Happy Alien Day! Really, 04/26 is now Alien Day, and... oh right. Where have I been this last month? Work went insane, we'll leave it at that. They have a conference (starting tomorrow), and I've clocked overtime. But enough about me...
Alien Vs. Predator is a movie with a ton of failed potential. The idea was good, but the execution... nyyyeeeeaaah. And one of the best embodiments of this is the Grid Alien. Grid killed two out of the three Predators (prety much instantly), but got injured by one of those Predator razor-sharp nets, scarring it and making it visually distinct from the other Xeno drones. It then did jack-all in the rest of the movie, never really fought the heroes, and died with all the other aliens in an explosion. So, they wasted two Predators and then wasted their "bad guy" Alien... why? Who knows. But Grid's gotten some merchandise - one McFarlane figure, and now one brand-new NECA figure! So hey, even though the movie was lacking, perhaps the toy's good!
Grid comes in pretty typical NECA packaging - it's a nice clamshell, nothing super-specific to say.
The sculpt is pretty new, because AvP Alien designs weren't as "traditional" as they might have seemed at first. They were based off the Resurrection Aliens as a base, which NECA might use if it dips into that movie. It seems to have a little more "skin" than some previous Xeno designs - in Resurrection hat was because of the way they had been cloned from Ripley, though it goes without explanation in this one. it isn't the same texturing, but the AvP Aliens were a little juicier and more beetle-like than their predecessors.
One way in which Grid definitely mirrors the Resurrection Aliens is in the tail - with a huge fin and positively resplendent stinger, this looks like something that can impale a whole line of people at once!
When placed up next to another movie Alien, you can really see the difference. This creature is more strictly organic and less biomechanical in design, though it is absolutely the same type of creature.
And as far as comparison to McFarlane's Grid goes, they are completely different creatures. The McFarlane figure was built from their Resurrection alien, and the cut-and-paste aspects of its design certainly show. There are huge differences in proportion as well, with the NECA figure just looking more like one of the movie monsters.
And of course, the grid is there. It's really a nasty open wound, but it serves as pretty distinctive scarring. So, again... why didn't they really use this creature? The paint is pretty clean, moreso than on any given Predator's netting, and the color contrast is great.
Speaking of contrast, the grid's paint job has some blue in it, much like one of the variants from the second movie. it's not as pronounced in person as in these photos, but it's nicely visible under the right conditions.
I'm not sure if the inner jaw is articulated - mine feels stuck - but you can open and close its mouth, just like every other Alien figure NECA has made.
The Grid Alien's articulation is fantastic, but that's par for the course with these figures. It's even got articulated hands, which have four figures rather than the six we are most used to. Hinge joints on the toes, too, which allow it a really good range of movement.
To be honest, this figure really does make the AVP design feel much bettr. Yeah, the movie had issues, but why waste a great design?
Overall, this is a great figure. You can't really blame it for the movie's missed opportunities, though it's impossible to ignore or forget about it. Still, the Grid Alien is a surprisingly distinct Xeno design to add to your shelf!