This poor decrepit fellow is currently available on eBay. At US$199.95, he’s an expensive old toy.  Let’s take a closer look at him, shall we? Let’s find out what he’s really worth.

Sadly, he’s in very beat up shape, covered in dust and showing obvious signs of serious wear and tear.  He’s also missing some critical parts.  His problems don’t uniquely stem from multiple missing parts, though, due to most remaining pieces being damaged in one way or another.  A full evaluation of the figure will reveal closer to what it’s really worth.

First we need to itemise what’s missing from this dirt coated figure and then assess the condition of what’s present. Absent parts from the figure are essentially all the common pieces that may be missing. Gone is the transparent head covering and the crest normally found between the figure’s shoulders. Also missing are both halves of the figure’s tongue and the teeth from the upper jaw. That’s a total of 5 errant parts.  It’s no surprise these features are missing, though, as design flaws in the figure mean it happens frequently. Unfortunately, it also means the value of the figure is considerably devalued by their absence. That’s not good.

That leaves us with investigating what parts the figure actually consists of. Let’s start at the top and work our way down. Aside from the missing dome and dentition from the head the glow in the dark paint of its upper surface is heavily scratched and damaged. There are also minor stains on the paintwork but their severity is minimal when compared to the other obvious abrasions.  As these imperfections are glaringly obvious, the figure’s presentation is greatly marred.

One important feature of the head we can’t fully determine is the operational status of the jaw activation trigger. It would appear this feature is in working condition but it is not verifiable in these photos and may be jammed or broken. At the very least, the jaw isn’t hanging in the open position and so we can presume the springs inside the head are still attached and under tension.  The feature may still work.  In regards to the mouth, only the teeth on the lower jaw are present and their general condition appears to be OK but substantial chips to the chrome finish are present and the extent of this damage is unclear.

Another important detail we may like to consider while we are looking at the head is to determine where this figure originated. The dealer is selling it from Canada. While this may be trivial on the surface, this detail is actually significant due to the fact variants of the Kenner ALIEN toy were manufactured in Canada. The quickest and easiest way to determine whether this particular toy was made in the US or Canada can be found on the right hand side of the jaw activation trigger.

The presence – or lack thereof – of the manufacturer’s details will easily identify the figure’s country of origin. As this figure has “CPG PRODUCTS CORP. 1979” stamped upon this surface this figure was manufactured in the US.  So while this item is listed for sale in Canada, it’s the more common US version rather than the considerably rarer Canadian figure.  It’s been 40 years since this figure left the Kenner HQ in Cincinnati so it’s had more than ample time to migrate across the international border.  Not being a Canadian variant immediately lowers any expectations of a higher value item as these were produced in considerably lower numbers than the US version and are therefore less known about and definitely uncommon.

From here we can move onto the rest of the figure; and unfortunately there’s no substantial improvement in general quality. Instead, we’re going to find a lot of issues will erode expectations of the value of this item.

Looking at the shoulders we can see the arms have sunken into the shoulder sockets. This is usually indicative of internal damage to the figure. Typically, collapsing of the arms in this way occurs when the four small support pins inside the shoulders are broken. Unfortunately, missing these support pins inside the shoulders is a common problem. One or two missing isn’t too much of an issue as remaining pins will prevent the collapse. Here, it’s obvious enough up to all pins are missing and the result is the collapsed arms.

Another problem that is immediately obvious upon a casual observation is the missing tail tip. Once again, it’s relatively common for this extremity to be damaged and missing. It’s absence may go unnoticed by anyone not familiar with the figure but lacking the tip does devalue it and contribute to the figures generally poor presentation.

Moving onto the arms of the figure we can see the elbow spur on the left arm is broken and missing. It’s once again an easy oversight for someone not familiar with the optimum condition these toys should be in. Looking at the right arm, we can see this feature is intact. This is a good thing of itself but so far we’ve looked at most of the toy and found every piece to be damaged or otherwise lacking in some way or simply absent. Both hands look to be in decent shape and that’s welcome. We can see in these photos both hands possess all  six fingers and that’s also very welcome.

Let’s take a peek at the back of the figure. The crest that normally sits between the shoulders on the back of the figure is missing. We already noted that. Usually, some damage is present on the slot present on the rear torso half when this happens. Surprisingly, this toy’s slot is undamaged. That’s an unexpected benefit and doesn’t happen often with these old toys. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean this piece is in a complete state.

Remember we looked at the arms sinking into sockets and how that indicated internal damage due to missing support pins? Yep. Those pins are molded inside the rear torso piece making it the bearer of this internal damage. Unfortunately, the same can also be said for the front torso piece. Unseen damage from missing mounting pins will be present on both the front and rear torso halves of this toy.

Also found on the back of the figure are four tubular appendages. It’s not clear whether all of these are present or seated correctly in the photos provided by the vendor.  I’m not prepared to make any assumptions here either way in regards to their condition.

So far, the condition report for this item isn’t very favourable and now we have reached the final observable pieces present on this figure – the legs. Fortunately, both legs look they are in good condition. There’s no sign of them being broken or having separated at the hips, although that problem can be easily concealed in photos. There’s no cracks in the feet and there’s no sign of buckling at the ankles, which are both problems indicating the figure has been dropped and impact landed on its feet. The absence of such damage is a good thing.

To sum this item up, This Kenner ALIEN toy is in very poor condition. The common pieces of the head and shoulder crest are missing and most of what remains of the figure is damaged in one way or another. The right arm will most likely be suffering from scratches at the ball joint due to its sunken status within the shoulder but this is otherwise a good body part. Both legs appear to be intact and capable of holding the figure upright. That’s good too. Unfortunately, that’s really all the worthwhile observable parts to be found on this item. 3 pieces. It’s possible the appendages found on the back are in a good state but the general quality of this item precludes any assumptions that can be made there. There should be 4 screws in the figure’s back and it’s not possible to ascertain their presence or lack thereof in the photos provided in the listing.

A total of 3 confirmable decent parts are present on this figure.  That’s a very low success rate and even that comes with a caveat: The right arm’s quality is subject to the condition of its ball joint and how badly it’s scratched.  At least both legs appear to be in good condition. If you do have a figure in your possession that needs a left or right arm then this figure is a worthy candidate for cannibalising to acquire those parts. While missing the blunt elbow spur, the damaged left arm is still preferable to none at all – so that will raise the number of observable valuable items to 4.  5, if those appendages are still in one piece.

Which brings us to the Big Question: Is it  worth a hair’s breadth shy of  US$200? That depends on how badly you want it.  If that’s not the case, then what is this figure’s practical value?

Personally, it’s worth what someone eventually pays for it; but Kenner ALIEN toys in this condition usually sell for around the US$60 to US$100 mark. Sometimes they will go for more, say around US$130. Figures missing the same parts but in generally better condition than this item do sell for a comfortable US$130.  Sometimes a little more.  Sometimes a little less.  I certainly wouldn’t expect this heavily degraded item to sell (quickly) for anything over US$130.

In conclusion, even if you just need a couple of parts to complete a figure, US$199.95 is a high price to pay.  Good quality individual body parts are frequently listed on eBay starting at around US$25 (Most body parts and limbs.) up to US$100 (The dome and crest.).  A strong pass is recommended for prospective buyers considering the purchase of this particular sample of this vintage toy unless you really need those few decent replacement parts this damaged figure has to offer.  There’s a good chance this will still sell but I can’t recommend it as a purchase at this price.

While still missing parts, better samples than this item frequently become listed on eBay at cheaper prices.  Of course, it’s fine just the way it is, too.  A little attention to detail will clean and tidy it up simply by washing the dust off of it.  It will still be a great improvement to its current presentation to make it display worthy – but not at US$200.

-Windebieste.