When talking about the old 1979 Kenner ALIEN action figure, the word ‘rare’ is often bandied about.  Exactly, how rare is this 40 year old toy, anyway.  Let’s see if we can shed some light onto how ‘rare’ this figure really is.  The best place to start an investigation into this quandary is eBay.

First, this toy was produced in enormous quantities by Kenner who expected sales numbers to follow in the footsteps of their extremely popular 3.75 inch tall Star Wars toys they released the previous year.  Kenner sold an estimated forty million pocket size Star Wars action figures in 1978 – exactly how many ALIEN toys they expected to sell is difficult to determine; but is forty million of them out of the question?  Probably – but they certainly made this unconventional toy in a high volume and that’s indisputable.  Any estimate is open to speculation and keeping the high number of forty million Star Wars toys in mind is going to be an important factor regardless of how many were actually made.

Today, we can still easily gauge some idea of the huge amount of these toys Kenner produced.  It’s been forty years since its release and eBay is the best place to find them. To this end, let’s ask this question:  How many of these old toys are available on the service right now?

As of this writing, there’s a dozen of them.  That’s a remarkably high figure for a forty year old toy that’s supposed to be difficult to find, that’s what rare means.  What’s more, this isn’t an exception.  A dozen figures is about the standard amount available at any time.  Of course there’s always some fluctuation and sometimes there’s more and of course sometimes there’s less; but this is the standard number of Kenner ALIEN figures available on eBay at any time.  Check again in six weeks or six months and you’ll find a different set of a dozen figures listed for sale.

The contents and condition of each listing can vary wildly.  From disassembled parts to exceptionally well preserved figures in unopened boxes, they all become available on the service.  Loose samples of the toy are very common and figures in boxes aren’t particularly as rare as some people would have you believe, either.  Take the six boxed items appearing in the montage image at the top of this post.  That isn’t just a random selection cobbled together for the sake of an image.  Each one of those samples are currently available on eBay.   Of course, none of those boxes can be said to be in perfect or pristine condition, but boxed figures are available on eBay, constantly.

While it’s true that pristine and perfectly preserved boxes are uncommon, they’re scarcity is only rare by comparison.  Excellent condition boxes appear on the service at random.  Just wait a month or two and another one will become available – expect to pay well into four figures when that does happens.  My notion of ‘rare’ is much less availability offered by the frequent appearance of these items.  Try finding an Australian pressing of the 1979 Kenner ALIEN board game, for example.  Now that’s rare.

So, what is it then with these old toys?  If they’re not so rare – and their regular listings on eBay is constant solid evidence of the case – then why are they so expensive?  There’s several answers to that question.  Firstly, the Kenner ALIEN action figure was the first commercial toy released to mass market retail outlets based on an R-rated movie.  Secondly, it was intended for children.  Straight away, there’s a disconnect there that gave this toy a reputation that can never be repeated.  Third, it’s a vintage figure now.  Retro pop culture relics are by their nature sought after.  People want them.  Let’s add another reason… This is the very first action figure (notwithstanding the MPC model kit – which by its nature was a model kit and intended for children.)  based on ALIEN.  It’s like a first edition, the first item in a long history of ALIEN action figures that continues today.

While the item itself can easily be proven to be not rare, it’s value stems from a strong albeit infamous reputation.  Nothing like this existed before and when it did hit store shelves, it was considered to be inappropriate for children, deemed offensive and was based on a movie that children weren’t responsibly permitted to see and failed miserably at retail due to these reasons.

Go buy one if you want one.  Don’t expect it to be cheap.  It’s certainly not rare, though, and it seems there’s always another one listed on eBay as soon as one gets sold.  No one appears to know exactly how many of these four decades old toys were made.

Maybe Kenner did make forty million of them after all?   It’s one piece of information I have been seeking for a long time.

-Windebieste.