The Kenner® toy company was a major toy company that was founded in 1947, in my home town of Cincinnati, Ohio. Kenner had the rights to most major brands such as Star Wars, Alien, Batman, and Predator. In the 90’s Kenner started a line of Predator toys that really stretched the reality of what Predator fans expected, they also did this with their Alien line. The Kenner predators are famous for their weird designs. Some having 4 arms, giant cannons, horns, tusks, tentacles, funky leg weapons and many more weird design aspects but they were a huge hit. Kenner was eventually bought out by Hasbro in '91 and shut down the Cincinnati Kenner branch in 2000; thus ending the short lived Kenner Predator line.
The Kenner Predators and Aliens became rare collectibles; the fans who grew up with them sought them out because of a special place the figures held in the heart of the collectors. Kenner fans, including myself, never thought that the line of Predators would ever come back. That the early 90’s Kenner figures would stay collectables and a rarity up until 2013 when the popular toy company NECA released some shocking news. NECA had started a Predator figure line during Alien Vs Predator: Requiem and it was strong. They then did figures for the Predators film and then they started going backwards making the figures from Predator and Predator 2. The news struck at a toy fair in early 2013 that the 10th series of the NECA Predator line would be a throwback to 3 of the most popular Kenner predators, the Night Storm, Hive Wars, and Lava Predators. The fans that grew up with the Kenner figures went crazy; the excitement for the figures was overwhelming. In fact they were so popular that NECA decided to release 4 more Kenner Predators this year, the Viper, Scavage, Renegade, And Cracked Tusk. They also released the Kenner Predator Blade Fighter Vehicle as a deluxe item.
The NECA Kenner Predators are popular by demand. They have increased the lines sales and us fans are patiently waiting for more. There have been whispers inside NECA that they may start a Kenner Alien line which would be just as exciting to see all the weird whacky Kenner Aliens as well. These figures truly bring back memories of when I was a kid owning the Kenner Predators and loving every ounce of them, and now I can own them as an adult in a more realistic form. NECA has done an amazing job embodying these nostalgic figures from my childhood. The NECA Kenner Predators are remarkable works of collectible art, and I hope they make many, many more. Take a look at what's available out there.
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