Card Variations
This is the second article concerning specific card variations for the Kenner Aliens line. Today we explore the Crab Alien from series 2!
*(I will not be diving into the full 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)*
The Crab Alien was introduced mid to late 1993, as part of series 2 (more on the series & wave breakdowns here).
There are 2 wave changes with this card back ( .00 & .02). 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 dual launching chestbusters!" ( similar to the Panther alien in Part 1)
There are 2 versions (see below).
You can see that one has the "with dual launching..." lined up under "action figure", under the Aliens tag, which puts a portion of the phrase under the figure bubble (left photo). In the 2nd version, they moved it up, in line with "action figure", clear of the bubble. The "corrected" version is the ".02" card (right photo). I believe it might've been that low intentionally because they didn't want the cool graphic covered with text.
I think it's safe to say the change was made so the phrase wasn't obstructed by the figure bubble. In this instance the first version was soooo low on the card. Neither version has any warning for "small parts", printed or sticker.
Only other differences are the back of the card in the cross-sell:
version .00
version .02
Version ".00" features the last three Marines, while ".02" lacks them , with three deluxe Aliens in their spot (Queen, Flying Queen, and ATAX). This is common among most Series 2 figures, with early card backs ( .00 & .01) featuring the last, rare three Marines, and with later card backs (.02) dropping them, as well as other Marines, to focus on just Aliens & Predators. They still include Marine vehicles...for the Predators to use, I guess.
It's important to remember that this line had a lot of elements that needed to happen within 2 years, while staff & personal at Kenner were also working on other lines. So errors like this are easy to miss initially.
In the end, they managed to put out a very cool action figure line.
Stay tuned, there might be a Part 3!
