Xenomorph Runner, Planetary Rover Bike, and Weyland Commando Clever reuse of old molds plus a new alien Alien Collection Walmart Exclusive Item No.: Asst. ??? No. 31304 Manufacturer: Lanard Includes: Bike, human, alien, blaster Action Feature: n/a Retail: $9.87 Availability: January 2020 Other: Weird but good
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I spent a good amount of time in January tracking down the Alien Collection line, like this weird little Xenomorph Runner, Planetary Rover Bike, and Weyland Commando Action Figure Set. It's a lot like Hasbro's Star Wars Battle Packs, where you got about 4-5 figures for $20-$25 - except now you get two figures, an extra-large accessory, and a blaster for about $10. Given the ratio of new bits to old bits, it's probably worthwhile but it's also a little strange.

Drawing inspiration from Alien 3, this set delivers the kind of licensed product with bootleg-looking-madness you can only expect from Lanard. Their commitment to low prices and the immortality of its production tools mean you get a pretty nice new alien figure along with a human mold from at least the early 2000s and a bike from the late 1990s. It kind of works - if you were the kind of kid with a lot of Kenner toys and you were fond of the notion of mini-rigs, this is probably one of the greatest things ever. If you got ten bucks burning a hole in your pocket, run to the store and get one of these sets.

Our human pal showed up - it seems - as early as 2005, and was used to make a dude in a blue bomb squad suit, a guy named Ogre around 2015, and now a Weyland-Yutani Commando. If you squint. His construction is like the ca. 2002 T-crotch G.I. Joe figures from Hasbro, durable and sturdy without a great range of movement. The coloring is pretty darned close to the costume as made as a NECA figure, giving the figure a look of a cheap backyard cosplayer. It's charming - I assume kids that only saw the movie once wouldn't know the difference, and it's not like Kenner's 1990s Aliens or space marines were all that close to the films.

Our trooper has a scar over his right eye and a paint job that's good for the price. By no means is it amazing - but with his blue pretend-it's-a-pulse-rifle, it'll do fine. It's weird.

The bike doesn't work too well with the figure, as the limbs don't quite align with the foot pedals or hand grips. You can fidget it and stretch it to make him fit, but this bike might be better enjoyed by your other figures. As a leftover from the roughly 1997 Star Corps line, it somehow manages to look like a distant cousin or flea market knock-off of something you could've seen off-camera in Prometheus. The giant tires with huge treads spin fairly well, with the grey bike augmented by Weyland-Yutani stickers - and a barcode. It's charming, and it feels on-brand. It's not a great toy for this set, but you might enjoy using it with other, better-articulated 3 3/4-inch figures. This vehicle feels like it could hold up to some heavy abuse in the sand box, so if nothing else it's a sturdy plaything. Just not the best one for the figure in this set.

Lanard's "dogburster" or Xenomorph Runner is the selling point of this set. He's big - he might fit in with your old Kenner figures from the 1990s, and he's a weird gem of a figure. The bright red - almost pink - figure is metallic with swirls in it, which is a) gorgeous and b) the kind of thing that scares me for the long run. Swirly plastic has been known to have issues over time, and sometimes you hear they fixed it and sometimes you hear new toys crumble into dust. With 14 joints, this is a clever design - the neck, tail, and fists are all ball joints with the full range of motion. The elbows and shoulders bend-and-swivel, with the hips merely only swiveling. The range of movement is really good here, and the neck can look up and down which allows you to really make the most out of all those leg joints. You can pose this guy all kinds of ways, as long as the way is on all fours.

There's not much paint beyond the main teeth, but the sculpting is really good - lots of ridges and wrinkles, the bony exoskeleton, and the toes are all put together surprisingly well. It certainly brightens up a shelf with a shining, gleaming dome on the head and a color you don't get much on Xenomorph toys. I'd probably have gladly paid $10 for just this figure alone - it's nice I didn't have to do so.

Back in the 1990s - and rarely in the 2000s - you could pick up a figure for five bucks and have a little fun. That's increasingly rare, and even with the figure and vehicle compatibility issues you'll probably have $10 worth of fun in this boxed set. As a clever reuse of old parts for a license that no child probably wants to buy these days, I'd encourage you to pick it up just because Lanard had the guts to try something really weird - and somehow convince Walmart to buy it as an exclusive. Splendid and worthwhile, I can safely say there's not much else like this in the toy world today.

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