My oldest just turned eight and has discovered Aliens. I've actually done my best to keep him from it (until he was old enough) but he learned about it through a Minecraft mod of all things. Anyhow, he's hooked and I finally have the chance to make some "mini" costumes.

First off, he needed some BDU's, and I found an amazingly good stand-in at the Salvation Army:



I used the Screaming Eagle from the Gearbox A:CM deluxe set on the sleeve, Delta (colored in with a Sharpie) on the hat, and some spare name tapes. I also whipped him up a flame unit out of a squirt gun I found last summer.



Then my wife found a pretty decent M65-style coat at L.L.Bean, so he got a promotion:





This will need some patches too of course. Luckily I grabbed two of those A:CM sets when they were dirt cheap after the game bombed, so I have a spare mini patch. I have a U.S.S. Legacy patch too, so i think that will go on the front (if there's room).

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

But what he really wants to be is a Xeno!

We started with a Lacrosse helmet, a wire frame, some jumbo soda bottles and an old dental school set of teeth:



I then filled the head with expanding foam:



And enlarged the back teeth, painted them silver and the head black:



Here are side views of the full head, with the sides partially detailed. Note that I switched to a smaller diameter tubing along the edge between the frontal shot and these side shots; it makes a big difference.





I've now sprayed the top with aerosol rubber which has helped smooth it all out, and blended things a bit. I have a lot of detailing still to do, but my next focus is the mouth. I'm going to make the lips and tendons next, and then finish the inner mouth. Part of me wants to just build it with the inner mouth extended, as that's a pretty iconic image, but will it look like the Xeno has its tongue stuck?? Not sure... Reaper88 sold me an inner mouth piece years ago, so it is noce to be putting it to use at last.

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

Bigbisont's Xeno build has been a huge help:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12167&hilit=xeno+costume&start=0

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

Parenting done right!

Awesome stuff

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MSgt, UKCM 42nd Reg., 1st Batt. : Hadrian's Wall. UKCM

Wasteland Workshop
Props, cosplay pieces, upcycled ornamentation, and miscellanea;
For the discerning survivor of the apocalypse.
Steve Fletcher : Maker, Scavenger, and Junksmith.
linktr.ee/wastelandworkshop

Parenting points spiking off the charts!

Agreed

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Not one step back!

A05/TQ1.0.42157E1 SGM Gilbert, M "Chernobyl" - U.S.S. Blackhawk

Now that's parenting from grunt to Ltd. to Xeno.
Well done on the Xeno head so far!

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Sgt. Frank Peters 'reload' Smartgun Operator
A03/TQ3.0.12136E1 "It will be no picknick!"
AL Colonial Admin. - Sergeant at Arms (SgtA) -- 2020-2022
GERCM - Executive Officer (XO)
UKCM Foreign Legion: The Deviant Dragoons

Dude that is awesome start to finish. 3 great costumes should keep the lil fella(s) happy.

The teeth idea was genius. Man I need to upgrade my teeth now!

I realized I never updated this thread with some of the pictures of my son's finished alien costume. This was just a fun build for an eight year old, but we really had a blast with it!

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

Hah! Brilliant!

Does the xeno have a name?

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Steve
Corporal in 69th Regt. 1st Batt. Homer’s Heroes.

"I'd like to die at the age of 80 in my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a girl's mouth around my c**k."

In this one would it be Xenokid?

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The impossible takes a while longer and goes over budget too...

Looks brilliant, retro! Nice work!

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Alien vs Predator Galaxy on Facebook - All Your Alien & Predator Needs on your Facebook wall!

WOW!!! Great Job!

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USCM- The Colonial Marines- A Brotherhood of Bad Asses!

Thanks for the kind words!

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

Badass!!

Awesome job and parenting!