Jaws and Alien

A number of years ago McFarlane Toys was a much larger toy company than it is now.

Rising costs, bigger ticket prices and a cut in staff had reduced the size of McFarlane Toys.

Be that as it may the quality of its toys have not diminished in any way.

Packaging may be a little sparser and the figures themselves have scaled down in some instances but the attention to detail and accuracy has not.

McFarlane Toys has increased its commercial tie-ins with licenses to produce toys about a variety of projects such as TV Shows, movies, video games and the like.

There was a time when McFarlane Toys produced a wider variety of collectibles with its main focus still on toys.

Six to eight inch articulated and static figures, 12-inch figures, fantasy, military, sports, miniature toys and figures-you name it Mcfarlane Toys did and did it in style.

One project that produced a small amount of product as compared to other McFarlane Toy’s inventory was its McFarlane’s Pop Culture Masterworks 3D Movie Poster line.

At the time the posters were produced the market was not as popular as the toy figure genre.

Now, years later the posters go for big bucks, some reaching as high as $500+.  Due to their limited supply the posters are much sought after collectibles and all indications are the value of the posters will continue to escalate.

As far as I can tell less than 10 posters were created.  Of the ‘ten’ I have two favorites: Jaws and Alien.  Each poster measures approximately 8 1/2 inches wide by 12 inches long and 2 inches deep.

Made of durable plastic the posters come housed in large boxes with a clear front panels, are held in place securely and feature photos from their respective films on the front, sides and back.

Details about the toys and movies they represent are on the back of the boxes.

Both posters are perfect 3D recreations of the famous movie posters.

The Jaws poster is the most striking of the posters and it was the first released.  It is a masterpiece of 3D sculpting combining the fine art of sculpture with the visual appeal of a well-designed movie poster.

The frame within a frame poster begins at the top with the large red letter Jaws logo.

Below the 3D lettering is the doomed swimmer first seen in the movie.

She swims across what appears to be the surface of the water complete with foam.  Underneath you can see her figure in the water.  It’s a very clever bit of illusion and sculpting.

Below her, rising from the depths, is a massive white shark.  Its pointed snout is aimed directly at the unaware swimmer.

Its huge jaws are open and each razor sharp tooth is sculpted.  You can practically look down its massive maw.

Bubbles swirl around the massive shark’s body.

The poster is a masterpiece of 3D illusion.  The human figure and shark sculpts are spot on, color application is tight with subtle shading, tonal variation and are frightening realistic right down to the shark’s dead looking black eyes.

Above and below the shark scene are text including film credits.

With attention to detail, the brilliant use of paint and 3D effects is it any wonder the poster fetches such high prices?

Alien is the second 3D poster.

It’s not as elaborate as the Jaws poster but it is no less effective.

Staged against a solid black background the ALIEN type fairly jumps off the poster even though it is not in 3D.

The Alien egg is as frightening in 3D as it is in the movie.

It features a soft glow around it and a double split with the eerie yellow and green contents barely visible through the cracks.

As an extra added bonus a light shines inside the egg when activated.  Spooky!

The film’s catchphrase, “In space no one can hear you scream" is below the egg is solid white.

Below that is the web like nesting material of the egg itself followed by a black on white text list of the film’s key characters.

As minimalist as the poster is it is still quite effective.

Like the Jaws poster the Alien poster features excellent sculpting work, clean, crisp paint application and perfectly captures the look of the film’s original poster.

If you are fortunate enough to pick up either poster for a good price jump at the opportunity.  Prices will continue to rise as supplies diminish.