From the franchise's inception until Kenner's closure in 2000, the company was a major manufacturer of "Alien" action figures. From 1992 to 1995, Kenner produced a line of action figures dubbed "Aliens", initially intended to promote a cancelled animated series called "Operation: Aliens". In 1996, Galoob released the Micro Machines "Alien" line of miniature toys, but ceased production the following year, due in large to the violent and graphic nature of its packaging art. Following the founding of Hong Kong collectible toy company Hot Toys, one of the first lines the company began producing was "Alien". In 2014, Funko released a line of action figures heavily inspired by the original 1979 Kenner line called ReAction. In the 2010s, the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) took a prominent role in the manufacturing of "Alien" action figures, with the majority being largely inspired by the Kenner line of action figures, as well as new additions depicting the prequel films and crossover continuities, such as "Alien vs. Predator" and "Superman/Aliens".