In 1979 when the original Alien premiered a franchise wa
s born. Alien was an intense ride that kept you on the edge your seat but it was more suspense than action. Then in 1986 James Cameron revisited the events on LV-426. The sequel, aptly called Aliens, brought the lone survivor, Ripley (played in the movie by Sigourney Weaver) back to investigate a situation and “This time it’s war.”
I loved Aliens from the moment they found Ripley drifting in space until the credits rolled so I was stoked about these figures. When Aliens premiered there weren’t any cool toys for the movie. Kenner did produce some figures but they were, and I am being nice, subpar. Well, the toys have come a long way and with companies like Diamond Select Toys putting out quality products we finally have something cool to add to our collections.
Diamond Select has produced Minimates from many iconic pop culture staples and now they are taking on Aliens. Last year Diamond Select produced a line of Alien Minimates (see our review here), then they released figures for the sequel, Aliens (review here). The original Aliens release was packaged in single boxes; this assortment is 8 figures total packaged in 4 two packs. The packs in this assortment include Hicks and Ripley, Pvt. Drake and Alien, Apone and Alien and finally Pvt. Dietrich with Colonist Mary (with a chest buster).
These 2-inch figures pack a lot of play in them with each one having 14 points of articulation and a slew of accessories.
- Corporal Hicks and Rescue Mission Ripley accessories include: M-41a pulse rifle, flame unit/pulse rifle combo x2, shotgun (for close encounters), hair and bandaged head for Hicks
- Pvt. Drake and Alien accessories include: Smartgun w/harness attachment, baseball cap with smartgun tracking site, baseball cap clean
- Apone and Alien accessories include: M-41a pulse rifle, baseball cap and facehugger
- Pvt. Dietrich and Colonist Mary accessories include: M-41a pulse rifle and hair for Dietrich
The figures all come complete with stands to help keep them upright or posed as needed. I am impressed with the level of detail that the folks at Art Asylum (the sculptors) put into these guys. You can see in one of the photographs that Apone’s cap has a “Sulaco” patch on the front. Even the weapons have great detail. We have to get Diamond Select to build an APC for these guys.
All of the parts are interchangeable so you can mix and match pieces. You can even remove the chestbuster from the colonist figure and kill off someone else. Being able to switch around parts is one of the bonuses of collecting Minimates.
The Aliens Minimate figures from Diamond Select are perfect for fans of the Alien movie franchise and would make a great addition to your collection. Since these are small they are perfect for decorating your desk at work which would be a semi-subtle way to fly your geek flag. The Aliens Minimate 2 pack figure retail for $9.99 and are available at your local specialty shop or online. Build your army today.
