- Year: 1979
- Size: 10 inches
- Product Line: ALIEN. Produced by MPC (General Mills).
Predating the much more famous Kenner ALIEN action figure by a couple of months, the MPC ALIEN model kit was the first commercially available free standing, 3D version of the titular character. Age rated 10 to adult, this item was not so readily marketed directly at small children the same way the Kenner toy was. Both companies, Kenner Products and MPC, at the time were owned by General Mills and both were manufacturing ALIEN merchandise in 1979 under their CPG Corporation umbrella company.
The kit has a history of being re-pressed in 1984, 1999 and 2013. The original 1979 along with subsequent 1984 and 2013 versions of the kit all use the same box art, a watercolor illustration of the Alien. The image of the box art below is an uncut sample proof sheet of the box top from 1979. Such proof samples are used to determine quality of the final product before the production print run. Alignment and registration of colour during printing and other quality concerns are inspected prior to full printing and assembly of the packaging.
The item below is a transparency drawing of the alien made sometime during the development of the kit for its assembly instruction sheet. The drawing here differs from the finished printed inclusion and demonstrates progressive art and technical development along the path to a finished product.
Images courtesy of Derek Ho
