Flying Alien Queen (Aliens by Kenner)

The Kenner Aliens line really came into its own beginning with Series 2. Whereas the xenomorphs in the first wave were relatively conservative in design, the later ones were all over the place, and all in a good way. There was the Killer Crab Alien, the Mantis Alien, the Rhino Alien, and the Snake Alien among others. There was even a King Alien, which I didn’t know existed until a few years ago. And there was also the subject of this review, the Flying Alien Queen.

As I noted in my previous xenomorph review, the Aliens line stopped being available in Canada after the first wave. That was disappointing, although if I’m being honest, I probably wouldn’t have bought very many even if they had been in local stores back in those days, what with being only a teenager with very limited finances. But during a trip to New York City in 1994, I came across the Flying Queen at the famous FAO Schwarz and snapped it up as a “souvenir.” It is my only other xenomorph toy along with the original Queen, and the fact that I still have it after more than two decades speaks to my affection for it.

The Flying Queen is around 18 cm tall, 21 cm long, and 27 cm wide. She is made of translucent purple-blue plastic with metallic silver airbrushing on her head, torso, arms, legs, and tail. There’s also some red veins on her head, which I’ll talk about more further on. Many of the Series 2 and beyond xenomorph toys were made of translucent plastic and this one looks pretty neat when held in front of a light source.

As her name suggests, the Flying Queen has a pair of large, bat or dragon-like wings sprouting from her back. The tips end in long, curved claws and the membranes have a wrinkled texture and quite a few holes in them. I particularly like how each wing is sculpted differently as opposed to being a mirror image of the other.

Compared to her predecessor, the Flying Queen has a wide chest and a narrower waist, and has only one pair of relatively small arms attached to the front of her chest. Her curled tail is much bumpier and pointier, and has a more elaborate blade at the tip. Her bent legs terminate in enormous triple-digit feet with vicious talons, very similar to those on an eagle or some other bird of prey.

Finally, the Flying Queen’s head is smaller and more streamlined than the first Queen’s, but also taller due to the five red veined crests running down her cranium. Her mouth is lined with sharp teeth and the inner jaw is clearly visible inside, although it doesn’t pop out.

The Flying Queen’s head turns from side to side, her arms rotate at the shoulders, her legs rotate at the hips, and the hind toe on her right foot is hinged. Pushing on the solid grey hind toe on her left foot causes it to clamp shut. It worked very well when I first got the toy, but after more than 20 years, the spring is pretty much worn out. Nevertheless, the Flying Queen can grip certain other toys in its talons, as shown above!

And of course, there wouldn’t be much point in having those big wings if they couldn’t move. Pressing repeatedly on the large grey button on the Queen’s back causes them to flap rapidly. It’s a simple gimmick that’s been used on countless toys over the decades, but it never ceases to be enjoyable!

The Flying Alien Queen is a fantastic and fun toy and I’m as fond of it as I am of the original Queen. I still wish I had been able to acquire more Kenner xenomorphs back in the day, but I’m happy to have passed both of them on to my boys.