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: shapes to replicate
PostPosted: Fri Oct 11, 2019 1:39 am 
GarageGeek
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this is the type of shape i notice a lot on the recent propstore Frost armor.
I plan to use a thin brush and then a VERY thin brush to draw the shapes out thinner and more "squiggly".

replicating these arbitrary and rushed designs is slow-going.
After the satin clearcoat goes on, and i can get the whitemarks to the correct grey color im going to use
"fullers earth" which is a clay power that ghostbusters builders will be familiar with.
Im going to use this helmet as a paint experiment before i do the same to my aluminum armor. ( made bt schotti). I think the sandy texture of this vietnam helmet might effect the weathering. Ive seen some people gring it off before painting so that it is smoother and will reveal shinyness when beat up.
I have a theory that ww2 helmets or nam replicas were actually used for ALIENS rather then nam issue helmets but thats a new can of worms for another post.

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 Post subject: Re: Last minute metal armor painting
PostPosted: Fri Oct 11, 2019 9:15 am 
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Location: Berlin
Country: Germany
I can also recommend the Nickatron method of weathering: Paint on Black pigments dissolved in spirits and wipe most of it away. This stays workable until varnished, really like the effect it gives.


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 Post subject: weathering
PostPosted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 4:24 am 
GarageGeek
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theee even light coats of satin clearcoat spray can from walmart, then a wash of arylilic black with 25% water. letting it dry 75% then scrub it off. loving this new paint scheme.

Molock i saw what i think youre refering to, Nickatron ised that pigment powder on a comission job of MAA/ menatarms fiberglass armor on the RPF then clearcoated over it. i loved that build and technique.
Also noticed that Schotti once grinded off the sandy texture of a helmet to make it anooth before building, i wish i had done the same here and i will use both those techniques next build.

So after i overweathered the shit out of this thing i went back with windex and scrubbed the white slashes until they were brighter then the rest but still grey.

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PostPosted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 5:03 pm 
GarageGeek
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ok this is not the right look. It needs to be about half as dark as the acrylic wash made it. also the texture is too visible.
I want a slight greyness and a smooth matt shine. as if it was all hit with a polishing wheel. Im gonna look into the pigment powder and stove polish. Algo gonna try to duff off most of this weathering.


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 Post subject: Re:
PostPosted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 10:10 am 
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Location: Berlin
Country: Germany
seven wrote:
ok this is not the right look. It needs to be about half as dark as the acrylic wash made it. also the texture is too visible.
I want a slight greyness and a smooth matt shine. as if it was all hit with a polishing wheel. Im gonna look into the pigment powder and stove polish. Algo gonna try to duff off most of this weathering.


Agreed. I just used the pigment technique yesterday on a commission job after several years break. Worked like a charm.


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 6:51 pm 
GarageGeek
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Moloch did you get any pictures?
I also just came to a new conclusion, that i might get a darker humbrol paint then the grey that i am using. my only real goal in that helmet weathering was to get that white and mayt 76 more subdued.
I believe the look that i want right now is a greyer highlightand rhen the dusty old look of some fuller earth. once i get closer to the look that i want Im going ro grind the helmet down so there is no texture to it before painting.


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 6:41 am 
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Location: Bay Area, California
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Looking good to me. Pretty sure the originals either had a smooth original finish, or had the texturing blasted off prior to painting. Almost positive they didn't have the commonly found texturing. I have my coworker remove the finish for me before I do mine, except for one that I found that had a smooth finish.
Also, most likely early war helmets were used. I remember a post waaaaaay back where someone who had seen a number of screen used helmets reported that he had not seen any rear seams on them. This is in reference to the seam present in the edging that runs around the rim of the helmet. There is a tiny seam either in the front or rear where the two ends of the rim meet. Partway through the war, the seam was changed to the rear of the helmet from the front, and it was kept there for the remainder of the M1's production life. Anyway, point being is that it is a reasonable inference that the reason he saw no rear seams is that they were front seam helmets, ergo early WWII production, and the seam was covered by the lip of the front plate when Master English attached them. Things get messy if we see rear seams however, as WWII through Vietnam Era helmets all had rear seams. Difference there being, besides the types of bales the chinstrap were attached to, is they altered the geometry of the helmet shell itself, making it a bit shallower and more sloped in front. Looking at the surviving example pictures and the movie, it looks more to me like WWII helmets. It also makes sense as Britain was a staging area for the US during the war, and undoubtedly thousands of M1 helmets made their way there, and were probably still hanging around at the time the film was made.

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 3:08 pm 
GarageGeek
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Thats awesome info Tac, i also had a theory that wwII helmets were used, but didnt know about the rear seam thing, thered have been no reason for nam helmet to be in england and the boots were repros i believe. maybe ill take my helmet apart and grind it all down on my next rebuild. good excuse to buy myself a grinder. the texture really hinders the look of the weathering. i also wanna build one from a WWII helmet and see how it turns out.


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 Post subject: lobster plate heat bending
PostPosted: Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:08 am 
GarageGeek
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Ivedeveloped a new pet peave about helmets, "dumbo ears". It happens when the lobster plates are too flat and stick out when you look at it head-on. The corners kind of stick out and look a little goofy.

my solution was to use a heat gun set on low and evenly heat the center portion, front and back, wearing heavy gloves. Then i bent it over a the bottom of a tupperwear and wrapped it in electrical tape while it cooled. I believe the lobster plates that i have are resin on front and fiberglass on the back.
I love the result . I gave away my humbrols so I was using acrylics from walmart to tie in the paint scheme. I find that the lobster plates look best when the outer corners are close to the width of the helmets sides. next step will be to cut down my lobe plate, and make its top and sides closer to the helmet metal.

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Last edited by seven on Wed Mar 18, 2020 5:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 18, 2020 4:55 am 
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Location: SoCal
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Those are good tips--thanks I'll keep them in mind.

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