This past Halloween witnessed Super7 abruptly announce and swiftly release the 3rd in their series of 1986 Kenner Products ALIEN tribute figures whose speculation celebrates what an action figure based on ALIENS could possibly have been like. This iteration is in the traditional 18 inch format as established by the original figure in 1979 – and it looks amazing.

The big attraction with this item is its outlandish yet exquisite transparent lime green presentation.  This new ‘Acid Green Edition’ ALIENS figure is the latest in a long line of weird and wonderful action figures in this growing family and this brilliantly lurid item is now available from Super7’s online store. 

I had the fortunate opportunity to talk to Brian Flynn, owner of Super7; and ask him a few questions about the figure – along with a few other items of interest.

Phil Wlodarczyk: Thank you, Brian, for your time. Some of this stuff has been nagging me for a while so I appreciate your preparedness to answer these questions. These inquiries mostly concern Super7’s recently released Acid Green ALIENS Warrior tribute figure but I’ve also squeezed in some questions about the hinted at ALIEN Wave 3 ReAction figures. Hope you don’t mind.

Firstly, Being a fan of anything related to the original Kenner figure makes me super happy to see this new Acid Green ALIENS Warrior released. It’s been a short amount of time between its initial tease – just a few weeks ago, actually, and its quick release this recent Halloween. Such a cool surprise! Thank you for doing this as long waits can be such a hassle to us hopelessly impatient fans.  In this regard, can you enlighten me to the strategy behind its production and release?

Brian Flynn:Well, when we were sampling the smaller figures, we made a clear green version that was just so cool looking we decided to see if it would look cool in the 18” version. The good news is, it looked even better than the original, so we just decided to throw caution to the wind and make it. There was not a grand plan.

PW: The lime green flavored Alien is of course a Limited Edition pressing. Can you tell me how many units were produced? Should people be panic buying and stocking them for their collections, hardcore? Like, as if it’s the end of the world, or something..?

BF: Well, of course I would prefer if everyone rushed out and bought one, but it is a more limited run than the black version. Generally though, we don’t tell people how many we make. We just try and make stuff in what we think will be the right quantity, and the secondary market can decide if it is rare or not. That’s not my point for making the figure, it’s not just to make something rare or create a false demand.

PW: Does it really taste as good as it looks?

BF: It’s fairly crunchy, but the taste is subtle.

PW: I guess you wouldn’t recommend biting it.  I’ll just give it a good lick, instead.

PW: I know a lot of people are interested in these Kenner ALIEN tribute items but the price on them turns away some buyers, fast. US$195 is too much for many people. Does it have to be so expensive?

BF:Unfortunately, yes. The tooling (molds) cost alone on a figure of this scale with all the parts could buy me a house in most parts of the country, so when you divide that up into a small run just for collectors (as opposed to on shelf with a major retailer), the cost gets much higher.

PW: This new Acid Green item appears to be made of 2 types of materials: torso arms and head are the same; while the hands, the crests on the back and tail are something else? This is similar to the construction of the original figure (and Super7’s earlier ‘Prototype’ ALIENS Warrior.) What materials are used on these different body parts? How do they compare to the original figure (which I believe is made of a styrene blend and ABS plastic.)

BF:The hands and tail are a bit softer so that they don’t break while playing with them. The original had a slightly different plastic on the tail as well. It is more obvious on the clear green, but we want to make sure it doesn’t break when played with.

PW: That’s very much the same reason why Kenner made the original figure the way they did.  It was a safety concern being addressed by management for any handling of the figure, especially taking into consideration they marketed their product at ‘AGES 5 AND UP’.  So the hands and other other parts subject to breakage aren’t prone to jagged edges if broken.  Nice to see the construction emulated.

PW: Is the previously announced ‘Marine Ambush’ variant still being produced? It’s been a while since we saw the figure at this year’s Toy Fair – is it still a going concern or has it been shelved?

BF: It will come out at a later date, not sure when, but it is not shelved. We just thought it would be fun to surprise everyone with the awesome acid green version!

PW: Related to this question is something else I have been wondering about, how much longer before we hear more about Super7’s ALIEN ReAction figures, Wave 3, also spotted at Toy Fair 2017?

BF: We are in tooling now, so we should be showing them off in the coming months. They are not that far away.

PW: Furthermore in relation to the ReAction figures, as wave 3 looks to fill out the missing crew members of the Nostromo (Lambert, Brett and Parker – all dressed in ship’s crew gear), is there any chance of another play set being released? I am thinking decks ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ of the the Old Girl herself would be ideal for such treatment, especially as 2 of these new characters never left the Nostromo when she touched down on Acheron. Please… A neat 3 level Nostromo play set would be the bomb! Just imagine the fan made videos!

BF:Playsets are great fun, but they are super expensive to make because of the size and number of tools (molds), and not that many people buy them. You would probably be surprised how few of the original playset we actually made. It is not as many as people think. I would love to, but when playsets start being $75+, not that many people think they are worth the money.

PW: I guess creative fans will have to make their own play sets to stage re-enactments.

PW: I’m getting a little sidetracked now; we’ve already seen the ReAction figure 3 pack featuring the Queen, Ripley and the powerloader released, can we expect to see more ALIENS ReAction figures? That is, more characters from the 2nd movie in this format? Please? I’m sure sure fans of the sequel would go bonkers for 3.75″ smartgunners and such.

BF:Yeah, we have ALIENS on schedule for the tail end of 2018. We need the Colonial Marines and Newt for sure.

PW: OK. I promise I’ll get back on track. Honest. Aside from the fate of the copper brushed ‘Marine Ambush’ figure, how many more iterations of the 1986 ALIENS Warrior can we expect to see? Is Super7 done with this figure now? …or is there going to be more? Please let there be more.

BF:If everyone starts buying the ALIENS Warrior in droves, and want more, we will make as many as people will let us, but right now, we only have plans for the Marine Ambush version beyond what we have.

PW: Is there any chance of Super7 releasing the ALIEN figure in its original 1979 configuration? I’ve seen a few people requesting such a release. People don’t want to pay $300 for an original vintage Kenner ALIEN figure with wonky joints and can’t hold a pose – but many would like a fresh updated one to add to their collection. I know I would. Is that at all possible as 2019 is not that far away and maybe a ’40th Anniversary Edition’ would be ideal? That would be Neat!

BF: I have a real aversion to making reproduction toys, I think you devalue the original and cause confusion on what is real and fake, and people get burned. So, no, I don’t have any plans to remake the original, it is just great as it is. In fact, I think it is so great that I made the sequel to it!

PW: As a final, personal request – a suggestion, if you will – can you please, please, please release an 18 inch Punk Edition of the figure? …complete with a fluoro mohawk and punk themed tattoos all over it, featuring slogans like ‘DRINK FIGHT AND FACEHUG’? After all, the Alien’s elongated head does lend itself very well to a full height mohawk – and 1986, Man!. Oh, and have it wear a ‘MISFITS’ T-shirt would make it a great crossover of existing Super7 licences, if possible. lol.

BF:Game over man! Ha! Actually, I think a one-off custom made in your spare time is in your future. Pursue your dreams! Follow your heart! (Because I won’t be making it!) Ha!