This article is created in an attempt to identify & organize all the versions of Kenner's Aliens action figure line. I have so far managed to create a visual timeline for these figures without any official Kenner corporate correspondence or memorandum. It is, at this point, all conjecture & theory.
I've poured over every piece of info available; old toy magazine articles, actual figures and packaging, Kenner promotional material, and most importantly (and most unreliable) from my own personal memories.
I'll also point out now that this all pertains to only the US figure release, and only the original run. So no Aliens v Marine, no Hive Wars, Aliens KB repaints, etc. This details the Aliens figures released from 1992 thru 1994.
There are 3 series, with multiple waves in each series. Series 1 starts it all off. Series 2 is immense, with various waves with new product, very messy. And the final series 3 closes out the entire line.
Lets just jump in, shall we?
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A series, a wave, a line, a run. These toy terms are sometimes used interchangeably. We all do it. For purposes of my article, I have established a rigid set of terms. They are as follows;
Line: the products, in their entirety, as a concept and as a product to be sold to the public. (ex: "Kenner's Predator line")
Run: the quantity & duration of the line sold at market (the initial retail release, not second-hand in a collector's market or thru liquidation discounters).
Series: within the product line, a distinct change or addition to the line: new product under the same line, same product with different features (colors, accessories), new packaging art/styles/info, and/or obvious notations on product ("new", "collection 3", etc)
Wave: Upon a product's release, a "wave" consists of the actual delivery of products to the public. A single series can be released in multiple "waves". (ex; Maybe the first wave was a small number of product due to uncertainty about it's sales strength. Once it shows strong sales, a second "wave" of these same "Series 1" figures would be delivered, followed by a possible third "wave", and so on). A helpful indicator of a wave is the last two barcode numbers - "00", "01", "02", respectively. Only theoretical, but so far have proven to be accurate.
With an understanding of these above terms, we'll see how Kenner's Aliens line has a number of series that overlap in different waves with each other. This, in my opinion, is what creates confusion on how to properly organize and sort the entirety of the Kenner Aliens line.
Series 1
In the fall of 1992, Kenner released its line of action figures *loosely* based on the film Aliens. Initially planned to coincide with the release of Alien3, that plan was quickly changed and the line was tweaked into what we know as the Kenner Aliens line today. Series 1 was first released in low numbers in select markets in the US (Chicago, NYC, Cincinnati), as Kenner was unsure of the line's strength at retail. They were already burned in 1979 with the first Alien toy, and hitching their wagon to a movie from 1986 that not many kids would be familiar with was an already risky move. Add to that the dour & critically panned Alien3, and Kenner was hesitant. But thankfully the line was a huge hit in those test markets. So the remainder of 1992 into spring of 1993 saw the mass retail debut of Series 1. Series 1 consists of: Ripley, Hicks, Bishop, Drake, Apone, and ATAX, as well as the Queen, Bull, Gorilla, & Scorpion, aliens. The Aliens were a late release due to factory issues, and so Series 1 was almost only Marines and vehicles (Power Loader). By spring of '93 the aliens hit shelves. It could be considered that the 4 aliens were part of "wave 2" of Series 1. But in Series 1, this is not a very significant point. We also got the EVAC fighter (instead of an awesome movie-accurate DropShip...a story for another day)
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| Series 1 Bull |
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| Series 1 Wave 1 (.00) |
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| Series 1 Wave 2 (.01) |
Series 1 Card Art - All characters are rendered in a watercolor or guash style. The Alien head in the background is very large & prominent, with its grasping hand at the bottom left. All series 1 figures come with mini Comics (and facehuggers for the xenos). Queen has orange egg art since she's a "Deluxe figure", as well as ATAX having an orange background due to his being "Deluxe".
Series 2
Ah, this is where things get tricky. Series 2, promoted & advertised as a " Spring '93" release. The Series 2 figures are: Vasquez, Hudson, O'Malley, as well as the Rhino, Queen Facehugger, Mantis, and Flying Queen aliens. Again, the new Marines were shipped before the alien figures (they were really giving factories a hard time, huh?), and naturally the few Marines ordered proved to be poor sellers. Everyone just wanted more aliens. So they made more aliens. And a Hovertread vehicle.
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| 1993 Kenner Action Toy Guide |
Kenner was ready for a second series, as indicated by ALL series 2 card-backs having a copyright date of 1992. But series 2 figure were at retail in 1993, and all series 2 figures have " '93 " stamped on their body. I don't know what the policy is for copyrights on action figures, but its interesting to see that the packaging was created before the figures were "pressed", so to speak.
But it gets crazier. The series 2 Marines were released before any xenos, but their card-backs have cross sells for the series 2 xenos (see below). When the series 2 xenos are shipped (Series 2, wave 2), their card-backs lack ANY CROSS SELLS for the series 2 Marines. None. So its official, right? No more marines from Kenner, nothing but xenos here on out, in 2 waves. We wont see Marines anymore.
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| Series 2 |
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| Series 2, wave 1, Vasquez (S2 aliens shown) |
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| Series 2, wave 2 Mantis (no Marines!) |
WRONG. The Crab & Panther alien card-backs depict Hudson, Vasquez, and O'Malley in cross sell. Why? How? The cards are copyright 1993, and these figures are clearly printed, cast, packaged, and sold after the first AND second wave of Series 2. But there they are, along side the new line of Predator figures from Kenner. 1993 was a very confusing year. Series 2 was a very messy series.
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| Series 2, wave 3 Crab ( .00, with Marines & Mini Dropship) |
Series 2 consists of 4 total waves: Vasquez, Hudson, O'Malley in 1st wave, Q. Face hugger, Snake, Mantis, Rhino, & Flying Queen in wave 2. Although many might disagree, there's a wave 3 and it consists of the Panther & Crab alien, as well as a Mantis sans a comic. I know it doesn't feel right, but the Panther & Crab belong in series 2.
Wave 4 is the same Panther & Crab xenos, but no Vasquez, Hudson, O'Malley on the card-back. Absolute removal of any & all Marines, except for vehicles. (Cross-Sells & card backs will be discussed later)
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| Series 2, wave 4 Crab (.02, no Marines) |
Series 2 Card Art - Major changes: all character art now appears more detailed, more graphic in styling. The character art is also larger and more prominent on the card.The background alien has lost his bottom left claw, and has been reduced in size & placed behind the "Aliens" logo. The word "Action Figure" moves from below the "A" in "Aliens" to a stacked position closer to the figure bubble. The card-back loses its purple edge border, giving way to the grid pattern. Series 2 introduces the cross-sell for the MinDropship (unproduced) vehicle in later waves . Flying Queen has orange egg art since she's a "Deluxe figure".
Strangely, only the Series 2 Marines have the smoke/fog color changed to a more blue & purple mix, and their background Alien retains its prominence next to the Aliens logo (rather than behind it), just like Series 1. But unlike Series 1 or 2, these Marines lack any mini comics. So I declare the Series 2 Marines to be the odd-balls, mucking everything up. They could be series 2, they could be series 1, maybe even series 2 but wave 2!
Series 3
This final series that ends it all; 2 waves, maybe 3, with the 1st a push of new product, and the 2nd & 3rd a sad closeout of planned releases. Then its over.
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| Series 3 Arachnid (wave 3) |
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| Series 3 Wild Boar (wave 1) |
Wave 1 consists of "all new" figures for '94. It would appear the Wild Boar is alone in Wave 1, and I'm not entirely sure why. Looking at Wild Boar, he has no cross sells with Night Cougar, Arachnid, Swarm or King. He features Series 2 xenos, as well as the first 2 series of Predator figures on his cross-sell.
The Night Cougar is a repaint (refresh?), likely part of wave 2, to keep things going while everyone waited for the last 3 brand-new xenos. Naturally, the King, the Arachnid and the Swarm arrived very late to retail due to factory issues (again). So they're part of a wave 3. The Queen Hive playset was more abundant & available than the regular figures for Series 3.
So 2-3 waves, one on time and the other two late to already weak retail sales. Although KB was a believer in the line and sold all remaining stock from Kenner, it wasn't enough for Kenner to keep the line going as planned into 1995. But Kenner Aliens & KB Toys will work together again in the near future!
Series 3 Card Art - not much different from Series 2, other than all figures having "New" in yellow bubbles on the top right corners of the card (King being the exception). Back of card has no Marines or Marine vehicles. Just xenos & preds. The King nor the Arachnid appear on any cross sells. Also with the last 3 (King, Arachnid, & Swarm), on the front card, the art of the alien in the background is tinted more blue & white than all other versions.
Card Back Variations
Below you'll see all the different versions of card back from the line, from 1992 thru 1994.
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| series 1, wave 1 (.00) |
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| series 1, wave 2 (.01) |
Notice the change in the card-back layout. No more diorama, and the grid pattern is bordered with purple. Among all Series 1 figures, the diorama card-back is .00, the grid/purple border are .01 & .02, respectively. Of particular interest is the scorpion alien; he comes in .00, .01, and .02 versions (below)
The variations primarily involve the instructional photos (00/01 vs 02). The other differences concern the front of the card and its choking warnings; sticker v printed warning.
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| series 2, wave 1 (.00) |
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| series 2, wave 2 (.00) |
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| series3, wave 2 (.01) |
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| series 3, wave 3 (.00) |
All clear now, right? As I said, the numbers on the UPC, when used with other details, are meaningful in sorting the lines. They mostly indicate a change in the packaging, which USUALLY coincides with a series or wave change. But cant be used exclusively or solely, as seen in the samples above. Series 3 has 2 waves as .00, with a .01 in the middle...
Thank you for reading. And please note that this is an on-going article. If you know of other card versions, or of any detailed information on this line, please share! The more info the more precise this timeline can become.
** 9/18/23 - updates coming soon! **
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