Aliens Series 1 cardback

 Can we talk about that awesome Aliens diorama?

In the fall of 1992, Kenner released their Aliens line of action figures. In addition to the amazing detailing and awesome packaging design, the first wave of Series 1 figures featured an epic diorama on the back of the packaging.

It's seriously awesome. From the actual detail to the lighting, this was the perfect way to present these incredible action figures. I was always jealous of that setup. Years later NECA did a faithfull recreation of that diorama for their Kenner Tribute figures! 

I started thinking about that diorama. For a cross-sell on the back of packaging, this was above & beyond what was normally done at the time. Even big action figure lines of that era didn't have big detailed backgrounds on their cross-sells ( it's true some did have elaborate photos in catalogs and such, but not on packaging).

Kenner really went all out. First they pushed their sculpting & detailing, and then their card art was perhaps the sharpest at the time, then Kenner added clever action features (especially with the creatures), THEN they had great accessories, AND THEN they came with mini comic books. Sold yet? Wait! They then put their figures in a super detailed & atmospheric space station setting, with grates and pipes and airlocks. WOW.

They did it again with their Hive Wars line in 1998. This diorama is obviously a bit rushed & sloppy, but it's still a diorama!

Look at some of the other figure lines from the same era. And these are way bigger properties, comparatively. Jurassic Park, Batman, Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men/Marvel characters. They all have roughly the same style of cross-sells on the card backs. 

I only found 2 exceptions; 

Playmates' Skeleton Warriors line, c.1993. On their figure cross-sell, the figures are in some desert/mountain setting, with an ominous sky and smoke. Very stylish. But even with Playmates extensive TMNT & Star Trek lines, they only did a visual diorama once on a cross-sell. Interesting.

And Toy Biz's Batman line from 1990. Just a simple nighttime rooftop with skyscrapers in the background. Very cool, and very fitting for the 1990 companion film.      

All things considered, Kenner really wanted this line to grab people's attention. Suffice it to say "mission accomplished ". The line was successful by any metric. Short lived but a success. 

It's only those early Series 1 card backs that feature this diorama. All subsequent waves and series figures had the simpler and more traditional cross sell layout.

(*All of the Predator figures from Kenner feature the standard layout as well. No cool Predator diorama. Can you imagine?*)

Thanks for reading! Go Kenner Aliens!

Check out Part 2 of Aliens Dioramas!