Fortunately, I was able to remove the screws from the back of Mr. FORD that hold him together. They hadn’t rusted into place and no one has applied glue to irreversibly hold his torso halves together. This means the work I have planned for this broken little treasure will proceed as intended. So, on with the show. Here he is dismantled and placed into a cute little muesli bar box for safe keeping. Dirty and dusty, Mr. FORD’s mangled form will need a thorough clean before I attempt to get him standing once again.

Before we progress with this part of Mr. FORD’s rehabilitation, I am going to interrupt with a few significant points regarding this figure. This poor old wrecked ALIEN is somewhat a rarity. Not solely because it’s an original 1979 vintage Kenner toy and that’s true; but he’s also rare for other reasons. This broken and incomplete sample is one of the lesser known Canadian variants, made in 1979. Kenner had two production runs of this infamous toy. One line for the American market and another production line in Canada. The Canadian set up was intended for more international markets. Those markets included Canada, UK, Europe and Australia.

For this reason, it’s not uncommon for these items, when found in Australia, to be the rarer Canadian samples. Does this make this sample of the toy more valuable? Not really. This small but significant detail is largely unknown, with any differences present in the toy being subtle and almost indiscernible. Most collectors aren’t aware of the changes so the potential value they could possess has never been realised. Indeed, being made in significantly smaller numbers than their US made counterparts and displaying minor discrepancies means the opposite is true.  Canadian Kenner ALIEN toys are often mistaken for bootlegs. For this reason, they can often sell for less than those made across the border – but their legitimacy is verified. We shall investigate and repeatedly discuss Mr. FORD’s Canadian nature as we progress through his current rehabilitation.

Disassembled and thrown* into the kitchen sink filled with moderately hot water and mild kitchen detergent. A toothbrush is then used to clean out any dirt (and Mr. FORD is covered in dirt!) that coats the toy. This is the best way to clean these old toys as fully assembled items, they are large and can be ungainly to work with. The toy won’t sustain any damage and the paint on the head will not be blemished or peel from being immersed and washed in this manner.

If the water is hot enough for you to place your hands in it, that’s all you will generally need. Any hotter than that and you may risk warping the toy. Basically, if the water is hot enough to work without using gloves, that should be your metric. If it’s too hot for your hands, it’s too hot for the aged blended styrene material these Kenner toys are made. A used toothbrush is your friend here as the detailing on these old ALIEN toys is extensive.

Placed out to dry on the table to dry, I’m lucky it’s a sunny afternoon here in Melbourne. He’s dried quickly and we can now clearly see all the parts that comprise the figure. The screws I’ve placed aside and we’ll talk about them a little later. The major remnants of Mr. Ford are now laid out bare before us. These are: the head (including the lower tongue half and lower teeth), left leg, right leg (broken above the ankle, the foot is lost) rear torso half, front torso half, internal plate with four dorsal appendages (three have broken away, one remains attached) and the right arm (missing rubber anchor). I will explore each item in more detail in subsequent pages as the figure is reassembled.

While the presence of each of these pieces is welcome, it’s also important to note the absent body parts that would have graced this toy when new which have since gone missing. These parts include: the transparent dome that sits upon the toy’s head, upper teeth, upper tongue half, dorsal crest that sits between the toy’s shoulders, left arm and tail. Basically, all the delicate parts that are typically missing when you find these toys in the wild are absent. I do have some spares for some of these parts and they will come handy during this figure’s reconstruction. Others? Well, Mr. FORD won’t be 100% complete. Not this time around, anyway.

The small parts inside the red jar lid (above) are also of worthy note. These loose items were also recovered from the disassembly. Firstly, the pair of looped rubber hooks are severed arm anchors that were still attached inside the figure after the arms broke free. These are the remains of the arms’ mounting and articulation system. Their removal isn’t essential but they serve no purpose now so out they come and can only get in the way if left inside. I have amassed a large collection of this detritus. I’ll show it later when we talk about the arms.

Of more importance are the four screws that hold Mr. FORD together. These screws are not the same as those typically used in the assembly of Kenner’s US ALIEN toy. These four screws are specific to the Canadian made version. They are shorter and the thread winding is a lot tighter than screws used to assemble US made figures. Why do such differences exist? The variation may be attributed to differing international production standards. These will need to be returned to the figure to hold him in one piece once completed.

Also present in this image above is the severed stump from the broken and missing tail. This was also recovered loose from inside Mr. FORD during his disassembly. Like the screws, Canada’s method of tail attachment differs from how Kenner assembled its product in the US. The US versions of the toy use a serrated metal clip to hold the tail in place while the Canadian versions employ a slot in the tail’s internal nub with a short peg inserted to secure the tail to the rear torso. It’s presence inside the figure is further proof Mr. FORD is indeed made in Canada. The stub and peg is a piece of junk right now but at some point in the future I may have a need for a loose and spare Canadian Kenner ALIEN tail peg. Into the collection of miscellaneous spare parts it goes.

Next up I’ll commence working on getting Mr. FORD back in as good a shape as possible. We shall start with his head.

*I didn’t really throw him into the kitchen sink. Honest! He was placed inside, very gently.

Part 1: Recovery.
Part 2: Dismantle & Clean.
Part 3: Working on the Head.
Part 4: Attaching the Arm.
Part 5: Attaching the Tail.
Part 6: Replacing a Leg.
Part 7: Reattaching the Dorsal Quads.
Part 8: Final Assembly.