Thursday, February 13, 2020

Action Figure Review: Super-Power Loader from Alien Collection by Lanard Toys

    Today is my fifth review from Lanard Toys' Alien Collection and this is one of the "Xenomorph Attack" sets. These sets are $15 bucks each (the Xenomorph Swarm sets are $10) and include the two larger vehicles from the line. This set features the Super-Power Loader but it also comes with a green Warrior Alien and a Colonial marine. The scene in Aliens with Ripley using the Power Loader to fight the Alien Queen is one of the coolest fight scenes in movie history, thus the Power Loader always seems to make its way into Alien toylines. While Alien Warrior is a new sculpt for this line, the Power Loader is reused from a previous The Corps release from about 5 years ago. Still, it does work pretty well as the iconic vehicle. Let's check this set out after the break and see if it's worth picking up...



 The Facts: Alien Warrior

Height: 5 inches

Articulation: Balljointed ankles, hinged knees, balljointed hips, swivel tail, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, balljointed wrists, and a swivel neck.

Accessories: None


 The Facts: Colonial Marine

Height: 3 3/4ths inches

Articulation: Swivel hips, swivel shoulders, and a swivel neck.

Accessories: Pickax


 The Facts: Power Loader

Height: 6 3/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel hips, swivel arms, hinged cockpit, swivel claws, swivel chainsaw blade, and balljointed mini-gun.

Accessories: Mini-gun

Non-Scalper Price: $15 dollars


 Comparison:

 * This set's green Alien Warrior is in the middle while the blue Xenomorph Warrior from one of the Alien Swarm sets is on the left. They share the same sculpt, so they're just two different colorways of the same mold.  All the way to the right is the Warrior Alien from Kenner. I think these guys blend in with the Kenner line fairly well and scale quite nicely with those figures.
 Comparison:


* The human figures in this line definitely don't work with the vintage Kenner line, though. The Colonial Marine is on the left while Kenner's Ripley is on the right. He's kind of short, isn't he?
 Comparison:

* On the left is Lanard Toys' take on the Power Loader while the classic Kenner Power Loader is on the right. The Kenner one is obviously superior but I do like how similar the colors are. Also, it's kind of cool that Kenner's Power Loader is #3 while Lanard's is #4. Did they intentionally make their sequential with Kenner's?
 The Positives:

*  I love this guy! The Xenomorph Warrior uses the same body as the Xenomorph Drone but now it is cast in a great metallic gree plastic. It definitely feels like an homage to the Kenner Hive Wars Warrior Alien (only in a different color), or maybe even a tribute to the Mantis Alien, who was based on the mold of my beloved Gorilla Alien. The sculpt is fantastic here with lots of excellent detail.


*  The Warrior Alien headsculpt is different from the Drone's, showcasing a look more in line with the Xenomorphs from Aliens rather than the Big Chap from Alien thanks to the bonier, more textured skull. 



* Lanard's Xenomorphs are very well articulated and are definitely the selling point of this line. They're just really fun figures to mess around with. 


* The Colonial Marine is.... uh, a figure. It has five points of articulation and it's pretty solidly built. Seriously, this doesn't even feel like a figure from The Corps. It looks like a dollar store figure rather and seems very out of place. It's here, though, and it's not breakable. Kids will have someone to fight their Xenomorph, so at least there is that.


 * Rather than come with a gun, this Colonial Marine comes with a pickax of some sort. It's a really weird accessory for the line but it does look like "futuristic" enough to possibly be an entrenching tool or something carried around by the Colonial Space Marines. It definitely has some nice detail on the sculpt.



 * While it's a reused piece, I really do like the look of the Power Loader. In any other color this would like like any other mech but here, in this exact shade of yellow, it really does resemble a modified version of the Power Loader. Definitely something that the Space Marines might have modified to use in some sort of offensive capacity against the Xenomorphs. The stickers are nice and give it a little bit more "oomph" in the design front.


 * The Power Loader is articulated, featuring swivel arms and legs, a balljointed mini-gun, and an opening and closing claw on the right arm.


* I love the chainsaw and laser gun on the left arm. The chainsaw blade looks fairly nasty! It also moves around a bit, though I'm not sure how intentional that is.


* The cockpit opens and features a clip to hold a figure in place. There's actually quite a bit of detail inside the cockpit, too.
 The Negatives:

*  As I started reviewing these sets, I've realized that the scale of the humans in these sets is all over the place. The Weyland Commando is taller than everyone else with the Research Scientist being shorter than him and the Colonial Space Marines being even shorter still. A lack of consistent internal scale in a line definitely is another of my pet peeves, and this line is particularly egregious about it.


 * They go back on, but be careful of the Xenomorph Warrior's hips. They tend to pop off quite easily if you're trying to move his legs too much.




 * The cheapness of this figure is accentuated by the fact that his back isn't painted. Look at him from the side and you can really see where the paint just stops. Uggh...



 * The balljointed mini-gun seems like an amazing feature but it tends to fall off pretty easily.
   I love the Alien Warrior, and it's clear that all of the aliens in this line (whether it be drone, facehugger, or Alien Queen) are the high points of the line. The Power Loader is pretty cool too, actually, though it's not even as good as the Kenner version which came before it nearly 30 years prior. The Space Marines in this line are truly terribly, though. Lanard makes some really cool 1/18th scale figures, so why they insist on using these lame molds is beyond me. This set is a Good and a 1/2 set with a great Alien warrior, an OK Power Loader, and a terrible Space Marine. This might be the easiest pass of all the sets, but for the price there's still some value here.

   For more Xenomorphs, check out my reviews of the M.U.S.C.L.E. Xenomorph from Alien Pack A, the Attack Alien from Pack C, the Xenomorph Warrior from Aliens Pack A, the Alien Warrior (with open mouth) from Pack B, and the Alien Warrior (Crouching) from Pack C, the ReAction Alien (with Metallic Flesh), the gold Xenomorph Drone, the blue Xenomorph Warrior, and the red Xenomorph Runner from Lanard's Alien Collection, NECA's Xenomorph Warrior, the standard Xenomorph from Kenner's Alien versus Predator 2 pack as well as the Bull Alien, Gorilla Alien, and Scorpion Alien, the Loyal Subjects' Xenomorph (Black Battle Damaged) and Xenomorph (Ice Blue Metallic), and the Micro Machines Alien Transforming Playset which is loaded with Xenomorphs.

  For more U.S. Colonial Space Marines check out the Colonial Space Marine from the Alien Swarm set from Lanard Toys' Alien Collection.

For more Power Loaders check out my reviews of the M.U.S.C.L.E. Aliens Power Loader from Pack D and the Kenner Aliens Power Loader.

For more reviews from Lanard Toys' Alien Collection, check out the following:
Alien Queen
Colonial Marines 'Vs' Aliens (Colonial Space Marine and Green Xenomorph Warrior)
Colonial Marines 'Vs' Aliens (Research Scientist, Egg and Facehugger, and Gold Xenomorph)
Colonial Marinex 'Vs' Aliens (Weyland Commando, Hover Bike, and Red Runner Xenomorph) 


2 comments:

  1. I'm actually just wrapping up writing my own review of this one! I enjoy what Lanard's doing with the line, but man do I want some slightly better Colonial Marines to go with those Xenos. I ended up sticking a vintage Lady Jaye in my Power Loader for the time being, because this guy just wasn't doing it for me

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    1. They definitely do need better Colonial Marines. With all of the pretty good The Corps figures they've made over the last few years, why these guys?

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