It’s been a good many years since we have seen ALIEN themed toys overtly marketed at children. 40 years ago, the first Kenner ALIEN action figure, rated “AGES 5 AND UP” was released to retail and was received by the buying public as bemused at best and reviled at worst. It flopped miserably at retail and it’s failure was largely attributed to the toy based on an R-rated movie with it’s target market being children who weren’t permitted to see it due to the movie’s gruesome nature.

The failure of the Kenner toy ensured the company wouldn’t return to the series for over a decade, completely avoiding and sidestepping the manufacture of children’s toys based on the 1986 sequel, ALIENS. As a result, no toys or action figures intended for children were released based on that movie during the time of its release. 1992 would be the first year of Kenner’s wildly imaginative ALIENS series of toys to make up for that oversight. These were also based on R-rated media but given a decidedly child friendly ambience, rating them at an even lower age group of “AGES 4 AND UP”. Acceptability for such product was becoming more mainstream and for the next six years, Kenner delivered such product.

Then, in 2000 Kenner was shut down by it’s parent company, Hasbro. Extant Kenner product lines were absorbed by Hasbro while other licences, ALIEN for example, were deemed outside of Hasbro’s family friendly mandate and subsequently abandoned.

Since the beginning of this century, no manufacturer has been prepared to step up to bat for kids who might like to play with such things. Other manufacturers have indeed released product age rated as such, but still intended for a more mature collector market. Until now. It appears budget manufacturer, Lanard Toys, feels it’s time to bring ALIENS back into the family lounge room with an affordable price tag attached. 2020 will be remembered among fans, toy enthusiasts and families for doing just that. Mid January, at the time of this writing, sees Lanard stocking Walmart toy shelves with their own interpretation of ALIENS toys – product specifically made to appeal to children.

It would appear this action has been very successful.

At this stage, the roll out of product to stores across the US is incomplete and still continuing; with international outlets in the UK and Australia to follow in the coming months. At this point, the Lanard ALIEN product appears to be very well received and many people I know have been purchasing these decidedly malevolent albeit brightly coloured children’s toys. Many of these purchases are becoming the cherished play things of children. It’s easy to see the joy in the faces of the kids pictured on this page as they set up scenarios with their newly acquired Aliens and Colonial Marines toys.

This is the way it should be. Notwithstanding the fact these children, Lorelei and Oliver, are too young to have seen the movies these toys are based on, Lanard have adopted to circumvent the problem of releasing product embracing R-rated movies (Which I suspect has legal repercussions) by basing their product line on comics, video games and other extant licenced merchandise these youngsters do have access to.

The massive pruple Queen Alien standing on the table amidst other recent Lanard (and Megaconstrux) ALIENS purchases is both lurid and wonderful. The other brightly coloured blue, green, red and yellow Aliens are equally contrasting, simultaneously monstrous and beguiling. This is a deliberate design decision by Lanard Toys ensuring these products are identified by both children and adults, primarily as toys for kids. Sure, the collector market will embrace these items and lap ’em up with gleeful abandon but there’s no mistaking who these items are intended for. From the brightly presented packaging to the rainbow coloured content within, children are definitely intended to be attracted to these toys.

As it is the destiny for many of these toys to end up as unopened mint condition trophies on collectors shelves, their true value comes from the stories and memories of these children. These are the people who have the pleasure of actually having hands on experience and playing with these things. This is a new generation of ALIEN fans, getting their hands slimy for the first time on toys that would have been shunned 40 years ago by a more conservative public.

As is testified by the photos on this page, kids love this grisly stuff. They always have. These children will grow up and cherish their memories of these toys and (if they haven’t seen them already) be exposed to ALIEN movies at a more appropriate age. Finally, it has become time for the the next generation of young ALIEN fans to have the seeds of that joy planted squarely in their chests – right next to their hearts -exactly where it belongs.

Images of his children playing with toys provided with the permission of Brendan Wayman.

-Windebieste.