When you are a 3.75" collector, as I was for a number of years, big figures and ships are just the norm - it goes with the scale. However when you collect 6" - 7" scale figures anything bigger than a standard figure becomes a bigger deal and will ultimately be a centre piece for any collection. In 2014 I picked up some great bigger/deluxe figures such as Neca's ED-209 and the SWB6 Jabba and Speeder Bike. However the mother (literally) of them all has now landed courtesy of Neca once again.
There is no denying the Alien Queen is a relatively expensive piece, retailing around £85-£100 depending where you shop. Having now received the Queen I can say she is worth every penny and will be the talking point of any Aliens collection for many years.
Up until the start of 2014 I was the owner of the McFarlane Alien Queen which was a very nice piece. Once I heard about the Neca do-over I cashed in on the McFarlane before the prices dropped on these and began the waiting game for December for the new version to arrive.
She actually arrived at Xmas thanks to my fantastic family and after letting her sit in her box for a few days I released her this week. You will have to excuse the photo's on this review as the figure is simply too big for my usual setup and was therefore shot being unboxed in the kitchen
The Queen arrives in a window box that is pretty stunning on its own. It is covered in Artwork depicting the Queen's Eggs and a couple of victims awaiting impregnation. The Queen herself is visible via a 2 sided window in the top left of the box that wraps round onto the left flap.
The rear of the box shows the full figure in all her glory along with the blurb which talks about the 35th Anniversary of the Alien Franchise, and the features of the figure.
Once you slide her out of the box you will be busy for a few minutes carefully removing the numerous ties that are in place around the figure. She essentially comes fully assembed aside from 6 rear spines which slot into place and 2 optional secondary jaws that can be inserted into her open mouth. I found the spines went on easy enough, but the jaws were a bit fidly and I eventually left them off the figure for now. She also comes with a v-shaped acrylic stand and two metal rods which is used to support her weight. She simply sits her chest onto the stand, there is no insert on the figure itself. The rod determines whether she is standing full upright to her impressive 15" height or crouching lower.
Although practical, I do feel the stand is the one bad mark against this figure. Purely on the laws of pysics she has to have something to help her stand, but not sure this was the best way. However, there is some talk that the stand will be redundant upon release of the Power Lifter in 2015 and the two figures will stand and support each other in combat.
There is so much articulation on the Queen you could play for days getting her in different poses. The Arms and legs are obvious but the top spines are also on a ball joint, as is the head. The tail is basically a wire rod surrounded by rubber so can be placed in any position imaginable. The secondary arms are also moveable. My favourite is the opening jaw which I seem to be changing from wicked grin to the open (and hissing) mouth and back again on a daily basis
Size wise she dwarfs any other Alien figures, particularly the Marines. Her paint job is excuisite, but is more of a blue hue to match the blue Aliens Warrior as opposed to the Brown one that I have.
As an Aliens fan I am very biaised, but I think this is as close to a perfect figure as I have found so far at what I would class as a medium price point in terms of overall figure collecting. The stand is a niggle, and I also worry about her long term durability both of that tail and the joints themselves. I have already heard stories of the Queen taking a tuble off a shelf and breaking arms/legs a bit too easily - so the sooner I can get her into a cabinet the better.
This is a sure fire big hit for Neca who are going from strength to strength at the moment. I give the Queen 5/5 and look forward to adding Bishop, Kane, The Dog Alien to the shelf very soon and then await the highly anticipated Ripley figures in 2015
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