Aliens Variants: Pt.3 - Ripley

 Turbo Torch with Real Flames !

As we've been exploring the Kenner Aliens toyline, there are quite a few instances of both figure and packaging variants. Today we look at Lt. Ripley.

*(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 the KB repaints or the Euro carded versions, etc. Those are simply a separate series in their own right)*

Space Marine Lt. Ripley

Version .00 (front)

Version .01 (front)

Lt. Ripley was part of Series 1, part of the original 9 figures. She featured a mini comic and a pretty nifty flamethrower weapon. They were first brought to market in select parts of the US in the fall of '92. In various toy publications, this toyline was greatly anticipated and very well received. Everyone swooped them up, kids and collectors alike. Many places sold out quickly , and the aliens themselves were eventually outselling the Marines.

The Ripley figure itself remained unchanged throughout it's run, with no known figure variations. The card-back is where the variants happen.

There are 2 wave changes with Ripley's card back (.00 & .01, respectively). Wave 1 was the earlier release, from late '92 and into early 1993. The card back features all the figures in that awesome space base diorama (a whole article here on Kenner's dioramas). This is marked with " .00" under the UPC code on the bottom right corner.

Version .00 back

Version .01 back

On the front are the actual "variations". One involves the message on the right side announcing the inclusion of a mini comic. The early version states "Dark Horse Comic Book..." compared to the later release with " 16 Page Dark Horse comic book..." The placement of the comic book message is also different between the two versions. You can see the earlier version has it position closer to the bottom right, where the latter version has the message higher on the right.

.00 Version 

.01 Version 

Also of note is the description of the flamethrower. On the early version it's described as "With Real ' Turbo Torch' Action! " 

.00 Version 

The later version changes to "Turbo Torch with ' REAL' Flame Action". 

.01 Version 

Another variation can be seen on the front concerning a warning label. Naturally, the earlier version lacks any warning at all.  This was common with a lot of the first wave figures There are examples of no warning label, a warning sticker, and a printed warning. These variations track with what wave a figure was a part of.

Version .01 (printed warning)

Version .00 (no warning)

These differences correlate with the UPC numbers, .00, .01, etc. respectively.

These are all the variations with Ripley. I have not seen any other card variants or differences other than the two discussed here. I've only seen .00 and .01, no .02. Furthermore I have not seen any variation in the card-back instructional photos. This sometimes happens with subsequent waves of the same figure, such as the Scorpion Alien (article to come).

Thank you for reading. If any new info comes in with regard to Ripley, I'll be sure to update this post.

It's important to remember that this line had a lot of elements that needed to happen within 2 years, with staff & personnel at Kenner l also working on other lines. So errors like these are likely to happen.

Batteries Included!

 Swarm Alien & Lasershot Predator 

A last ditch effort to goose sales for a fading toy line, Kenner released these 2 deluxe figures in 1994. They were the at the very end, rarer than the King or Arachnid alien. Not many were likely ordered, and thus not many were likely produced or shipped to retailers. This and the very likely higher retail price. So in the end, not a lot of kids had these 2 figures.

They're pretty straightforward; they have electronic sounds and lights. These features are pretty lackluster though. The sounds are pretty cheap and awful, and the "lights" are barely noticable. The predator has one tiny light on the canon. And the swarm, although having the "cooler" light features, can barely be seen under its translucent  carapace.

Check out the Swarm features below;

The swarm alien is a weird one. On the one hand, part of the charm of these toys is how wild Kenner went with it's concepts. And the swarm is definitely THE #1 wildest concept. And I appreciate that about the little bugger. 

On the other hand, it's not a very good or "cool" figure. It's rather dull if you take away it's "electronic" features. Movable wings? Eh, got that already with the very cool Flying Queen. Translucent plastic? All the series 2 Aliens were cast in translucent colors, and there were better figures! 

I guess I can give it points for being a " 2-in-1" figure. But then, the other figure that he sits on doesn't do anything. His legs are awkward and he can't really stand up well. He's got no arms, so I guess he can attack with his tail? As a kid it definitely would not have been a preferred figure in the rotation.

The little guy flaps his wings and "screams"...crappily. If you notice, it's a faster/higher toned scream similar to Kenner's Electronic Velociraptor from 1993.

https://youtu.be/hVaPJ-fo_XA?si=plOLAj00PAmomtET

(minute 01:25 in the video)

The Lasershot Predator is a little more reasonable. He's got an interesting sculpt, and a unique color scheme. Overall, fits right in with the other Predator figures. 

His feature makes more sense; when you slide his shoulder cannon up, it launches a beefy spear while making "gun" sounds. And a little red dot flashes. It's not the coolest, but it's appropriate. 

I only ever remember seeing these in comic shops or collectibles magazines. Never in the wild like a Toys R Us or KB Toys. As they were the very last items to be manufactured, and at a time of declining sales, I'm sure SOME kids got the few out there at retail along with a King and an Arachnid alien. And likely marked down too!

 Some sources claim that they never reached U.S. retail, but were instead only sold overseas. As for international retail, the were readily available. Looking back at this line, it seems the retailers in Europe had a bit more faith in the line as a whole. I'd love to see the sales numbers for the European market. 

These figures were featured on the card-back cross sells on the later figures like King Alien or Clan leader predator. So they were definitely prioritized and promoted to retailers over the King & Arachnid alien (which aren't even in any cross sells, not even on their own cards!) 

At time of writing, I couldn't find any samples with retailer price tags. So with some convoluted research (including British toy adverts with prices,  currency exchange rates, and inflation calculators) I would peg the retail price was approximately $8.99-10.99. Until I can confirm anything stating or showing otherwise, that will be my number.

As mentioned earlier, these figures were released in Europe as well as the Pacific market. Below are examples of these versions. 

Note the Pacific/Asian versions are just US cards with Asian stickers and inserts. The European follows the traditional multilingual packaging seen with other figures.

These figures are big too, both the figure and the packaging. To note, in almost every example of the European release Swarm alien, the bubble is always separating from the card. The degree of separation varies but is constant nonetheless. They must have used a different adhesive than US versions.

I hope this was an interesting and slightly informative piece. If anything, it allowed you to witness the sights and sounds of these figures without actually having to own them (or have to try to figure out the correct replacement batteries - BTW, use LR41 button cells).

Thanks for reading!