# Alien!



## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Greetings! This is my build up of the MPC/AMT Ertl Alien kit with replacement base by yours truly. For the clear plastic dome I ran a black marker along the bottom edge and stained the inside with a black glaze. I found some pics of the suit from the first movie and it showed rust orange hilights and so I decided to try that on my paint job. Questions and comments welcomed as always. The base is available from CultTVman.

 http://s590.photobucket.com/user/NightOwl65/media/Classic Plastic/Alien2_zps1feed98e.jpg.html


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Rick,

Nice work on the seams (did they _have_ to be engineered through some of the ribbed areas? ). Your Alien looks much more like the movie suit, with its rusty highlights, than the straight black paint job we were told to use back when the model first came out. I'm glad you chose to go with the clear cranium after all - the suit had that as well. I don't think I'll use so much green on my base, though I admit it makes for a very attractive color scheme. Six thumbs up!


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

The MPC alien kit has never looked as good. I think the rusty highlights work very well indeed. Like the base and it's colouring too. Thanks for showing us.


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Thanks for the kind words Mark and XO! A triangular needle file does wonders on cleaning up the ribbed areas. For the rest of the seams bondo tube putty and a lot of sanding!


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## MightyMax (Jan 21, 2000)

I used a diamond burr in my Dremel to tackle the ribs. Then I brushed over them with testors liquid cement. Came out really nice if I do say so myself....

Max Bryant


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

That looks really good. Probably the best one I have seen done.


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Thanks Max and Nick! I use liquid cement to smooth things as well.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Night-Owl said:


> ...I use liquid cement to smooth things as well.


Lacquer thinner also works on styrene and I use it in the brush cleaning process, too. It's a handy material to have on the workbench.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I didn't have too much of an issue when I built the kit back in the day... I just know then I was really disappointed in the kit. I might have to pick up a reissue and get the base, though. I saw a cool old build in a magazine years ago too where someone used tiny, pointed, fish bones to detail the mouths, claws etc. looked really really good.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

djnick66 said:


> ... I saw a cool old build in a magazine years ago too where someone used tiny, pointed, fish bones to detail the mouths...


Overall, the model's likeness to the Alien suit is pretty good. There should be lateral, not longitudinal, details along the sides of the outer jaw. But the details that are there are have a "Geigeresque" look that's consistent with the rest of the critter.

My guess is that the engineering of the movable inner jaw caused the deviation from the movie suit. It wouldn't be hard to correct that with some trimming of the rectangular mouth opening and a little sculpting with epoxy putty. In doing that, one would probably lose the mobility of the inner jaw assembly. Maybe it'd be easiest simply to fill the space between the inner and outer jaws with plenty of white glue or clear parts adhesive to represent "slime".

But as Night-Owl has ably demonstrated, the model builds into a dandy replica of the xenomorph right out of the box.


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

I am not big on that kit at all, too static, but you sir have moved it up a couple of notches with that paintwork. Excellent job. Showing me how good mine could look.................I've considered cutting at a joint or two to change pose, as well as whipping the tail to one side..........


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Good job!


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## starduster (Feb 12, 2006)

Nice work on this model, I have the same model bought years ago but mine has a solid plastic dome I didn't know there are some with a transparent dome. Karl


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Thanks for the kind words everyone!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Every issue of the MPC Alien I saw had the clear top to the head (which is thick, somewhat cloudy, and ill fitting)


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

djnick66 said:


> ...top to the head (which is thick, somewhat cloudy, and ill fitting)


HEY!! I resemble that remark! :tongue:


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## Roy Kirchoff (Jan 1, 1970)

Beautifully done Rick. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

~RK~


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Thanks Roy!


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## deadmanincfan (Mar 11, 2008)

Very nicely done, Rick! Take yer bows!


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## Kitzillastein58 (Jan 27, 2009)

Very well done Rick, looks perfect all the way around. That base rocks! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Thanks James and Kitzillastein58!


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## Neo-uk (May 6, 2007)

If it helps anyone with their paint job, a lot of the highlights on the suit were actually the paint rubbing away and exposing the raw latex underneath.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Interesting, Neo. The rusty areas of the suit pose another one of those Sci-Fi modeling questions with which we all have to deal: do we paint the model as it looked on set, on screen, or say to heck with "accuracy" and just do what we want?

First of all, I'll confine this post to the 1979 critter. Supposing that a modeler want to paint the creature as it appeared on screen, there are plenty of photos of the Alien suit on the Internet. But one has to be careful, for some of those photos are of the actual suit taken after filming was completed, some are publicity stills of it, some are of restorations, etc.

The best resource would be to get screen caps from the DVD, but there are precious few - if any - really clear images of the suit to capture. This photo was taken, I believe, during filming and may be as good a look at the working costume in 1979 as one can hope for:








There appears to be some tan areas present and some grays as well; I'm just happy to see that _some_ variation of the solid black is present. If nothing else, the photo confirms that the Alien model is pretty accurate with respect to the transparent skull and underlying structures.

The clearest photos of the suit to be found on the Web tend to be publicity stills or the costume as it appeared at various displays. These were taken after filming, and as Neo-uk suggests, it does appear that some of the tan or rusty areas were exposed latex. Here's a link to the Tom Spina Designs web site with several photos of some Alien costume pieces being restored: http://www.tomspinadesigns.com/restoration-aliens-movie-props-costumes-conservation-displays.html. You'll be able to see the exposed latex clearly. What is unclear is whether the exposed latex appeared on film.

For myself, I'm with Rick in wanting to paint the Alien with the tan or rusty areas on it. I like the look, and it may be "accurate" to the critter's screen appearance. Even if not, there are so few people who have encountered a live xenomorph (and lived to tell the tale), I feel safe from any criticisms about the inaccuracy of my paint job. Nor would I fault someone else who chose to paint the model with a color scheme of their own.

To paraphrase the old adage, "model and let model", right?


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Thanks for the input on the suit Neo-uk and thanks Mark for the pics. I tend to fall in the paint it how I want catagorey for the most part. I like the rust color for the same reason Mark mentions, it breaks up what would otherwise be a fairly monochromatic color paint job.


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## Marko (Jul 11, 2002)

Hey Rick, I am looking at your recent Alien build. The base really jumps out at ya! Love the colors. The paint on the figure is great, too. Nice work as always.


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Thanks Marko!


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## Mars - 1 (Dec 6, 2002)

If you want what I consider to be the ultimate referance on the alien costume, pick up a copy of the book: "Gigers Alien". The book is filled with pictures of the alien during construction, filming and re-touching. (seems that the slime had a habit of eating the paint). I believe that Giger even says what colors were used on the costume. The molds had crushed cork put into them to provide some additional texture and the tan areas were latex showing through the paint. There are some very good pics in the book of Giger airbrushing the suit parts between shots. Also there is a stunt suit which was much smaller than the hero suit. I could go on forever on this subject, but I can't stand it when others do this so I'll just quit here.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Impressive paint job. I like the colors, it helps the look of it, and nice base.


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Thanks Lloyd and thanks for the tip Mars-1!


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## mrmurph (Nov 21, 2007)

Beautifully put together. I really like the contrast between the alien itself and your base.


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Thanks mrmurph!


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