When it comes to vintage toys, Kenner has been the company behind some of the highest valued toys from franchises like Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Ghostbusters. That doesn’t mean that every vintage toy carries a huge price tag when coming up for sale at auction decades after they were first released. That could be true of a large collection of toys based on James Cameron’s 1986 sci-fi classic Aliens, which are currently up for sale at Heritage auctions for a very underwhelming amount at Heritage Auctions. Aliens is regarded as one of the greatest movie sequels ever made, and is an 80s movie that still stands up today thanks to Cameron’s incredible vision. Over the years there have been hundreds of action figures based on characters like Ripley, Bishop, and Hicks, as well as dozens of variations of the fearsome xenomorphs, and Kenner’s early 90s releases are among some of the most sought after.
That is why this collection of 19 sealed original figures selling for $185 including buyer’s premium was quite surprising. For a long while before the auction ended on Sunday, the set hovered around $55, which would have been a huge steal if it had not increased in its last hours. Why did it sell for such a low amount? Well, this is not a collection 19 different figures, but instead comes with several copies of the same figures. This includes three Desert Storm editions of Bishop, two Bull Aliens, five Scorpion Aliens, with single versions of others like the Gorilla Alien, Alien Queen, Flying Alien Queen, and Ripley. In some ways, this would not necessarily be a bad thing for anyone looking to actually open these figures, giving them the opportunity to have a small army of aliens just like in the movie, but would anyone really need multiple versions to just sit in boxes?
However you look at it, a collection of sealed 34-year-old toys based on a popular movie franchise selling for less than the set cost when new is not a bad deal even if it involves duplicates. The Kenner line was notable for introducing the animal variants of xenomorphs that did not appear in the movie, but were featured in Dark Horse mini-comics that came with the figures. This brought a fun childish quality to the creatures that was nowhere to be found in the brutal horror of Cameron’s film, and allowed youngsters to play out the alien action scenes in their heads. Now, those same children have grown up, and the sense of nostalgia around childhood toys will make many of these toys a prize for those looking to relive their younger years by once again owning the toys they once had.
The Aliens set remained low enough to allow someone could grab themselves a real bargain and a decent investment for the future if nothing else. The one thing that could have prevented the price from jumping up is the condition of the boxes. This collection has not been graded – something that can add a lot of value to old toys – and the description clearly states that the card-backs of the figures do have signs of aging such as creasing, corner wear, and scratches and dents on the bubbles containing the figures. That does mean that this auction ended up not being one for serious collectors but more for the general buyer who just wanted to get their hands on these toys for the fun of it without breaking the bank.
