Cards, Figures, Etc.
Good day. Sorry it's been a while. How are you?
In this series of write ups, I'm going to explore and document individual Aliens figure variations. These will include card art, figure colors, packaging errors, and anything else of note.
I will not be diving into the card back changes that correspond to series or wave changes, though I might refer to them. Nor will I be discussing any repaints/re-releases (like KB toys) or the Euro carded versions. Those are simply a separate series in their own right.
Part 1: Panther Alien
The Panther Alien was introduced in mid to late 1993, part of series 2 (more on the series & wave breakdowns here).
There are 2 wave changes with this card back ( .00 & .02, respectfully). Don't ask me why there's no ".01", I don't know. Some of the numbering is sequential, some of it is...not.
A not so obvious variant is a recent one I discovered: placement of the " with flying attack parasite!"
There are 2 variations (see below).
You can see that one has the "with flying..." lined up with the "A", which puts a portion of the phrase under the figure bubble (lower photo). In the 2nd version, they moved it up, in line between the "A" & "L", clear of the bubble. The "corrected" version is the ".02" card (top photo).
I think it's safe to say the change was made so the phrase wasn't obstructed by the figure bubble. But why not do it right the first time? Also, neither has any warning for "small parts" on the card.
Only other differences are the back of the card in it's cross-sell:
Version ".00" features last three Marines, while ".02" lacks them , with three deluxe Aliens in their spot (Queen, Flying Queen, and ATAX).
I've been working the past year on trying to accurately organize the series for this toy line. With help from some wonderful collectors, it became apparent how crazy and rushed the production of these toys was.
Think about it; launched in late 1992, and ultimately fizzled by late 1994. That's a solid 2 years of conceptualizing, designing, pitching, sculpting, finalizing, packaging, manufacturing , and shipping. Each figure takes at least 4 months. And Kenner at the time was right in the middle of Jurassic Park, multiple lines for Batman (Dark Knight, Animated, Legends), and prepping for their Star Wars relaunch. Add to that Kenner's random licenses (WaterWorld, Congo) They were busy guys & gals! So some things are going to get overlooked I guess.
Despite all that they managed to put out a pretty cool toy line in the end.
Stay tuned for Part 2!
