When we last saw NECA’s Alien 40th Anniversary series, the company had just wrapped up Wave 3 (read my review HERE). I dunno about you, but I thought that was the last of the Alien anniversary assortment… until NECA announced a surprise fourth wave (see our story HERE) starring Ripley (Compression Suit), Lambert (Compression Suit), and Giger’s Alien. As a die-hard Alien fan and collector, who am I to complain about getting new figures?!
Like Wave 2’s debut of Nostromo engineer’s Brett and Parker and Wave 3’s actor-approved head sculpt of Kane and science officer Ash, Wave 4 continues to present collectors with all-new Alien movie characters. In this case it is the very emotional Joan Lambert as expertly portrayed by Veronica Cartwright.
Depicted in her compression suit, Lambert completes NECA’s Alien action figures of the Nostromo crew that explored LV-426 and the derelict alien spaceship at the beginning of the classic sci fi movie. Like a colorful rainbow of Skittles, Lambert’s blue-hued deep-space diving suit looks stunning alongside Dallas’ pretty in pink and Kane dressed in mustard yellow. As a huge fan of the unique Alien spacesuit design, having the Nostromo’s navigator in my collection was a must have.
Like Dallas and Kane, Lambert packs flashlight and laser pistol accessories. Both fit snug in her hands, while the blaster (that was sadly never used in the movie) can be stowed on her waist via a plastic strap. Also like the rest of the spacesuit wearing gang, Lambert’s helmet is sectional and can be removed for exposing the two included head sculpts.
While she was known in the movie for freaking out, I much prefer the “normal” head sculpt showing Lambert calm and collected over the “holy crap, I’m gonna die” expression. I suppose a lot of that has to do with me not really recalling her expressing that emotion while wearing her compression suit. MY personal Alien memories of Lambert “losing it” are reserved for the chestburster scene and her cowardly demise at the end of the film. As such, NECA’s inclusion of Lambert going off the deep end is cool, but not for my display. Bring on Lambert in her normal Nostromo crew duds AND that flipped out facial expression (along with a chestburster, of course!) and then you’ll have my attention.
Up next is Ellen Ripley as seen in the final act of Alien when she strips down to her skimpy underwear (much to the pleasure of many male moviegoers), slips into a pure WHITE compression suit, and proceeds to blast the pesky intruder into outer space with a grapple gun. Longtime NECA Alien figure collectors will recall receiving this action figure in the past (2015?), however, NECA’s use of real-photo facial sculpting elevates this version to a new level.
Like Lambert, Ripley features a two-piece helmet that allows you to pop off her head, re-insert it, and have her noggin fully encapsulated in the space helmet. Unlike Lambert, there are subtle differences to the compression suit – most notably the lack of an overhead lamp on the helmet. Lastly, Ripley includes her grapple gun and two grapple gun spearheads: open and closed. Alas, the insert hole on my gun wasn’t drilled deep enough to insert either added accessory. A factory mishap, me thinks. Your mileage may vary.
Lastly, we come to the prerequisite Alien action figure. With Wave 4, fans receive what’s called “Giger’s Alien”. Where Wave 1’s “Prototype Suit” showed off Giger’s original translucent Alien costume suit design as a failed experiment on set, “Giger’s Alien” shows off the creature as it may have been – mixing some translucent parts with what fans recognize with the final design on camera. Semi-clear pieces on this figure include the arms, back tubs, feet, and tail. NECA pulled of a pretty cool overall effect making this a keeper for my Alien collection.
Like past Alien figure releases, the xenomorph features a hinged jaw with extending inner teeth, I also really like the translucent head dome on this version – dark, but clear enough to see the human skull beneath.
Oh, as an added bonus, you also get a friendly facehugger figure!
NECA closes out their Alien 40th Anniversary series in a grand fashion. It was an unexpected “bonus” assortment, at least to me. Perhaps it was the whole Covid lockdown of 2020 that made this wave not register as much as others, but I could swear that Wave 4 was not initially announced with the other three.
Regardless, Alien fans are gonna want to get their hands on this figure drop, if nothing more than for the all-new figure of Lambert. Having a complete “away team” in compression suits is very cool, as is completing the entire unfortunate Nostromo crew from the movie.
Miss out on my past NECA ALIEN reviews?
- REVIEW: NECA Alien 40th Anniversary Wave 3
- REVIEW: NECA Alien 40th Anniversary Wave 2
- REVIEW: NECA Alien 40th Anniversary Wave 1
Scroll on for more photos!
Review and Photos by Jeff Saylor
Review Samples Courtesy of NECA
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Steve
Very nice review but clearly Covid has kept you out of the loop. This was announced at the end of 2020 and Lambert is far from being new. In fact she is a re-issue from over a year (maybe 2 years) ago. The only thing closest to truly new here is the Alien’s new paint job. Or if you like shelling out money for a new box, this is for you.
Jeff Saylor
Yeah, I’m aware that Wave 4 was announced in late 2020 – I provided a link to the Decemeber announcement story in the review. I guess what I meant to convey was that Wave 4 wasn’t announced as part of the initial first 3 Alien 40th Anniversary assortments (early 2019 I believe?). So in a way Wave 4 came as a bit of an add-on surprise; bonus 40th Anniversary wave if you will. I did, however totally overlook Lambert being previously being released – thanks for the heads up 🙂
Steve
I just picked up this wave and I must say there is much more to this Alien figure then I thought. Prior to this purchase, the last Alien big chap that I picked up was the Ultimate Big Chap version, which I thought was very nice. But now having this version of the Alien, it is hands down has much better tooling and should be called the ultimate ultimate version. The new ball and stick joint between the head and neck make this figure the most dynamic posable version to date. The thigh to pelvic joints are ratcheted and knee joints have a pivot built in to act as a lower thigh cut. It’s as if NECA needed to go thru an evolution of trial and error in all its alien figures to get to this one. I am not sure if this body type was introduced in a prior wave or not but this is the first I am seeing it. If you are like me and already have plenty of these Alien versions, both the warrior and the bigChap,and dont need any more, this version is worth the purchase and will not disappoint. This latest re-tool is truly the ultimate version. Oh and the paint job is nice too. The hands and back spines taper off into a murky translucent color.