It’s Facehugger Friday, Kiddies; and we all know what that means, right? YEEEEAAH!! That’s right! It means NECA have released new teaser content for upcoming product. This week they have posted some new images of packaging for their upcoming Kenner Rhino Alien tribute figure on Facebook.
The retro style packaging sure looks snappy. Here’s what NECA have to say about it “We managed to contain the Kenner Rhino Xenomorph inside its packaging, but not for long. This beast ships out on April 13th!” I’m fine with that. Continue reading
NECA Release Package Images of Rhino Alien.
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There are two things in my life I love more than a good pizza; and that’s Dinosaurs and Aliens. So this amalgam of both appeals to my sensitivities in multiple levels. I’ve been aware of this 43cm (over a foot!) long behemoth for some time but never anticipated it to become available in my own country. Fantastic! Quite often, items like this simply never reach these shores. This is a very welcome import.
The poster itself is in good shape. For a forty year old piece of vintage printed material it can be forgiven for being imperfect; and imperfect it is indeed. It has a few bruised edges, sticky tape has been applied to each corner and a couple of tack holes are present. Nonetheless, it is straight and lacks any major tears. A starting bid of US$59 on this uncommon item will attract some fast attention. This poster will sell without any trouble.
It’s a complete looking figure with a dome on its head and the crest on its back. It’s always great to see these two body parts are in place – even if the dome is placed back to front on the head. Hey, it’s an easy fix. It’s as easy as picking it up, turning it around one hundred and eighty degrees and then placing it down on the head in its correct orientation. It’s just odd to see it sitting in this queer fashion. Then again, it does highlight how ill fitting this smoky piece actually is and the vendor can’t be blamed for the poor construction technique Kenner used to fix it in place. 
There’s clearly going to be a caveat regarding this item. Maybe more than one, actually. Firstly, let’s get the box out of the way. It’s clearly battered and mangled. It’s window is missing and it’s had its lid ripped free. At least the lid hasn’t been discarded and is present in the sale. The box is a mess for sure; but by the same token it’s still a genuine forty year old original Kenner ALIEN box. Despite its dilapidated state, it’s going to be worth upwards of US$100 if sold individually. The red insert card and poster are missing. 
Despite being opened, he’s 99% all there. You get almost everything and depending on how pedantic you are as a collector, this item will make a fine addition to your trophy shelf. All critical components you would want appear to be present in this package – almost. Here’s a quick checklist of how your expectations for this item are going to be fulfilled. 
Back in 2014, Gentle Giant started releasing a series of four large scale tribute items inspired by Kenner’s original 1979 toy. Gentle Giant’s products were similar in many ways, mimicking the older toy, the box it was sold in and also featured a facsimile poster inside the box – just like the original Kenner item. This particular product on offer here was the 2nd item released in Gentle Giant’s range of oversized tribute ALIEN figures; and that was in 2015. 
Firstly, there’s no box included in this listing. It just includes the figure and the the red insert card. Fortunately, this card is a genuine item and not a facsimile/fake/reproduction. These red, corrugated cards were present inside the blue box when Kenner originally released the ALIEN. It’s purpose was to provided safe and stable transportation of the toy during transit to stores in 1979 with the toy strapped directly onto the card, preventing it from moving about inside the box and potentially being damaged.
These things never really did fit adequately upon the head of the 40 year old toy even when it was released. As a result, they are frequently absent from these toys today. About 80% of Kenner ALIEN toys are missing this piece; but is it rare? “Uncommon” would be a better description. This one looks to be in generally OK condition. It is showing evidence of scratches and other blemishes but it is complete with all 5 nubs needed to (inadequately) secure the dome in place. It’s a decent addition to help complete someone’s four decades old blended styrene space monster. Starting at US$70 it may appear the vendor is expecting a lot for this concave piece of ancient plastic but as this body part can easily sell for upwards of US$100, I will be watching this item with great interest. Let’s see how high it climbs.
