Official PREDATOR thread!

[screamingmetal]

Great pix!!!

Love the last one

Thanks! I wasn't sure what to do with the Alien, didn't seem right having him in the group or lurking behind them.

 

[Mudshark]

Thanks! I wasn't sure what to do with the Alien, didn't seem right having him in the group or lurking behind them.

You did just fine... the only good alien is a dead one! Excellent photos, man! What a treat to see 'em all together like that, it reminds me of the end of Predator 2 when they all materialize out of thin air one by one!

 

[Praetorian380]

I did it! I finnally took the leap into the Hot Toys world. I have been debating this for a long time now but have finally broken down purchased my first HT figures.

I have just recieved my first HT Predator and Alien.
I had been on the fence about these guys for a long time, but after seeing some of the awesome posability options I could not resist anymore.

I got the Ancient Elder Sideshow Exclusive and the AVP Alien Brown Exclusive edition - I have yet to put them together, going to take the weekend to do that!! I cant wiat - THEY ARE FREAKIN HUGE!! I didnt think they were this big!!

Any tips you guys have about putting them together would be greatly appreciated! I'll post pics when I am done - I have not been this excited about a figure in a while!!!!

I just hope that I am not getting my hopes up too much and when I put them together they let me down.......oh well Ill find out I guess

 

[screamingmetal]

Some tips;
Take your time.
Slowly inch his net suit up, don't pull too much.
Loosen the straps that hold on his thigh and shoulder pieces before you put the armor on.
Put his gauntlets on at the end of the build; you can damage the blades when trying to put everything else on.
Put his Bone necklace on before you put the head on, a very important step that's not mentioned in the instructions.
It might help to use a bit of tape to hold his decorative neck collar in place when putting the head on (Ancient Elder Predators and the Elder Pred.).
Warm the neck post on the head with a hairdryer before you put the head on.
Posing his dreads, start with the bottom most ones and push them in towards the neck, the outer dreads, push them in towards the head and up slightly near the base to get them in closer to the head.

 

[Praetorian380]

help!! help!!!
Need some help from you guys

I am tryin to put together my first HT Predator (Ancient Elder Sideshow EX Predator) and cannot for the life of me get the freakin netting on his body - I get it up the legs and chest but when I try to put it through his arms it starts to stretch real bad across his chest and it feels like I am going to rip it or tear it. Ive had tried putting both arms in at the same time and tried doing one at a time but to no avail!

Any suggestions guys - I really need some help on this.

 

[King Darkness]

help!! help!!!
Need some help from you guys

I am tryin to put together my first HT Predator (Ancient Elder Sideshow EX Predator) and cannot for the life of me get the freakin netting on his body - I get it up the legs and chest but when I try to put it through his arms it starts to stretch real bad across his chest and it feels like I am going to rip it or tear it. Ive had tried putting both arms in at the same time and tried doing one at a time but to no avail!

Any suggestions guys - I really need some help on this.

I go for the one arm at a time routine. I have put 4 together so far and have not had one body suite rip on my yet.

It takes some force but it will go on. Basically you just need to keep working it, and it will go on.

Not sure what else to tell you

 

[KitFisto]

Body mesh suit is hard. Like King I go for one arm at a time. It WILL stretch on you and it's supposed to. I put together 3 of these and Scar was by far the tightest and worst to get on.

 

[King Darkness]

Scar was by far the tightest and worst to get on.

Now thats the truth!!!! Scar was by far the WORST to put together.

The Japanese Elder Exc. was by far the easiest. It went right on with very little trouble.

 

[Darklord Dave]

So the mask doesn't fit the Elder Predator, right? I can't find any pics with the helmet on, and playing with it, it doesn't seem to fit at all.

 

[Mudshark]

So the mask doesn't fit the Elder Predator, right? I can't find any pics with the helmet on, and playing with it, it doesn't seem to fit at all.

It won't fit because his mouth parts are open, so his face is too wide. I even popped out the little clips inside his mask but it didn't help. It glued 'em back in and decided to forget about it. His mask is one of the coolest looking of all and it would look great on him...bummer! I even thought about using a head from one of the others (checking to be sure the mask fits first, of course), then painting the dreadlocks to match the Elder. That may be the only way to go unless someone else has a better idea, or Hot Toys makes a different version of him.

 

[King Darkness]

So the mask doesn't fit the Elder Predator, right?

Right. Bummer cause its a bad ass mask.

 

[gdb]

Rather than post individual pics of Elder with quills, I decided to take group shots:

The Colonial Marines decided to join the hunt:

Btw, the Alien is posed, he's lying dead at their feet.

NICE pics, man!! And great walkthrough for the Elder. Between your walkthrough and Les' Bob Burn's mask photo earlier in the thread, this guy is one figure I wish I hadn't been in the vanguard to get.

Do you have any close ups of the quill placement?

I am constantly futzing with mine whenever I change his display. Quills pop off, I end up gluing them on then taking a couple more off on purpose so I can glue them on again in a different spot. It never ends and I wish Hot Toys or eBay even could offer quill replacements. I've lost like 8 to 10 and would like more just for some positioning options.

 

[Bardoon]

Poor Alien

 

[screamingmetal]

So the mask doesn't fit the Elder Predator, right? I can't find any pics with the helmet on, and playing with it, it doesn't seem to fit at all.

The mask won't fit on his head because of the mandibles as Mudshark noted, but it especially won't fit with the quills on his head, they're very stiff once glued into place, enough so that you can bend them in the direction you want them and they'll stay in that direction. The clips on the inside of his mask also prevent the mask from being used.
That brings up another issue i have with the mask, I tried my best to get the mask to clip to his shoulder and it would simply not stay there. I left his straps loose on his shoulder armor, the arms move better that way, but maybe that's why I can't get the mask on his shoulder?
The mask is something of a head scratcher for me, shouldn't the mask help the Predator to breath in a strange atmosphere? Wouldn't that hole in the middle prevent that? Maybe the masks are also a symbolic form of decoration? Since the Elder's mask has the same detailing on the checks as the Asian Ancient Elder Pred, maybe it's a sign of belonging to the same family?

 

[nash]

man...the elder with all the quills in looks really cool.

could you get a close up shot of his face? I think I'll have to pick one up.

 

[screamingmetal]

NICE pics, man!! And great walkthrough for the Elder. Between your walkthrough and Les' Bob Burn's mask photo earlier in the thread, this guy is one figure I wish I hadn't been in the vanguard to get.

Do you have any close ups of the quill placement?

I am constantly futzing with mine whenever I change his display. Quills pop off, I end up gluing them on then taking a couple more off on purpose so I can glue them on again in a different spot. It never ends and I wish Hot Toys or eBay even could offer quill replacements. I've lost like 8 to 10 and would like more just for some positioning options.

Thanks gdb!
I didn't go by the character's appearance in the film or the actual mask, but went by the pre-sculpted Pot Marks.
The quills go into pot marks that are pre-sculpted into the head. There's more pot marks then there are quills (40 quills and by my count about 45-50 pot marks).
If you go by the placement of the Pot marks as your guide, there will be a slight asymmetry to the quills. On the Predator's left side of his face (your right as you face him) there are more pot marks just behind and under his check bone (lets say it's his sideburns). On the other side, there are more pot marks above his check bones (his temples). So they can look a little off if you go by them as a guide.
I'd suggest trying to drill the head with a determination of where you'd like the quills to look fullest and drill a couple of holes that aren't marked off but will even his sides out. So count the number of holes you drill on either side and note where you drilled them (if you decide to drill them).
By drilling and gluing them, NONE come off. A couple came off at the end of gluing because I didn't use enough glue, but I did go back and re glue them and have yet to have one fall off.
I also wish there were another 10-15 quills just so I can even them out a bit. But he's a monster so some Asymmetry kinda works and might be more screen accurate.
I'll try to get some closeups of his quills tomorrow.

 

[-=LoneWolf=-]

here are mine. aliens are elsewhere

 

[Dark_Spidey]

Great pic!

 

[Mudshark]

That brings up another issue i have with the mask, I tried my best to get the mask to clip to his shoulder and it would simply not stay there. I left his straps loose on his shoulder armor, the arms move better that way, but maybe that's why I can't get the mask on his shoulder?

That mask never wants to stay in place for me either! I've tried to shove it up far enough to engage the clips, but it's really hard to see if you got it right. I ended up breaking one off and then removed both to see if the mask would fit on his face, found out it didn't, then repaired the clip and glued them both back in place. I usually just push it as far as it will go and then position a couple of his dreadlocks over it to hold it in place! That seems to do the trick if you don't handle him too much. Just pose him the way you want and attach the mask last of all.

The mask is something of a head scratcher for me, shouldn't the mask help the Predator to breath in a strange atmosphere? Wouldn't that hole in the middle prevent that? Maybe the masks are also a symbolic form of decoration? Since the Elder's mask has the same detailing on the checks as the Asian Ancient Elder Pred, maybe it's a sign of belonging to the same family?

This is just a guess really, but the Predators in all three movies have removed their masks at some point and apparently suffered no ill effects breathing our atmosphere, so I've assumed the mask is not specifically a breathing apparatus. The masks apparently contain sensory enhancing technology which enables them to "see" in a wide variety of wavelengths, etc., and the cables attached to their masks which release the gasses when detached probably have something to do with that. Again, this is just speculation, but it doesn't seem too unlikely based on what we've seen them do in the films.

I believe you are absolutely right about their masks being symbolic... it seems decorating themselves and taking trophies is an important part of their hunter culture, so their masks are apparently symbols of their individuality and their prowess as hunters, which is probably also a symbol of rank and honor among their fellow hunters. They could, as you said, denote clan or other group affiliation, too. Every Predator movie so far has only thrown us little bits and pieces that give us hints about their lives and culture. There's still a lot to learn about them, which is one of the things that makes 'em so interesting, imo. AvP tossed us a new bone, tracing their culture and interactions with the Aliens and with our human ancestors back to ancient times. "Chariots of the Gods"! It wasn't a bad idea really, but I only wish the story had been given more depth and credibility. It could have been a really outstanding film instead of the SFX-fest it turned out to be. Maybe the next one will be better! Ass-kicking Predators AND a great story... that would definitely rock!

 

[PosterBoyKelly]

OK, What's the difference between the Ancient Predator "Asia Edition" and non-Asia, or is there only 1 version? I'm kinda confused on it.