Building your MARINES - CORRECTLY

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Hi bro.
I'm astounded. Thanks for the dump. Very hepful.
I must confess I'm still collecting bits and pieces of information from the first half of the thread, not done yet.
Actually, I must say I wasn't expecting people to do any research. I just wanted dumps. Information readily available within one's skull. That's it. You did it. Honours and respect to Da Master!!!! :)

m.

PS: anyone else their 2 cents?


bigbisont said:
Yes, Asgardianboy. As Manannin said, you asked for a TON of info. It is dangerously close to asking someone to write your research paper for you. :wink1:

That said, off the top of my head...

1 - *see bottom of this post for my notes/additions/tweaks to first page info*

2 - I wasn't around in the early days, but I know of no other thread here or the OSW that would have a more condensed version of this info.

3.1 - Regarding any bodies, try OSW for the most current info.
Seamless male bodies have not come very far last I checked They always lack mobility and longevity. I haven't tried them all, but I can tell you the "D-Boy" Mogadishu body is not a good choice. The figure itself is too short (can't have Hicks be the shortest guy in the room!) and the wires pop out the fingers.

3.2 - Phycan stainless steel frame bodies seem to be the most advanced female seamless bodies. It may be a good choice for Ripley. They are supposedly nice, but I dont have any and I am also pretty sure, like most female bodies, they are pretty short and small. Weaver is 6ft, so even they wont be very accurate.
NO ONE makes a good 'buff' female body, let alone a seamless one. For my Vaz I used an old CyGirl body. They were famous for having manly looking women, so you can find some that have general 'mass' to them, but none are great. In short, keep dreaming. 1/6th companies have their hands full with sexy/busty skinny chicks. It is unlikely anyone ever makes a 'buff' female.

3.3 - Take a stroll down the doll isle. Barbie is getting some competition lately and some of it is a bit more realistic. I think modifying one of those is your best bet. High end replica 7 year old children is a weird thing man. I mean "WE" know it is for newt, and not something weird. Still...I suggest you modify/build your own rather than go searching for it. Can't imagine anything good will come from having that in your browser history! :lol

3.4 - Snyderman's sculpts on ebay are pricey, but likely the best out there. Bill Kern has a nice Hudson that is also available and not expensive at all. Usually it comes unpainted though. For the most part other Hicks and Hudson's out there are either not great or simply no longer available. Some pop up on the secondary market if you keep your eyes open. The "Stoner" head and stock Hudson head can be repainted into a decent Michael Biehn. The Apone head actually is better than you might think after a repaint. I was shocked how good some people can make it look after ditching the stupid goatee and painting it properly.

3.5 - ACE, Soldier Story, and Toy soldier, PlayToy, DAM and several others all offer this type of boot now. They are not rare and go for $20-30. In a perfect world get the 'Vabrim' soled ones (not 'panama' soles).


4. - No. They have teased an updated Ripley for 2 years now and it still isn't up for pre-order (meaning another year at least). With how full the roster from the Marvel Movies and Star Wars are, it is safe to assume Hot Toys has their hands full and the marines are never coming back.



Back to your 1st question. Here are the basics. (In addition to Wor-Gar's list, and I have probably repeated a lot of what he said. Also I'm sure I forgot stuff. I will update if I remember more)

For everyone (all the Hot Toys marines)
-Ditch the grenades. Only Hicks had grenades on his right strap. None of the other Hot Toys figures they made actually wore grenades. (Only Ski and Frost even had grenades besides Hicks.)
-Cut the decorative webbing OFF the pouches. they were solid OD green canvas. Not multicolored with decorative webbing. You may need to glue back together...
-Ditch the pouches and start all over. No one had 3 pouches. Why hot toys give everyone 3 pouches I have no idea... (details in each character below)
-"Weather" the BDUs. Fade them mostly, but either way try to make them less "yellow"
-Replace the stock boots with Vabrim pattern boots (Note: Vasquez had black 'ranger' boots, not the jungle boots the men wore)

If you want to get really obsessive:
-Repaint the armor or simply paint over the 'bad colors'. No "olive drab" or that aweful yellowish green was used. Find a nice sand/tan and go over the greenish yellow and go over the olive drab with a very very dark green. Or just start all over. All good, just get those 2 colors gone.



For Apone:
-He has a boot knife (shorter than Hudsons) on his right strap, UNDER the VP70 holster.
-VP70 holster should run diagonal so the bottom ties off to the base of his left strap (not vertical)
-Flamethrower is not needed unless you are doing the scene where he roasts the hugger. He took Frost's flame thrower, so it isn't really "his" (Fine if you love that scene, just saying...)
-Ditch the 3rd "pouch" on his belt. He only had 2 (1 big, 1 small).
-Find 3 'belt tools'. One high on the left strap, one on the right hip and one on the left side.
-Ditch the hand welder (he never carried one)

For Hicks
-Replace Hands (or use natural hands when getting new body). He didnt wear gloves.
-Drill out the 'hole' where "Born again" is painted on his left shoulder bell
-Write "Non Toxic" over his codpiece on his ab-plate in gray
-Write his solcial security number across his upper arm (his tattoo)
-Paint "LIFER" in white between the lower brackets on his back
-Paint the red 'kanji' above "LIFER"
-Get a tan helmet band
-Attach a chin strap and tuck the bits under his helmet band (so they are pulled tight out of the way)
-Replace the cartoon style 870 shotgun he came with. (Ideally use a modded full size 21C toys Ithaca 37, but a 'stakeout' Ithaca 37 works in a pinch)
-Hicks has only 1 pouch! Ditch the 2 small ones. He only had the one big one.
-Find 1 'belt tool' for his right pelvis area.
-Run 3 grenades in right strap if going for the middle/later movie effect. 4 grenades for a "pre-crap-hits-the-fan" look.
-Give him a white wrist band or tape on his right wrist
-Get rid of the fancy webbing on the hand welder. He actually just had it tied to his belt with paracord (with a loop the window was tucked into and dangling from)

For Hudson
-All the stuff Wor-Gar already said about his personalizations, grafitti fixes, and paracord)
-Replace hands (or leave natural hands on new body). He didn't wear gloves.
-Add a "Hack Pouch" on his right hip
-Add an "Eagle" bolo tie to his right strap
-Only 2 pouches (ditch the 2nd 'small' pouch)
-Ditch the VP70 entirely.
-Find a 'belt tool' for his left side on the belt.
-Get a Gerber style fighting knife and get a black leather sheath on that left strap
-Wrap left elbow in 'bandage' if going for a post-hive look (if you have a whining headsculpt, this is a must)
-Burn/drill some holes in the back of the left shoulder bells and flaps from when he got burned in the APC escaping from the hive (if you want a battle damaged post-hive look only, of course)
-Give him a dark wrist band/wrap/tape job on his right wrist
-You can take or leave the hand welder. He started with one, but later gave his to Vasquez (not shown on screen, but when Vaz has one then Hudson doesnt. So you can do the math). If doing 'early' Hudson, just tie it to his belt with 'para-cord'. If doing middle/late hudson then ditch it.

For Vasquez
-Ditch the VP70 and holster completely. Get a S&W Model 39.
-Use her OD belt and find another to build a holster chest rig so the model 39 sits under her breastplate
-Ditch ALL pouches. She has zero.
-I recommend trimming the sleeves on her BDU even further back than they are
-You can change her boots if you want, but accurate french ranger boots are not made to my knowledge. Her boots WERE black and were NOT the jungle boots the men wore, so don't stress it too much. Her stock black boots are not as terrible as they could be.
-Take the mislabeled 'batteries' she came with. They are the 'belt tools'. Hot Toys screwed that up. Give them to Hicks and Hudson!!! (1 each).
-Add a short "boot knife" tied to her right boot
-Ditch the hand welder (ONLY when full smart-gunned out. When she ditches the smart gun rig and starts carrying the pulse, she starts to use Hudson's hand welder and its accurate for her to have one. But she never had one to start the movie nor when carrying her smart gun)

For Drake
-Ditch the VP70 and holster completely.
-Ditch ALL pouches and the big olive drab belt. He has zero.
-Take the mislabeled 'batteries' he came with. They are the 'belt tools'. Give them to Apone! (Apone needs 3, but hey, its a start)
-Add a short "boot knife" tied to his LEFT boot.
-His gun should say "MY *****" on the side...(not Tom. Obviously)
-"GRRRRrrrr" shoudl be written on the right side of the trigger guard and scrolling up into the main block holding the trigger guard
-A bloodshot 'Eye ball' should be painted on to his headset eye-piece
-Some kind of symbol should be painted on to the back of his gloves
-His necklace can be wrapped around the barrel of the smartgun


*Updated 2/15/16*
Click to expand...
 
asgardianboy said:
Who is that Rocco? Couldn't find him.
Any links to his Aliens headsculpts?
Thanks,
m.
Click to expand...

A few posts above I wrote down the link. Check it. He just made Hicks, no one else yet.

Sure they are not cheap but they look better than anthing in the market right now
 
kam veitch said:
A few posts above I wrote down the link. Check it. He just made Hicks, no one else yet.

Sure they are not cheap but they look better than anthing in the market right now
Click to expand...

Rocco's does look great and a strong case could be made it is the best face out there. I am curious to see how it looks with the helmet on.

I do wish someone would sculpt the headset into his hair, though.

Sculpting him with 'perfect' big hair prevents the helmet from looking right (so can't use that) and doesn't allow you to add a headset without it looking gigantic over the top of his big hair (or hacking up a pricey sculpt to cut/sculpt it yourself).

He very rarely wore nothing (breakfast, the briefing, and the 2 minutes after the escape from the hive encounter are it). Personally, until we get a sculpt with a 'sculpted in' headset, I am gonna hold off and just keep riding the 'Stoner' head as I think it looks good with the helmet on at least.
 
Last edited:
I subscribe bigbisont's statements, and have made the point in Sculptor's thread. The headsculpt presents a further problem: the hair is just too voluminous. Hicks' hair was shorter on top and the rearside, giving him a more agile look. Right now Hicks' hair looks more like Bishop's.

Regarding the headset, I have even exchanged emails with Rocco: he states Hicks wears the headset during too little screen time, so it is not that relevant. I differ, of course.
On top of that, heads are being printed now. I've asked if there would be a second run and a chance for improvements being made before.

I don't think that a sculped headset is the best solution, bigbisont. With the helmet on, which has its own builtin headset, it would be a problem. I've suggested using the HT Han Solo headset (identical but with the mic on the other side; if you look past that, and paint it OD, you're golden), sculpting the hair shorter (hence more accurately) and also sculpting a slight recess in the hair (just like HT did) that wouldn't be very noticeable without the headset, but that would allow it to more or less fit when put on (we might have to stretch it a bit...?).
But somebody would need ship a headset to the guy, as he has told me he hasn't any to work with. I could try, as I'm buying headsets.
I have asked if such a mod could be possible, should there be a second print run.
Please people, help me make this point in the Scuptor's thread. Let's convince him to make a perfect Hicks HS. He also has meant that, should there be enough interest, he could do the other squad members, so please, go over there and show him some love!
Regards,
m.
 
asgardianboy said:
I subscribe bigbisont's statements, and have made the point in Sculptor's thread. The headsculpt presents a further problem: the hair is just too voluminous. Hicks' hair was shorter on top and the rearside, giving him a more agile look. Right now Hicks' hair looks more like Bishop's.

Regarding the headset, I have even exchanged emails with Rocco: he states Hicks wears the headset during too little screen time, so it is not that relevant. I differ, of course.
On top of that, heads are being printed now. I've asked if there would be a second run and a chance for improvements being made before.

I don't think that a sculped headset is the best solution, bigbisont. With the helmet on, which has its own builtin headset, it would be a problem. I've suggested using the HT Han Solo headset (identical but with the mic on the other side; if you look past that, and paint it OD, you're golden), sculpting the hair shorter (hence more accurately) and also sculpting a slight recess in the hair (just like HT did) that wouldn't be very noticeable without the headset, but that would allow it to more or less fit when put on (we might have to stretch it a bit...?).
But somebody would need ship a headset to the guy, as he has told me he hasn't any to work with. I could try, as I'm buying headsets.
I have asked if such a mod could be possible, should there be a second print run.
Please people, help me make this point in the Scuptor's thread. Let's convince him to make a perfect Hicks HS. He also has meant that, should there be enough interest, he could do the other squad members, so please, go over there and show him some love!
Regards,
m.
Click to expand...

The correct headset for Hicks is Chewbaccas. Han´s is in the wrong side.

I will modify Roccos sculpt to have the headset on, or the helmet. To me according to what Ive seen, head will be smaller than Spencers and will fit into the helmet, but we´ll see. Maybe I will take out the helmets inner cover or buy a second head.
 
asgardianboy said:
...The headsculpt presents a further problem: the hair is just too voluminous. Hicks' hair was shorter on top and the rearside, giving him a more agile look. Right now Hicks' hair looks more like Bishop's...
Click to expand...

I won't say the hair on those Hicks heads is inaccurate. At times he was pretty 'poofy' haired.
Hicks - Dean.jpg

I will just remind future sculptors that they poofiest of hair came, again, from the mess hall and breifing scenes when he was fresh, clean, and groomed. Not when stuff went down.

Even then, the hair on both Rocco's and Snyderman's sculpts don't particularly bother me. If only there was a way to add a headset without dremeling into their sculpts...


asgardianboy said:
I don't think that a sculped headset is the best solution, bigbisont. With the helmet on, which has its own builtin headset, it would be a problem..
Click to expand...

I don't necessarily need the headset 'sculpted'. I was more thinking at minimum having the hair sculpted to take the headset.

I am sure NECA's goal was not to be especially helpful (because they glued the helmet down), but I like the way they did their 2 pack Hicks with a helmet. If you remove the helmet, Hicks has his hair sculpted to accept a headset. I was easily able to add a headset to that NECA figure because of this, and could switch back if I wanted to. Sculpting the hair so that it would take a headset (but be covered and not noticeable when wearing the helmet) is an acceptable option for me.

Maybe some day I'll break down and carve the groove into a rocco or snyderman head. But if anyone wanted to motivate me to buy a new head today, it would have be head set ready in some way. THAT is how Hicks looks.
 
Would be cool to have some decals sets for all the marines, lifer graffiti, kanji, born again... Etc...
Some marines are very expensive or rare, would be cool to be able to turn a hudson or apone into a Hicks for exemple.
Dunno :)
 
olbertfrog said:
Would be cool to have some decals sets for all the marines, lifer graffiti, kanji, born again... Etc...
Some marines are very expensive or rare, would be cool to be able to turn a hudson or apone into a Hicks for exemple.
Dunno :)
Click to expand...

Yeah. But who do you erase the Louis-e of hudson to make a hicks?

Would be great for hicks back


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk
 
kam veitch said:
Yeah. But who do you erase the Louis-e of hudson to make a hicks?

Would be great for hicks back


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Razor blade. I 'erased' Hudson's graffiti on a couple sets to make other guys. You really just scraped it gently with a very sharp razor. Work small and patiently and it is possible to remove the text/graphicss without removing the camo underneath, but it is so time consuming that you inevitably get impatient and scrape hard. Then you take off the camo too. Repaint touch-ups are bound to be necessary and the skull is by far the hardest part. But it can be done!
 

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