The Space Jockey

The fossilized remains of the Space Jockey from the film Alien is one of the most iconic and mysterious figures in science fiction moviedom.

There are many renditions of the model, but the one that I've thought about getting for the longest time has been the old 1/60 vinyl kit made by Halcyon back in 1992.

Every time I see an article or video showing somebody's build of the model, I can't help but think that the figures are actually 1/72 rather than 1/60. I can't really justify the current price tag of the model just to find out though.

There is also a resin knock-off of the Halcyon kit, but from the pictures that I've seen of the parts, it looks to be a very poor copy of the original.

Recently, I thought that with a little work, some of the toy Space Jockey figures could be a cheap alternative.

As fate would have it, I saw a batch of Alien toys being sold as a lot on eBay. I put in my best offer, and a couple of days later the figures arrived at my doorstep.

The first figure is the one that I consider the best of the bunch. It is the Mez-Itz Space Jockey made by Mezco Toyz.

The figure comes with a large base as a separate piece, so it looks the closest to the Halcyon kit, and it also happens to be a hollow vinyl model. The only thing that I don't like about the model is that it has the flattened head typical of Mez-Itz figures. It is also inaccurate because the chest was not sculpted with burst open ribs.

The next figure is the Minimates Space Jockey.

The figure is a lot chunkier and not as well painted as the Mez-Itz figure, but it is a nice solid piece of PVC. It also has the flat head typical of Minimates figures, and Minimates arms as well.

The lot also came with the Deluxe Toys R Us exclusive Minimates Space Jockey.

The figure is pretty much the same as the regular version, except it is painted to simulate the lighting effects in the film.

The final figure is the Kubrick Space Jockey.

This is the smallest figure of the bunch, and also the hardest to find. It has typical Kubrick arms, but it has a decent representation of the Space Jockey's head.

Perhaps the Mez-Itz and Minimates figures are still a little undersized for 1/72 scale, but I think they would still look pretty good as terrain pieces. The main thing that would need to be fixed are the flat heads.

M577 Armoured Personnel Carrier

One of the most elusive 1/72 diecast models has fallen into my clutches, courtesy of Mandarake. It is the M577 APC from the film Aliens, made by Miracle House for release by Aoshima. I was surprised that the model had never been opened, but a couple of the corners of the box were slightly damaged, so perhaps a perfectionist collector dropped it by accident and then sold it off in a fit of disgust.


It is a nice heavy diecast model with rubber wheels. The forward turret rotates, but the gatling cannons the are not detailed, and merely represented by a pair of plain cylindrical barrels. The plasma cannon turret on top of the hull rotates, and slides on its mounting rails.


Many have commented on how it would be a very tight squeeze to fit a dozen fully equipped Marines into the APC. It's about one and a half times the size of the Micro Ops Warthog, so it is relatively small.


The set also comes with a pair of Colonial Marines. The pair on the right are Gorman and Vasquez. A pair of Micro Ops figures are on the left for comparison.


Two other models of the M577 APC exist in 1/72 scale. The first one is a resin model produced by Gonzoid Models. The casting is barely adequate, and the wheels and tread pattern do not appear to be very accurate. It is fairly expensive, and would have cost more than the actual diecast model at one point in time.

The other model is produced by the infamous BamBam Model Productions, and it is essentially a pirate version of the Aoshima APC in resin. Apparently, even the screws in the bottom of the hull of the diecast version are replicated in the copy. From what I can tell from their website, the casting seems to be much crisper than that of the Gonzoid APC. Nevertheless, it is a pirate, and BamBam models have a pretty poor reputation.