ALIENS THE OFFICIAL MOVIE THREAD

[customizerwannabe]

I would definitely NOT do a paint wash for the beard shadow. Pastels are more subtle and forgiving. Less uniform too.

 

[JediMike71]

Yeah, after the suggestions of pastels from you, and from thundergod, I think I'll wait until I get some of them before trying to do the light beard on my custom Hicks's head. Thanks.

 

[dekadentdave]

By coffee I meant that the consistency of the paint should be watery like coffee but yeah, mix some brown paint with water.

I didn't paint the eyes, Les did. No way I could paint eyes as good as he can.

And the boots on Hicks are different than Hudson but it really doesn't matter. You can probably get some better Newline or DiD boots anyway.

 

[dekadentdave]

I would definitely NOT do a paint wash for the beard shadow. Pastels are more subtle and forgiving. Less uniform too.

Les did a paint wash on mine and it looks perfectly natural.

 

[customizerwannabe]

To each his own, but especially for a beginner, the one that is more forgiving of a possible mistake is the right choice. My opinion anyway.

 

[JediMike71]

I see what you meant by the beard wash. I tried that earlier in my pictures I showed of my Hicks, but I think I overdid it with the wash. I've painted over that now, and I'll try to do it a little more like you guys had yours done. I won't make it as heavy looking this time. Thanks.

Thanks for the tip about the boots. I'll look for some on eBay, or maybe just get a set of Hudson's boots and maybe repaint them, I guess, for my Hicks.

Thanks for your opinion and tip customizerwannabe for using pastels. I still plan on using them for shading/shadowing and highlights on my custom heads. Thanks again!

 

[dekadentdave]

Really though, you should just have Les repaint it for you. Believe me, it's worth spending the money to have him paint it. You will NOT be disappointed at all and you'll have it to enjoy for the rest of your life.

I have nothing against painting it yourself as experience is the great teacher but having it done by someone like Les with his amazing talent is truly a work of art to have in your collection. Think about it.

 

[JediMike71]

Yeah, Les's work is just mind boggling incredible, but I want to feel the pride of having painted the head myself. I hope to keep getting better, and learn new things about painting the heads as I go along.

 

[dekadentdave]

Well you are in good company here. Lots of talented people here to help you.

 

[thundergod]

That's the attitude Jedimike ! The pride of customizing your own figures is a large part of what this hobby is all about . You will get better with each attempt and will do doubt learn or refine a new technique . ( And take it from me, there is nothing shabby about your work thus far ). I don't mean to take anything away from Les, as his work is the best I've seen in this area , but I'm pretty sure he'd agree with me when I say that people who are keen to learn and take an active role in a hobby should be encouraged, NOT discouraged . :emperor

 

[customizerwannabe]

I'm having Les paint Hudson head for me, but by all means painting them yourself is much more rewarding. It's nice to have one or 2 by someone very skilled with a brush, but doing it yourself gives you a feeling of accomplishment and it's a HELL of a lot cheaper. Take the hard way out. You'll be gald you did!

 

[customizerwannabe]

Taking nothing away from Les work. It is outstanding and innovative, but my personal favorite in the hobby is Boot25. He is THE master in my mind and most WWII 1/6 enthusiasts. His attention to detail is unreal. I am not into head painter hero worship though, so for the most part do my own. Keep posting your work Mike!

 

[thundergod]

While on the subject of seeking advice , I'm adding the DML "arm sleeves" to my Vasquez and am looking for some kind of material to "bulk out" the elbow areas where the sleeves "kink" and spoil the effect . I've tried cotton wool type stuff , but the sleeves are quite transluscent and allow the material to show through . I'm even considering trying to cast some kind of silicon or rubber type "muscle pieces" to fill out the arms . Anyone tried anything similar or have any other suggestions ?

 

[customizerwannabe]

Where do you get those sleeves? I'd love some. If you don'r mind losing poseablility sculpey works.

 

[thundergod]

The sleeves were from the DML Cheong figure ( I think )which I found on ebay . I don't want to lose the articulation of the arms I'm afraid!

 

[JediMike71]

Thanks guys for your encouragement for me for painting my own heads. I really do want to show them off to friends and family when they come by my house and see my collection. I will use all of the techniques I've learned here on this board, and always try to improve my painting skills. Thanks again!

Here's some updated pics of my custom Hudson and Drake heads. I gotta work on Hudson's eyes. Eyes are hard to do! I've been trying to paint them with the paint on the end of a toothpick (since I don't have a 00 tip brush), and it's tough. I put too much dark lines around Hudson's eyes. I'll fix that. I am very happy with how Drake turned out! I don't really think I need to change much, if anything on him. Your thoughts? I'd appreciate it....

I still plan on getting some pastel chalks and touching them up later on per Mudshark's suggestions earlier. Oh yeah, I did paint in a white "E" at the end of "LOUIS" on Hudson's chest armor. In the movie it said "LOUISE" not "LOUIS". I wonder why Hot Toys "forgot" the "E" at the end of Louise?!

 

[P@CK@R@CK]

Great work by all! Since so many seem to be fond of EVA's stuff, thought I'd post my 2 cents. Can't say enough about how cool Chris is and his stuff is top notch. Superbly cast with minimal cleanup. First up my rendition of Hudson. Then his awesome facehugger kit. Have not seen one post on this piece. It is awesome! A lot of fun to put together and paint. Thanks Chris!

 

[JediMike71]

Great work on your Hudson head like mine, from Chris at EVA. By the way, did you paint his eyes blue? Or, is that green? I'm gonna work on my Hudson's eyes some more and make sure they are the correct color. Let me know. Thanks!

 

[P@CK@R@CK]

Thanks Mike. I painted the eyes blue. I think they may be a little on the light side tho. I also gave it the same sweaty look Les gave his Chronos repaints although it does not come through all that well in the images. Heres a decent pic of Paxton.

 

[dekadentdave]

Mike, I'd suggest repainting Drake's hair. He looks like Dennis Rodman! You might want to mix more of a taupe color and start with a darker base then lighten it by dry-brushing with lighter and lighter shades until you achieve Drake's light blonde hair but that yellow is just screaming Rodman to me.