# did halcyon model kits ever come shrinkwrapped?



## boochydog (Apr 5, 2009)

specifically the alien vehicle models. most people have told me they were not shrinkwrapped or were just taped shut, but i thought i would post the question. btw, hi to all of you - i just joined the forums.

thanks! :wave:


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## Magesblood (May 12, 2008)

welcome! :wave:

Yes, they came shrink wrapped in a cellophane similar to that of the Polar Lights' TOS Enterprise - the stiffer, crinkly kind.

http://i.ebayimg.com/09/!BPUPInwBmk~$(KGrHgoOKiEEjlLmf)k0BJy+qkb5+!~~_12.JPG

Someone tried pulling that on me at a pawn shop. There was an MPC X-Wing that was simply taped shut. I asked if I could open it to see if it was complete. She said no and that's how the kits come from the factory.

Mmm hmm... I bought it anyway. It was complete.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Halcyon released some of the last Alien repops without _boxes_! And a lot of import kits are shipped without cellophane, even by bigger companies like Fine Molds.


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## d_jedi1 (Jan 20, 2007)

I only ever bought three of the Halcyon kits but I think two of those were shrinkwrapped..

I know the last one I got (facehugger) was without box as mentioned lol


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## derric1968 (Jun 13, 2003)

This is an interesting question. Halcyon is, or I should say WAS, a UK company. It seems that model kits sold in most of the rest of the world (ie: outside the US) are not shrink wrapped, but usually taped shut. When they are sold in the US as imports, that's how we get them - no shrink wrap and taped. However, if a US distributor buys up the US distribution rights from the original kit producer, the models sometimes get shrink wrapped by the distributor before being distributed to retailers.

Now, my memory is fuzzy on this, but I think the first time the Halcyon Alien kits appeared in the US, they were sold as imports, and only available in hobby shops, comic stores, specialty stores and the like. They were also rather pricey! I believe that a US distributor bought the US distribution rights a bit later, because the kits started appearing all over the place. Walmart, Toys R Us, etc. They were also reasonably priced. Heck, even my neighborhood Longs Drug Store started selling these kits! (This was back in the day when pharmacies still sold model kits, mind you.)

So, if you have a taped Halcyon model, it was probably an import. If you have a shrink wrapped Halcyon model, it was probably the officially distributed version. In fact, I think the shrink wrapped models had a sticker on the shrink wrapping with the name and address of the US distributor.

As for the unboxed kits, that sounds fishy. I'm guessing they may even be recast kits. That was about the time the illegal recast kits were becoming a real problem, especially for the garage kit companies.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

derric1968 said:


> As for the unboxed kits, that sounds fishy. I'm guessing they may even be recast kits. That was about the time the illegal recast kits were becoming a real problem, especially for the garage kit companies.


I'm pretty sure they were legitimate releases, here's my Dropship. Though it still says Halcyon on the instructions, IIRC correctly, Aoshima released these. I got mine thru HLJ, I'm not sure if Aoshima repopped the Halcyon kit or if they bought up of a lot of old Halcyon stock and repackaged them. But it definately wasn't a recast. Besides the dropship and facehugger, I think they released the APC this way too.


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## derric1968 (Jun 13, 2003)

PhilipMarlowe said:


> I'm pretty sure they were legitimate releases, here's my Dropship. Though it still says Halcyon on the instructions, IIRC correctly, Aoshima released these. I got mine thru HLJ, I'm not sure if Aoshima repopped the Halcyon kit or if they bought up of a lot of old Halcyon stock and repackaged them. But it definately wasn't a recast. Besides the dropship and facehugger, I think they released the APC this way too.


You know, now that I see that photo, I remember seeing some model kits sold in Japan in bags like that. I thought it was odd and cool in a uniquely Japanese kind of way.

I also have a recollection of Aoshima's involvement with these kits. I can't recall if they were the official distributor of Halcyon kits in Japan, if they repopped them before or after Halcyon folded, or if they actually bought the molds from the defunct Halcyon. I want to say they repopped them after Halcyon folded. So, it may be that the bagged kits are imported from Japan.

Anyway, in terms of recasts, I was referring to Halcyon's vinyl Alien kits. d_jedi1 mentioned having a facehugger with no box. Vinyl and resin are easy to recast. That's why it became such a problem. You can actually buy counterfeit Halcyon Alien vinyl kits on eBay to this very day. The sellers are all base out of Thailand.


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## DarthForge (Feb 5, 2009)

Well if I remember correctly the styrene kits were wrapped and the vinyls
and resins were just boxed.


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

Many, many years ago, I purchased two dozen Halcyon Dropships from Comet for resale in the US. They arrived without shrinkwrap.

Jim


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## deadmanincfan (Mar 11, 2008)

Welcome aboard, Boochydog...please step to the left so Mark McGovern can proceed with your Magnagouger indoctrination...


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## Eric K (Jul 15, 2001)

I just purchased an El Gato class submarine from a German Manufacturer. It was taped, but everything was in sealed bags too. The Hobby Shop owner said it was the way it came to him. When i get my own place again, and can actually build my stockpile of models...I'll have to let you know if it was all there....but, it looked all there.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Moved this from the Movies for Modelers section.


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

My APC and Dropship bought at my LHS were taped. The ALIENS figure with egg, the ALIEN 3 figure, Power Loader and Predator 2 figure were all cellophaned.


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## starseeker (Feb 1, 2006)

I got the original issues of the APC, Facehugger, Narcissus, and Sulaco and they were all taped. 
One thing about EBay, just about anyone can get access to a shrink wrap machine, so model kits, CDs, anything really, can be "sealed" and sold as new without anyone ever knowing any different. I suspect that's the case with most DVDs sold on EBay, especially as almost none listed are "used" - buy a box set, burn it for yourself, and re-seal it and even re-sell it for a profit, as almost all DVD sets I see on EBay are more expensive than I can find locally.


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## d_jedi1 (Jan 20, 2007)

derric1968 said:


> Anyway, in terms of recasts, I was referring to Halcyon's vinyl Alien kits. d_jedi1 mentioned having a facehugger with no box. Vinyl and resin are easy to recast. That's why it became such a problem. You can actually buy counterfeit Halcyon Alien vinyl kits on eBay to this very day. The sellers are all base out of Thailand.


the one I bought was from the UK but it's been YEARS.. I have no clue if it was recast or not but it was listed as an original. it had the long nails for the fingers.. I have a pic of it (assembled) somewhere in my photobucket account..

edit: found my pics
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o176/d_jedi1/Facehugger001.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o176/d_jedi1/Facehugger002.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o176/d_jedi1/Facehugger003.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o176/d_jedi1/P1040013.jpg


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

In 1989 when a buddy of mine bought a Drop ship from a dealer at a ST convention it was not shrink wrapped. One year later when I got my kit it also not wrapped.


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## Daikaiju1 (Apr 26, 2005)

One of the Drop Ships I bought was very tightly shrink wrapped, caved the box top in. The other one & APC i got were second hand so not shrink wrapped, but at AU$40 the pair, who cares?!!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I bought all the original issues as they came out here in the UK and I think all of them were taped shut and in one or two cases (APC, Alien with Egg, Powerloader) the parts were not bagged either.
Barry Jones, the man behind Halcyon, hailed from Sefton, just outside Liverpool...in fact his home address featured on the boxes. I always think it's remarkable how he secured the license and then produced such great kits seemingly from nowhere.
Quite what happened to him after Halcyon folded I'm not sure.
Aside from the Alien line they also released kits from Predator 2, Judge Dredd and Back to the Future although these DeLoreans I'm almost certain originated in Japan.


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## seaQuest (Jan 12, 2003)

At first, the Halcyon kits were few and far between, starting with the APC and some gaming-size figure kits from a company in Colorado. When Halcyon kits were picked up by a major importer, they were shipped to distributors who probably shrinked them themselves. When I worked at a hobby shop in Northridge, CA, I occasionally had to go over to Sentai to pick up kits. They were always busy shrink-wrapping kits that didn't come that way originally.


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## zillakilla (Apr 23, 2009)

Ive still got 3 Halcyon kits unbuilt and boxed as new..and no shrink wrap in sight...and as far as my paint fumed addled brain remembers,they never had any..:thumbsup:


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