Packaging - **1/2
Hey, it's a box! The artwork looks great, although not having a window on these does hurt sales to some degree. Of course, if you're forced to order online, it doesn't make much difference.

In that case, don't fear the shipper, because the interior styrofoam will protect her just fine. I'm also happy to say that this one didn't have that nasty styrofoam that breaks off in your hands and ends up all over the house.

Sculpting - ****
This is the first statue or bust that I've received in quite some time that really surprised me. I pulled it out of the box, popped it on the shelf, and thought "Wow, that looks great!".

The sculpt is everything you've come to expect from Palisades. There is tons of great detail, going beyond the simple image from the poster and bringing out a twisted reality. I'll talk more about the design itself, but this is truly a piece of sculpture, rather than some simple pop culture doodad.

Not that there's anything wrong with pop culture doodads of course - Palisades has also designed a soft, plush version of the Queen Alien chest burster, just in case you need some one cuddly to sleep with.

The scale of this statue is out of proportion with other Alien and Predator busts of course, more similar to the original chest burster bust than anything else, yet not really in scale there either. It seems a little small to be truly 1:1 scale, but considering the design, I had no issue with the odd size. It makes perfect sense, and looks great on the shelf as is.

Paint - ***1/2
If there was anything about this statue that left me a tad cold, it was the paint ops. It's not that they are sloppy or poor quality - they are most certainly not. There's a nice clean consistent appearance to the Queen's body color, with a silvery wash used to bring out most of the detail. There's also some small detail work done around the face and teeth, along with an interesting blood spatter appearance, but for the most part the statue is very consistent in color.

And it's that consistency that's a bit too much. Now I realize that there wasn't much they could work with, and nobody wants a neon pink Queen Alien chest burster. But even the Queen and her base are quite similar in color, and some slightly greater variation there may have improved what is already an excellent piece of work.

Design - ****
One of the things that really wowed me about this statue is that it's truly art. Rather than attempt to simply recreate a realistic scene (which isn't necessarily as simple as I just made it seem), they went for an interpretation.

Okay, so it's not really a unique creation, since it's based on the poster art. Still, the factor that makes this statue stand out from the pack is its artistic flavor.

The base incorporates the themes of blood and bursting chests, without being too graphic or violent. It implies the gruesome, without beating you with it, and while the Queen is ugly and disgusting, there's something very visually attractive about the symmetry and clean appearance of the circle she forms.

They've also incorporated the base and actual figure together nicely, giving the Alien a feeling of floating or riding the 'wave', without the use of any posts that might jar you from the image.

Value - **1/2
As busts and statues continue to rise in price from the $40 - $45 range up to the $60 - $65 range, it's becoming tougher and tougher for folks to keep up. The casual buyer will be less likely to grab an Alien or a Star Wars bust at those prices.

However, while this statue is about $10 more than you'll really want to pay, she's also a statue that is more likely to grab the attention of the casual buyer due to her arresting visual imagery. I can easily see someone who does not normally buy such items, picking this up and displaying it with other works of art.

Overall - ***1/2
The price is a little steep here, but I still highly recommend this statue. It takes what was already a truly well done graphic representation from the films and improves on it, something that's never easy to do. This will look great with your other Alien items, or it will look great sitting next to expensive art that you paid too much for, hoping that the artist would soon be dead.

Things to Watch Out For - 
Not a thing - looked great, with nothing that appeared like it may be an issue from statue to statue.

SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - **1/2
Sculpt - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Design - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2