Review of Hudson, Hicks, Quinteros, Power Loader
Aliens Colonial Marines action figures

Introduction

Everyone has their favorite Alien movie. If you love the original, that makes complete sense. It was a true classic, a 'trapped with a monster' cat and mouse movie that thrilled audiences. If you love the second film, that also makes complete sense. It's my personal favorite, and the film took us to a larger threat with more victims and a different approach. If you love any film after that, you're dead to me.

Alright, the later films aren't that bad, but they certainly never recaptured the feel or style of the first two movies.  It just so happens that it is the 30th anniversary of Aliens, and Hiya Toys is producing a great new line of 1/18th scale Colonial Marines and Aliens - there's even a Power Loader to go with them.

Tonight I'm checking out three of the Marines - Hudson, Hicks, and Quintero - as well as the Power Loader.  These are available through various retailers, and the figures will cost you around $25, while the loader is around $85.

Packaging - ***1/2
The small boxes are very collector friendly, with no need to damage anything in removing the figure or accessories. There's a couple pieces of tape holding the smaller pieces in place, but these are easy enough to work with.  There's also an interior card which can be removed and used as a backdrop to the figures if you so desire.

Sculpting - Marines ***; Power Loader ****
The work on the marines is fantastic from the neck down...so-so from the neck up.

The head sculpts are all unique, and I particularly like Quintero's mohawk. But the faces are also a bit soft, and not as detailed as you might expect considering the price point.

The bodies are a different story, with an excellent job on the armor and fatigues. Lots of small detail work here, and the soft rubber belts look great as well. The body sculpt and articulation work well together, the hands can work with all the accessories, and the figure can easily take and hold lots of stances without support.

These guys are just slightly taller than 4" each, coming in at about 4 1/8" depending on hair and hat.

The Power Loader is terrific - a practical work of art considering the scale.  They've blended the sculpt and articulation to give you a workable figure that looks terrific as well.  Lots of textures, lots of small details, lots of cool pistons and mechanics.  The hoses are a soft rubber, all tightly attached, and the arm controls are within reach of a figure placed in the cockpit.

The Loader stands about 6 1/2 inches tall, and seems about right compared to the smaller figures.

Paint - Marines ***; Power Loader ****
The paint work is similar to the sculpt - Marines are decent, Power Loader is excellent.

The paint work on the armor and camo of the Marines is again the highlight of each figure.  The names are painted on the chest, and the detailing overall is quite impressive. The work on the face and hair isn't quite as exciting, but is pretty much standard stuff for this scale.

The colors, dirt, oil, and wear painted on the Power Loader is even more impressive. The dome includes the yellow plastic translucent warning light cover, and the body itself has lots of small detail work. This is certainly an improvement over the sort of paint quality you'd see with a normal 1/18th scale figure or vehicle.

Articulation - ***1/2
The marines themselves have excellent articulation, much like the more modern Joes. There's a ball neck at the body and the jawline, although they are a little restricted, as well as rotating hinge shoulders and ball hips.  The elbows are rotating hinge joints, with cut wrists and a rocker waist rounding out the upper body. To go with the ball hips, the legs have a cut thigh, double pin knees and rotating hinge ankles with a little rocker movement, giving both a much better range of movement than I expected. Overall, the tiny bodies move well, and the joints are quite sturdy and tough. I was able to get some fluid poses, and the bodies are particularly well engineered considering the 4" height.

The Power Loader has rotating hinge shoulders, pin elbows, sliding and turning claws, ball hips, and pin knees. Various pistons move in and out as the limbs are moved, and it can take various walking and standing poses quite easily.  The rubber tubes don't get in the way, and the arms are quite easy to work with. Of course, the overall mechanical nature of the Loader means you don't expect quite as much articulation, but they've done a terrific job creating a highly posable vehicle of sorts.

The cage does open, but it can be difficult. Once you do get it to pop off the body, putting the figure in place is easy. If you can't get it to come off, or it's just too tight and you're getting mighty nervous about breaking something, there's another alternative - pop off the Marine's legs. That is a pretty easy thing to do, a little too easy, really. Without the legs, you can wiggle the torso and arms into position, then pop the legs back on. Take some care of course, since you don't want to put too much pressure on any of the Loader parts.

Accessories - Power Loader ** Marines ***1/2
I was pretty surprised to see that the Power Loader comes with four pieces of the grate flooring, already connected with the tiny H connectors. He won't need it to stand, but it does work great to add additional bases to the overall diorama.

Each of the marines comes with a nice assortment of goodies. All three figures include their helmet, which fits on most nicely. Quintero has a little trouble thanks to the hair cut, but you can manage it. They all have a pulse rifle, which they can hold in lots of one and two handed poses, thanks to the aforementioned articulation. Every Marine needs a motion tracker as well, which can easily be held in either hand, and they all have a spot welder attached to their belt. It's removable, but a bit tricky to get back on the belt. The hunk of equipment with the portable light that is attached to their back is also removable, allowing you to give each their own personalized look. You'll also need to remove this to put a Marine in the Loader.

Hudson and Hicks also both have a small pistol, but Quintero did not. Instead Q has the M56 Smart Gun, a rather cumbersome weapon but a nice add nonetheless. They can hold it sorta, kinda the right way, although it's a little tricky to work with.

Hicks also has another slightly different weapon - a pump action shotgun. This style is often referred to as a 'shorty custom'. It can fit in one or two hands as well, and is one of my favorite extras with all three figures.

All three figures come with another of the small display bases, designed to look like a grated ship floor. These grate pieces can all be connected as well, allowing you to create a larger diorama.

Fun Factor - ****
While these might have an issue here and there, they are definitely a ton of fun for kids and collectors.  They are well made, and can easily stand up to normal play and handling.  You'll find yourself posing and re-posing them, and setting up battles with other monsters and aliens from other 1/18 scale lines.  How much fun will it be to add Colonial Marines to the Star Wars diorama?

Value - *1/2
Ouch - the one thing that will hit you is the price tag. At about $24 each, the Marines are far from cheap. They're a huge improvement over the average $10 - $12 4" figure on the local Target pegs, but I'm not sure they're worth 2 1/2 times.  I'd be happy to pay $15, and let's be honest - a good chunk of the cost is the import fees as well as the license.

The Power Loader is even more expensive at $85, but keep in mind that 1/18th scale vehicles - good ones, anyway - can cost quite a bit, even the off brand versions that are available at Toys R Us. With the license cost and articulation, I'd assume this guy would run you $50 - $60, but $85 is stretching it again. If money is no object, this category won't bother you, but for many it could be a big consideration.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. As I said, I had no trouble with any of the marines with soft or stuck joints.

Overall - Marines ***; Power Loader ***1/2
The biggest issue with these four figures is the price - if that's a non-issue for you, I'd add another half star to both of these scores. At $25 each, these are some fairly expensive 1/18th scale Marines, although they do deliver when it comes to articulation and accessories.

The Power Loader is sweet, one of the best designs I've seen in this scale for a vehicle in some time. The sculpt, paint, and articulation are all very high end, but the $85 price tag may still be a stretch for some collectors.

Hiya has a few Aliens you can add into this mix as well, and they all run in that same $25 range. Mix these guys in with your other 4" lines, and you'll have quite the impressive battle!

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - Marines ***; Power Loader ****
Paint - Marines ***1/2; Power Loader ****
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - Power Loader **; Marines ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - *1/2
Overall - Marines ***; Power Loader ***1/2

Where to Buy 
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If you're looking at even more expensive Aliens, there's always Hot Toys and their sixth scale work. I reviewed the Kane and Dallas. Hot Toys has a new Alien coming soon that I'll be reviewing, and they may update their Power Loader as well. NECA has done a ton of great Alien figures, including the 18" version. NECA has done a ton of Aliens and humans in the 7" series as well, and I have a guest review of a few. There's plenty of other Alien themed reviews, and you should hit the Search Reviews page to find them, and in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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