- Year: 1994
- Size: 3.75 inches.
- Product Line: ALIENS Action Masters. Produced by Kenner (Hasbro).
ALIENS Action Masters were a set of collectible die cast metal figures. Their diminutive stature makes them very comparable to the contemporary Micro Machines items manufactured by Galoob who also produced ALIENS licenced merchandise during the 1990’s.
Early test shot of the Action Masters Queen Alien featuring separate castings of the head and body. Note that they do not connect properly as the socket joint for the head is filled in. This is possibly a very early casting sample, testing the figure’s production process and not yet concerned with connecting the pieces together.
Images courtesy of Scott Morrissey
Another early 3 inch test shot of the figure during its development stage. The head is connected but other changes are yet to be made before it will be ready for mass production and eventual retail release.
Images courtesy of Steve Dwyer.
A hand painted 3 inch tall hardcopy of the figure under development. It is probably a color/coating test for what would eventually become the finished 3 inch die cast metal figure. Often individual body parts are cast as separate pieces but not in this case. Here, the tail is broken free of the sample. Breaks such as this may happen during development and testing. They may contribute to changes in the figure design prior to a full series production run.
Images courtesy of Scott Morrissey.
Here the figure is progressing closer to its series production run. This foundry cast ‘1up’ (cast in the 1:1 size it will be retailed) unproduced Queen sample is unpolished metal. When product reaches this stage of development, it’s getting close to being mass produced but changes late in development can still occur. Test casting a figure in its final material may reveal issues with the material or possibly the method of casting. The fact this isn’t how the figure was released to mass market tells us changes were necessary regardless of its advanced stage of development.
Finally, we have a 6 inch prototype of what will become the final die cast item. This piece is from a later stage in its production and provides a glimpse into how features on a figure may change during development. Note the progression towards the final retail item is observable where the tail connects to the figure’s base, similar to how the final mass market release version Action Masters miniature Queen actually appeared on store shelves.
Also of particular interest is the scale of this item. This 6 inch tall sample is an early full size hardcopy of the figure prior to size reduction. It is known as a ‘2up’. This prototype is a casting of the sculpture in in the original size it was created by the artist(s); which is generally twice the size of the final production piece.
Images courtesy of Steve Dwyer.
