Aliens seem to be everywhere, and they usually look just about like a regular human with a funny nose or ears. Very rarely do they take on a truly alien appearance, but when they do it's usually either really unusual or downright scary. The alien from the eponymous film fits into the latter category. Found in a crashed spacecraft it soon infects one of the crew and once it incubates inside his stomach the scary parts really start.

Ridley Scott, who followed up in 1982 with Blade Runner and more recently with Gladiator and Black Hawk Down, directed the 1979 film Alien. The cast is full of recognizable names like Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, Veronica Cartwright and Ian Holm, but it was a relative newcomer to films that stole the show. Sigourney Weaver has since played roles in a slew of popular films including Ghostbusters, the three sequels to Alien, and Galaxy Quest. Believe it or not, she's in her fifties.

While Alien did spawn three sequels (only the first - Aliens - was that good) and plenty of offspring, this mini-bust from Palisades Toys is based on the first film where there was a single alien that stalked and killed the crew one by one in the sci-fi/horror film. The alien was scaly, vicious, mean, liked to rip people's hearts out, had acid for blood, didn't talk and mostly hissed and had a chitinous skullcap with a huge elongated head. Most divorced men may recognize their ex-wives (sans the head) from the description, which proves just how scary the alien really is. H.R. Giger, the Swiss surrealist artist designed the creature for the film, and it almost looks like a fat Calista Flockhart with the skeletal look.

The mini-bust of the alien is nearly eight inches tall from the bottom of the base to the top of the giant noggin and is posed with hands crossed in front of it. The stand melds right into the creature and it shares the same insect-like look of the alien's exoskeleton, and on the bottom it's numbered as part of the 2500 piece run. The skull has been sculpted by S.O.T.A. Sculpture and Design (who also did the Predator mini-bust) with a chitinous covering that is slightly cloudy but still allows the skeletal structure underneath to be seen. This gives the bust a very authentic look as the alien's true skull is beneath this protective shell.

This bust uses the same packaging as the Predator mini-bust, which has a window box that allows you to see in and the alien to see out (he's afraid of the dark). Inside the bust is packed in special 'space-age shock absorbing polymer packing material' know colloquially as 'styrofoam'. The play value on this is low until you hide it near your pets food dish in the dark then scuttle it after them, then it goes high.

Always remember that in space, no one can hear you scream. That's mainly because sound doesn't travel in a vacuum, and this has been our educational fact of the day! Remember it, there may be a quiz!

Where to buy the Alien Mini Bust: This mini bust retails in the $45 to $50 USD price range. It is available at trend and specialty stores, as well as various online toy and collectible retailers. One such online store is RTM sponsor AisleSniper.com. (Be sure to check the other RTM sponsors, listed on the Shop Center.)