Alien Resurrection, the 4th movie in the Alien series was the last of the movies to get the NECA treatment in their 7-inch line. After focusing on the first three movies for many years, 2019 saw Series 14 - the last full wave of the Aliens figures - dedicated to Resurrection. The wave included a Newborn Alien in deluxe packaging and two standard clamshell releases of Ripley 8 and the Resurrection Xenomorph.
Like all the NECA Aliens figures based on an Alien movie, the packaging uses the movie logo as a header and features artwork inserted into the sides of the clamshell. Images of the figure and the other releases in the wave are shown on the reverse of the pack with a short synopsis of the movie. This short plot write-up doesn't read wholly accurately as it insinuates the Newborn escapes and is hunted by the crew when in actual fact it was the Resurrection Drones that escape and the Newborn is not factored into the story until the climax - an unusual error for NECA?
"_TWO HUNDRED YEARS AFTER HER DEATH, MILITARY SCIENTISTS ON BOARD THE USM AURIGA ARE ATTEMPTING TO CLONE ELLEN RIPLEY IN ORDER TO EXTRACT THE XENOMORPH QUEEN EMBRYO THAT WAS IN HER BODY WHEN SHE DIED. AND ON THE EIGHTH ATTEMPT, THEY SUCCEED. CONTAMINATED WITH RIPLEY'S DNA, THE QUEEN GIVES BIRTH TO A GROTESQUE HUMAN/ALIEN HYBRID CALLED THE "NEWBORN," WHICH ESCAPES, FORCING THE CREW INTO A DESPERATE RACE TO DESTROY IT AND THE OTHER CLONED ALIENS BEFORE THE SHIP REACHES EARTH"
NECA has always delivered excellent sculpts and an uncanny ability to replicate the original props and costumes of the Alien universe. The Resurrection Drone is the latest of these, utilising the existing Xenomorph body with adjustments to the dome and tail to match what we see on screen in the 1997 movie. The detailing is exceptional with plenty of texture built-in across the various body parts of the Xenomorph from the exposed rib cage to the 'piping' and muscles around the neck and stomach areas. The sinewy arms and legs end in vicious claws and the segmented tail works round to a knife-shaped point.
While the Xenomorphs are predominantly one single colour, the paint applications to bring out the detail of the figure range from a deep wash to darken the sunken details to a wet look finish and dry brushing of a lighter brown to expose more of the alien physiology.
There are no accessories included in the set and that makes sense considering the movie as not even an Alien Egg or Facehugger could have been added and context to the movie retained.
Articulation is impressive across the Xenomorph with 24 points of movement including articulated fingers and toes. The jaw can be opened and closed with an inner jaw sitting in the mouth. This is a little tricky to extract on this version and I had some trouble in exposing it fully without the use of a small screwdriver to tease it forward. The tail is a rubber piece over a metal skeletal armature so it can be posed in multiple positions.
The Resurrection Xenomorph can be posed standing - using the tail as the 3rd point of contact for balance or crouched or crawling although the head does not go far enough back for a swimming pose - something the Xeno's did for the first time on screen in Alien 4.
NECA prices are increasing the most among action figure lines and that has left them harder to get and nearly twice as costly here in the UK as they were just 2-3 years ago. I missed out on this Series 14 release back in 2019 but have recently filled the gap in my Alien collection thanks to an independent stockist. The Resurrection Xeno won't be the last movie Alien we get from NECA but regardless of your feeling for the movie, it is one of the best looking to date up there with the AvP figures and the Ultimate Xenomorphs from Aliens.
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...