-near any pose you want. Rubbery bits give it a bit of class and an undeniable air of awesomeness.
Rating: 10/10.
Until now, obviously.
And even then I didn’t take these pictures, but they’re the same type of model anyway.
Le Review
The first thing I noticed, obviously, was the packaging the thing was in. It really is very well done; a simple box shape, yes, but covered in pretty images and made in that material that glows pretty when you catch it in the right light. It also had a slip case covering it, and a fold-out section so you could see your model inside before you opened it.
Next, the model itself. Spend any length of time with me talking about the creature design of the Alien and it’s no secret I violently detest the newest iterations of the Alien (It’s just not the creature I fell in love with, damn it), but pulling that model oh-so gently from its case, it truly didn’t matter. The size and detailing of the thing makes you forget any prejudices you might have and lets you love it as a freaking cool sculpt. It has detail you never even knew existed on places you didn’t think were ever there.
If you ever bought Hot Toys’ smaller snap-kit figures, you’ll know how much of a pain in the ass they are to assemble. Lots of time and care must be taken to ensure that you don’t break off a joint, or snap one of the delicately designed limbs.
Not so here. The size of the model makes assemblage easier, and all the joints pop in with minimal force (Not to say it’s entirely effortless). Hands have to be snapped onto wrists, shoulders snap into shoulder joints, hips attach to thighs, feet to ankles, tail to ass, and back spikes to, well, the back. It’s all self-explanatory, although they do provide handy pictures in case you’ve never seen an Alien before and try to attach the foot to the left shoulder.
Then we get to the really cool bit. All the joints bar the shoulders, wrists and ankles are covered in a rubbery material. It really masks the fact that it’s a toy, because essentially all the points of articulation are hidden. You can bend it into almost any shape and it still looks more or less like that was how it was designed to be all along, like a statue.
From this rubbery covering of goodness, which raises our Alien above mere toy, we get two of the best additions I’ve seen on a model. The first is bendy hands. Yes, that’s right – bendy hands. No more hard-cast pre-selected pose hands ruining your chosen dynamic pose, no sir. Now you can bend all six fingers into any shape you want (Within reason, obviously) to complete whatever image you want to give the Alien. I have him firmly grasping a MacFarlane 12” cloaked Scar Predator, and he looks wonderful.
The second best addition comes in the jaw mechanism. While it’s certainly not the first Alien figure to have an extendable second jaw, or even the first model to have a moving mouth to accompany said jaw (Mez-Itz got there years ago, but with nowhere near the sophistication. Not that it mattered.) But it is, as far as I can recall, the first model to have a rubber covering over the mouth to realistically simulate the look of the tendons surrounding the Alien’s mouth as it opens. The lever for the mechanism is located on the underside of the back of the head, as it always is for Aliens, although not as well hidden as the image on the box would have you believe. Push the lever forward and the mouth opens, jaw extending; push it all the way forward into the back of the neck and it locks in place. Press the lever again, and the jaw shoots back inside the mouth.
And it’s got a bendy tail, but geez, what Alien toy doesn’t?
A point should be made on the articulation. This puppy can move. It has joints I didn’t even know existed, and the fleshy rubber body suit allows for such a wide freedom of movement it’s not funny. There are very few limitations in the poses that it can strike – It can’t touch its shoulders, for example – and it can’t really stand on its own two feet without the aid of the tail. Anything else is pretty much fair game.
My only complaint against the model, and this is solely a nit-pick, is that under the translucent dome (Which looks awesome) is the Alien’s brain. In the movie, they had a ribbed skull like they always did under the dome, with the brain then inside that. Of course, the brain design is much more visually interesting, so it doesn’t really matter in the long run.
Other than that, regardless of preferences of design, it truly is a wonderful model and, from a technical stand point, the best damned Alien toy, or figure, or whatever you’d like to call it, that I’ve ever seen.
If you’ve got the money spare, I highly recommend it.
Summary
Great packaging. An incredibly detailed sculpt. Not even MacFarlane’s 12” AvP Alien comes close.
Enough articulation to get you darn-near any pose you want. Rubbery bits give it a bit of class and an undeniable air of awesomeness.
Rating: 10/10.
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