Predator Unmasked

1987 was a great year. It was a year when the United States had an actor for a president, and a future governor as an actor. It was a time when Arnold Schwarzenegger could do no wrong and every movie was a huge hit. Yes, in the heady days before Last Action Hero kind of broke his streak, there was a little film called Predator.

Predator was a sci-fi action film starring Arnold along with buddies Carl Weathers (known as the pusillanimous pugilist Apollo Creed from the Rocky movies) and former Navy Seal (and future Minnesota Governor) Jesse Ventura. The basic story is that an alien is on a safari into South America, and he likes to hunt people. Being the hunted people just wasn't what Arnold had in mind, so carnage ensues until they battle to the death. The action is well done, and while the effects seem a bit dated today, they were good for the time period. It also spawned a sequel in 1990 with Danny Glover taking on the role of the man the Predator homes in on.

While the movie is fun to watch, through most of it we only get glimpses of the alien until the payoff at the end. Thankfully, with their new resin mini-bust, Palisades has decided to show us the alien up front, in all his dreadlocked detail. Palisades has availed the services of S.O.T.A. Sculpture and Design to sculpt and paint the mini-bust of the Predator. The base is stylized like the Predator armor and even has symbols of their language sculpted on it (though they are hard to see, and even harder to translate). The bust is posed to really show why this guy is the poster alien for tooth decay, and you can almost smell the bad breath. Anyone have a tic-tac?

The bust is almost seven inches tall from crown to base, and it also has a string of trophies around the body with some skeletal remains. The bust is limited to an edition of 2500 and retails for around $45 to $50 and each bust is numbered on the bottom of the base. In the fine tradition of mini-busts everywhere, this has no articulation and it's small (hence the mini part).

One of the big differences with this bust and many other ones is the packaging. Usually the box is simply a windowless cardboard box, but Palisades has added a handy viewing window in the front so you can see the bust and to encourage impulse buying. Well, not officially. The window does let you see and appreciate the bust without having to open it, and unlike windows on a computer, it never needs to re-boot.

What are you waiting for? Go look at the pictures!

More Pictures of the Predator

Where to buy the Predator Mini Bust: This mini bust retails in the $45 to $50 USD price range. It is available at trend and specialty stores, as well as various online toy and collectible retailers. One such online store is RTM sponsor AisleSniper.com. (Be sure to check the other RTM sponsors, listed on the Shop Center.)