So, a few weeks back, I covered the Weyland-Yutani Commando as part of Series 8 of NECA’s successful line of figures based off of the Alien franchise. Now I know some folks still hate Alien 3 with the fiery passion of 1000 suns, but come on, the figure looks pretty cool. And now that Series 9 has started to hit shelves, it makes sense to finish off Series 8, doesn’t it? For those who were lukewarm to having the Commando, NECA has stuck to the classic players for the rest of the line: Ripley and two variants of the Dog Alien.

Packaging:

All three figures come housed in the same standard clamshell packaging that the rest of the line has come in since its inception, sporting the “Alien 3” motif for the backdrop. The sides of the package have shots of the figures in various poses, while the back has a small synopsis of the film, with shots of the other figures in the series. Do note that both Dog Alien variations have the exact same packaging.

Sculpting/Paintwork:

NECA keeps on pumping out some great sculpts, and Ripley is no exception. The figure’s likeness to Sigourney from the film is very close (not sure about the lips), but what’s even cooler is the texture applied to the figure’s head to mimic the stubble. This suble use of texture continues through the rest of the fabric in the clothing, along with all of the wrinkles, stitching, scuffs, rips and skin texture. The paint is also done really well. I love the wash used for the pants, as well as the bruising used on Ripley’s face. Great attention to detail, with no smearing or missed paint apps to speak of.

As for the Dog Alien, both figures are the exact same sculpts, and both are fantastic. Those who missed the earlier release of the Dog Alien way back in Series 3 will be happy to have a second chance to grab this guy. The biomechanical details of Giger’s famous sculpt are replicated here exactly, crammed with details of ribs, tubing and bone. As with the other Xenomorphs, the domes are a separate transparent piece, allowing you to see the underlying structures of the sculpted heads. The paint is where the two Dog Alien figures differ. One is painted in a more darker brown, while the other has a mix of light brown/grey shading. Both have some fantastic washes applied that bring out details, and depending on which one you decide to get, the way the light hits the figure will determine which details are more pronounced. It all depends on where/how you decide to display the figure. The dome is carefully airbrushed to give a nice gradient towards the front of the figure, completing its look.

Articulation:

Unfortunately, here’s where things start to fall down a bit. While the overall articulation of all three figures is nicely done, there are a few small (and one major) issue that I have to explain.

With Ripley, she features over 25 points of articulation. The head is on a ball joint, and can move up and down, side to side and left to right. The arms are on pin-and-socket joints, and can move outward and forward. Like other Ripley figures, she can’t move out to a perfect 90°, but it’s still good enough that you can get enough range of motion. The arms bend at the elbow, can bend to 90° and rotate. The hands are on balljoints, and while the figure’s right hand moves easily, there’s a problem with the left. The peg that holds the left hand is weak, and can snap off when you first try to move the hand. Putting the arm in the fridge can strengthen it enough so that when you first move the hand, it won’t break. Obviously, this is a major problem. If the hand on your figure does snap off, you can always contact NECA’s Customer Service through Twitter or their website. The figure has an upper torso crunch, as well as a ball joint at the waist. The pin-and-socket joints allow the legs to move outward and forward quite far, and rotate at the hips. The knees allow the legs to bend at 45°, as well as rotate. While there’s no boot cut joint, the feet are on balljoints, and can rotate all the way around and offer some pivoting.

As for the Dog Aliens, both variants feature the same 30 points of articulation. The head is on a ball joint, and can move all the way around, but is restricted by the sculpt for moving to look up. There’s another neck join that permits a bit more movement, but again, the sculpt limits how much you can do. The arms are on pin-and-socket joints, and can move up to around 90°, and move forward and back. The elbows are double-jointed, allowing you to almost fold the arms in two, as well as rotate them. The hands are on pin-and-socket joints, but still grant the hands a good range of up and down movement and rotation. The upper torso joint allows the figure to move all the way around, while the legs are on pin-and-socket joints that allow for the legs to move outward to around 45°, but move all the way around. Like the elbows, the knees are double-jointed, and can bend all the way in half. The lower legs have a pin-and-socket joint, allowing you to move them forward and back and rotate. The feet bend forward and back at the ankle, and the tail rotates at the base, while also having the familiar wire running down it to allow for infinite posing. Now while many of the joints on the Dog Aliens are nice and tight, the ball joint for the head and the upper torso are quite loose, and do have a tendency to flop. There are tutorials on YouTube and elsewhere that can help to remedy things, but it’s kind of a bummer that this slipped through.

Accessories:

For Ripley, she comes with the ability to pop her arms off at the shoulder (use a hair dryer to lessen the breakage potential), which allows you to slip off the jacket and pop the set of bare arms included with the figure. The bare arms have the same range of motion as the jacketed ones, and it’s one of those obvious inclusions that’s actually pretty cool. She also comes with a nicely-detailed torch and a flashlight. The figure’s right hand is best for holding either accessory. You’re not going to get much in terms of two-handed poses, but you can try.

As for either of the Dog Aliens, they come with a display stand that helps support the figure for your posing. Generally designed to go around the waist of the figure, you could also put the stand at the base of the tail if you so desire.

Overall:

While NECA once again hits it out of the park for the details and paint, I’m slightly disappointed at the QC issues in the articulation. Again, some of them are minor (and can easily be fixed), but the issue regarding Ripley’s hand is troubling. Not everyone has had this issue, but it’s come up enough that you’ll want to exercise caution when trying to move it the first time. Other than that, these figures are a great compliment to the Commando, and really make Series 8 a great addition to your collection.

Big thanks once again to Northmen Collectibles for making this figure available.