Tuesday, September 20, 2016

2016's First Perfect Hallmark Ornament Release: The Alien Queen Is Incredible!


The Good: Affordable, Amazing sculpt, Good coloring, Perfect balance
The Bad: No sound feature (None really!)
The Basics: The Aliens Alien Queen is an amazing science fiction-themed Hallmark ornament.


Hallmark makes very few truly perfect holiday ornaments, even though they are generally awesome. There have been very few Hallmark ornaments from the Alien franchise, but a few years ago, for the 35th Anniversary of Alien, Hallmark released an absolutely perfect ornament in the form of The Alien (reviewed here!). This year, Hallmark is making history repeat itself by creating and releasing the perfect Alien Queen ornament.

For those not familiar with Aliens (reviewed here!), the ultimate villain was the Alien Queen, a massive insect-like creature that was found at the lowest depth of the infested colony where the was seen laying facehugger eggs. As Ripley began to flee the colony after recovering Newt, the Queen tore herself free of the egg laying tail and cornered the heroine at the drop ship before tearing Bishop apart! Hallmark used the character from Aliens, without choosing a single iconic moment for their sculpt of Alien Queen in ornament form.

But Hallmark managed to get everything absolutely right about the Alien Queen ornament!

Basics

The Alien Queen ornament faithfully presents Alien Queen hunched down and ready to strike. This is Alien Queen with its jaw closed, but still looking absolutely menacing. The sculpt is replete with fine detailing, like the boning on the tail and the shoulder spikes. The ornament is completely recognizable for anyone who has seen Aliens. The ornament, released in 2016, is an incredible representation of the xenomorph egg-layer. With such a rich three-dimensional model, Hallmark was able to create an ornament with an absolutely amazing form. The Alien Queen ornament came with an original retail price of $19.95 and that is a very fair price given its size.

The Hallmark Alien Queen ornament is made of durable plastic and measures three and three-quarters inches tall by four and a half inches long by three and three-quarters inches wide. As appropriate, the Alien Queen is not wearing anything. It is molded with every rib, the bony feet and the clawed fingers! It also has an incredibly detailed and lethal-looking tail! The ornament features every claw and spine on the Alien Queen, including the ones on the back of the creature’s elbows! The Alien Queen’s spine is appropriately ribbed, so the Alien Queen looks great and accurate from every angle!

The Alien Queen ornament is also perfectly colored for the creature from Aliens. Instead of simply being cast in monotonal black plastic, the Alien Queen is accented with gray splotches and various layers of black to add a sheen that is incredible and creepy.

Features

As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, the Alien Queen could have a sound chip, but it does not. Given how the Alien Queen does not have an iconic sound effect, it makes sense that this ornament does not have a sound effect.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Alien Queen ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate science fiction Christmas Tree, the Alien Queen ornament is a wonderful addition. Fortunately, because the ornament is cast with Alien Queen crouching and the placement of the hook loop, this ornament is perfectly balanced. The ornament has the standard steel hook loop embedded into the top, back of Alien Queen’s head ridge at a pretty obvious, though necessary, position. From there, the ornament, when affixed to a tree with a hook, swings very easily and is level.

Collectibility

Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Since then, they have made ornament replicas of almost all major franchises like DC comics, The Wizard Of Oz and Harry Potter. The Alien Queen ornament is the third ornament from the Alien franchise and given its quality and the comparatively low initial price of the ornament, it seems like it might easily sell out and become a worthwhile investment piece.

Overview

Fans of xenomorphs, the Alien franchise, and science fiction in general are likely to happily buy up the Alien Queen ornament because it s that amazing!

For other science fiction-themes ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2016 Dr. Finklestein The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament
2016 Legends Of Star Trek Ensign Pavel Chekov Limited Edition ornament
2016 "Royal Or Rebel?" Star Wars Ornament

10/10

For other ornament reviews, please visit my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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