Alien Warrior - 1.2 years to complete
Approximately 10 hours per weekend for 8 months + 5 hours per day for 6 months = +/-1100 hours.
I added base lights which involved some major surgery. Base lights weren't initially planned hence the extra work. There are 3 light sources. The big one under the grill under the left foot - a short strip light under the head on the base and another small strip of LED's opposite the grill on the RHS of the base at the back. Lights are strip LED's with remote control and light mixer - this allows me to remotely change light color, brightness, and to pulse lights (variable) if I want.
Lights create a nice ambient effect with subtle pulse.
Transparent liquid drool still needs to be added to the teeth - will probably use silicon or crystal casting resin run down a stretched piece of clear knotted nylon to create globules. I've been having a problem with the color. The Alien Warrior (dog) from Alien 3 was a dark reddish brown color but the consensus of my friends was that the traditional Alien black blue would look better. Having gone this route initially I then decided to go the dark brown route.
Fast forward 4 months I subsequently decided to go with the slime green reptilian color you see below - it just feels more suitable and looks good at night.
I also recently modified the front of the head and jaw and added a new set of teeth and more detail to the mouth. At some point in the future I might add a motion detector that plays this sound as you approach it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVcOMD0qaUg
I added base lights which involved some major surgery. Base lights weren't initially planned hence the extra work. There are 3 light sources. The big one under the grill under the left foot - a short strip light under the head on the base and another small strip of LED's opposite the grill on the RHS of the base at the back. Lights are strip LED's with remote control and light mixer - this allows me to remotely change light color, brightness, and to pulse lights (variable) if I want.
Lights create a nice ambient effect with subtle pulse.
Transparent liquid drool still needs to be added to the teeth - will probably use silicon or crystal casting resin run down a stretched piece of clear knotted nylon to create globules. I've been having a problem with the color. The Alien Warrior (dog) from Alien 3 was a dark reddish brown color but the consensus of my friends was that the traditional Alien black blue would look better. Having gone this route initially I then decided to go the dark brown route.
Fast forward 4 months I subsequently decided to go with the slime green reptilian color you see below - it just feels more suitable and looks good at night.
I also recently modified the front of the head and jaw and added a new set of teeth and more detail to the mouth. At some point in the future I might add a motion detector that plays this sound as you approach it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVcOMD0qaUg
New and hopefully final paint scheme.
It stands just under 2m tall.
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New mouth detail and teeth
The Alien dog rear vents
I adjusted the lights and added a bit of detail to the RH side of the base. The lights have 16 stages and can be controlled via remote.
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At night he comes out to play - the lights can cycle gradually through all colors front and back lights have GB in RGB lines reversed. This LED bluish white light is currently my favorite.
The Alien base - colors used: - decaying green, slime orange, regurgitated yellow, ruptured red...
Testing the base lights - 8 months into the build
8 months into production - testing the lighting - the Alien is about 80% complete at this stage.
LED light installation. The power supply is the long bit with the green label. Receiver/ mixer is the silver box lower center. Note the tubes feeding the 2 other light positions. The strip LEDs come with an adhesive backing I stuck them onto a aluminum flat rod which runs around the edge of the light bay. The white blocks around the edge are supports for the diffuser. The light box has a base sheet of thin aluminium to act as a reflector.
The making of the Alien .... star date August 2012
Equipment and materials used:
Dremel, Paint scraper, Scalpel, Sculpting tools, Dentist tools, Hacksaw blades, Handsaws, Electric drills, Rivet gun, Electric jigsaw, air compressor (cleaning and spraying), spray gun, Hammer and nails, Latex gloves, Masks - dust and chemical, metal cutter, pliers, Apron and coveralls, electric scale, large plastic bags, drop sheet, Roll of thin wire, plastic mixing cups, plastic spoons, paper, pencil, ruler, calculator, masking fluid, protractor.
Polyurethane 32 Kg/m3 and 50kg/m3 density rigid foam, 32kg/m3 isocyanate and resin. Aluminium tubing and struts, Plywood, thin aluminium sheet, acrylic paint, aerosol paint. polyester resin and MEKP, metal brackets and screws, nails, plastic automotive corrugated tubing 3 sizes, 2 x black plastic fuel funnels with flexible nozzles, Water based glue, polyurethane filler, iClay.
