Here’s a Kenner ALIEN toy that’s seen better days for sale on eBay right now for the respectable price of US$299.99. He’s “feature complete” meaning all of his parts are present but that claim doesn’t guarantee the toy’s condition is desirable. Far from it, actually.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s on offer with this listing. While all of the figure’s parts are there, not all of them are original. The dome in particular is a notable reproduction. While it does provide the vintage figure with some claim to completing it, the presence of the part is no match for an original piece the toy would have possessed when first purchased, either in value or presentation. While the dome is a facsimile, it’s easily replaced and discarded should a genuine piece be acquired. I would also extend suspicion to the two halves of the tongue as these may also be replacement parts inside the mouth.
Nonetheless, the figure has greater concerns than facsimile parts that are easily replaced with hard to find genuine items. The glow in the dark paint on the head is damaged and other problems exist on the figure. The left shoulder and arm both display prominent heat damage and are obviously a major undesirable distraction from the rest of the figure in terms of presentation.
For US$299.99 it’s certainly not looking like a bargain, that’s for sure. Critical features are either missing (and replaced with bootleg parts) or severely damaged. Be patient and look around for a better sample at this price as this item is probably best used for being stripped down and remaining good parts used on a rebuild elsewhere – but not at this price.
-Windebieste.
Significantly though, US$450 is the price point you can usually expect a box to be included in the sale. Nope. Sorry. No such luxury packaging is present here and the listing is solely for the toy. Mind you, it’s a very good quality item. It could do with a clean. That’s about it. That’s really the only area of improvement needed on this action figure and it is easily achieved with some warm soapy water, a toothbrush and some patience. It’s all that fine detail these toys are blessed with that trap dust motes and these vintage toys aren’t affected by mild kitchen detergent soap and a good rinse down with clean water. A good bath, and this sample will be the pride of someone’s collection.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of these valuable pieces hit eBay. This one looks good and tidy. Nonetheless, high demand for these items will ensure this one won’t sit for long on the service. It’s not unusual for these items to sell for around US$100. What is unusual is how many of these loose pieces are still around after more than forty years since the toy was released. I’m thinking that’s possibly due to the more than 100,000 samples of the toy being made in the US and these parts are poorly implemented in terms of being attached to the figure means they simple fall off. What’s more, the number of these toys made by Kenner may possibly exceed 150,000 when factoring units made in Canada. Which by the way, were made in smaller numbers than in the US with the domes made from different material, fall off just as easily and are simply more rare.
This is clearly a good condition figure for its age. Certainly, it’s not mint condition but nonetheless completeness of all critical parts is one of two of its great strengths. Its other strength – and this is important – is the seller has commenced bidding at the low, low price of one dollar. This is important because once this sale is completed, multiple prospective purchasers will have thrown in their bids. To what height will bidding on this item escalate to? It’s hard to say. Complete figures in similar condition easily sell for over US$250. A final value of US$350 isn’t out of the question. Reaching an even higher price is well within its ability to do so.
While none of these items can be considered to be in pristine condition, it’s unusual to note that boxed Kenner ALIEN toys currently for sale on eBay outnumber loose samples without any packaging. Not bad for an action figure that’s more than forty years old. All of these samples are US pressings of the toy and most are being sold in the US with Japan also being represented. Recently, one listed in Argentina was also available (but this selection was a quick search result and for all I know it may still be available). So, at least seven are available as of this writing. This will change rapidly as these eventually sell. 
I know we’re living in crazy times with the world struggling against a global health crisis, floods and fires everywhere along with other political dramas and social upheavals unfolding in a wide variety of nations across the globe so it strikes me with more than just a little sense of inequity that a forty year old toy can sell for more than the combined annual income of two dozen families in Bangladesh. 
It’s an original piece, alright, and that will go a long way to contributing to the final value of this item when sold; easily exceeding US$50 at the end of the auction. Keeping this in mind, though, it’s true value may not be reached as one of the two tapered pegs needed to fit the part onto the back of the forty year old toy is missing. The point of breakage isn’t made clear in any of the photos provided and it is certainly not documented in the brief description provided by the seller. Nonetheless, this is still a valuable piece that will help complete somebody’s vintage ALIEN toy. They may need to rely on improvising a method to reattach it to the figure. This item simply will not remain in situ without that upper peg to secure it in place and it will simply fall out without additional care.
Normally, incomplete figures featuring original parts – especially including the dome, as this one does – sell for around US$250. This sample does have some problems, and that of course is the cause of the diminished value. He’s all there, except for the pair of parts that comprise the tongue and the dorsal crest that should be mounted between its shoulders. The rest is a matter of condition. 
Yep. That’s the MPC ALIEN kit; and it sure has been put to some fantastic use. This item and others have been added to the expanding article; which is becoming lengthy and has now been divided into two separate pages.
Unlike in the US where Kenner ALIEN toys are constantly appearing and being sold, these things appear on the UK service about once every two weeks or so. They’re common; but infrequent. This one is complete; and that’s a good thing. On the other hand, complete doesn’t mean perfect. This sample does have one obvious issue of broken dorsal appendages hanging off its back. Two of them have come free and now floating inverted. It’s an easy fix, if you are prepared to disassemble the toy. Which isn’t hard to do. Other than that, it looks good. It will probably have other signs of wear and the dome looks straight.
The unusual thing about this listing is simple. This isn’t anything unusual. At all. I know this declaration may appear to have all the qualities of an oxymoron; but it’s true. While this old battered box lacks various features of the front window, the top (and its accompanying window) along with the red insert card (Not to mention the complete absence of the ALIEN toy that should be inside.) it really is a ballpark figure for this piece of packaging.
Also of great significance, the addition of this item marks the end of all the vintage items associated with the release of the 1979 Kenner ALIEN action figure I wanted to include here. It’s taken me a long time – four and a half years – and this stage, Phase One, is now complete. Phase Two of HIDEOUS PLASTIC, which has already been well underway for a long time now, is about to move forward. That’s going to be a lot of fun, too. It will also take many years to complete but with this MPC item out of the way, it’s time to forge ahead and leave 1979 behind. What does Phase Two comprise? You’ll have to wait until April 26 to find out.
It’s a great article and the tongue in cheek delivery serves to highlight how ludicrous this toy was for children. As these toys were released in October 1979, can you imagine the letters to Santa that would never have been written? “Dear Santa. I just want one thing for Christmas this year. Can I please have an over-sized, ugly as sin ALIEN doll based on a face ripping space monster that shreds people to pieces that appears in an R-rated movie I am too young to see. I promise to leave it in the unopened box so it will be worth a fortune in forty years time. Love, Jimi”.
These severed arms aren’t hard to fix but it will never be fully original condition as the extant anchors found inside the old toy will remain permanently severed even after the arms have been restored to the figure. I’ve repaired more of these things than I can count. That’s true, actually; and I have more to reassemble, too. I own boxes of parts of these things. Boxes. So, I have had a lot of practice in this regard. 
Nonetheless, US$200 it is. I’ve seen them sell upwards of US$100, anyway. That’s not uncommon, actually. Since these things are only going to become more scarce as time passes by, eventually a price tag of US$200 isn’t out of the question. Think of it this way, though; the price tag on this item isn’t so much as setting any precedents here – it’s merely ahead of its time. The day may yet come when US$200 for one of these old double sided sheets will be the price you can expect to pay for one. It’s just a matter of time.
Nonetheless, the action figure itself is a decent sample. A little wear here and there is present but he’s otherwise straight and complete. That’s always welcome, an indication the item is in good shape. There appears to be no missing parts, like many of these old toys often suffer from. That puts him squarely in the US$350 to US$450 mark, alone. Without the box. 