Kenner Aliens from Japan

Nomura Kenner Aliens (Japan, 1992-1994)

Happy Aliens Day! Happy LV-426 Day! 

*Updated 5/26*

Kenner Aliens are a substantial action figure line from the 1990's. Maybe not a giant product line like Batman or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or even Jurassic Park. But they were a respectable line. It was large & popular enough that sales of the figures were global; the US, Europe, Canada, and even Japan had their own package designs & variants. 

The lesser known of these variations of the Kenner Aliens line are the figures released in Japan. Distributed by Nomura, these figure card backs are wild to say the least. And they are perhaps the rarest versions in this line. I've only seen each figure listed below 2 times in my 25 years of collecting (some only once!). 

What's really fun about these Japanese variations is the inconsistencies with their packaging. You'll see them below; some are regular US card backs with Japanese stickers on the back, others have no Japanese text, while others are full Japanese printed text throughout, but some are a combination of both.

It was in the middle of my collecting years that I first encountered a Japanese text Kenner Alien. It was the Flying Queen. At the time, I didn't know if the text was Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. But it was legit, not a forgery or bootleg toy. A few years following that purchase I found a Nomura Swarm Alien. It was an extremely lucky find, as I had not seen any other Japanese Kenner Aliens figure. To be honest, I had a lot of free time and would sift thru literally hundreds of eBay pages. My search keyword? " alien figure". Oof. But that's how it's done; put in the time.

Despite diligent eBay monitoring, it would be another 10 years before I saw any more Nomura figures. I would sometimes search "Kenner Aliens" auctions only available in Japan, or sometimes they'd pop up in UK auctions. I've managed to nail the search process down nowadays.

In the last few years I been very lucky in acquiring more Nomura Aliens figures. And they are never cheap, but not because of sellers trying to rip anyone off. It's due to the high exchange rate. Add to that a very high shipping cost and you can expect a single Nomura figure from Japan to cost about $40-$60 when said & done. 

Here's a list of Nomura figures I have seen;

-Scorpion
-Gorilla 
-Queen 
-Ripley 

-Drake 
-Rhino 
-Queen Facehugger 
-Snake 

-Flying Queen

-Panther 
-Crab
-Swarm 
-King 
-Arachnid 
-Queen Hive Playset 
- Alien vs Predator 2-pack

Now, just because I haven't seen any others doesn't mean they don't exist. I'd safely assume that there does exist a Bull alien, and a Mantis, and Apone, Hicks, Bishop, and the rest. But then again, maybe not? I have also seen vehicles; Stinger & the EVAC fighter.

There are Nomura Predator figures too, but I just don't feel like having them in this post. Plus I haven't been seeking them out, so I can't offer as much opinion on them than as with the Aliens figures.

What further complicates collecting these variants is the fact that some figures had no special text, or stickers, or anything else to differentiate then from their US or European counterpart. Some figures were simply sold in Japan as-is. A perfect example is the 12" Alien vs Predator set. I've seen that offered from Japan a few times (3?), and it's straight up US box. Exactly the same, unaltered. Maybe it's not an import though? Maybe it's simply from a Japanese collector who bought a US 12" Alien vs Predator. You just can't be too sure.

See for yourself these awesome and wild packaging variants.

Thanks for reading, enjoy this lovely Holiday!

***UPDATE: 5/3 - HUGE thanks to expert collector Daniel Pin, we have added photos of more Nomura carded Aliens & Predator figure (see below). Thanks Dan!***

Arachnid Alien - Various Colors

Rainbow Arachnids 

The Arachnid alien from Kenner was released in 1994, at the very end of the line. It was released in Series 3, along with the Night Cougar, Wild Boar, King alien, Swarm alien, and the great Queen Hive Playset. The figure would return 2 years later in the KB exclusive Alien vs Marine 2-pack (1996). 

It was distributed in low numbers (compared to other figures from the line) and was one of the latest of that final series to arrive at retail. I recall in 5th grade my friend picking one up at KB Toys in early '95. And of course when I then searched, I turned up none. The last three figures were tough to find (Arachnid, King, Swarm), but thats a story for another time.

In this article we'll explore the many different versions of this figure, both released & unreleased. Officially there were only 2 versions of this figure released: the regular version and the black/silver version from the 2-pack (both pictured below). 

The only 2 versions released

But there are photos of this figure in 2 other color schemes, one of which made it so far as being printed on the card back. These two will be referred to as the Tan Arachnid & the Gold Arachnid, naturally.

Let's start with the Tan Arachnid. I first saw a photo of this in an issue of Wizard magazine. It was the 1994 Toy Fair coverage, and it showed all the upcoming Aliens & Predator figures from Kenner, and this fascinating piece was among them. There's other documentation (pics) in both of Kenner's 1994 & 1995 Toy Fair catalogues. It appears tan with light tan/cream accents or detailing on the head. Its really hard to tell from the pictures, but I think it might be 2-toned. It might be light tan with a dark brown over-spray accent hue, with the light tan/cream accents on the head. Or it might just be the lighting & shading of the photo. I never could figure it out. If you notice, the feet are reversed on this version.

Rear-view of Tan Arachnid

Tan Arachnid from Toy Fair '94

I have to say this has always been my favorite version. I don't know if it's because of the coloring, or if it's simply because it's different than the released figure. But it's always been burned in my brain. Some of the most expert collectors have no knowledge of the piece's whereabouts. So maybe that's another element that makes it appealing; it doesn't exist anywhere outside of photographs. No collector has come forward to claim they posses it. No collectors have any info about it. Nothing. It must therefore be unobtainable. Below is my custom replica, in my best attempt to capture it's coloration properly.

**UPDATE 3/31/22 - I added a photo above showing the rear view of the Tan Arachnid, and its plain to see that he's a lighter tone, and therefore his body & head are in fact 2-toned. Dang.**

My custom Tan Arachnid

The next version is easier to see. It's the version depicted on the card back of the Arachnid alien. Naturally, this product varies in color or appearance. This version is otherwise the same as the released figure: red body, black head with silver teeth, and gold accents. This pictured version has waaaay more gold though. Its head is most all gold (whether its black but covered in all gold or is red with all gold is up for debate). Its an interesting look, very metallic. It does look, to me, like the head might've been red instead of black, but the photos are not clear enough to discern actual color, lighting artifacts, or even printing artifacts. 

Gold Arachnid as depicted on card back

And just like with the Tan Arachnid, there hasn't been a collector yet who's claimed to posses (or even have seen) this figure. Or know any history on it. It only exists in photos. 

I've contacted many very expert Kenner Aliens collectors, and none have any info on this figure. They've obtained or have come across many other rare or unreleased Kenner Aliens. But not these 2 Arachnid figures. Odd.

My custom replica

Final version; the version that was released in 1994 had a red body, black head, and light gold accents. Its been my belief that since this was the finale to the line, Kenner pulled back as much as possible, in this case with the gold over spray. Rather than a generous over spray, the figure gets just a dusting. Compared to the other versions, the one that actually came to market was visually...dull. 

Maybe if they did more gold, or even a more darker color scheme. It might also just be that this version is indeed nice, but because we've seen other possibilities, we've (I've) become infatuated by what we I don't have.

Regular Arachnid figure

Then there's a 4th version. The Alien vs Marine 2-pack; Drake vs Arachnid. In this version the figure is all black, with a dusting of silver spray. That's it. Easy.

2-pack Black & Silver Arachnid

People really liked this version because:

1) it was an opportunity to get an Arachnid alien (which were tough to find at the end of the line in '94). 

2) this black & silver coloring was more "movie accurate", though the whole concept of the spider xeno was definitely not in any of the movies. So not movie accurate at all.

All these differing color schemes really make the otherwise odd Arachnid alien figure much more interesting. No other figure in this line had these many changes from initial product development to product release (Not including any figure designs or development that happens in the prototype stage, of course).

Just to reiterate: I'd very much like to purchase the Tan Arachnid Toy Fair sample. Top monies given. 

Thanks for reading!