We are now at the final stage of Mr. FORD’s rehabilitation and he is now ready for his final assembly. Everything went well, within the limitations of working with a thoroughly degraded forty year old toy featuring all of his parts damaged in some way or another and missing many others. The repairs have been made where possible and a few obvious gaps have been filled. He’s still incomplete but this is as far as his path will take him. For now, anyway. Here he is in as good a state as is possible under the unfortunate circumstances that dictate and restrict further restoration.

Considering the condition he was in when I acquired Mr. FORD, remember his name is an acronym for “Found On Rubbish Dump” for good reason, he’s turned out OK. He calls to me to add a left arm. I can hear him in my haunted dreams, whispering in the darkness “My left arm… Give it to me. Give it to me!”  For some unknown reason, Kenner ALIEN left arms are more frequently missing from these old toys than right arms. One will turn up, one day. Attaching the arm will be a simple process as I have already made provision inside the torso to do so. He’s ready for that limb. He’s missing a couple of other parts, namely the dome that sits on his head and the dorsal crest located between his shoulders. I can make my own reproductions of those items.

I don’t mind adding home made parts to this figure as he’s so beat up and mutilated he’s not worth spending good money on genuine pieces. Right now, I would be happy for him to simply be “feature complete” with all parts present regardless of their origin. A couple of repro parts won’t hurt here. Besides, once you start cobbling together improvised parts from old DVD cases, bungee cord, wire coat hangers and twisted pieces from trimmed paperclips he’s no longer 100% original, anyway. Here’s a small gallery of photos sent to me prior to my acquisition of this comprehensively wrecked vintage toy.

Normally a figure in this tragic condition would be a great candidate for customising. Every part on Mr FORD is damaged in some capacity so it would be a great opportunity to create an objet de art from it. I’ve used messed up and mangled Kenner ALIEN parts to build custom figures in the past. It’s a lot of fun! In this case at hand though, I wanted to treat this sample differently. Mr FORD may be mutilated in varying degrees but the fact that he is rare precludes any such activity. Being a Kenner ALIEN originating from Canada instead of the US makes these versions scarce enough as it is, so rehabilitation was prioritised over customisation.

Nonetheless, he’s come a long way. This dusty, broken old derelict toy was recovered by a keen eyed passerby who recognised it for what it was. Having been tossed onto council kerbside rubbish collection pile in West Footscray, I am lucky to have the opportunity to bring it back to a decent standard. Thank you, Chris. Here’s some more side by side “before & after” comparison shots. You wouldn’t even believe this was the same item unless you inspect it closely.

Our exercise of rehabilitating Mr. FORD is now coming to a close. Thank you to everyone who reads these pages. This Mini Project was an absolute joy to work on! I’ll do this again sometime as I have become proficient in repairing these old toys. Even beat up old samples like this one may appear to be a challenge beyond most people but I have long since mastered the art of restoring vintage 1979 Kenner ALIEN toys. There isn’t one out there that can’t be fixed – or at the very least be used to apply some much needed love and attention to another sample. Or two.

Meanwhile, I will be keeping a keen eye open for a loose 1979 Kenner ALIEN left arm. I won’t enjoy an uninterrupted good night’s sleep until I do. The whispers! The whispers! They compel me. So, if you have a left arm you’re willing to part with, please do let me know. I could use it. Spare parts salvaged from these old toys are getting scarce now; but after more than forty years that is expected to be the case. EPILOG

Just one item remains to be commented upon. What happened to that right leg which was brutally severed above the ankle?

Some of Mr. FORD’s body parts (his tail and four mouth parts) were sourced from another beat up Canadian Kenner ALIEN. The right leg was swapped out from that same figure. It’s now home for that wrecked leg. This source figure has steadily degraded over time as parts are traded and used elsewhere to improve the quality of other Kenner ALIEN toys. It’s still a Kenner ALIEN. It’s too valuable to toss out and these messed up parts may still come in handy. One day. Below are those remnants, assembled and on display. I have no idea what I will do with that ruined leg but now is not the time to judge. lol.

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.