Review – Aliens Flying Alien Queen

Manufacturer: Kenner * Year: 1992 * Ages: 4+

“Dark. Empty. Silent. This is deep space . . . and vicious Aliens are attacking. One force has the guns and the guts to face these gruesome creatures. Send in the heavy metal . . . Send in the Space Marines!”
— from the back of the card

The movie Alien has never done anything for me, but Aliens, with it’s intense action and military hardware, has always been a favorite. And it’s the entire military feel of the movie that gave Kenner the opening they needed to create a toyline packed with vehicles, soldiers, and even the occasional Alien. Like this Flying Alien Queen action figure from 1992.

Click to enlarge the image.
Click to enlarge the image.


Packaging

The blister on card package has been around for ages, and it’s no surprise that this action figures uses the old reliable form of action figure packaging. The cover artwork shows the Flying Alien Queen in a pose the toy could never get into but it’s an okay shot and shows that it’s from an earlier time; as I’ve mentioned before, I wish modern toy packaging used more artwork and fewer photos.

Click to enlarge the image.
Click to enlarge the image.


As is often the case, the card back is where we find the real fun. Photos of action figures and vehicles shows what else exists for the line and I’ve gotta say that there are a few pieces here I would be happy to grab if I could find them at a low price. The ATAX, an exo-suit to disguise humans to look like aliens, is a bit goofy but it looks fun and is pretty much the only “human” action figure I would be interested in. The vehicles, though, all look like a lot of fun. I especially like the Evac Fighter; can we ever get enough cool jets and spaceships?

The packaging isn’t exciting, but it’s functional and the original artwork on the front at least demonstrates that some effort went into the design.

Click to expand the box photo in a new window.
Click to expand the box photo in a new window.

Flying Alien Queen

Over seven-inches tall with a ten-inch wingspan the Flying Alien Queen is a massive action figure. She has some balance issues, standing still pretty much only in a single pose (balanced on the hind legs and the tail), and very poor articulation*, but the figure design and sculpting is good enough that she looks great on a display shelf.

* Articulated at the head, hips, feet, and shoulders only. It’s not terrible for 1992, but it’s not great for the time, either.

Click to enlarge the image.
Click to enlarge the image.


The Flying Alien Queen’s best feature has to be the paint and plastics used in creating the toy. A mix of translucent plastics and airbrush effects, the Flying Alien Queen may not be as colorful as some of the crazy kaiju toy paint jobs out there but she definitely fits in the same class. The silver spray on the blue/purple plastic looks great and the red detailing on the head is just the icing on a fantastic paint job. What’s sad is that this was probably a fairly inexpensive paint job, but it still looks better than a lot of toys that have more detailed paint applications.

Click to expand the box photo in a new window.
Click to expand the box photo in a new window.

Gimmicks!

It just wouldn’t be a Kenner action figure from the early 1990s without some gimmicks, and the Flying Alien Queen is right there with “flying wings” and “grabbing claw.” A button on the figure’s back (you can clearly see it in the photos) moves the wings a little with each push while the left claw closes with a spring when it’s pressed in the right place. Neither feature is all that exciting but they do add to the toy’s play value — without detracting from its appearance — so I’ve no complaints against these gimmicks.

Click to enlarge the image.
Click to enlarge the image.


Closing Thoughts

There’s really not much to say. I grabbed my Flying Alien Queen for $5 — packaged — and wouldn’t recommend spending any more than that. The sculpt is pretty good, the articulation lame, and it’s only the plastic and paint choices that even make this toy look pretty good. A hardcore fan of the series will probably kill for one of these, but a casual toy collector should only grab one of these if he happens to stumble across it and can grab it for a low price.

It’s an okay toy, but nothing worth searching for. I won’t go out of my way to grab more pieces in this line but if I happen across another alien — or a vehicle! — I’ll probably grab it.


Philip Reed wants to pit this monster against some kaiju toys . . . but he’s really trying to resist buying any kaiju toys since that path leads only to madness.

7 thoughts on “Review – Aliens Flying Alien Queen

  1. Love how Kenner thought the Power Loader wasn’t cool enough, so they added a missile launcher.

  2. You know, looking back I more or less loved this line. Sure it took Kenner way too long to get us a basic Alien but when they finally gave us one it came with a Predator! How cool!

    I had Drake, Apone, Bishop as well as the Snake Alien , Bull Alien and the Queen Alien. Not even counting the Alien/Predator figures.

    I actually still own all of those figures in basically perfect condition which is a testament to how sturdy these guys are. I wished they’d gave us more basic Aliens, but you have to admit they had fun with it.

  3. Aw, seeing the EVAC fighter on the back makes me hate my parents all over for throwing it away 🙁

  4. Ooh, I had this one–picked up loose from some junk shop–and stupidly gave it to a roommate. Stupid. I miss having it hang off a curtain rod or something…

  5. LOVE this line. Still have everything, wish that the full-scale Dropship had actually been produced, and the Dutch figures, and the APC, and Blaine…

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