Aliens - Series 1 "Warning" Variants

 It came without warning!

No Warning 

Sticker

Printed Sticker 

Printed Warning 

At this point, you've been a visitor to my blog and are aware of the different card backs for this line. Different series, different waves, specific figure packaging variations. If you haven't, peruse the blog and you'll see some interesting stuff.

I've already touched upon Series 1 and the differences between the 1st and 2nd wave card backs (don't know what I'm talking about? Jump HERE for more). But it was just a few months ago that I noticed a pattern with series 1 as a whole; the warning labels on the card backs. 

I've known for a long time that these warnings can vary. Some would be printed, some would be stickers. And sometimes the warning would be absent entirely. To note, the stickers are always slapped right in the middle of the card art, front and center. 

And sometimes I would see the odd "printed sticker" (see below). It looks like they simply copied the sticker exactly as it was and printed it onto the card, poor placement and all. 

I always just assumed it was random - early waves would lack any warning, and some would have a warning sticker. And logically second wave figures had the proper printed warning on the bottom corner. I assumed the "printed sticker" was a one-off; a kind of bandaid for a few figures in between "no warning" and a "printed warning".

But a very quick search revealed that ALL the figures from series 1 had four different versions concerning the "Warning" label. Four! The "Warning"  breakdown is as such;

-No Warning (wave 1, .00)

-Warning sticker (wave 1, .00)

-Printed sticker (wave 1, .00)

-Printed Warning (wave 2, .01)

The first 3 are associated with wave 1, while the printed warnings are the "corrected" or "updated" wave 2 card back. To reiterate, wave 1 is the card back with the diorama featuring the figures while wave 2 has the more common & plain "assortment lineup" photo. Again, see examples HERE.

These warning variants apply to Ripley, Hicks, Drake, Apone, Bishop, and the Scorpion, Bull, and Gorilla aliens.

 

What's more, while the Gorilla alien follows this warning label pattern, the "Dark Horse Comic Book" banner is the same on all of them. The same. On all 4. That's a variant within a variant. All other wave 2 figures changed their banner to " 16 page..." and shifted it higher up the side, making it easy to discern between waves. Not the Gorilla though. Nope, he's special. 

Conversally, Bishop has the updated "16 page..." banner on all versions. 

The sticker warning is pretty hard to see sometimes, as it's a transparent sticker with semi translucent white text. The "printed sticker" is much brighter and easier to see. 

Sticker vs Printed Sticker 

And of course, some figures have their own specific variants, like Ripley's "Real Turbo Torch" text. I don't think this text variant is independent of the warning variants. They naturally correspond to the different waves. (See below)

There are a few other figures in the entire line that have warning label variations, including the Wild Boar, the Crab alien, and even Hudson. Otherwise, as of this writing , all other figure card backs in the line have some sort of warning ( until I come across yet another variant). 

So go forth now, and complete your collections with 4X series 1 figures. 4 Ripleys, 4 Apones, 4 Scorpions, and so on.

"What about the Queen alien?", I hear you asking. Ah, yes. She doesn't have any warning variants like the rest of the Series 1 figures, but she does have her own variations. Check back soon!

-Me