Kaijuboy
Super Freak
Ok, so I bought the HCG 1/1 Alien bust a little while back, and like some other board members here, was a little disappointed in it. The bust itself had some REALLY good potential, it just needing some tweaking and a little TLC to really bring it out. So, I set out on this labor of love (I sure wasnt paid for this job! 
) because I REALLY wanted a "proper" 'Alien' bust (I already have a Warrior). Think of it as a "v2.0" or a super exclusive EX (only 1!)...
The facial area had a fair amount of work done. The facial tubing around the dome was in very poor condition, so I replaced it (see before & after pic). Also only some of the side facial tendons are clear, while a lot are just molded on (like the chin tendons). So I cut some clear sheet styrene and heated/stretched them to match the tendons and applied them over the chin, jaw, and upper lip area. This combined with the fixed up facial tubing really helped alleviate the "horse lip" look it had initially.
I needed to make a base/riser for the Bust so that it was actually "upright", as the Bust initially is slanted, like as if the Alien was riding in a sportscar. So I got the correct angle I needed out of a bunch of wood shims, glued them together, cut the shape to match the Aliens base, sanded it, painted it, felted it, and put the Alien logo and HCG information/edition# on the bottom.
The tubes had to be hand made, so I set out with some reference material ( pics & my ever trusty 'Giger's Alien' book), some PVC, clay, putty, and good ol' ingenuity. I originally wanted to make them detachable for easier transportation, But the trade-off of making them sturdy also made them too heavy to safely/cleanly make them detachable, so I ended up just attaching them permanently. (In hindsight I could have molded them and made some lightweight casts, but thats a lot of time/$$ for just 2 tubes). They were then painted to match the rest of the body.
The original paint application was not only too bright and flat, but mine was also strangely "dusty". It looked more like and old costume and not a living creature. So I painted it (& lots of translucents blacks!) and gave it several gloss and lacquer coats to closer match the on-screen look . The dome was also tinted to closer match what was seen on screen and then super-glossed (more so than the body) to give it that carapace like sheen (see the pic of my reflection in it!). The end result is a LOT more "alive" in my opinion.
The next several posts will show various pics of these mods, so enjoy and please let me know what you think!
) because I REALLY wanted a "proper" 'Alien' bust (I already have a Warrior). Think of it as a "v2.0" or a super exclusive EX (only 1!)...The facial area had a fair amount of work done. The facial tubing around the dome was in very poor condition, so I replaced it (see before & after pic). Also only some of the side facial tendons are clear, while a lot are just molded on (like the chin tendons). So I cut some clear sheet styrene and heated/stretched them to match the tendons and applied them over the chin, jaw, and upper lip area. This combined with the fixed up facial tubing really helped alleviate the "horse lip" look it had initially.
I needed to make a base/riser for the Bust so that it was actually "upright", as the Bust initially is slanted, like as if the Alien was riding in a sportscar. So I got the correct angle I needed out of a bunch of wood shims, glued them together, cut the shape to match the Aliens base, sanded it, painted it, felted it, and put the Alien logo and HCG information/edition# on the bottom.
The tubes had to be hand made, so I set out with some reference material ( pics & my ever trusty 'Giger's Alien' book), some PVC, clay, putty, and good ol' ingenuity. I originally wanted to make them detachable for easier transportation, But the trade-off of making them sturdy also made them too heavy to safely/cleanly make them detachable, so I ended up just attaching them permanently. (In hindsight I could have molded them and made some lightweight casts, but thats a lot of time/$$ for just 2 tubes). They were then painted to match the rest of the body.
The original paint application was not only too bright and flat, but mine was also strangely "dusty". It looked more like and old costume and not a living creature. So I painted it (& lots of translucents blacks!) and gave it several gloss and lacquer coats to closer match the on-screen look . The dome was also tinted to closer match what was seen on screen and then super-glossed (more so than the body) to give it that carapace like sheen (see the pic of my reflection in it!). The end result is a LOT more "alive" in my opinion.
The next several posts will show various pics of these mods, so enjoy and please let me know what you think!
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