Alien vs. Predator’s Battle Goes Retro

The latest Kenner inspired action figure set from NECA is a perfect throwback.

My favorite sub-set of toys in NECA’s outstanding Predators series is the Kenner collection, which replicate the wild colors and strange design of Kenner’s cult favorite 90s toy line.  We’ve seen a bunch of those old school characters released in NECA’s highly detail, fully articulated 7″ toy line, but the latest release brings Aliens to the table, as well.

The Alien vs. Predator two-pack, a Toys R Us exclusive, features two repainted figures pitted in combat, replicating the vintage Kenner two-pack perfectly.  This Predator, Renegade, was the closest to a film accurate creature Kenner ever made, and while NECA has since rendered wonderful, film accurate versions of both the Jungle and City Hunters, their Renegade totally nails the look of Kenner’s design.  The yellow and grey skin on this figure really pops, creating a brighter and more eye catching Predator than many of the film-based Hunters, and this pallet offsets perfectly against the weathered, brown armor he wears.  Like the single carded release of Renegade (in his second generation, green and grey deco), this figure includes a blaster gun and bladed weapon, just like the vintage toy.  While I do wish Renegade featured some kind of peg or hook to allow for storage of the blade (a feature on Kenner’s figure), he still holds both weapons very well, leaving us with one of the most heavily armed Hunters ever.

The original Renegade figure featured a removable mask, but NECA instead opted to include a second, interchangeable masked head.  The figure looks great with either head in place, allowing for several display options, which is a nice compromise that does not impact the dimensions and overall shape of the unmasked head, which would likely need to shrink in order to allow for a removable mask.

But this Predator is only half the fun of this pack.  The set also features a repainted Big Chap Alien, complete with a high gloss black finish that makes its bio-mechanical details (literally) shine.  Like the Kenner creature, this Big Chap also includes a shiny black dome, as opposed to the frosted clear one seen on the previous movie version of the monster.  This is the biggest difference between the two versions, and it’s nice that this new Alien is still close enough to film accurate that it can easily be used as such for anyone who missed out on the single carded Big Chap last year.

With a great range of motion, from the articulated jaw and extending inner mouth to the wire bendable tail, the Alien is quite poseable, and looks like more than a match for its Predator adversary.  The two-pack comes in a clamshell package similar to past NECA two-packs, with Kenner-inspired art design.  The bright purples and yellows of the cart art are very eye catching, and do a great job of showing off the cool toys inside.  To complete the retro Kenner aesthetic, the set even includes a reprint of the Dark Horse mini-comic, which was created and packed with the vintage set.  It’s a great finishing touch to an already excellent retro-cool pair of figures.

NECA is inching ever closer to completing the Kenner Predator lineup in their series, and the first colorway Renegade brings them even closer.  This two-pack is exclusive to Toys R Us stores, and it’s showing up now.  While it’s out of stock online for the time being, keep checking this link to place an order on ToysRUs.com, or keep an eye out at your local TRU stores.