Welcome to the last entry regarding Mr. FORD’s rehabilitation. In this entry we wrap up his repairs with a final assembly and comparison images. The condition he was when I received him to how he looks now are dramatic to say the least. His work is finished. Well, almost finished. He’s as good as can be – for now. I simply don’t have all the parts needed to make him complete but that is a task for another time. This effort was a lot of fun! Later I will link all the pages together into a cohesive piece of work and it will be easier to read through the entire eight page article without coming back to the front page. Nonetheless, The final page of Mr. FORD’s restoration is posted and is now live.

-windebieste.

We’re getting to the closing stages of Mr. FORD’s amazing rehabilitation! This effort is being made to restore him to as good as condition as possible and for him to become worthy of display. We’re almost there. At this point all that remains is simple. His quad dorsal appendages need to be refitted, straightened out and made secure on his back. Not a difficult task.All we need to do is return all four of those “weird tubie things” onto his back. Three of them are broken and will need to be repaired. We’ll do that by using nothing more complicated than a trio of common and easily acquired paperclips. How is this repair supposed to work? Good question. Check out Kenner ALIEN Rehab, Part 7 and find out.

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Mr. FORD needs a tail! Hah. That line almost sounds like a children’s book title. Well, why not? Considering Mr. FORD is actually a children’s toy, intended for AGES 5 AND UP when he was originally made all the way back in 1979, it’s not all that inappropriate, really.

Anyway, above is the tail Mr. FORD needs to aid him in becoming “feature complete”. Let’s get it fastened in Part 5 of Rehabilitating a four decades old grotesque play thing.

-windebieste.

Poor old Mr. FORD. He’s only got one arm and it isn’t even attached. It’s somewhat worrisome and needs to be addressed. Let’s fix that problem!Part 4 in this rehabilitation project of getting a beat up old 1979 Kenner ALIEN action figure back on his feet is now live. His arm gets addressed in this installment. Goodie! 🙂

-windebieste.

Continuing with our endeavors to have this beat up old sample of the 1979 Kenner ALIEN toy back on his feet, we turn our attention to Mr. FORD’s head. It’s in generally good shape if a bit knocked around and scuffed. There’s also a nasty crack along the right hand side. While it’s now a feature permanently scarring the figure, it is causing other issues that can be fixed. Let’s tackle those.

There are other minor details worth having their attention drawn to. Without too much effort, we should be able to get the head into as good a shape as possible. These old Kenner ALIEN toys are a ton of fun to work with and restore. Let’s get stuck into it which means the third installment of this Kenner ALIEN Rehabilitation Project has been posted.

-windebieste.

Success! I was able to remove the screws and dismantle this decrepit old ALIEN toy. Concerns about Mr. FORD not being able to achieve this critical stage have been alleviated. Here he is. Now in pieces, cleaned and off to a great start. You can read the progress of this unfortunate and broken old toy in the latest installment of his rehabilitation, Kenner ALIEN Rehab. – Dismantle & Clean. So far so good; and with the success of the critical disassembly out of the way, we are well on the path to completion and having Mr. FORD standing back on both legs once again.

-windebieste.

I recently had the good fortune to purchase this 1979 Kenner ALIEN toy. Unfortunately, he’s definitely seen better days. To say the least, he is severely beat up, broken, missing parts and is coated in dust and dirt. So what of it. He’s perfect, I say. Perfect that is, for a makeover that will hopefully result in this broken, one legged decrepit old toy back standing back on his feet once again, without the need for a display stand to hold him upright. I’ve also decided to document my efforts in rehabilitating this less than stellar sample, bringing him up to display worthy status. If it is possible. I’ve finished what is (intended to be) the first page of his Kenner ALIEN Rehab. – Recovery. The ultimate goal of this exercise is to have it be the first entry in a much larger article, recording a running written documentation of his restoration. I will publish more completed tasks as we progress.

Let’s see how far we can complete this exercise before it comes to a grinding halt, shall we?

-windebieste.

There’s a lower tongue part for sale on eBay right now. The seller wants US$50 for it. The seller will accept a Best Offer. These loose items are becoming difficult to find so despite the asking price, this is great if your vintage toy is only missing this single piece.If you need an original piece to complete your Kenner ALIEN toy, this is an ideal opportunity. Otherwise, US$50 is probably a lot to pay for a small piece of plastic.

Some more parts have become available from the same seller. There’s a functioning ALIEN head (for US$75) and a complete set of dorsal appendages (US$55).

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Occasionally samples of the old Kenner ALIEN toy from 1979 become available but are strictly suitable for parts stripping. One such sample has just been listed. While the chances of getting this damaged toy standing again are remote, he’s still a good source for valuable parts that can be used elsewhere to restore another figure that may be missing such items. Auction commenced at US$15.99, bidding has already started and there’s no telling where this will end.Significantly, both legs on this figure are comprehensively mutilated with the right foot completely severed and the left foot present by barely attached. Such damage usually occurs when the figure is dropped and the force of impact transfers through the ankles. It’s a relatively common form of damage but rarely happens to both feet like this. Repairing such damage and expecting this figure to stand upright again is highly unlikely. Continue reading →

If you’re not saving for a house deposit, new kitchen, rumpus room extension, bathroom upgrade, new car or some other necessity, another Kenner ALIEN has appeared on eBay Australia. This is the third one in about two weeks, which is remarkable enough. This item however appears to be an unopened sample. Loose Kenner ALIEN toys usually appear on the Aussie service about once every three months. Boxed items, significantly less so. Pristine boxes like this one? It’s about an annual occurrence at best and when they do appear, they demand high prices. This one is being listed for Au$10,000. The seller will accept a Best Offer. I guess that’s nice of them. This is a standard US version of the figure. It is unopened, without any significant marks or creasings on the box. The windows on the front and top appear to be secure and the bright blue package looks rich and free of any UV damage making it look fresh and clean. Items of this quality are uncommon in the US; but they do appear with a fair degree of frequency. This box item is extremely well preserved and will command attention when displayed.

I personally don’t like to refer to such samples as ‘mint’ simply because at least some material degradation during the past four decades is unavoidable. This item isn’t going to be in the same condition it was when it first departed the factory way back in late 1979. None now are. All the contents of this package have aged forty years and there’s no pretending the packaging and contents have slightly altered. The fact remains unchanged these toys weren’t made to last and closer inspection reveals it is possible the right arm may have separated from the figure at the shoulder. A quick email to the seller might be in order prior to purchasing this item to verify this potential issue. This is unfortunate but nonetheless, this excellent package example is going to be the closest you will see one of these unopened Kenner ALIEN toys being in original condition for some time.

Au$10,000 is a high price to pay; but this is a highly sought for collectible in optimum desirable condition. Is it a record breaking asking price for a sealed, extremely well preserved sample being sold in Australia? Nope.

-windebieste.

Do you need some Kenner ALIEN parts to rebuild a figure? You’re in luck! Some core pieces have become available on eBay. A seller is offering both torso halves (US$74.95) along with a set of those “four strange thingies on its back” (US$59.95). Both samples look good for their age and if you want to build a Kenner ALIEN toy from scratch or simply refurbish one, these are used but decent samples worth considering. There’s a few notes to be made here. All pieces being offered do show some wear and obvious use but the news does get better from here. The torso halves appear to be complete in all important regards. The rectangular socket between the shoulders where the elusive crest (not included in this sale) usually sits is intact. These rectangular sockets are frequently damaged. This one appears to be in good condition, without any obvious breaks or stress damage. There should be four pins inside the shoulders, too. Some are visible in the images provided by the seller and each one I can see is also intact. This is good news as it means attaching the arms to the shoulders for them to be properly supported will be successful.

Continue reading →

Do you live in Australia and wish to own a 1979 Kenner ALIEN toy? You’re in luck! One is for sale on eBay right now. Kenner ALIEN toys are rare in this country and appear on the service at about once every six months, or so. I know as I live here and do keep a vigilante eye for them. As such, their local scarcity does drive the price up considerably and this one is being auctioned by the seller with bids starting at Au$1,000. These difficult to find vintage toys are sought after by keen collectors in this country and this particular sample isn’t the regular version frequently available on eBay in the US, either. Most samples available on eBay in that country were made in the US while the sample being offered here was made in Canada. It’s considered to be the rare sibling of the US made figure with minor differences throughout. The Irwin Toys action figure is slightly lighter in colour. Other notable differences also exist. The aging of the plastic head dome has caused it to yellow towards a more orange hue rather than the characteristic smoky grey seen on the US counterparts and this is typical of these samples. The finger operated lever on the back of the head lacks the product information details the more common US samples possess. So this item is 100% a Canadian sample as claimed by the seller.

A 1979 Kenner ALIEN toy is a rare piece to find in Australia at the best of times; and this item is the rare version thereof. To top it all off, this item is complete. It displays some wear from age and handling but still boasts all of its original features in intact condition. Irwin Toys produced these ALIEN toys under licence from Kenner and packaged them in bilingual boxes featuring text written in both English & French. These samples were also known to be distributed to international outlets ranging from UK and europe all the way down under to Australia. This just happens to be one of those samples and a great pick up for some lucky bidder willing to part with a four figure sum of money. No box or equally incredibly rare bilingual F/E poster accompanies this sale. I’ll be watching this item closely.

-windebieste.

Some Kenner ALIEN toys have had a rough life. This unfortunate sample for example is available for auction right now on eBay. He is suffering from decapitation which is most likely the result of fall damage. All is not lost as this item can be repaired. Mind you, his problems don’t just end there, either as he is missing all the common parts (head dome, dorsal crest and both tongue halves) but there’s a great opportunity here to restore this victim of misfortune to display worthy status his new owner can be proud of.

While it may be highly desirable to own one of these vintage toys in perfectly preserved condition inside a blue pristine box, these forty year old toys often feature damage of this nature. Samples like this one are perfect for restoration and while it may take time, effort, patience along with some additional cash expenditure to acquire the missing parts this sample needs. Regardless, obvious damage like this can be addressed immediately. Returning severed heads is something I’ve learned to do with great success. This sample can be restored to its former glory simply by disassembling it, recovering the neck stump and refastening it to the head. Glue is an option; but use of adhesives is way down the list of options I would choose to use. Preferably, I would join both broken head parts together using four long screws and an improvised plate inside the head. I’ve done this repair many times, now. It’s not hard and definitely works like a charm to return these old toys to a more complete state, worthy of display. The starting bid of US$125 may be a bit steep, but there’s a good figure waiting here to be restored by the right person that can easily justify that expense.

-windebieste.

I’ve had some great feedback regarding the updated article posted the other day exploring the uncensored Kenner ALIEN logo. This version of the famous logo appears on the back of the Australian edition of the ALIEN board game. So here, it is. An isolated and clear scan of the black and white image as it appears on the back of the Aussie board game box. This is the uncensored version as it appears on the back of the 2-4 player product item. Kenner never used this unmodified version on any of their own ALIEN product line in the US and it solely exists on the back of the TOLTOYS licenced version published only in Australia. Smaller colour versions of the same uncensored logo also exist on the sides of the box but they don’t scan too well due to their diminutive size.

This censored image is discussed in more detail on the HIDEOUS PLASTIC page dedicated to variants of the 1979 Kenner ALIEN board game. Have fun with this. 🙂

-windebieste.