I’ve
mentioned before that I saw Aliens
before I saw Alien,
so the slow burn horror of the original was something I had to adjust
to. It’s a credit to Ridley Scott, Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett
and the cast that I wasn’t turned off by it after the fast pace
and loud action of the sequel. I’ve never been a person that is
patient with storytelling, so it’s somewhat remarkable when I can
enjoy something with a slower pace.
Personally,
I think Hurt’s big scene in the movie is one of the best ever shot.
It’s absolutely perfect in its depiction of horror. There’s no
fighting what’s happening – no external adversary to repel. This
creature is emerging from Kane and there’s nothing he or anybody
else on the crew can do about it. Not only that, what’s happening
is an utter shock and mystery to all of them. This isn’t getting
shot or being decapitated or hit by a car. This is a new, unfamiliar
horror that none of them (or the viewer) has any sort of frame of
reference for. This is discovering a new species as it is murdering
your friend.
There
aren’t many scenes in genre or in cinema at all that are as
impactful and horrifying as that xenomorph infant bursting out of
John Hurt’s chest.
Sadly,
it looks like NECA couldn’t seal a deal to use Hurt’s likeness as
they did with Sigourney Weaver and Tom Skerritt, so we won’t be
seeing a figure of Kane that reenacts that scene. Instead we get Kane
with his face obscured by a facehugger while wearing his admittedly
awesome-looking space suit.
Side
Note: I find it very odd that Underground Toys was able to secure the
rights to use Hurt’s likeness in their Doctor Who line:
But
that NECA could not for what is likely Hurt’s best-known role.
Obviously there are dozens of factors that I don’t know anything
about, but this just strikes me as strange.
Anyway,
what we’ve got is Kane in the space suit – based on the designs
of Moebius - and I thought it looked cool enough to buy.
First
Glance
I
am not one to notice details in movies. I can’t even tell you how
many times I’ve been surprised by an action figure that revealed a
staggering number of details and colors that I would never have
otherwise spotted. I’ve seen Alien
dozens of times and I never realized how colorful the space suits
were, or that they were different
colors (as we’ll see with the upcoming Dallas figure). I also never
noticed the nameplates on the front.
While
the attached facehugger is certainly a point of interest, I find
myself much more compelled by the many parts of the space suit
itself. When I first heard that NECA was producing figures of Kane
and Dallas in their space suits I was not enthused. They’re only in
them for a small portion of the movie and in my head they look like
mattress pads with fishbowls on top. I would have much preferred the
crew in their jumpsuits. But now that I’ve seen this in person I’m
excited to have it.
I
was a little surprised that the helmet was off. I hadn’t expected
it to be removable, so that’s a nice extra.
Packaging
A
yucko clamshell. I suppose NECA is going to stick with these. This
35th
Anniversary Alien
line would have been the perfect opportunity to drop this irritating
and dangerous style of packaging and switch to a much more rational
blister card, but I guess they are attached to their clamshells for
this line. It must really annoy the MIP collectors that the Predator
line is on blister cards now amongst all of the clamshelled horror
releases.
The
graphics are, of course, nice. Rather than a bio for Kane we just
have a synopsis of Alien.
And
there are also the credits for those that worked on the toy, which is
something NECA does that I really appreciate.
Looks
There
isn’t one part of this figure that doesn’t fascinate me with the
amount of detail it reveals.
That
may not be John Hurt’s face under there, but NECA still made the
facehugger a separate piece. It doesn’t come off, but the fact that
it has so much definition from the head adds a lot. And the
facehugger isn’t just a part of the figure. It’s packed with
detail and looks very accurate to the movie – lots of joints and
wrinkles and sculpted lines. It’s a fairly monochromatic creature
anyway, but there’s a wash of brown to bring the details out.
The
head underneath is fairly generic with its brown hair, but those ears
are somewhat reminiscent of a certain bafflingly ordered Time Lord’s.
The
base of the space suit is all quilting, padding, and laces. This is
the stuff that stood out in my mind and made the suits somewhat
unremarkable. And while the design isn’t exactly sleek and
exciting, the amount of detail NECA has captured is staggering. It’s
not pretty, but it’s interesting.
What’s
on top of that base is the stuff I never consciously picked up on.
There are straps, plates, control boxes, tubes, valves, and all kinds
of cool stuff. And it all has tons
of character thanks to the excellent paint apps. It all has a very
Steampunk look to it.
Each
piece of armor or equipment has a strap with a buckle. The colors on
the metallic portions are just fantastic, as they’re all bronze
with oxidized green washes to show aging. I don’t know what any of
this equipment is supposed to be – and the designers probably don’t
really, either – but it all has a real-world look to it. The wrist
devices have painted indicator lights that are a nice touch. The
chest armor is segmented and has the aforementioned nameplate,
complete with “KANE” in a cool 70s sci-fi font.
The
shoulder plates also have a segmented look, along with these cool,
hexagonal bolt designs. They’re attached at the shoulders to allow
the arms a wider range of movement.
The
backpack isn’t as mysterious as some other parts, as it is quite
clearly a breathing device. I love the garden spigot wheels on top.
The lights are sculpted and painted brightly. The labels on the
canister portions are particularly well done, as they are distinct
but look as worn as the rest of the suit.
The
gloves are also very cool. I like how you can see the gloved hand
under the outer padding. The wash may vary from figure to figure, but
I think it creates an aging effect very well.
The
boots seem a little more advanced than the rest of the suit. They
have an interesting strap design and the soles have a narrower
profile than the uppers, with a tread that looks very much like
modern footwear. Plus there are three paint apps here(!) – a base,
a wash for wear, and the stripe. That’s a lot of paint for shoes.
Unfortunately the backs of the knees have pretty bad paint issues:
That’s
just not acceptable.
As
dull as I originally thought this figure would be, it’s ended up as
one of NECA’s more interesting and visually arresting figures. I
spent quite a bit of time just turning it around in my hands and
looking at all of the fantastic detail.
Accessories
Kane
comes with a helmet, a lantern, and a pistol.
Thanks
to Future
War Stories,
I know that the gun is a prop that was not used in the film. It is
known as the “Nostromo EVA Pistol”. It was, however, seen
in the film. I definitely recommend clicking the link and giving the
article a look. Apparently it is supposed to be stored on that loop
on the figure’s side. The loop seems permanently closed to me and I
couldn’t get it into the figure’s thick, gloved hands, either.
I’m not sure what to do with this thing, but it sure does look
neat. Two colors of paint on an accessory is something I get excited
about.
The
lantern has a shiny silver sticker on the front that is probably
meant to reflect light the same way that Strobo
does in order to simulate a light source. This one doesn’t work
nearly as well. But the lantern looks great and has some nice paint
on it. And the figure can hold it, so that’s nice.
The
helmet is beautiful. I can’t even tell you how much I love the
design of this thing. The hoses from the figure’s backpack plug
securely into inlets on the back. Getting the helmet onto the figure
is a bit tricky. I had to turn the head to the side, put the helmet
on, and then push the helmet into place. It stays put nicely, but
then I had to stick my finger into the melted faceplate and do my
best to turn the head back so it was facing forward. This was kind of
a pain, but it was better than having some unsightly method of
splitting the helmet open or something.
The
sculpt of the mechanisms on the back is awesome and the paint apps
are as well. The greenish oxidation is nice and thick around the
details and the lights are all painted precisely. The faceplate is
actually a bubble that is around the entire head. It’s a
wonderfully clear plastic that mimics the movie version nicely. The
sculpt of the melted hole is perfect.
Fun
The
head, shoulders, wrists, torso, hips, and ankles all move fairly
nicely. The knees are a bit limited and I couldn’t get the bicep
swivels or elbow pivots to move at all. Not even a little. I don’t
know that I’ve ever had joints stuck this badly. If they weren’t
so obviously joints I wouldn’t think they were meant to move at
all.
The
good news is that this is a guy in a big, thick, unwieldy spacesuit
and that he isn’t exactly supposed to be doing ninja moves. I’m
sure I can heat up the stuck joints and the rest give you about as
much posability as John Hurt probably had in the real suit, if not
more. And really, at this post-face-hugged portion of his life he
shouldn’t be doing much more than laying around.
The
accessories are fun to mess around with, but the most enjoyment I’m
getting out of this figure is from just looking at it. It’s a very
intricate, detailed piece.
Overall
This
is another instance of NECA making a figure that is what it needs to
be and then some. The removable helmet is a great extra and the
inclusion of the EVA pistol is neat, even if I can’t get it to
interact with the figure. Overall the figure looks great and delivers
beyond what I expected, though the missing paint on the knees knocks
a point off.
4
out of 5
I
find myself hoping that this is just the most exciting version of the
character and that NECA actually does have the license for Hurt’s
likeness. Not only would I like a version with Chest Burstin’
Action, I’d like an undamaged version of this space suit. I know
Dallas and Ripley are both on the way, but I sure would like to have
a full set. Of course, then we’d need Lambert as well and I don’t
know if they have the likeness rights for Veronica Cartwright,
either.
If
you, too would like a figure of John Hurt being impregnated by a vile
monstrosity, why not order it through our webstore and help the site
out?:
Nice review.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that for a project like Doctor Who, the actor's likeness rights are part of the package (most genre films and entertainment properties anticipating toys and such seem to do this now) while with the original Alien nothing was ever secured. Remember, Lucas getting actor likeness rights for the characters for merchandising was a pretty unusual concept back in.1977, thus creating the Star Wars juggernaut, but it's pretty standard now.
Good call. Star Wars really did change the way licensed products were looked at and made.
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