With all this talk about average condition Kenner ALIEN toys, it’s probably a good idea to check out one that is in poor state. Let’s investigate this beat up sample currently available for sale on eBay right now. This Kenner ALIEN is being offered for US$199.95.
There is a long list of problems with this item. Let’s find out if it’s worth the asking price of US$200. Firstly, the dome on the head and the dorsal crest are missing. If this figure’s problems ended there, it could be described as being in ‘average’ condition. Unfortunately, this guy has a ton of other issues that prevent it from deserving that status. Here’s just a few problems present on this old toy I can spot without too much effort.
Starting with the head, we can see the glow in the dark paint work is heavily scratched and most of the mouth parts are missing. The teeth on the upper jaw and both tongue halves are gone, leaving only the teeth on the mandible in place. A figure with 3 out of 4 mouth parts missing is bad. If only the tongue was missing, it wouldn’t be so much of a problem.
Looking at the arms, we can detect a couple of significant issues, there. Firstly the left elbow spur is missing – it’s been broken off entirely and it’s a noticeably rough finish. Also of importance is the fact the arms are sunken into the torso. This indicates internal damage to the 8 pins inside the shoulders. Sure, the figure can hold a pose with its arms but that’s only because they are jammed into place. Yup. This is bad for the figure. Those arms will be heavily scratched at the ball joint, I can assure you.
While we are on the subject of the torso, we can see that the mounting slot for the dorsal crest is in surprisingly good condition considering the state of the rest of the figure. That’s very welcome but internal damage to the torso as noted above renders this body part almost useless for salvaging as a spare part as support for the arms has already been determined to be greatly diminished. Also of note is the condition of the tail. The blunt barb tip has been broken off, shortening the tail by about half an inch. It’s ugly and highly undesirable finish to have the tail truncated like that.
All things considered, this poor incomplete fellow is in seriously beat up shape. The likelihood that he will sell for US$200 is low as is evidenced by the fact this item has been listed on eBay for quite a few weeks now – maybe even months. He’s really only good for wrecking and using various parts (notably the arms and legs) to repair other Kenner ALIEN toys missing such parts. Figures in this state will usually sell for around US$80-120. Maybe US$150; but at this price, he’ll continue to sit on the service while better condition, average quality figures only missing the dome and crest are listed for the same price will come and go without hesitation.
-Windebieste.
