There are many things to take away from the first viewing of Alien, Ridley Scott’s now iconic creature feature. For some it was the raw, used and lived in feel of Scott’s universe, a far cry away from the shining, gleaming future we saw in most of the sci-fi flicks of the 1970s. For others it was the claustrophobic and intense atmosphere that the film created. Regardless the reason for loving (or hating the movie); no one can argue that it isn’t a visually stunning film. H.R. Giger’s designs were perfectly displayed on-screen and turned into horrific visions of a future, where we are simple prey, or worse yet hosts.
This attention to visual detail was certainly what caught my eye when I saw the movie so many years ago. That first visual from Alien that’s now burned into my brain, is not the famous Xenomorph, but the huge, imposing figure of the Space Jockey. A mysterious thing that at that time had no back story, leaving us to the wonderment of our own imaginations. Simply a sign that what is about to happen, has happened before. Prometheus (unnecessarily) attempted to answer some of the questions that had long surrounded the Space Jockey, and now the talented sculptors at Sideshow Collectibles have created a superb version of the Space Jockey which can now be yours.
Sideshow Collectibles is proud to present the Space Jockey Maquette from Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi horror classic, Alien.
Long before Prometheus uncovered the origins of the Engineer and his species, the mysterious ‘Space Jockey’ captured the imaginations of movie-goers around the globe. First encountered by the doomed crew of the ship Nostromo, the haunting discovery of the enormous lonely star gazer remains one of the most memorable moments in the Alien franchise. Based on the iconic bio-organic industrial designs of Swiss artist H. R. Giger, Sideshow’s artists have faithfully captured every detail of the fossilized sentinel, a tragic traveler who fell victim to his own lethal cargo and was forever frozen, trapped in time and space.
Intriguing so far, but how does the piece fare under close inspection? Pretty darn good – that’s how! Below is a gallery of the piece so you can see for yourself.
The Marquette looks incredible, with an attention to detail that really brings the piece to live. If you had some tinted lighting and a smoke machine, you could be the crew of the Nostromo yourself! This craftsmanship does come with a price however, and the almost $600, it may be too rich for some collectors. Fear not though, as Sideshow Collectibles have their own $60 a month payment scheme you can sign up to if you really need this piece on your shelf at home.
This is not Sideshow Collectibles first venture into the Alien franchise. They’ve also created a piece for the Alien 35th anniversary ($399.99 and limited to 2000).
In addition to the piece above, they also have an upcoming Aliens Warrior bust which is due to be shipped in March / April of this year ($359.99 and limited to 1750).
Something else that really caught our eye is the upcoming April/May release of the Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report, a collaborative creation between Sideshow Collectibles and Insight Editions. This piece is part sculpture, part book and chronicles the rise of the Xenomorph with some incredible visual illustrations to top it all off, all for $325.
Quite the collection of Alien related paraphernalia for fans to be getting on with, but with all these pieces having a limited run and only so much cash to go round, collectors may have to decide what is more important, the Space Jockey or a Xenomorph?
If you like what Sideshow Collectibles has on offer then you may also like some of the fantastic work NECA has done with the Alien franchise too. Keep checking with Grizzly Bomb for all your collectible news as it arrives.
Images: Sideshow Collectibles, Insight Editions.
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