Alien: Colonial Marines is 2013 video game released by SEGA. It was released for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The game experienced a long development cycle, though the outlook was positive, as a hands-off demo showcased a stellar looking game. Unfortunately, upon its release, the game suffered from numerous issues, continuity discrepancies and was universally disliked by fans and game critics. Post release updates helped to improve the game, but the damage was done by that point and, outside of a dedicated mod community on PC, the game ultimately made little impact on the Aliens fan community. The game itself was set after the events of Alien 3 and was meant to be a direct sequel to Aliens, dealing with the fallout of the battle on LV-426. The game introduced some genuinely interesting concepts for the Aliens, some of which became mutated.
Hiya Toys had gained the license for the game, and released their first figure in 2014. That figure, the Alien Soldier, was reissued and will hit online retailers with a full slate of other figures. These include the Alien Lurker, the Alien Boiler, the alien Spitter (not pictured here), Hicks, Hudson, Quintero and a Power Loader. These 3.75″ scale figures are all fully articulated, and meant to rival the best in terms of movement and accessories. Hiya Toys, by way of Toyark sponsor Big Bad Toy Store, provided us with the figures to check out. We have over 165 high resolution photos and a full review. You can see them after the jump.
Aliens: Colonial Marines 3.75″ Scale Figure by Hiya Toys
Pros
- Power Loader is excellent
- Fantastic articulation on the Marines
- Marines all come with a good amount of accessories
- Nicely sculpted 3.75″ bodies
- Paint apps are handled well
- Snap together figure bases with the Marines
- Aliens each include an egg and Facehugger
Cons
- Very soft plastic on Aliens
- Breakage issues on the Aliens
- Most joints have paint locking issues, especially Aliens
- Head sculpts not as well handled as body sculpts
- Dome on the Lurker doesn’t stay on
Overall
The Hiya Toys Aliens figures all come packaged in collector friendly window boxes. The figures sit inside molded plastic trays, with no twist ties or rubber bands used to hold them in place. They can easily be removed and placed back for storage or display. The packaging is handled very well, featuring a nice clean design and artwork used in marketing the video game. The Marines each include an individual weapon, a pulse rifle, a welding torch, a motion tracker, a removable helmet and a figure base. The figure bases for the Marines can be snapped together to form a larger floor grate base. The Aliens each include interchangeable hands, an egg, a Facehugger and a smaller figure base. Unlike the Marines, the Alien figure bases do not snap together. The Power Loader include four snap together base pieces.
As someone who was a fan of the Funko and Super 7 ReAction 3.75″ scale Aliens, as well as a big fan of the NECA 7″ Aliens, I was really looking forward to checking these out. The product shots looked good, and I was definitely interested in smaller scale, G.I. Joe quality Aliens. You get a decent amount o accessories with each figure, and they look really nice overall. The bodies for each figure are intricately sculpted with a ton of tiny details throughout. The Marines, especially, look really cool. The armor is excellent looking. The Marines head sculpts are decent. Hicks and Quintero are not too bad here, but Hudson’s isn’t quite as well handled. The features on them are a little on the soft side, but the paint work and removable helmets helps a lot here. The Alien head sculpts aren’t as strong as the body sculpts, with very soft detailing in the face. The dome for the Lurker is removable, but doesn’t really snap on like it should, and pops off when moved. Paint apps are strong on all of the figures and the Power Loader. The Aliens have a nice layered effect with the paint, giving definition to the smaller sculpted details. The paint on the Marines is surprisingly clean for the camo, names, and designs on the armor. The eggs and Facehuggers are excellent top to bottom. The Facehugers have bendable tails and are nicely detailed.
Articulation throughout, though, is handled really well. The Marines have some excellent leg articulation, allowing for nearly any standing or crouching pose you’d like. Thigh swivels are hidden well, giving a more natural look when standing. They can carry weapons in each hand, or hold the rifles and other two-handed weapons appropriately. The Aliens have decent articulation. The sculpting in some locations, such as the elbows, hinder movement a bit. The tails are bendable, allowing them to act as extra support for standing. With all of those layers of paint and small joints comes paint locking issues. The Aliens Soldier and Lurker both have a clear coating over them, which gives them a nice shine. The Boiler Alien, doesn’t have the coating. Unfortunately, the clear coating, the paint, and surprisingly soft plastic all combine for a perfect storm of issues. On both the Soldier and Lurker, nearly every joint was severely paint locked. The hips and shoulders proved especially troublesome on those two. I needed to alternate between a hair dryer and light pressure to eventually loosen those, but the soft plastic on these led to a few of the joints being fairly loose after they were unlocked. The small joints on the Aliens also proved to be fragile at times. The tail and one of the hips on the soldier as well as one of the interchangeable hands on the Lurker had breakages. For the Marines, you can mostly loosen them through slowly bending the joints. I did need to use a hairdryer on a few spots, like the knees on the Marines as well as the wrists on Quintero. The Power Loader, save for a slightly loose right shoulder joint, experienced none of these issues. The Boiler alien, though, had no issues at all. Without the clear coating and a lighter paint application, the joints were all fine. Only the most minor of joints sticking together, but it had no breakage issues and is the stand out of the three Aliens.
The Power Loader is the real star of this assortment. It looks excellent in hand, with a great sculpt, nice handling of the paint and a few surprise features. The wrists can bend in and out and the clamps can open and close. The hoses are made of soft vinyl, and move along with the arms and legs. The Marines fit nicely inside, though you have to separate them at the ball jointed waist to place them inside the Power Loader. The strong leg articulation of the Marines is handy here, as you they move nicely with the Power Loaders legs. The handles on the arms can be gripped by the Marines’ hands. It has good weight distribution and can hold dynamic poses really well, even supporting a crawling Alien or two.
For me, these wound up being a hit and miss. The Power Loader is a truly excellent release. The Marines are mostly good, with strong articulation and some great accessories. Those with even a tiny bit of customizing skill will likely replace the head sculpts. The Aliens are mixed bag. The softer plastic and paint locked joints caused me some breakage issues. If you do decide to grab these, use caution when first posing them, and have a hair dryer or warm water handy to loosen up those joints. You can see a few highlight photos below, and nearly 170 photos in the full gallery after that.
CompaniesHiya Toys
CharactersAlien WarriorHudsonHicksPower LoaderQuinteroAlien BoilerAlien Lurker
Scale3.75 Inch