Review: The Aliens Deluxe Playset
Here at Dane of War, I limit my reviews to gaming products. I’m going to make an exception today just because I’m so happy with something I received in the post.
Outstanding. Now all we need is a deck of cards.
Background
On May 28, 2004, a small company called Tree House Kids announced that they would be releasing The Aliens Deluxe Playset, retailing for $29.99. Fans of the franchise went crazy with excitement.
What worried the Aliens fan community at large was that Tree House Kids (an unknown company) turned to Palisades Toys for the packaging and marketing of the product. Although Palisades Toys had been around since ’95, by the time this playset was announced many of their former fans had soured on them, and the rumor was that they were in severe financial problems.
While their statues and busts were beautifully detailed products, the quality control for their action figure and toy lines was seemingly non-existent.
Their first big mistake was enlisting the support of overeager Micronaut fans to help with the launch of a new toy line. Overly ugly and unpopular redecos of the classic figures combined with Palisades’ decision to allow the cheapest Chinese factory available to produce the line led to one of the largest disappointments ever seen. Although Palisades continued to sell the toys knowing that they were garbage, they took no real personal responsibility for the quality and safety hazards. While the well-meaning but completely inexperienced fans that helped bring this failure to fruition took pride in their “accomplishment”, most toy gurus likened this to the editor of Mein Kampf taking pride in his work. This travesty of the Micronauts name virtually assured that no further licenses would be granted.
Look into my eye
Their Adult Swim and Army of Darkness lines suffered the same fate, literally falling apart in the packaging on store shelves. Meanwhile, questions about new releases in this new playset line went unanswered by Palisades. Tree House Kids were tight-lipped, however sources in the company were reportedly extremely unhappy with their relationship with Palisades.
When Palisades Toys finally went under on February 1st, 2006 (although it was apparent that this had been coming for 2 years) – it sealed the fate of many unreleased items. Insiders reported that this put the nail in the coffin of Tree House Kids’ license to produce further Aliens playsets (there were playsets planned for the other 3 films, as well as a possible Predator series).
Collectors were left with this playset, as well as a few Alien Swarm Packs. The Swarm Packs were mini-packs of all-new Alien Warrior and Space Marine figurines (including Hudson and Vasquez). Each “blind” packaged Swarm Pack contained anywhere from 4 to 8 different figures and were even harder to find than the original playset.
Sadly, after 2004, this small line was dead – with the individual releases sometimes doubling or tripling in prices on the secondary market. At one point, this playset was fetching $150 on the open market, with the Swarm Packs garnering near $30!
Almost 5 years later, the prices have evened out to more acceptable levels. The playset can fetch around $60 when it can be had (there were extremely limited numbers produced when compared to other Fox licensed products).
Contents
- Three different levels, complete with multiple ladders, staircases, railings, and doorways for maximum playability
- Nine 3-inch scale Alien Warrior figurines, plus eight Alien Eggs
- Six 2-inch scale Space Marines from the film (including Hicks, Crowe, Dietrich, Apone, Frost, and Wierzbowski) available exclusively with this Deluxe Box Set
- Six equipment cases
When fully assembled, this set measures 12 inches high and 17 inches long, with room to house all of the Space Marines and Aliens.
The Colonial Space Marines and Aliens are molded in a familiar army men style and are exceptionally detailed. It’s rather easy to see which Marine is which (provided you are familiar with the characters), and the Aliens themselves just ooze menace. The equipment crates actually have removable lids, too – which is just a nice touch, considering there is nothing included that can actually fit into them.
The Good
It’s Aliens. That should be good enough.
If it’s not – for the army men fans out there, this playset is reminiscent of the days gone by when we had our Marx playsets. It’s sturdy, well-constructed, and quite heavy. It takes about 5 minutes to put together, and with the staircase and ladders being able to move around in the playset, you have the option of some limited configuration.
For gamers out there, if you have the mid-90s Aliens RPG books from the now-defunct Leading Edge Games, you’ve just got yourself a fantastic bunch of miniatures and terrain to use.
Even at double it’s original MSRP, this playset is worth every single penny.
The Bad
I’ve lamented enough about how Palisades destroyed any real future for this line. It’s pointless now.
For the playset itself – a few of the bases for the figures are slightly warped, which is a common-enough problem for toy soldiers and is easily rectified with the “hot-water treatment”.
The Ugly
Not a damn thing.
Scale: 54mm scale
Cost: $59.99 (From Toy-Soldiers-Etc.)
Rating
