1/1 FACEHUGGER-ADVICE.

[eddiesolo]

Hi guys the 1/1 facehugger model I have got needs trimming, it is made from hard vinyl, do I use a dremel with saw attachment to cut?

Any hints or ideas gratefully received, thanks.

Si

 

[eugene russell nash]

Hi guys the 1/1 facehugger model I have got needs trimming, it is made from hard vinyl, do I use a dremel with saw attachment to cut?
Any hints or ideas gratefully received, thanks.


Si

Hi!


I'm Eugene and I'm new to this Forum. I have just seen your post and thought that I might be able to help? I have an original Halcyon Face Hugger. Yours sounds like it might be a reproduction if it's hard? If it's white then most definitely. Now to business.


1. Find a large saucepan. The largest that you have. And fill it with water.


2. Make sure that you bring it to a rolling boil.


3. Take the part of the model that you want to trim and place into the boiling water. This process will only take seconds to soften your vinyl.


4. Take a scalpel- this has to be a Surigal one. Not a cheap craft knife! They are Pants. A Surgical Blade will do the job neatly and in seconds. Be very careful!


5. Trim. If the model cools place it back in hot water. Do not worry about warping as this material has astounding memory and will find its original shape if you immerse it for a few seconds and then place it on a hard surface to cool.


Do not use a saw or grinder. It will make awful mess of the model and your work space!


I hope this Helps,


Regards,


Eugene

 

[Gern]

Best advice I can give is to make sure it is a model and not the real thing! We'd hate to lose you Si!

 

[Alan 45]

Simon Eugene is right I had to do similar things to my dread and alien figure all be it on a smaller scale

 

[monica]

yep thats the only way i know how to do it,


just take your time,and do it slowly cannot add back on well if you know what i mean,

 

[papa 695]

Best advice I can give is to make sure it is a model and not the real thing! We'd hate to lose you Si!

Oh I don't know about the Dave

 

[eddiesolo]

Thanks guys and to Eugene, this is built painted etc and I hate it it broke three times and I just fought it all the way, thankfully that was last year. But still useful info regarding vinyl.


Si

 

[eugene russell nash]

Hi!View attachment 106491

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I'm glad that I could give you some advice at the very least. The Face Hugger Kit be it Halcyon or Repro is a Challenging project to say the least! The fact that model is hollow and in two halves does not help. I filled mine with silicolne and industrial copper wire to give it weight and make it posable. It is quite a mission but it can be done. It takes a very long time to achieve it!


Regards,


Eugene

 

[eddiesolo]

Hi!View attachment 116919View attachment 116920
I'm glad that I could give you some advice at the very least. The Face Hugger Kit be it Halcyon or Repro is a Challenging project to say the least! The fact that model is hollow and in two halves does not help. I filled mine with silicolne and industrial copper wire to give it weight and make it posable. It is quite a mission but it can be done. It takes a very long time to achieve it!


Regards,


Eugene

Superb, wish I had known before I ended up making the thing.


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View attachment 106494



Si

 

[eugene russell nash]

Hi Simon,


It still looks as frightening as hell! It looks like the original HRG design with the short nails. I would like one of those. It's all experience.


Best,


Eugene

 

[monica]

well that is cool,great paint work on it, :D


could of always used that foam in can to fill it as well,

 

[eugene russell nash]

Hi!


Yeah. I've seen that technique used on an Horizon ED 209 Model Kit. I've also seen other Modellers and Craftspeople Sculpt with it. The only difference is silicone will last 40yrs or more and being used internally for a kit that's essentially hollow it's likely to last even longer! In the case of my Face Hugger and other Alien Kits I try to create a realistic weight- and when the silicone cures it becomes quite heavy. This suits the Hugger perfectly as it is a very muscular organism that would use weight as well as strength to overpower the unfortunate host! Silicone gives such a model an organic realistic quality. Also it allows me to glue the kit together.


Here are some more pictures. I lost my original Alien Queen Foetus so I had to replace her. When these kits are finished I will post some better photographs!


Be at One with Your Model!


Best,


Eugene View attachment 106606

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[monica]

I do like the screws you have use will not fall apart,will it,


and interested to see how you cover them and blend it all in ?


how big is the Alien ?

 

[eugene russell nash]

Hi!


The screws came out this morning. They were used to hold everything in place while the resin cured. Most modellers use super glue but this crystalizes and the kit will eventually fall apart. The holes will be filled in with putty and sculpted to match the surrounding detail. This will all be covered with the paint work. The foetus is about six inches from nose to tail.


Best,


Eugene

 

[monica]

oh i see well that dose make sense to use them to pull it all together,


do like the foetus,

 

[eugene russell nash]

Hi,


It is the only way to achieve this. I do not know how other Modellers and Crafts People have managed it? I would love to know? But this project required a lot thought and planning. In many ways I had to think like a surgeon! It is pretty solid now. The resin has been curing since last week and the silicone cured completely. It should airbrush up quite nicely! They foetus too.


Best,


Eugene

 

[eddiesolo]

Mine was a first time with vinyl and I must admit It was a pig to do, I ended up hot welding it in places and sanding back.

 

[eugene russell nash]

Ouch!


When I was a kid I knew a guy who would literally solder kits together if the parts were seriously damaged or glue didn't work! The technique always troubled me. I try to find alternatives that will not damage the integrity and aesthetic of the model. Sometimes I must admit I do use some pretty explosive combinations in terms of glues and epoxies. But I have to confess welding plastics is not in my repetuare. Not in the context of hot soldering. A good resin epoxy will hold any vinyl kit together providing you strap it or pin it well. Of course you have something solid on the inside to work against.


Best,


Eugene

 

[eddiesolo]

First and last...it fought me all the way, it fell apart three times, has rods in it to hold the tail sections...I just hate it, it sits in my lads room and I glare at it everytime I go in...I have this irrational hatred of the thing.

 

[eugene russell nash]

Hi!


If he's falling apart, strip him back and start again- but that being said I trashed an old AMT/ERTL Y-Wing while attempting to upgrade it. Too much stripper- it had the Alien Acid Effect! Ripleyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!


Best,


Eugene