Accurizing Kane & Dallas: a full list of fixes required

[Space Jockey]

More shots of the boots from the child-size suits plus an interior helmet shot.

 

[Anthrapoid]

The picture I posted of the boots was taken from the Prop Store of London; At their website, it said these boots were worn by Tom Skerrit, and I'm sure they are adult size. Here's a picture of the adult size Kane suit, with the same style and quality boots.

 

[spooky]

Anthrapoid, do you know if the flashlight that comes with Kane was actually used in the movie?
I know that it was originally just concept artwork for a science device, but did they decide to go ahead and make it and use it in the scene where Kane is lowered into the egg chamber on the derelict? He carries a flashlight at that point, but we never get to see a good view of it.

 

[buzzybean]

Good stuff, Anthrapoid! Thanks for all the info!

I'm definetly going to do the fixes to get their heads showing higher in the helmet. It looks much better. Someday in the near future I'll get to it.

BB

 

[Anthrapoid]

Anthrapoid, do you know if the flashlight that comes with Kane was actually used in the movie?
I know that it was originally just concept artwork for a science device, but did they decide to go ahead and make it and use it in the scene where Kane is lowered into the egg chamber on the derelict? He carries a flashlight at that point, but we never get to see a good view of it.

Spooky, that's a good question. I'll investigate and get back to you.

 

[Anthrapoid]

Fix 29: Inside helmet, grind down back interior under black sticky padding, giving head room to look forward or up.

Before I did this one, the helmet was pushing the head forward which made it look downward all the time. I discovered this was caused by a kind of 'shelf' in the back of the helmet, under the black sticky pad. It just didn't give the head enough room to be upright.

Here's how I fixed it:

1. Removed black sticky pad, peeling it slowly from left to right.

2. Used cylindrical sanding head on Dremel to grind a depression, making room for the back of the figure's head. The required depression is wider than the sanding head, so I worked from side to side until I made it wide and deep enough.

3. Replaced black sticky pad, pushing it down into the depression.

It's that simple, and it made a huge difference.
Now the head isn't pushed forward and always looking down. Because the head isn't being pushed around by the helmet, it will hold whatever pose you give it after you put the helmet on.

CAUTION: This mod requires a Dremel! As you can see in the photos, the plastic that needs to be removed is parilously close to the wiring for the lights.
The spinning Dremel head can easily be restricted to the desired area with a steady hand, but a file or other tool could destroy the wiring.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Fix 29: Inside helmet, grind down back interior under black sticky padding, giving head room to look forward or up.

This is a key fix for those who are frustrated with the sculpt seeming low in the helmet. Part of the reason is the helmet pushing the sculpt forward, as described above.

I would definitely try this first before I even bothered sanding the helmet collar. This might solve the whole thing.

 

[Anthrapoid]

I would definitely try this first before I even bothered sanding the helmet collar. This might solve the whole thing.

I wish that were true Wor-Gar, but they are seperate issues.
Being able to tilt the head into an upright stance doesn't lower the helmet.
It makes the face look forward, but the head still sits too low so the mouth and chin are still obscured.

If you want to frame the face propperly in the center of the helmet, you still need to lower the collar.

 

[Shai]

is this all worth it.... ?

 

[Anthrapoid]

is this all worth it.... ?

Well, it depends; Are you happy spending $160 for an ALIEN figure that is in many ways inaccurate and inferior to the original designs? Are you interested in honoring the original artists who contributed to the creation of the costumes- Moebius, John Mollo, Ron Cobb, Martin Bower and Ridley Scott, and the actors who portreyed the characters? Are you willing to express your respect with some effort? If not, then no- it's not worth it.

 

[BARLOW]

It would have been nice if hot toys made the suit out o some type of fabric rather than plastic, since thats what the suit in the movie were made out of.

 

[Anthrapoid]

It would have been nice if hot toys made the suit out o some type of fabric rather than plastic, since thats what the suit in the movie were made out of.

Barlow, It's a safe bet that we all feel the same way. On the other hand, if HT had done that, they might come out looking really poor- like the 12" Hasbro Star Wars costumes did in the late 90's. And, it would have meant the final price would have been probably $100 higher than the $160 we paid...
If they had done the suits REALLY nicely and accurately, I would have been willing to pay a higher price, but a lot of collectors would have backed off I think.
I mean, having to pay for these figures almost what we payed for the Power Loader- collectors would have been pissed and turned off.

 

[BARLOW]

I would agree with your point if it was not for two thing. First, I thought that the fabric suit the Hot toys produced for their Aliens figures were first quality, and these figures did not cost any more than their usual price range, even with all of the miniature velcro, and zippers. And second I did back off of getting these two figures, but not for the issue of price, I had already ordered them and when I saw the material that they were made from I canceled them immediately, the plastic made the suits look oddly cheap, more like a toy than a miniature scale replica.

 

[Anthrapoid]

Yeah I suppose I agree with that- but the space suits are much more intricate than the marines uniforms. Believe me, I wish they had been cloth too. Even if they had been done badly, I could modify them and improve them. Now if I want a cloth space suit, I'll have to make them from scratch- a REAL pain.

 

[mindbook]

https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2097&ppuser=3670
Well, over this Holloween weekend you guys have inspired to sculpt my own version of Kane.....I too cut out the original sculpt from the headgear, packed some sculpey in the cavity, then sculpted a new face, cast and painted it. It's not quite John Hurt maybe 70%,I can see a million things wrong with it,but it's good enough for now, he's inside a helmet anyway. I'm also trying to switch him to a smaller body.I think the head is way too small for the Hot Toys frame on Kane and Dallas IMHO.

 

[Wor-Gar]

https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2097&ppuser=3670
Well, over this Holloween weekend you guys have inspired to sculpt my own version of Kane.....

Well, Mindbook, your sculpt doesn't quite look like Kane...but DAMN it's one of the best sculpts I've ever seen!!!!!

Please keep at it -- I think you'll do a fantastic Kane.

 

[FACEBOX]

I must agree. It looks awesome!

 

[Mudshark]

It looks like a photo of a real person! Not exactly J. Hurt, but it is quite close. With a little tweaking I think you'd nail it. If you can do that I'll definitely want one!

 

[Space Jockey]

Yours looks great, Mindbook! I've been busy making some modificatons to mine too. Should come out okay.
https://sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1251450#post1251450

 

[mindbook]

Well, Mindbook, your sculpt doesn't quite look like Kane.

Yeah, you're right, I know what I have to do to improve it, but I'm too lazy to rent the DVD and reference the movie, I've been pulling different images of Mr Hurt online, my sculpt is a composite of young & old John Hurt......I'm gonna try to get the DVD, and make fixes.