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.