As much as I enjoy all aspects of pop culture - especially pop culture nostalgia related to my childhood in the 1980s - I usually shy away from the grittier properties when it comes to my action figure collections. When I look at my toys I want to see bright colors, ridiculous costumes, and upbeat properties. So militant characters with guns and dour faces rarely make the cut. I've made a few exception recently when it comes to the Aliens line by Neca. The main release figures look great, and I really appreciate looking at them in the stores, but the gimmick that pushes me over the edge and gets me to open my wallet are the fun Alien Day repaints in bright classic Kenner colors. Last year we saw Ripley in her purple shirt and yellow boots, and this year we get Vasquez in her blue bandanna and bright red shirt. But where Ripley was sold at TRU, this Vasquez is exclusive to thenecastore.com. She may still be available, but on some screens it says she's sold out. Hopefully everyone got her. Let's check out Vasquez below!
I love this figure. My only issue is that on my copy, the abdomen piece seems have a really light application of the dark wash that the rest of the figure has. This makes her belly look brilliant red while the rest of her looks appropriately grimy (from fighting Aliens of course). Fixing it will be very easy. I'll just rub some craft paint on with my thumb until it matches.
Vasquez comes with a Pulse Rifle (and a knife in her ankle holster).
Below is an image for the standard release Vasquez figure (from Series 09 - 2016). You'll see that this deco is much more accurate to the film style seen above.
And it matches the main US release of Vasquez in the Aliens vs Marine line (from 1996 I believe?)
But for many years, a holy grail of Aliens collectors was this red-shirted Vasquez that was only released in the UK in 1992. This is what the NECA repaint is paying homage to.
Time for some Comparison Pics!
Here she is with the 2016 Aliens Day Exclusive, the Kenner-Repainted Ripley.
Cheers!
Can't wait to get Vasquez! The Kenner Aliens line were some of my fave figures as a youngen.
ReplyDeleteThe original Kenner red shirt Vasquez was also sold here in Australia. I didn't see the green versions of the figures at all here.
I figure Canada got the red shirt version as well, because a lot of US collectors managed to get her once eBay came around. I can't even imagine being a collector before eBay.
DeleteCool figure. Definitely need to add this one to the collection.
ReplyDeleteYeah she's awesome. I think there are now three Neca Vasquez versions to choose from. The newest one has her in a light color camo vest with a popped collar.
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