Building your MARINES - CORRECTLY

[ymba]

guys

Need some suggestion. I just got a custom head for my Apone and the problem is the guy who I bought the orignal figure had the old head ( ugly custom) glue so tight that when I took the head off , it is still on the extenison piece of the figure ( Orignal hot toys body)
This is the piece where it allows the head to rotate up or down on the figure. Now I had to take the top of the body apart .

Is there a extension that will fit the orignal hot toys with the rotation I can inset back to the orignal body for my custom head ? thx !
YMBA!

 

[Hollis DZC]

While I have the full set of HT Marines, none are on display yet. Been gathering up "stuff" to make them better- Les' Hicks head, Lonnies Hudson, need to get his Apone, etc.

Still debating over whether or not to repaint all the armor in the correct colors and scheme-

While I couldn't decide, I've gathered up enough armor sets and 1 smartgun rig to make another 5 Marine squad- These will be accurate, correct paint, bdu's, etc.

Although I still wish I'd have gotten at least a couple of Hurricane's work in light up shoulder lamps and motion detectors. Sigh. Should'a done it back then...

With so many excellent headscuplts and bodies out there, the squad should look pretty good- at this point, it's hard to decide which heads to get! So far, got it narrowed down to 3, gotta pick 2. I decided not to go with a female Marine, the armor is too big.

Has anyone gotten one of Storeroom's Pulse Rifles? I damn near got one today- One of my Marines doesn't have one. But, he can use the flame unit...still, another PR would be cool. The detail looked pretty good, repaint it the correct "Brown Bess"-

Thing I'm stuck on,is I need some more grenades- Those little buggers are hard to come by. One set of bandoliers has no 'nades... Thought they were included in the armor set I bought off the 'bay, but nope...ah well, I'll make some...

Getting ready to get crackin' on these- I should do it soon, I'll be building another set of 1/1 armor, this set all aluminum in the next couple months before DragonCon.

 

[Angry Kal-El]

I'll be building another set of 1/1 armor, this set all aluminum in the next couple months before DragonCon.

That's just awesome! I'm getting together a costume for comic con. Got a set of Spats armor, but aluminum would be so much better! Also, keep an eye on this ebay seller: https://myworld.ebay.com/hke-bay
I bought some Ripley webbing off them that came with a full set of grenades in case you decide not to make them yourself.

 

[Mudshark]

While I have the full set of HT Marines, none are on display yet. Been gathering up "stuff" to make them better- Les' Hicks head, Lonnies Hudson, need to get his Apone, etc.

Still debating over whether or not to repaint all the armor in the correct colors and scheme- While I couldn't decide, I've gathered up enough armor sets and 1 smartgun rig to make another 5 Marine squad- These will be accurate, correct paint, bdu's, etc.

Sounds like a lot of work, but it would surely be a sight to behold when they were all finished and on display. Man, it sounds like you've got enough gear to equip a whole company of Marines! I really like the idea of building your own original squad. Sounds like more fun than trying to make a whole set of SA movie characters, since you'll have complete creative license with your characters and the freedom to use all the goodies you've collected as you see fit. No need to worry about acquiring nonexistent head sculpts, either.

Although I still wish I'd have gotten at least a couple of Hurricane's work in light up shoulder lamps and motion detectors. Sigh. Should'a done it back then...

With so many excellent headscuplts and bodies out there, the squad should look pretty good- at this point, it's hard to decide which heads to get! So far, got it narrowed down to 3, gotta pick 2. I decided not to go with a female Marine, the armor is too big.

I don't think it's too late to ask Hurricane to mod some of your lamps and MTs... someone here recently mentioned they're having it done now. I had a whole box full of stuff ready to send him over a year ago before I ended up having to shelve my Marines. I'm still hoping to have it done at some point if possible.

I've been thinking about making Dietrich some day, but I'll need a good head sculpt and of course, a set of armor that fits properly. I'm not crazy about the idea of modding one of my male armor sets, or building one from scratch either... not sure what to do about that at the moment, but maybe a solution will present itself later on.

Thing I'm stuck on,is I need some more grenades- Those little buggers are hard to come by. One set of bandoliers has no 'nades... Thought they were included in the armor set I bought off the 'bay, but nope...ah well, I'll make some...

The EVA set you sent me for FNG's memorial figure has grenades, but I was planning to use them for Chris! In fact I still need some more for that extra bandolier he wore. I've been thinking of either making a few out of round plastic stock (too time-consuming to make many) or just molding a dozen HT's grenades and casting up a big pile of 'em. That way we'd have plenty to go around.

 

[Dic07046139]

Hollis DZC I got a storerooms pulse rifle, its just a recast of hot toys one, all that is really needed is a repaint to get it to be the same as your other PR's. Funny enough that was the first piece of gear I had that was related to Aliens.

 

[Dic07046139]

Mudshark if you ever do make a load of the grenades PM me I'd gladly take a few off your hands.

 

[Mudshark]

Roger that, I'll definitely keep you in mind.

 

[Dic07046139]

Cheers, I know recasting is frowned upon but if I made recasts of the hasbro pulse rifle would anybody be interested in a few?
I have never made casts of anything before so it may take a while for me to attempt these if their is enough interest.

 

[THE IMMOBILIZER]

Hey u guys, does anybody know what would b the cheapest way to get a elastic for the helmet??
For my Hicks Iam now using the one that came with Hudson helmet.
I would like 2 start on my Hudson sometime soon So, he also needs one.
Gues i will have 2 buy a cheap helmet?
i got some of the same type of material but the problem with that = that it is 2 wide, and if i try 2 cut it it falls apart and the elastics show.

 

[Dic07046139]

Probably best buying a cheap helmet.

 

[Mudshark]

Hey u guys, does anybody know what would b the cheapest way to get a elastic for the helmet??
For my Hicks Iam now using the one that came with Hudson helmet.
I would like 2 start on my Hudson sometime soon So, he also needs one.
Gues i will have 2 buy a cheap helmet?
i got some of the same type of material but the problem with that = that it is 2 wide, and if i try 2 cut it it falls apart and the elastics show.

Don't have anything specific to recommend, but you might try a craft store or a shop that sells sewing supplies, if you haven't already. You can often find useful odds and ends in places like that, possibly even some elastic bands that are thin enough for a helmet strap.

If it doesn't absolutely have to be elastic, then why not try sewing or glueing a scrap of khaki colored cloth (folded to the right width and thickness) into a long enough band to go around the helmet? Just sew the ends together at the proper length and then slide it down over the helmet for a snug fit. It would probably look more to scale than the elastic bands that HT supplied with the figures anyway.

 

[THE IMMOBILIZER]

Thanks 4 your opinion guys ,
I think i will do a look-A-round at my local Hobby-shop first.

Do those new BDU's fom men-at-arms,
are those gonna come with helmet covers?.
I saw the old one's in the begin of the thread i did not like how they where shaped 2 much.
if those new BDU,s from MAA could be available with the same kind of cover as the HT hudson helmet, would B just perfect.

And, does anybody know if 1/6 scale gerber knife's are available somewhere?
I would like to have exactly the same one's as they used for the movie.

The one that my hicks wears i made myself. View attachment 23862
However, i would like 2 have a couple that look more like the real thing.

 

[Mudshark]

Thanks 4 your opinion guys ,
I think i will do a look-A-round at my local Hobby-shop first.

Do those new BDU's fom men-at-arms,
are those gonna come with helmet covers?.
I saw the old one's in the begin of the thread i did not like how they where shaped 2 much.
if those new BDU,s from MAA could be available with the same kind of cover as the HT hudson helmet, would B just perfect.

And, does anybody know if 1/6 scale gerber knife's are available somewhere?
I would like to have exactly the same one's as they used for the movie.

The one that my hicks wears i made myself. View attachment 23862
However, i would like 2 have a couple that look more like the real thing.

I believe MAA's BDU sets do come with helmet covers, which will be sewn with one seam down the middle, as they were in the film. The Hot Toys one looks okay at first, but it's not screen accurate, nor does it fit his helmet particularly well, imho. Besides, the camo pattern won't compare with MAA's SA BDUs.

To get the best fit the covers need to be glued down tight on the helmet with white glue and allowed to dry that way. I soak mine in water first, and while still damp and pliable, stretch and shape them over the helmet so they dry in the exact position I want. I guarantee it'll look a lot better than a loose Hot Toys cover if you use that method.

The combat knife Hicks, Drake and Vasquez used was the Explorer "Night Raider" boot knife, btw. I think only Hudson used the Gerber Mk II. The Night Raider is a little shorter than the Gerber. You could probably scratch build one out of sheet styrene and paint it black.

The great (late) Chris Chulamanis of EVA Models used to make Gerber Mk IIs in black resin, but those are unfortunately no longer available. You might try putting a WTB notice in the Commerce section... maybe somebody has one they'd be willing to part with.

 

[Dic07046139]

I personally like the ht covers, i know they arnt screen accurate but i think with a bit of work they can look good.

 

[Chigger58]

Hey guys! Just wanted to say there are some amazing looking customs/figures on this thread. I don't have any of the figures but I have a HUGE appreciation for the ALIENS movie, it's my favorite of all time.

Congrats to all of you that have worked hard on these, been fun reading through and looking at the pics. Just wanted to say that, great stuff!

 

[Hollis DZC]

That's just awesome! I'm getting together a costume for comic con. Got a set of Spats armor, but aluminum would be so much better! Also, keep an eye on this ebay seller: https://myworld.ebay.com/hke-bay
I bought some Ripley webbing off them that came with a full set of grenades in case you decide not to make them yourself.

Spat's armor is very comfortable- you can wear it all day, it's a bit flexible, so that helps!

If you'd like "technical assistance" on your Colonial Marine gear, please join us at: www.alienslegacy.com


Actually, I'm good on 1/1 grenades, it's the 1/6th ones that are slowin' me down. Got some brass tubing, I forget what it's used for, but it's got a flared end and it's about scale- paint silver, a little putty and it might work!

 

[Hollis DZC]

Sounds like a lot of work, but it would surely be a sight to behold when they were all finished and on display. Man, it sounds like you've got enough gear to equip a whole company of Marines! I really like the idea of building your own original squad. Sounds like more fun than trying to make a whole set of SA movie characters, since you'll have complete creative license with your characters and the freedom to use all the goodies you've collected as you see fit. No need to worry about acquiring nonexistent head sculpts, either.

That is the fun part! Building another group of characters! I'm having a blast doing so, only part still slowing me down is the holsters.

There's so many headsclupts with "character", that it's been hard to choose amongst them all!

It shouldn't be too much work doing the paint job- lay out all the armor- spray the green base coat, then the brown "swabs", the "goldenrod swabs and finally, the light grey "wisps" and finish up with a black wash and GW's boltgun metal weathering.
After doing 5 man squads of Warhammer 40K Ultramarines and 10man Ork squads, this should be much easier!

I don't think it's too late to ask Hurricane to mod some of your lamps and MTs... someone here recently mentioned they're having it done now. I had a whole box full of stuff ready to send him over a year ago before I ended up having to shelve my Marines. I'm still hoping to have it done at some point if possible.

Really?? I didn't know he was still doing them?! Cool!

I've been thinking about making Dietrich some day, but I'll need a good head sculpt and of course, a set of armor that fits properly. I'm not crazy about the idea of modding one of my male armor sets, or building one from scratch either... not sure what to do about that at the moment, but maybe a solution will present itself later on.

Yeah, Dietrich's armor is shorter and narrower than Hicks'. Maybe one day I'll modify a set, but for now...

The EVA set you sent me for FNG's memorial figure has grenades, but I was planning to use them for Chris! In fact I still need some more for that extra bandolier he wore. I've been thinking of either making a few out of round plastic stock (too time-consuming to make many) or just molding a dozen HT's grenades and casting up a big pile of 'em. That way we'd have plenty to go around.

Yah, save 'em for Chris!

I've got several brass "casings' that might work out for grenades...paint and putty time!

DIC- the Hasbro Pulse Rifle only "resembles" one- it's waaaay to thick and clunky. It was built for the gorilla hands of the CC Joes to hold.

Better to get one of Storerooms- not cheap, but perfect!

 

[Mudshark]

Why soit'nly! If you laid everything out and painted all the armors at the same time it shouldn't be such a chore. (I must be too used to working in tight quarters for so many years to imagine working otherwise).

Brass tubing and putty.... now why didn't I think of that? Obviously the ol' bean doesn't quite run at full speed at 5:00 in the morning these days.

I must have some brass tubing around here that's the right diameter for M40 grenades. Even have styrene rod that might be even faster to work with. If I got my lazy ass in gear I could probably knock out a couple dozen of 'em in an afternoon, then plenty of grenades for everyone!

 

[Hollis DZC]

Why soit'nly! If you laid everything out and painted all the armors at the same time it shouldn't be such a chore. (I must be too used to working in tight quarters for so many years to imagine working otherwise).

Brass tubing and putty.... now why didn't I think of that? Obviously the ol' bean doesn't quite run at full speed at 5:00 in the morning these days.

I must have some brass tubing around here that's the right diameter for M40 grenades. Even have styrene rod that might be even faster to work with. If I got my lazy ass in gear I could probably knock out a couple dozen of 'em in an afternoon, then plenty of grenades for everyone!

LOL! Styrene rod...heyyy, that might the best option! Cut the little grooves in it too...
I like it!

 

[Dinosoar Daz]

Finally got a Hicks. Started putting him altogether today but I seem to be missing the bracket that the lamp attaches to on the back armour. I was wondering, if anyone else has had this problem and how they fixed it?