Alien 3 marked a huge shift in the Alien franchise. David Fincher attempted to return the series to its claustrophobic horror roots. In doing so, he makes much of the victories from Aliens a moot point. For various reasons, Newt, Hicks and Bishop are killed off. Ripley, the sole survivor is left to fend off not only a newly spawned Alien Xenomorph, but the all male inmates of the penal colony she has crash landed on. For the most part, the movie didn’t sit well with fans, who felt betrayed by the decisions made to kill off major characters. The behind the scenes turmoil didn’t help matters. Years later, some fans have gained an appreciation for the entry, which has become much easier to embrace as an even poorer received sequel and the AvP spin offs and thanks to a more complete, and much improved, cut known as the “Assembly Cut”.
Regardless of how fans have felt, there’s no denying the movie had some truly terrific atmosphere, art direction and designs. The film is the inspiration for NECA‘s latest assortment of Aliens figures. Series 8 sees an all-new version of Ellen Ripley, the WeylandYutani Commando and the re-release of the fan favorite Dog Alien figure (along with a gray variant). We picked up the newest assortment from Toyark sponsor Entertainment Earth. We have over 90 photos and a review to check out. See them all after the jump.
Related Entertainment Earth links: Alien 3 Ripley, Alien 3 Weyland Yutani Commando, Aliens Series 9 Pre-Order
Alien Series 8 by NECA
Pros
- Weyland Yutani Commando is full of surprises
- Ripley is nearly an Ultimate Figure
- Good sculpting on new figures
- Another shot at the Dog Alien
Cons
- Decals for Weyland Commando stuck to packaging
Overall
In this assortment you get three (well, four if you count the re-released Dog Alien) all from Alien 3. With Ellen Ripley, you get a flashlight and a torch. However, the figure offers two unique looks as you can remove the jacket and swap out the arms for a tank top look. The only thing really missing from the figure is a cringing head sculpt to work with the most iconic scene from the film. The Weyland Yutani Commando includes some decals, a knife, and a pulse rifle. The most interesting part, though, is that you can adjust how the goggles fit. You can have the lids closed, opened or completely removed. The Brown Dog Alien is basically the same as the previous release, and includes a figure stand. There is a gray variant of the Dog Alien available as well, but does not include any additional accessories.
The gray Dog Alien variant is a nice army builder Alien piece. The deco has only minor differences, such as a slight gray over it, and lacks the clear coated shine of the brown Dog Alien. This is a fan favorite mold, and it’s easy to see why. Even with no real differences to the original release, the Dog Alien remains one of the top 2 or 3 Xenomroph molds released. The figure has an insane amount of articulation and the range of motion on the joints is nearly endless. The sculpted details is beautiful throughout. If you missed out on this mold before, it is a must buy. The Alien 3 version of Ellen Ripley is a strong addition to the line up. The figure has a great look to it. The paint work on the head isn’t quite as well done as the original prototype, but it definitely looks good in hand. The two accessories included are nice, but the real value is in the swappable pieces. Ripley is packed in her jacket, but the arms can be removed, and the jacket slides off to give fans the option of displaying her without the jacket at all. It’s a great touch, and feels just shy of being in line with the NECA Ultimate releases. If it had a couple more accessories and a swappable head sculpt (it really needs a cringing face head sculpt), then it would qualify for the Ultimate moniker. The real star of the assortment is the Weyland Yutani Commando. The figure has a stunning amount of detail throughout. The head sculpt, in particular, is handled with great care. Though not removable, the mask is sitting atop a white clothed head sculpt. If you remove the goggle lids, you can see the fully painted human eyes behind them. It’s the type of intricate details I expect in much larger figures. The Commando, though bulky, still has good range of motion in the joints. If you have any of the Nostromo suited figures, then you know the bulky sculpting can limit the joint movement. However, with the Commando, they managed to sculpt it in a way to allow more range of motion then those Nostromo suits. The softer vinyl in the shoulder pieces were definitely welcome. Paint work on the Weyland Commando is strong, though the eyes aren’t perfect, they’re still a nice touch. The only real downside to the commando are the decals. Mine were stuck to the underside of the plastic insert, and fused with the plastic. Attempting to remove them simply destroyed the decals. So handle those with care.
Overall this is a very nice wave. Alien 3 fans will definitely be pleased with the results. The Weyland Yutani Commando is one of the best non-xeno releases since Hicks and Hudson, and you can’t go wrong with another, very different, version of Ripley. Check out a few select photos below, and over 90 images in the full gallery after that.
CompaniesNECA
CharactersEllen RipleyDog AlienWeyland Yutani Commando
Scale7 Inch