My Personal Collection - Alien from Aliens vs Predator
I am a huge fan of both the Alien and Predator franchises. Thus, I absolutely love the cross-over 2004 movie, Aliens vs Predator.
During those days when I was still buying lots of figures, I had eagerly snapped up most of the Alien and Predator figures released by a myriad of manufacturers.
While many of the 1/6 scale Alien figures are among my favourite collectibles, my main complaint about these figures were, and still are, that they are mostly made of rubber. In the warm and humid climate of my home city, these figures are highly susceptible to the rubber parts degrading, melting or even breaking down altogether after a relatively short period of time. Therefore, I can never understand or appreciate why manufacturers of so-called high-end (and expensive) figures would choose to use rubber as the main medium for their products.
My view is that if an item cannot be expected to maintain its structural integrity over a few years, then in no way can it be classified as a collectible. Unless maybe the manufacturers consider these as mere toys, to be discarded when the novelty factor has worn off. 😅
The frustration from having to discard what was once a personal favourite figure just because the medium from which it was made had degraded due to climate-induced environmental conditions, is really sad. Over the past couple of years, I had to discard some figures and items from my collection simply because they had partially or even totally "melted".
But thankfully, I had the luxury of having a small personal collection room in my apartment where most of my collection are housed in enclosed glass cabinets and the room had curtains shielding these displays from any direct or indirect sunlight. In addition, I also had a leased storage room in a commercial warehouse where almost all of my unboxed collections were kept in a humidity-controlled and air-conditioned environment for 24 hours each day, 7 days a week. These are the lengths that Collectors like myself will go to, to protect our prized collections.
The photograph in this article is that of a 1/6 scale Alien figure crafted in the likeness of the Aliens from the movie, Aliens vs Predator. To date, I still have this figure proudly displayed in an enclosed glass cabinet in my personal collection room. I am also grateful that this figure continues to maintain its structural integrity despite its many rubber components. 😊
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