The discussion of the Alien series of films and the props used in them is the aim, but if it's got Big Bugs and Big Guns, then they are welcome too!





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 Post subject: The chronicle of my Queen (kit restoration)
PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 8:54 pm 
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Location: California
Country: United States
Greetings all. While the subject of this thread is a kit, it is also somewhat a prop: From my research, including talking to the man at SW who built the Sulaco shooting model, I am fairly certain that the parts for this kit were pulled from the same molds used to make the 1/4 scale studio stop-motion Aliens Queen maquete. From my understanding (and please DO correct me if you know more about this item's history!) there were around 15 of these kits produced and sold some time in the mid '90s. More recently there was a Chinese company selling a fully-built/painted recast version that is identifiable through its use of magnets instead of pins for connections.

I bought this kit second-hand fully assembled and painted, and it was in excellent condition. Given its size and significance I placed it as the centerpiece of my display room, about 6 feet up on a cabinet (filled with other Alien-themed items) glaring down at you as you enter the room. A few months later I arrived to find the head had fallen to the floor! Apparently micro tremors had loosened the connection just enough - much horror and grief! It landed directly on the mouth and pretty much crushed it! So I gathered up every piece, even the little shards, and vowed to rebuild it. Given its historical connection to the movie and the extremely low production run I felt honor-bound to ensure that it lived on.

So I left the head, and it's collection of pieces, to sit...for about two years. During that time I worked on other projects, became much more familiar with epoxy putties, resins, and various styles of model painting (by background I am more familiar with fine art painting). After finishing an 80-hour rebuild of a friend's 1/6 scale VF-1S cockpit (which had been busted all to hell during shipping) I felt confident that I could fix the Queen.

This began with a somewhat forensic identification of where each little part came from, and then a triage of what could be used and what would be necessary or better to repair with putty and re-sculpt. Thankfully the clear resin teeth and tendons were only broken in places where the stress lines would be concealed with paint. Then epoxy putty to fill gaps, sanding, more putty and more sanding. Then primer, and more sanding. Then base coating with Tamiya model paints. Blending was all by brush using very thinned paint and a dab-and-pat method to feather (around 10 translucent coats), which pretty closely reproduced the visual texture of the original builder's airbrush technique. Then I toned the colors using thinned-down Freak Flex Tints. This was especially important to differentiate the gums and tendons. Then clear coating, satin and gloss Tamiya clears to match the existing sheens on the model. The last step was to similarly repair about 30 little nicks and scratches around the crown, and pin/re-sculpt the tip of one horn.

Progress pics in chronologcial order:
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And here she is finished and happy.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:18 am 
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Location: USA
Nice work on the restoration. Was it hollow fiberglass or resin?

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 Post subject: Re:
PostPosted: Sat Nov 26, 2022 1:20 am 
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Location: California
Country: United States
BobFett wrote:
Nice work on the restoration. Was it hollow fiberglass or resin?

- White resin, clear resin for the teeth and tendons. You can see the resin colors clearly in the first couple pics, where the breaks are.


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 4:26 am 

Location: Connecticut
Service Number: A09/TQ2.0.22951S1
Country: United States
What a lovely smile!

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Assistant Superintendent Leach,
Fiorina 161
"Serenity Through Confinement"


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 11:40 pm 
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Location: Wellywood.
Service Number: A10/TQ0.0.82146E1
Country: New Zealand
Very cool! What scale is this?

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 Post subject: Re:
PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 2:14 am 
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Location: California
Country: United States
septic wrote:
Very cool! What scale is this?

1/4. Slightly poseable as the hip and shoulder keys are square. I have her a bit more horizontal, but she could be posed rearing up. She's about 4' long as pictured, 2-3ish' high.

In the last couple pics you can see a 1/4 scale NECA Predator figure. He is on a stand I built (raises him up a 1/2"), and he is immediately behind the queen's base (which raises her about 1"), to give you an idea of her size.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 9:00 pm 
Harvester of Sorrow
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Location: Lancashire (Wirral born)
Service Number: A04/TQ1.0.32156E1
Country: United Kingdom
Some excellent restoration work there mate, completely seamless.
Very impressive

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 5:24 pm 
Marine Raider
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Location: Bosnia
Service Number: A05/TQ2.0.92155E1
Country: United States
Nice work!


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 9:53 pm 
Miscreant and Foukérre
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Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Service Number: A05/TQ1.0.32151E1
Country: United Kingdom
Lovely job on a beautiful kit!

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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


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