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“They mostly come at night.  Mostly.”

-Rebecca “Newt” Jordan

Aliens is oft remembered for the Colonial Marines, but they’re just part of the film’s small group of survivors.  One of the most important characters in the movie is Newt, the lone surviving colonist following the initial Xenomorph attack on LV-426.  She’s found her way into the latest wave of Aliens Minimates, alongside a Ripley variant.  Let’s see how this set turned out!

Packaging

The packaging for Wave 2 is pretty much the same as the blister-style packaging we saw for Wave 1 and the TRU Wave.  The patch of eggs under the logo on the front has been made a little larger, but that’s about it.  The back has all of the Wave 2 figures, as well as bios for the two figures included.  There is also a bit about April 26 being “Alien Day,” which I’m a little confused by.  Hopefully DST will elaborate.

The Figures

Jumpsuit Ripley

The last Ripley ‘mate we got was based on her appearance from the last act of the film, when she’s storming the Alien hive.  It’s an important look to be sure, but it’s not how she’s spends the majority of the movie.  This figure is how she spends most of the movie, in a jumpsuit and a leather jacket.

She has add-on pieces for her hair, jacket, watch, and the rolled up sleeves on her arms.  The hair and watch are the same pieces used on the previous Ripley, which is good for consistency.  They’re also just pretty good pieces, so no complaints there.  The jacket is from the second Michael Knight minimate, which is a pretty common reuse.  Technically, it should have pockets on the front and straps at the tops of the shoulders, but the piece is close enough, especially at the smaller scale.

Ripley’s paint is generally pretty decent.  The overall application is all really clean and the detail lines are tight.  The face doesn’t quite look like Sigourney weaver, but it isn’t horrid.  It’s clearly the same person as the Rescue Mission version.  I do wish she looked a little less bored, though.  The legs are identical to the prior Ripley, which is once again good for consistency.

For accessories, Ripley is packed with a standard issue pulse rifle, a pair of arms to match the jumpsuit, and a clear display stand.  The rifle is just as nice as always, and the extra arms allow for this figure to cover another important Ripley look (sans-jacket). I would have liked to have gotten a motion tracker or something, but what she has is acceptable.

This Ripley has the misfortune of following the Wave 1 version.  This one is by no means a disappointing figure, but she just fails to be quite as exciting as the earlier figure.

MMC Score – 7.5 out of 10

Newt

Newt is definitely the main focus of this set, being not only a new character, but also the most pivotal character who had not yet been released.  Newt’s figure is based on her appearance when she’s found by Ripley and the Marines, after she’s been hiding from the Aliens for a while.

Newt has one add-on piece for her hair.  It’s a re-use from BSG’s Tory Foster.  It’s a decent enough piece, though it does seem a little too… kempt(?) for Newt.  She also uses the shorter arms and legs introduced with the Peter Pan sets, so that she can be a little shorter, since she’s a kid.

The paint on Newt is actually pretty nicely handled.  It’s maybe a little more cartoony than I was initially expecting, especially the bright yellow of the hair, but the overall look is really sharp.  The face does a reasonable job capturing a young Carrie Henn, though the smudges of dirt, while a nice touch, are completely covered by the hair piece.

Newt includes Casey, the disembodied head of her doll, and a clear display stand.  The head is definitely a cool touch, since she’s rarely seen without it in the movie.

Newt is a surprisingly cool figure.   While she’s not ever going to be Hicks in terms of sheer awesomeness, there’s a lot to like about this figure, and she’s a key character to boot.

MMC Score – 8 out of 10

Agree? Disagree? Why not vote for yourself below, or comment further over at the Minimate Multiverse MMC Review Forum.

Review and pictures by Glantern.

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