Double Vision!
As with most of Kenners products, there tend to be instances of reusing a mold with a different color or accessory or a modified part, etc. One notable example was the Batman line. One mold, used many many times over. New color+new accessories=new figure!
Aliens was no exception.
To maximize their expensive figure tooling & molds, Kenner would create more than just one figure. For example, the very popular and intricate Gorilla alien was given a different tail, head, legs, and arms, and bam: Mantis alien! It's easier to produce solid pieces of plastic with limbs, and recycle the complex torso & arm mechanism. To Kenner's credit, the reuse of certain figure parts but then adding some new parts was pretty innovative.
Below are such examples;
Gorilla/Mantis
I think this was a simple stepping up of an already great product. For series 2 in late '93, they went back to the Gorilla alien. The arm mechanism was cool, so just use it again with different arms and head, and all in translucent plastic. A great re-use! And a lot people claim the Mantis as their favorite. It's easy to see why.
Bull/Rhino
The Bull is among the most popular with collectors. Following the same logic as with the Gorilla, for series 2 they revamped the Bull. Translucent plastic is key aspect of series 2 figures. The Rhino has some great sculpting details too; his head has cracks and scuffs! All across series 2 there's an increase on sculpt detail compared to series 1.
Panther/Night Cougar
The panther was released in 1993. By series 3 in 1994 the line was winding down and losing steam. In an effort to reduce costs and not create any new molds, they just reissued the Panther in a new color scheme. (Technically this is an example of a simple repaint, not a recycle).
Apone/Hudson
"Hey, we gave Apone a cyber arm. Let's give one to Hudson too!" It would've been cooler if they just used the Hicks body for ALL the Marines (except Vasquez & Drake), but managers and designers thought otherwise. So for Hudson they used Apone's body. Since series 2 was starting off on shakey ground, and perhaps in an effort to lower costs, Hudson has fewer paint details. But the few paint apps he does have are far "louder" than the 1st series of Marines. Silver? No, metallic blue. A beige gun and weapons? No, red and yellow!
You can see there's no silver detailing on Hudson's front and back "shoulder pads". And unlike Apone, Hudson's cyber forearm & hand are metallic blue.
Hicks/O'Malley
Just like Apone/Hudson, it's interesting to see the simplified (reduced) paint detailing between Hicks and O'Malley. Here, it's mostly in the legs; O'Malley has just the knee pads and boots painted, with no detailing or cutouts of the knee pads. You'll also notice the gun holster and knife on either thigh are unpainted. The belly padding has no detailing either. Brighter colors, but less colors.
Of the series 2 Marines, Vasquez was the only fully original sculpt.
The Panther/Night Cougar aliens are the laziest examples; no unique or different pieces between them. Just a color change. If anything, they stepped it up on the Night Cougar with his cool red stripes!
Thank you for reading!
