Ellen Ripley

One of the first figures Hot Toys released once under distribution contract with Sideshow Collectibles was its oversize packaged Aliens Warren Officer Ellen Ripley 12-inch figure.

The Ripley figure comes in a metallic print, slipcase cover with flip lid box.

Once opened the inner box showcases only a portion of Ripley and her accessories using clever diecut sections covered in clear plastic.

To view and access the full entourage the box’s lid must be opened and the inner box slid out.

The outer sleeve features a full face photo of the Ripley figure on its front and a trio of photos of the figure, with weapons and accessories on its back,

The inner box also features a head shot of Ripley.

Inside the slip in case the display box also has a slip in plastic cocoon in two layers.

The top layers contain the Ripley figure disassembled and her various accessories and upper jump suit.

Below that in a separate cocoon section are Ripley’s trousers, feet/boots, assembly instructions and the Aliens base with wire support.

Earlier Hot Toys figures required toy collectors to assemble the figures, clothe them and place accessories and weapons on the figure.

The female figure is broken down into various articulated parts.

The torso and upper legs feature shoulder ball and socket swivels, waist overlapping swivel, upper arm biceps and triceps swivels, hip ball and socket joints and upper leg swivels.

Lower arms are snap in and hinge swivels with wrist pop-ins for the gloved hands, knee pop and hinge swivels for the booted feet.

Ripley’s head snaps onto the neck post and swivels.

All articulation points are tight, some feature screws for secure fits, snap into place with little effort, stay in place and are smoothly engineered to move natural.

Starting with Ripley’s head-the features look exactly like Sigourney Weaver’s.   Her short cropped brown hair, although plastic, lays in natural clumps and parts.

The head’s eyes are bright blue but are lacking the reflective sheen in later Hot Toys figures.  Ripley’s small pointed nose and slightly red thin lips look natural and accurate.  Skin color is varied.  The eyelashes are clearly seen as are eyelids and eyebrows.  The head pops onto the torso neck for full natural rotation.

Included with the figure is Ripley’s cache of weapons as seen in the Aliens film.  Both the machine gun and projectile/flame thrower gun are attached together by cloth straps and tape.

The projectile/flame thrower rifle has large cooling holes in its barrel, an upper handle grip, large stock handle and a flammable liquid canister that attaches or removes.  Ten silver with red strip incendiary canisters are also included that attach to Ripley‘s ammo belt loops.

The machine gun has an extendable stock, a slide cock that works and a removable clip, a handle grip and a taped on flashlight.

Each rifle can be carried by a single shoulder strap.

Detailing is precise, with clips, slides, triggers, vents and other weapon details completely accurate.

An additional high-tech handgun is included with touch pad, removable scanner with tracking screen, a large grip and a shoulder strap.

A targeting scope with a flat panel and rifle grip comes with a strap and a movable scanner.

A munitions satchel comes with a strap and fold-over top to secure the contents, The extra incendiary canister can be stored in it.

Ripley’s light blue jacket comes with a white short sleeve undershirt.  The jacket has a short collar, two chest pockets and one left arm pocket, working zippers, a Velcro waist strap and shoulder strap snaps. 

A black harness comes with the jacket and has working clips, buckles and riveted reinforcements.  The t-shirt and jacket fit easily over the figure.

Ripley’s blue pants include lower leg zippers. Two front pockets with flaps, upper torso pockets with zippers and a buckle waist clip. 

Mid-calve red and white boots are included.  They look worn and used and slip smoothly onto the figure’s feet.  The pants snug up easily aided by the lower leg zippers.

Clothing hangs realistically on the figure in any pose and is easy to remove and clothe the figure.

All the latches, zippers, buckles and various closure appliances work. 

Lastly Ripley’s hands are covered by fingerless leather gloves. The hands grip the various weapons and accessories and hold them securely without slippage.

Overall it is a remarkable figure with accessories, is scaled correctly and with working parts snaps and more.