This styrene ALIEN kit was originally released by MPC (Model Products Corporation), an American company based in Michigan in 1979. The company was founded in 1963 and later purchased by General Mills in the early 1970s. Under General Mills subsidiary company, the CPG Products Corporation, MPC retained its identity along with Kenner Products which at the time was also owned by General Mills. The MPC ALIEN kit was marketed and rated for children aged 10 to adult as part of CPG Products Corporation’s Fundimensions Division.
The ALIEN model kit was released in 1979 along with a number of other prominent officially licenced movie tie-in products. The kit is notable for being the first commercially released three dimensional representation of the Alien character available to the public. It was released several months before Kenner’s notorious 18 inch toy appearing later in October that year. The ALIEN kit has enjoyed multiple re-pressings including various international versions and re-issues during the past four decades.
Made from styrene, the kit is a standard manufactured hobby kit with parts attached to runners via sprues which the modeller of any experience level would separate, use glue to assemble and paint to their desired finish. It was packaged in a box with a set of instructions and all versions of the kit have similar contents in this regard but can vary from one edition to the next. Due to the nature of the kit needing assembly, finished items can vary dramatically as determined by the modeler. As such, it is not easily determined which version of the kit has been utilised in the final form.
MPC’s ALIEN kit has been published in no less than six versions. Originally appearing in toy and hobby stores in 1979 to accompany the movie’s release, three international variants are known to exist from this time. These are USA (English.), Canada (Bilingual French/English.) and Japanese (Bilingual Japanese/English.) editions. Three additional re-issues of the kit have since been released during the years 1984, 1999 and 2013. Each edition includes a box, (at least) one copy of exactly the same kit along with a set of assembly instructions.
Five of these six editions possess exactly the same watercolor artwork, titles and other graphical elements printed on all sides of the box top. Only minor differences in features aid in identifying their origins. The styrene kits within each box remain identical in (almost) all physical details. Relying on sometimes obvious and other times subtle but unique markings appearing on the boxes is critical in identifying and differentiating these items due their extreme similarity in outward presentation.
The watercolor box art is identical across these five releases featuring a depiction of the Alien creature prominently displayed on the box cover. In no way is this image a reliable way of identifying different versions. This box art is alike across these five versions of the kit, with the Japanese (1979) variant box being double in size as shown above.
A sixth box version (1999) displays a completely different design altogether on the box top and is easily identified. To further complicate identifying different versions, Product Numbers are almost identical across four editions of the kit. Editions sharing similar product numbers are all three editions published in 1979 along with the 1984 edition of the kit. The duplication of numbers across these versions of the kit make it very difficult to research.
- Year of publication: 1979
- Country: USA.
- Product Number: 1-1961
The US edition is the most common version of the kit and is easily found on eBay. It differs outwardly from most other versions of the kit only in minor and easily unnoticed details. The 1979 publisher’s date stamp and licence information under the letter “A” under the ALIEN title being the single most important identifier found on the box top. The publisher details read “© 1979 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. TM-TRADEMARK OF TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORP.” NOTE: the 1979 date is significant in identifying this edition. It is very small and easily missed. Other minor details on the sides of the box can also serve to identify this version. The foldout instruction sheet is printed in English only. The bottom of the box is raw and unprinted.
Year of publication: 1979- Country: Canada.
- Product Number: Q1-1961
Only a single print run of the ALIEN kit was manufactured in Canada. This item is notable for it’s bilingual French/English text information present throughout the kit and fully duplicated in both languages. Significantly, both languages are prominent on the front of the box and this feature easily identifies this version’s country of origin. The kit’s oversize foldout instruction sheet is printed in both French and English with each side of the double sided sheet dedicated to either French or English. The bottom of the box is raw and unprinted.
- Year of publication: 1979
- Country: Japan.
- Product Number: 1-1961
Only a single print run of the ALIEN kit was manufactured in Japan. Significantly, the box for this kit is substantially larger and double the size of all other versions of the MPC ALIEN kit. The artwork and publisher information on the box top is exactly the same as the US edition and has only been blown up to the larger scale without any alterations. Despite the box’s enlarged footprint, the depth of the box is actually shallower than all other samples of the kit. This oversized 1979 Japanese version of the ALIEN kit is the most rare and difficult to find today.
Internally, a folded cardboard divider separates two copies of the same styrene kit. Both samples of this pair of unassembled models are exact duplicates of the item published elsewhere in the USA and Canada. The kit’s oversize foldout instruction sheet is printed in both Japanese and English with each side of the double sided sheet dedicated to either Japanese or English. The bottom of the box is raw and unprinted.
- Year of publication: 1984
- Country: USA.
- Product Number: 1-1961
The first USA reprint edition from 1984 shares all the characteristics of the original 1979 USA release. Only minor details regarding the publisher details read “© 1984 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.” The second, fully capitalised line of publisher information is omitted. NOTE: the 1984 date is significant in identifying this edition. It is very small and easily missed. Other minor details on the sides of the box can also serve to identify this version. The foldout instruction sheet is printed in English only. The bottom of the box is raw and unprinted.
- Year of publication: 1999
- Country: USA.
- Product Number: 30096
The AMT ERTL re-issue of the kit is easily identified from all other versions as the box art is completely different. Featuring the actual completed ALIEN kit on the box top, bursting through a background of greyed out movie still images, it’s easily recognisable as the 1999 edition as it is the only version featuring this box art. The kit inside also differs, being cast in a much lighter grey styrene than all other versions and makes the kit the most distinct item in the entire range and also easily identifiable. A completely re-designed, fresh approach to the instruction sheet is also present with this release.
This item is still very common today, easily found and frequently the cheapest available version of the ALIEN kit despite not being the most recent.
Raw, assembled unpainted samples of the light grey kit have been known to be sold on eBay and other secondary markets with the blatantly erroneous claim it is a test shot or other product development prototype. If you do chance upon one such item with these claims attached to it, beware! It’s probably too good to be true and the chances are high it is an unpainted version of this kit.
The bottom of the box has product information, age warnings, content verification and other notes expressed in multiple languages.
- Year of publication: 2013
- Country: USA.
- Product Number: MPC793/12
The Round 2 edition of the ALIEN kit features a return to the original watercolor box art and other package design features. Once again, this presentation makes this item easily confused with prior editions. The publisher’s date stamp along with copyright publishing information beneath the ALIEN title is completely absent. NOTE: This vacant space, left entirely devoid of any publisher information, is the single most important detail present on the top of the box to help identify it.
The kit inside is molded in black rather than the dark grey of previous editions. The bottom of the box is raw and unprinted but when new, copies feature an information sheet sealed inside the shrink wrap visible on the underside of the box. This version of the kit is relatively common and known to be frequently mistaken for other four decades old samples. Less scrupulous sellers have been known to take advantage of this fact and sell the 2013 Round 2 edition for high prices, similar to those gained from legitimately vintage 1979 product due to ease of confusion.
Japanese Tsukuda Hobby released an ALIEN figure in 1984. Their “Jumbo Figure Series No.2” was derived from Kenner’s 18 inch ALIEN toy. The box for this vinyl figure displays design elements copied from the MPC model kit, which was released in Japan, five years earlier. Not only is the title on the box an exact duplication of the MPC box header, but the art work, while completely different, displays a composition clearly influenced by the image on the MPC kit. The general stance of the Alien, fog shrouded foreground, “OVER 18 INCHES TALL” text and dark background of the Tsukuda Hobby figure is undeniably replicated from the earlier released MPC kit.
A page of product development samples of the 1979 MPC ALIEN kit can be found here on HIDEOUS PLASTIC.
