Arachnid Alien - Various Colors

Rainbow Arachnids 

The Arachnid alien from Kenner was released in 1994, at the very end of the line. It was released in Series 3, along with the Night Cougar, Wild Boar, King alien, Swarm alien, and the great Queen Hive Playset. The figure would return 2 years later in the KB exclusive Alien vs Marine 2-pack (1996). 

It was distributed in low numbers (compared to other figures from the line) and was one of the latest of that final series to arrive at retail. I recall in 5th grade my friend picking one up at KB Toys in early '95. And of course when I then searched, I turned up none. The last three figures were tough to find (Arachnid, King, Swarm), but thats a story for another time.

In this article we'll explore the many different versions of this figure, both released & unreleased. Officially there were only 2 versions of this figure released: the regular version and the black/silver version from the 2-pack (both pictured below). 

The only 2 versions released

But there are photos of this figure in 2 other color schemes, one of which made it so far as being printed on the card back. These two will be referred to as the Tan Arachnid & the Gold Arachnid, naturally.

Let's start with the Tan Arachnid. I first saw a photo of this in an issue of Wizard magazine. It was the 1994 Toy Fair coverage, and it showed all the upcoming Aliens & Predator figures from Kenner, and this fascinating piece was among them. There's other documentation (pics) in both of Kenner's 1994 & 1995 Toy Fair catalogues. It appears tan with light tan/cream accents or detailing on the head. Its really hard to tell from the pictures, but I think it might be 2-toned. It might be light tan with a dark brown over-spray accent hue, with the light tan/cream accents on the head. Or it might just be the lighting & shading of the photo. I never could figure it out. If you notice, the feet are reversed on this version.

Rear-view of Tan Arachnid

Tan Arachnid from Toy Fair '94

I have to say this has always been my favorite version. I don't know if it's because of the coloring, or if it's simply because it's different than the released figure. But it's always been burned in my brain. Some of the most expert collectors have no knowledge of the piece's whereabouts. So maybe that's another element that makes it appealing; it doesn't exist anywhere outside of photographs. No collector has come forward to claim they posses it. No collectors have any info about it. Nothing. It must therefore be unobtainable. Below is my custom replica, in my best attempt to capture it's coloration properly.

**UPDATE 3/31/22 - I added a photo above showing the rear view of the Tan Arachnid, and its plain to see that he's a lighter tone, and therefore his body & head are in fact 2-toned. Dang.**

My custom Tan Arachnid

The next version is easier to see. It's the version depicted on the card back of the Arachnid alien. Naturally, this product varies in color or appearance. This version is otherwise the same as the released figure: red body, black head with silver teeth, and gold accents. This pictured version has waaaay more gold though. Its head is most all gold (whether its black but covered in all gold or is red with all gold is up for debate). Its an interesting look, very metallic. It does look, to me, like the head might've been red instead of black, but the photos are not clear enough to discern actual color, lighting artifacts, or even printing artifacts. 

Gold Arachnid as depicted on card back

And just like with the Tan Arachnid, there hasn't been a collector yet who's claimed to posses (or even have seen) this figure. Or know any history on it. It only exists in photos. 

I've contacted many very expert Kenner Aliens collectors, and none have any info on this figure. They've obtained or have come across many other rare or unreleased Kenner Aliens. But not these 2 Arachnid figures. Odd.

My custom replica

Final version; the version that was released in 1994 had a red body, black head, and light gold accents. Its been my belief that since this was the finale to the line, Kenner pulled back as much as possible, in this case with the gold over spray. Rather than a generous over spray, the figure gets just a dusting. Compared to the other versions, the one that actually came to market was visually...dull. 

Maybe if they did more gold, or even a more darker color scheme. It might also just be that this version is indeed nice, but because we've seen other possibilities, we've (I've) become infatuated by what we I don't have.

Regular Arachnid figure

Then there's a 4th version. The Alien vs Marine 2-pack; Drake vs Arachnid. In this version the figure is all black, with a dusting of silver spray. That's it. Easy.

2-pack Black & Silver Arachnid

People really liked this version because:

1) it was an opportunity to get an Arachnid alien (which were tough to find at the end of the line in '94). 

2) this black & silver coloring was more "movie accurate", though the whole concept of the spider xeno was definitely not in any of the movies. So not movie accurate at all.

All these differing color schemes really make the otherwise odd Arachnid alien figure much more interesting. No other figure in this line had these many changes from initial product development to product release (Not including any figure designs or development that happens in the prototype stage, of course).

Just to reiterate: I'd very much like to purchase the Tan Arachnid Toy Fair sample. Top monies given. 

Thanks for reading!

Scorpion Alien - A Kenner Legacy in Exploding

Exploders

The Scorpion Alien from Kenner. It's a fine example of balance between form & function, aesthetic & practicality. One of the best & most popular figures from the line, this figure perfectly captures the look of the creatures as seen in Aliens. Yes, there are some details that are not movie accurate. But it's a toy first and foremost, so it needed some interesting visuals; colors & spikes.

Other than the near perfect movie accuracy, this figure has a wonderful play feature. Depress a button on it's rear spine & he explodes! Simple, fun, and true to the movies (especially Alien³).

But what's really interesting is that this exploding feature was not new to Kenner. In fact, they used it previously on 2 other toy lines. These included Beetlejuice and Terminator 2. As we compare these three exploding figures, you'll see how the mechanism design improved with each generation, with the Scorpion alien being the best version of this "tech". 

The first figure to utilize this feature was Beetlejuice (1990). I can't find any earlier figures from Kenner that use this feature (Let me know if Kenner used this feature again on any subsequent lines!)

Pretty simple; squeeze his legs together, and his torso pops off. He's made of 3 parts - head & inner body, a front chest half, and a back half. His inner body has a hole in the bottom, with a spring, that then sits on a post on the hips. The little latch that holds & releases the inner body is white metal, and is positioned to the right side of the hip. 

Other than the metal latch in the inner body, not much holds the 2 halves together. They just sit on the hips, with a short semicircle ridge along the hips. With slight jostling, the torso can fall off, leaving the head & body still attached. So a good concept but not quite perfect.

Next figure to be an exploder is the T-1000 from the Terminator 2 line (1991-92). 

He has the same break up; head & inner body, and a front and back torso half. Again, the head & inner body have a hole with spring at the bottom, and it again sits on the post on the hips. A metal latch again, but now positioned facing the front of body. Also, no leg squeezing, but rather a button on the back of the hip, on the waistline. This trigger is pretty sensitive compared to the Beetlejuice or the Scorpion alien. Press it and bang: blowed up.

The new latch orientation and new hip-notches make the torso a bit more sturdy. No jostling will make him prematurely fall apart. And the implementation of a button trigger reduced the size and/or need for internal leg mechanisms for the latch function. The design is improved.

Finally, the Scorpion alien. Released in 1992.

He was likely designed around the same time as the T-1000. But the Scorpion clearly improves upon the T-1000's design. The layout is the same: head & inner body with hole & spring on bottom, which sits on post on hips, with a front chest & rear back half.

But the latch now faces the rear, towards the spine. And on the rear spine is the cleverly hidden activation button ( it's part of his boney spine!) On the hips are two pairs of very tall tabs that slot into each torso half. This creates a very nice lock on the torso, so you can play with the Scorpion all day long without any issue. 

He won't blow apart until you want him to. And when he does, watch out. I think he has the most powerful spring in this bunch. And that rear button is tough to press sometimes. No premature exploding can happen. You can drop him without his body blowing apart.

Very interesting that Kenner used this feature so frequently. Clearly the person(s) who designed this must've been very happy to see it live so long across multiple product lines.

 Thanks for reading!