As I’ve said before, Earl Norem’s work on HG’s Alien license, including the target from the Alien Blaster Giant Target Set and this, the 36″ tall jigsaw puzzle, is some of the finest in pop culture illustration. Artist Stephen Kick recently bought a copy of the puzzle, scanned every single piece into Photoshop, assembled the pieces, cleaned and restored them, and gave us a big, beautiful poster. The before and after images are above.
Go to Steve’s post to see more, including some GIFs of the entire process—it took him eight hours. And maybe drop him a line of thanks. The puzzle is not easy to come by, and, because of the size, it’s almost impossible to see quality images of the whole thing. Now, everyone gets to enjoy Norem’s work up close without spending a small fortune.
While you’re at it, check out Steve’s many other incredible designs, like this custom Boba Fett blaster, for instance.
2 Warps to Neptune 
So. Freakin’. Awesome. SFA dood. SFA.
Stunning work. Earl Norem is a legend. Incredible artist. G x
Funny I find this post today. Yesterday women who represents Norem estate on ebay just told me that Mr. Norem had told her that the original painting of Sigourney Weaver had to be changed to look less like her as a result of her not giving permission to use her likeness.
My father was the head of design and developement at HG toys from 1974 – 1987.
Would love to know about his work there and see any materials from the era! I don’t update this blog anymore but I now run a site called We Are the Mutants.
I owned the original art for this puzzle back in the 1990s. A friend named Mike who worked at HG Toys found it in a dumpster and took it home. He gave it to me in 1988 or ’89. I had no idea what to do with it, eventually selling it to Gordy Dutt of Toy Scouts in the late 1990s for $700. It looked like gouache on posterboard and was about 3 1/2 feet high by maybe 2 feet wide. The board was a bit warped and there was a piece of a heavy tissue paper protecting it though it was ripped. Overall, condition was quite good, the art bright and not damaged. I have no idea where it ended up after I sold it.