Star Wars has May the 4th and now Alien has April 26th… as in 4/26… as in LV-426. Was this a thing last year? Because I honestly have no memory of it. Anyway, what better way to celebrate then by checking out some Aliens figures from NECA? Today I’m opening up the Alien Warrior and Sgt. Windrix…

The figures come in sealed blisters very much like the ones used for the figures based off of the original Alien film. In fact, the only real difference is that the inserts here are branded for the sequel Aliens. The packaged figures look outstanding, but they’re not really collector friendly, as you’ll need a plasma cutter, blow torch or a vile of alien blood to get into them. Also, scissors work too. Let’s kick things off with the Xenomorph Warrior.

Of course, the Xenomorph received a cosmetic makeover between the original film and Aliens and this figure reflects all the design changes. The majority of the buck is the same as the one we saw from the first film and in the AvP Two Pack, but there are significant changes as well. The hands and feet are brand new, featuring longer and creepier fingers on the hands and an extra toe jutting out on the feet that gives the creature a bit of a simian look. You also get the weird “handles” added to the forearms.

The head sculpt is also brand new. Gone is the smooth and shiny dome of its cousins and in its place is one that better reflects the bio-architecture of the rest of the body. You get some disgusting sinewy bits around the jaws and the inner mouth seems to project out a lot further in this one than my other Xenos. So which Alien head is my favorite? Pfft. That’s like asking me what my favorite ice cream is. I happen to love whatever is in the bowl in front of me. They all have their charms. I happen to find the smooth head a little more creepy, but this one has a lot more cool Giger stuff going on.

The paint features a blue-gray wash over the lovely high gloss black, which nicely picks out all those incredible details in the body sculpt. I’ve opened three different Xenos from NECA now and I fall in love with this mold each and every time.

The articulation is the same as we’ve seen on the previous figures. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, with some nice ratcheting action. The elbows are hinged and have swivels, and the wrists have rotating hinges. The legs have rotating hinges in the hips, double hinges in the knees, and rotating hinges again in the ankles. The toes are even hinged! The head is ball jointed on the neck and has a hinged mouth. Finally, the tail has that lovely bendy wire in it that lets you pose it in a myriad of ways. The Xenomorph is fun to pose and he’s balanced enough to maintain a surprising number of poses. I don’t think I’m engaging in hyperbole when I say that NECA’s Xenomorphs are among the finest figures to ever swing on a peg at this price point. And thankfully, we’ve got a brave Space Marine to fight him…

If you aren’t already familiar with the both heartwarming and heartbreaking story, Marine Sgt. Craig Windrix is a loving nod to real life Craig Windrix who the world lost to cancer back in 2014. He is the brother of Kyle Windrix, lead sculpting wizard at NECA Toys. Craig was immortalized in plastic form by NECA’s Randy Falk and the rest is history. As if it wasn’t enough that the folks at NECA make some wonderful toys, they seem like a bunch of wonderful human beings as well. It’s a beautiful story and I actually had to stop typing this paragraph about halfway through and collect myself, because… well, you know.

Besides the great story behind the figure, I really wanted to get Sgt. Windrix, because quite frankly, I’m not fond of any of the Marines in Aliens. I find them all to be incredibly annoying. So Craig is, and will likely continue to stand as my one and only human representative in the war against the Xenomorphs. Having no others in my collection, I’m going to assume this is built on the same body as Hicks and Hudson. The majority of the buck is a beautifully camouflaged set of fatigues with sculpted knee pads and shin guards. The patches on the shoulders are actually part of the sculpt too!

Wrapped around the torso is a soft plastic vest, which includes a harness and all sorts of sculpted gear, as well as a removable shoulder light. Windrix’s name is printed across the front just under the neckline and he has all sorts of lovingly painted graffiti, which are references to real life Craig’s girlfriend and his other favorite things.

The articulation on the figure is quite good, especially when you consider how much gear and armor he’s wearing. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, double hinged at the knees, and have ball jointed ankles. There’s a ball joint in the chest under the armor vest and the neck is ball jointed.

No Marine can go into battle without his gear and Sgt. Windrix has some cool stuff. For starters, he comes with a cutting tool that attaches to his belt. This is a very simple accessory that actually looks like part of the web gear, but it can indeed come off and be held by the figure. It’s also worth noting that the shoulder light can come off and be held by the figure.

Next up, you get the motion tracker, which includes a shoulder strap for easy carrying. The sculpt on this thing is fantastic and the tiny screen even has a detailed instrument panel, because being you have to be well-informed when you’re on a bug hunt.

Finally, you get the military grade flamethrower. It’s another excellent accessory with great sculpt and paintwork, but it’s a little tough to get him to hold it convincingly. The way the handle is shaped doesn’t jibe all that well with Windrix’s gun-toting hand forcing him to hold it rather awkwardly. Having him cradle the barrel in his off hand does help things a bit. I’m guessing that the right hand on the figure came from Hicks and/or Hudson and was designed to hold a different kind of weapon.

I’ve had this pair waiting to be opened for a while now, so I’m glad Alien Day came up and gave me the motivation to do it. NECA has really made this franchise (along with the Predators) into their bread and butter and it’s easy to see they have a deep love and respect for the property. Opening up this figures finally catches me up on the Alien figures that I own. My next acquisitions from this line will likely be the figures based on the Alien: Isolation game as well as the Kenner-inspired Ellen Ripley that I just pre-ordered. Beyond that we’ve got another killer wave coming up soon inspired by Alien 3, a film that many people hate, but I hold a lot of affection for.