Alien VS Predator Snap Kits
by Action-HQ.com, Mike Chu
December 15, 2004

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The Force has met its match with these recently released Alien VS Predator Snap Kits! These four inch figures are exceptionally detailed with over 15 points of articulation and more than comparable to the similar sized Star Wars figures.

Developed and created by Blister Direct Japan(?) (and also licensed and distributed by Hot Toys in Hong Kong and Mega Ridge in Taiwan), this collection of 8 to 10 figures are only available in Asia. The question to ask is why haven't other toy companies come up with this cool style of figures before?

To get things straight, unlike the name and pictures in magazines entail, these are not actual snap kits where you snap parts off a plastic tree. This is decidedly good though as you won't damage the parts or the paint in the process. The figures are in fact molded PVC plastic similar to the many trading and capsule figures out there but are separated into many attachable parts with ball joints. These are the only things you have to "snap" into place.

We chose to review Chopper Predator rather than the Alien figures, because the former has more detail and accessories. Components for every part of the body come separately in a plastic bag. After building the figure and examining in detail, you will surely agree that he is darn right awesome! The intricate sculpt and painting are done impressively well and even the face is true to the film character. It also comes with many attachable, highly-detailed accessories including armored mask, chain of skulls, blades, spear, knife and scabbard, round spike bladed weapon, back mounted laser, etc. They all fit nicely for a four inch figure though not as securely as a conventional action figure.

Chopper Predator poses quite nicely with his 15 points of articulation but is somewhat limited by the armor. It would also have been nice to have a peg base for one leg so it can stay upright easier. The only other thing that bothers us was the time and effort to put him together, which took close to 15 minutes. It was strenuous to push and twist the ball joints into place versus what we thought would be a "snap". (Engineered tight to better retain its pose?) Also make sure you put the arms and legs facing the right side or you will have to take him apart again. As the instructions says, familiarize yourself with the parts first!

Our first carton of 60 figures contained only three full sets of eight figures with one chase figure which is the Elder Predator. The rest are randomly allocated. We also heard that there is a chase Alien (Queen?) but we cannot confirm at this time. Either way, these will be hard to get in sets of eight. Price per figure is 980 yen + VAT. Each character is packaged randomly in a hidden box. Also comes with a key-chain attachment if desired. Characters include:

• Battle Alien
• Warrior Alien
• Translucent Alien Warrior
• Grid Alien
• Chopper Predator
• Scar Predator
• Celtic Predator
• Clear Predator
• Elder Predator (Chase) - Comes with different head, body armor and red cloth cloak
• Alien (Queen?) (To be confirmed - Chase)