- Year: 1992
- Size: 5 inches.
- Product Line: Produced by Kenner (Tonka).
Kenner’s first series of ALIENS action figures were liberal interpretations of popular characters from the 1986 movie. Ripley, being the most popular character from the film was destined to appear as part of the action figure line up from the start.
The Lt. Ripley figure appearing in series 1 of this merchandise line only has a passing resemblance to the character it is based on. Issues of licencing the likeness of Sigourney Weaver were avoided by highly stylizing the action figure to bring a more toy-like aesthetic to the product. Nonetheless, Ripley in this series of toys still manages to possess a passable resemblance to the onscreen character. The most notable change to the figure includes alterations to the clothing being worn by the character. Gone are the utilitarian garments of Ripley as seen in ALIENS and instead this figure is attired in more comic book color scheme and fashion. A maroon top, denim trousers and bright yellow boots are her main garments; with a yellow scarf loosely sitting upon her shoulders along with some tussled black hair lends some femininity to help complete the figure.
Samples of the action figure depicted on this page represent a variety of prototypes made during various stages of its production run. A hard copy of an alternate head sculpt, first shots, painted first shots along with a couple of samples of Ripley’s accessory flame thrower. Also appearing here is an early art mock up for package testing purposes; and an art proof of the final product backing card that was used for the figure to be displayed on store shelves.
Below is a hand painted first shot (left) and production sample (right) of the Ripley figure. Both are sourced directly from a Kenner former employee. Hand painted Ripley has a glossier finished and is missing the country of origin (COO) and copyright details on the back.
Kenner would later revisit the ALIENS Ripley figure in 1995 to repurpose it for their line of Congo action figures based on the movie of that name released that year. The Ripley figure appeared as a variant remodeled to resemble the jungle bound character, communications expert, Dr. Karen Ross. Ripley’s weapon also returned as an accessory to this 1995 action figure. It can be seen on the right in the image below.
Hand painted sample images courtesy of Caesar V. Jacquez. All other content provided by Derek Ho.
