To start, I bought this without free shipping, but it was on sale. As of this review, it has already sold out on amazon. There is a good reason for this. This thing is, objectively speaking, the best Kenner Alien Neca has released and possibly one of their best overall alien figures they have ever released. This is some pretty high praise considering what Neca has released before, but I can assure you that it is deserved. However, no figure is perfect and neither is this one. The figure is not the most sophisticated when it comes to paint (it still more than gets the job done), but this can mostly be attributed to the heavy use of translucent plastic. A bigger issue is that this can cause the paint to chip/flake. Some of the sculpt seriously hinders articulation, especially the hips/upper legs. The last but most problematic issue is that the dome, which is removable, comes off extremely easily to the point of falling off just by tilting the figure. It isn’t a problem if the figure is kept in a static pose, but a lot of movement will cause it to fall. The positives are essentially everything else. The plastic that the figure is made from is mostly translucent, which has the added benefit of being lighter, which reduces how top-heavy the figure is if it happens to be posed standing up. While many figures made with translucent plastic tend to have brittle joints, Neca has mostly rectified this with most of their previous releases that use translucent plastic and this is no exception. The joints and area’s that house articulation are designed to be somewhat malleable to prevent breakage, even if it is still possible. The articulation mirrors what you would expect; swivel and hinge in the head, double ball peg in the waist, swivel and hinge in the hips, swivel in the upper legs, double hinged knees with a swivel at the top, hinge and swivel in the feet with a descent ankle-rocker, swivel and hinge in the shoulders, double hinged elbows with a swivel at the top, swivel and hinge in the hands (or technically front feet) as well as a hinge in the fingers (technically toes). The only thing they really sacrificed was the backward facing knee-joint in the leg, but I believe this to be necessary to maintain balance. Another positive aspect is the size. If you have seen reviews going on about the size, they are not kidding. This thing is almost the same height as the assassin predator and is also cheaper than that was when it was released. If stood up on its hind legs, the figure clocks in at about 11 inches. When only looking at pictures and videos, it is quite hard to really judge the scale for what it is; it is something that you will only really grasp when you actually have it in hand. Last, but certainly not least, is the sculpt. This is what really makes this figure worth it in my eyes. The sculpt is 100% made for this figure, so no reused limbs or torso pieces. The dome has cracks in it to show that it has seen some action, the chest is hollow with the ribs being placed over it so you can see inside, the dorsal tubes are now more spread apart and are six in number instead of the usual four, etc... The way that the translucent plastic has both dark colors and bright orange makes it look like it’s on fire. Neca took a fairly ridiculous concept from Kenner and made it there own. This figure still very much looks like the original, but has been updated to fit in with Neca’s other alien figures. As an added bonus, this will really stand out on a shelf, and that is really saying something when compared to some of the other Kenner aliens that Neca has made. The waist/lower torso is made out of rubber/soft plastic, but it doesn’t break the complexion or the paint and actually allows for greater movement. I would wholeheartedly recommend this figure if you liked the old Kenner aliens, like Neca’s take on Kenner aliens, or even if you are any kind of alien fan at all. NOTE: upon later inspection, I can confirm that this is actually a little bit taller than the assassin predator if you count the dome.
