This won't come as news to many of you, but I just felt I had to vent regarding the deterioration of my Hot Toys Alien Warrior in only a year or so.
One of the reasons I bought it was that it was so poseable. Inspired by the many extreme poses in the various reviews, I was really excited about showing it crawling one day, and standing upright the next. However I quickly realised that the paint on the rubber parts of the model comes off very easily, so in reality I've kept it in the same pose for weeks on end, only changing it occasionally.
Even so, nothing prepared me for just how badly the rubber sections would deteriorate:
I promise you, that's from standard handling - I haven't "played" with it. The stuff just comes off in your hand.
Then there's the fact that the tendon in the mouth tore the very first (and last, until today) time I opened it:
As for the joints. Well from the off I had issues with the feet and legs not staying in their sockets. I tried all the usual fixes, and managed to improve the joints marginally, but even so the left foot was a lost cause and has thus been superglued in place pretty much since I got the figure.
What's worse though is that having had it in the same pose for a few weeks I went to gently bend the right leg today, and the damn thing just snapped!
FFS! Combined with the fact that hardly any of the limbs stay put, the arms dangle loose in their sockets, the rubber is torn and the paint is worn away, I'm now left with this pile of junk:
The sad thing is, I really love the figure, and have defended its design on here and elsewhere. But here's the real kicker - I bought it on eBay from Canada and it cost me £130 shipped to the UK. The state it's in would be bad enough if it was a high street toy which had been properly played with, but a high end collectable? Outrageous. And of course, I can't take it back to the shop.
Anyone considering buying one of these - beware. Unless you're very lucky and get a perfect specimen out of the box which you then intend not to touch, I'd steer well clear.
I guess the only way forward now is to fix it with glue in a pose I like, and maybe try a re-paint. Some consolation I suppose.
One of the reasons I bought it was that it was so poseable. Inspired by the many extreme poses in the various reviews, I was really excited about showing it crawling one day, and standing upright the next. However I quickly realised that the paint on the rubber parts of the model comes off very easily, so in reality I've kept it in the same pose for weeks on end, only changing it occasionally.
Even so, nothing prepared me for just how badly the rubber sections would deteriorate:
I promise you, that's from standard handling - I haven't "played" with it. The stuff just comes off in your hand.
Then there's the fact that the tendon in the mouth tore the very first (and last, until today) time I opened it:
As for the joints. Well from the off I had issues with the feet and legs not staying in their sockets. I tried all the usual fixes, and managed to improve the joints marginally, but even so the left foot was a lost cause and has thus been superglued in place pretty much since I got the figure.
What's worse though is that having had it in the same pose for a few weeks I went to gently bend the right leg today, and the damn thing just snapped!
FFS! Combined with the fact that hardly any of the limbs stay put, the arms dangle loose in their sockets, the rubber is torn and the paint is worn away, I'm now left with this pile of junk:
The sad thing is, I really love the figure, and have defended its design on here and elsewhere. But here's the real kicker - I bought it on eBay from Canada and it cost me £130 shipped to the UK. The state it's in would be bad enough if it was a high street toy which had been properly played with, but a high end collectable? Outrageous. And of course, I can't take it back to the shop.
Anyone considering buying one of these - beware. Unless you're very lucky and get a perfect specimen out of the box which you then intend not to touch, I'd steer well clear.
I guess the only way forward now is to fix it with glue in a pose I like, and maybe try a re-paint. Some consolation I suppose.
I wish the joints were as nice as the AVP Alien which to date is the best one they've released, even though its not the best looking.
Friend! 
