HIDEOUS PLASTIC is becoming a significant repository of content relating to ALIEN action figures, toys and other related collectible items. This page lists all articles along with other relevant content currently posted on the site. Links to downloads, external sites and other resources are also available below.
- HIDEOUS PLASTIC – Preview Edition, V0.42. FREE excerpt.
An updated and publicly available 30 page excerpt from the book, HIDEOUS PLASTIC – In stores everyone can hear you scream.
This Preview Edition is available for free and contains the entire first chapter of the book.
- Movie Reviews.
Reviews for ALIEN movies and the upcoming television show will be given dedicated space on HIDEOUS PLASTIC. This area is still very much in development but more will be added soon.
Go read some ALIEN Movie reviews.
- Mr. FORD’s AMAZING Rehabilitation.
Let’s take apart a dusty and thoroughly wrecked 1979 Kenner ALIEN toy and transform it into a thing of beauty and wonder.
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.
- ImPerfect Organisms.
Upside down, back to front, typographical errors and all kinds of faults and defects.These are the Quality Control escapees of the ALIEN collector scene.
A selection of faulty products and factory rejects that shouldn’t have left the factory but somehow made it onto retail shelves.
I like to refer to them as ‘ImPerfect Organisms’
- MPC ALIEN Kit.
Originally released in 1979, the MPC ALIEN kit has been released multiple times throughout the past four decades.
Here’s everything you need to know in order to figure which edition is a genuine forty year old vintage item and which one was released sometime during the last decade.
A complete guide to the MPC ALIEN kit.
- ALIEN ReAction Figures – A Complete Guide.
Initially launched in 2013 as a pair of faux 1979 “advance promotional samples”, the ALIEN ReAction figure product line has grown to included dozens of 3.75 inch figures inspired by abandoned 1979 Kenner ALIEN prototypes.
You can find them all right here.
- ReAction figures, custom painted by Daniel Yu.
Inspired custom painted figures by Daniel Yu, an artist who likes to work with 3.75 inch action figures. There’s some impressively detailed work tucked away in this little tykes.
The Alien and other 3.75 inch human(oid) characters receive custom treatment.
- 1979 Kenner ALIEN Toy Sales Figures Unearthed.
For forty years, the number of these ALIEN toys Kenner Products actually made has been a mystery. Previous best estimates were around the 10,000 mark. Official paperwork uncovered in late 2020 reveals exact sales figures.
The truth is they made much, much more.
- The Luminous Legacy of Kenner’s ALIEN.
It’s been forty years since Kenner Products released their ALIEN toy to a less than glowing reception from the world.
Since then, it’s been replicated several times, significantly incorporating glow in the dark features.
This article explores the long standing tradition of glow in the dark goodness across those items.
- The Unofficial Buyer’s Guide to Snailiens.
Unlicenced mashups of snails and face ripping space monsters in sculptural form. Everybody should have one!
Here then, for all your convenient needs is your definitive, handy, timely and fully comprehensive online shopping guide to Snaliens.
Just what you always wanted, right?
- Custom ALIEN PEZ dispensers.
Nope. Sorry. PEZ don’t actually make these things. If you want one, you’ll have to make it yourself.
Here’s a small selection of home made ALIEN PEZ dispensers to help you get started.
- Lanard ALIEN Toys – Made to be Played.
Lanard Toys released their ALIEN Collection of budget toys in January, 2020. Attractive and priced to be affordable, these are the first licenced ALIEN toys overtly marketed as family friendly in 2 decades.
The big winners were children.
- Derivatives of the 1979 Kenner ALIEN Poster.
Originally appearing in the 1979 Kenner toy’s box, the poster has also been emulated multiple times, most notably by Super7 and Gentle Giant.
Here’s a brief article regarding these iterations.
7 Days of Vintage Print Material from 1979 to 1980.
October 2020 was the 40th Anniversary of the release of the Kenner ALIEN toy. During the course of a week at this time I posted 7 days of vintage print material relating to the toy. Here are quick and easy links to the entire list of posts:
Day 1 – The Ledger. December 5, 1982.
Day 2 – Catalogs. unknown source, 1979-1980(?)
Day 3 – Starlog magazine. July, 1979.
Day 4 – JC Penney, Christmas catalog. 1979.
Day 5 – Australian catalogs. 1979.
Day 6 – Starlog magazine. October, 1979.
Day 7 – Kenner, Christmas catalog. 1979.
- Happy 40th Anniversary, 18 Inch Tall Kenner ALIEN Action Figure!
In October 1979, Kenner Products shipped their controversial large scale ALIEN action figure to retailers around the world. It didn’t do too well; but the failure became legend. …and the legend became revered.
This article celebrates 40 years of the infamous 1979 ALIEN children’s toy.
- 1979 Kenner ALIEN Logo was CENSORED!
1979 also saw Kenner release a board game. It was nothing spectacular. Just a couple of dice and some tokens moved around the board, being gobbled up by a hostile extraterrestrial organism.
Kenner considered the box top and logo too gruesome for children and modified them.
- HIDEOUS PLASTIC Top 10 ALIEN Action Figures
It’s the site’s 2nd Anniversary of going live! Let’s celebrate with a list – everyone else has one, now it’s my turn.
- Bootlegs, Knock Offs and Other ‘Illegal Aliens’
From Mexico to China, these startling unlicenced anomalies crawl out from under the hazy blanket of obscurity to make you wonder what on Earth these manufacturers were thinking when they made these weird things.
Part 1: Kenner. – Bootleg Kenner ALIEN action figures.
Part 2: Mexican Oddities – Other dodgy unlicenced stuff from Mexico
Part 3: Imitations – The very strange world of not quite licenced ALIEN figures.
Part 4: Unexplained Phenomena – Mashups and curiosities of dubious origins.
- Mr. Tendril’s BIG Make Over
He’s gross and disgusting with no hope of being loved ever again. Or is he..?
Part 1: Introduction.
Part 2: Assessment and Evaluation(1 of 2).
Part 3: Assessment and Evaluation (2 of 2).
Part 4: Disassembly and Cleaning.
Part 5: Loose Hip Joint Repair.
Part 6: Broken Hip Joint Repair (1 of 2).
Part 7: Broken Hip Joint Repair (2 of 2).
Part 8: Severed Arm Repair.
Part 9: Damaged Shoulder Repair.
Part 10: Improvised Replacement Arm.
Part 11: Final Assembly.
Documenting the rehabilitation of a previously customised 1979 Kenner ALIEN action figure that’s sadly fallen into a woeful state of disrepair. He’s in need of more than just a little love to get him looking good once again. Let’s see what can be done with ‘Mr. Tendril.’
- Custom Made 3.75 Inch Prototype ALIEN
Following the announcement of Super7’s Hammerhead ALIEN ReAction figure, dedicated fan, Baptiste Coudert decided to try his hand at creating the original 1979 Kenner Products prototype. All you need to replicate the original kit bashed figure is some basic materials and a 1979 Kenner Hammerhead alien.
How well did it work out? Baptiste’s efforts are documented with photos.
- Custom Made ALIEN PEZ Dispenser
It’s a great item – and everybody wants one; but sorry, no. It’s not possible. Beyond the single custom made item, It never existed as PEZ never licenced the ALIEN property from Fox.
On the other hand, if you do want to make one yourself, here’s what you can do.
- ALIEN-MAN – Because he Dared to Dream!
One of the greatest, weirdest and most dubious action figures ever made. Is ALIEN-MAN the real deal? Or is it just too good to be true..?
Here’s the strange truth about ALIEN-MAN.
- How Big is this Thing, Exactly? Experiments on Scale.
Using a coin to gauge the scale of an action figure is a common practice. It can also lead to problems interpreting the size of such items.
This article explores the deceptive nature of using coins for such purposes.
- Questions and Answers with Brian Flynn.
Super7’s Super Sized 18 inch tall Acid Green ALIENS warrior action figure was released on Hallowe’en, 2017.
I had a few questions about it and Brian Flynn, owner of Super7 was kind enough to answer them.
- The Secret Life of 1986 ALIENS Action Figures.
No ALIENS action figures or toys were made available to accompany the release of the movie in 1986. Nonetheless, action figures did play a role in the making of the movie.
- Kenner’s Pocket Size ALIEN Legend.
Being released in 2013 and continuing to appear today, the FUNKOxSuper7 ReAction figures may appear tobe relatively new on store shelves but they have a history that stretches back more than 3 decades.
Find out about the curious and fascinating origin of these popular collectible ALIEN toys.
- Questions and Answers with Nic Durham.
Nic was kind enough to participate in a Questions and Answers session with me regarding his upcoming book, ReAction Figures – Unofficial Action Figure Guide, 2013-2016 to be released in June 2017.
- HIDEOUS PLASTIC ALIEN action figure reviews.
You can find a collection of reviews for ALIEN action figures in this growing section of the site. There’s all kinds of stuff in here. Poke around take a look at what’s been available recently and in the past.
Various ALIEN action figure reviews
- 1979 Kenner ‘ALIEN TERROR’ Movie Viewer Restoration.
Along with the 18 inch tall action figure, Kenner Products released a board game and a hand held movie viewer in 1979.
If you’re curious about the full content of the Movie Viewer, you can find it here.
- 1992 Kenner ALIENS mini comics scans:
In 1992, Kenner returned to the ALIENS Universe with a series of action figures. Select toys in the series included a set of 13 comics that featured the toys in action. They are considered valuable by collectors and difficult to come by. Fortunately, scans by an unknown author are available for download.
Download 13 Issues of Kenner ALIENS Mini Comics in 1 Handy Archive File
- Unpublished Kenner ALIENS: Hive Wars Comics.
This set of 15 page comics features uncolored black and white line artwork. These are super fun items and anyone who is a fan of Kenner’s 1990’s ALIENS action figures will want to check these out.
Download the set of 15 unpublished pages of Kenner ALIENS: Hive Wars mini comic.
- Faux ALIEN bubblegum cards.
Unofficial bubble gum cards based on ALIEN movies, games and stuff. I whipped these up as a fun fan art projects. A set of 100 (plus a few bonus outtake cards) fake bubblegum cards based on the video game, ALIEN: Isolation and inspired by Topps original 1979 ALIEN bubblegum cards series. Plus another set of 114 equally fake cards based on PROMETHEUS.
Download complete sets of fan made ALIEN: Isolation and PROMETHEUS bubblegum cards.
- Visit the HIDEOUS PLASTIC Instagram page.
This is our instagram page. I haven’t been updating this. I know I should get back to it some time – it just hasn’t been a big priority.
- …But wait! There’s more!
People have generated a ton of content regarding the original 1979 Kenner Products ALIEN toy over the years but it can be difficult to find. For ease of locating such content I’ve collated all the links I know of for such resources and added them below. Enjoy!
- Images and descriptions of the 1979 Kenner ALIEN action figure and all of its derivatives can be found in the Galleries section of this site.
- Miscellaneous Maintenance and Repair content for the Kenner action figure by myself and other third party Authors.
- On this page you can find a bunch of online articles dedicated to the figure. There’s a lot of these.
- Miscellaneous online videos of all manner of descriptions can be found. Everything from Kenner’s original 1979 television commercial to reviews, appraisals and other artistic interpretations.
Have fun exploring these links. I will add more as time passes. Please send me any information regarding anything I may have missed.
Thank you.
-Windebieste.
