1979 Kenner Alien restoration tips?

[kidgravity]

Longtime lurker, first-time poster here. Hi, I'm kidgravity!

So I have the classic 1979 Kenner 18" Alien, but sadly he's seen better days. I'd like to see about bringing him back to his previous glory, but he's gonna need some replacement parts as well as some basic repair. I'm hoping someone might be able to give me some leads on where to turn for parts and restoration tips -- all the links and leads I've found so far have been completely outdated, so here I am, hat in hand...

The figure is missing his dome, his inner jaws and the 5th spike on his back -- so in other words, pretty much all the parts Alien figures are capable of losing. Original replacement parts would be cool, but I do not have an endless budget for this sort of thing, so I'm thinking repro parts might be the way to go, if I can find them.

Also, unfortunately this guy has some pretty pronounced looseness in his joints, and I'm hoping someone out there has some experience re-stringing Kenner Aliens.

Heck, while we're at it: anybody have any idea where I might be able to track down a good repro box for this guy?

Thanks, everybody!

[Hedji]

The Toybox makes a repro box. Send Anthony a pm.

I too,would like tips on restringing.

[kidgravity]

Thanks so much! I'll definitely do so.

[nazgul]

I have Toyrooms Alien box, it's really sweet...

[kidgravity]

Wow, those are some impressive custom boxes at Toyrooms' Facebook page! Any chance you have a pic of your Alien box, nazgul?

[nazgul]

Not the best shot, when I get a chance, I'll get a better one...

[kidgravity]

Wow! Yeah, that's pretty sharp-looking from what I can see, thanks for posting that.

Also, bravo on having the Joke Box Valkyrie (or is it the Matchbox version?) -- I don't see too many of those anymore, except for my own.

[nazgul]

Thanks....yeah, he's the Matchbox version

[kidgravity]

Nice! I had one of the originals back in the '80s, but it was sadly disposed of by my parents after I moved out (along with a large collection of other similar, now-rare and valuable toys, including my original Kenner Alien). That old story, right?

I've been spending most of my disposable income on reconstructing the collection for a number of years now, and I was really pleased when I scored both the "Roy Fokker" Joke Box Valkyrie and the red Matchbox version a couple years ago now.

Thanks for your help!

[rche]

Watch out for 40kingingus on ebay. They recently changed the seller ID, but I am pretty certain it is the same fellow. He has a habit of selling items with reproduction parts and not disclosing that fact. Used to specialize in flipping 1979 Alien, and also would sell the repro parts separately.

restringing the Alien is not that difficult. It involves removing some screws from the back and either re-routing the elastic that is in there (if it is still viable) or replacing. The trick is to get the elastic held in the arms. You will need to attach elastic to a pin of some sort that is longer than the arm hole diameter. Good luck with it, and have fun.

[mvanis]

I believe there are 5 screws on the back of the Alien- I had to open mine up to repair one of the bands. There is a pre-molded post in the center of the body that the elastic 'loops' fit around, the body snaps around the loops and screws back together. If you're missing the loops, you'll need to anchor some tightly wound elastic from the arm hole and circle it around the post. Hopefully that makes sense, I did find one image filled account of someone repairing- no link, but it's really not too difficult once you get it open. I was extremely careful popping the body apart, because it held pretty firm, but luckily had no damage or anything after.

[raycastile]

I have a Bionic Bigfoot and Chewbacca that need arm restringing. My Alien probably needs it, but at least his arms are still attached. The arms have fallen off the other two.

[chazz530]

Restrung the arms on my Bionic Bigfoot awhile back. One of the easiest repairs I've ever made.

[raycastile]

Restrung the arms on my Bionic Bigfoot awhile back. One of the easiest repairs I've ever made.

Then it should be easy to describe how you did it. Those hooks fall into the arm when the bands snap. If not for that, I could see how a repair might be easy.

[raycastile]

Restrung the arms on my Bionic Bigfoot awhile back. One of the easiest repairs I've ever made.

Then it should be easy to describe how you did it. Those hooks fall into the arm when the bands snap. If not for that, I could see how a repair might be easy.