11/10/2021

A few AvP special features

 Just before I put my hands on the AvP marines faction, I remembered I had some special minis I hadn't painted, so the moment was as good as any other to get those away from the queue.

First of all, a monster I previously knew nothing about, I have to confess. The so called Alien King. I honestly thought there was no larger, more terrifying creature than the Alien Queen, but Prodos proved me wrong.

Hail to the king, baby

Even with my hand for scale, you can hardly get an idea of the size of this monstrosity

Just a refresher. That's a regular Alien. That's the Queen. Ripley's nemesis. You all remember

That is the King. I guess it's a victory of the patriarchy

What can I say. I don't think this thing is even playable, nor that it makes any sense in a game this scale. But there it is. Though the theory for painting it is essentially the same than the regular Aliens, I didn't drybrush it, but highlighted the model using metallics and used inks a little bit more carefully. The result is but a menacing Alien, yet bigger. Because bigger means more badass, apparently.

Let's move on. I had more stuff to do. There are a couple of special characters that came out from the videogames world, rather tahn the movies. Well, sort of.

Major Dutch Schaeffer first appeared, of course, in the original Predator movie. After that, with Schwarzenegger not being back for the sequel, the character moved onto videogames, where he got a bionic arm and this aspect:

Catachan? What is Catachan?

Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa comes also from the AvP videogame. I'm afraid I'm not into the game, so this is the first time I've heard of her.

Nephew of Akira Kurosawa

Next character is known as Specimen 6. Again from another videogame, it is (she is?) quite a fearsome Xenomorph. The miniature itself is a tiny vignette, a pretty striking one, yet not easy to photograph.

Yeah, Number Six was quite different in Battlestar Galactica

I bet she's screaming but you know... in the space no one can hear you scream

Taking pics to Aliens is deceiving, to say the least. The metal bases and the reflection of the light on the bright surfaces of the Xenomorphs make it tricky to find the right angle. Then add my total inability to take decent pics and you have it all :S

The last vignette is called One Last Mission. And it's the ultimate challenge for my puny photo skills. My final boss:

I hope you get an idea of what's happening!

Stomp that bug!

Where does the metal end? Where does the Alien begin? Aaaargh. Looks much better in hand

With these I can close another chapter. Now I can say I only have the Colonial Marines to finish the project. Well, I said that last time, I know. But this time it is true!

I believe.

26 comments:

  1. I have vague memories of king xeno from 80s comic books... glad you used the avenged sevenfold pun with him but you missed the opportunity of picturing him giving a speech to all other xenos in the vein of "I'm sorry I won't happen ever again" with a laying down predator behind him. Who said preds are the only ones into hunting?

    I'm surprised about the marines. Don't know what to think: I like them but (mini wise) they look like they belong to a sci-fi game rather to the plain looking world of AVP.

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    1. Haha, you made my day, I didn't see that coming :D
      The characters... well, it was a videogame by Capcom back in 1994. Kind of the stuff they made, though a little bit out of place nowadays, I think. There are another alternate versions, less... over the top. I'll be painting them alongside the rest of the marines, I hope they fit in better.

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  2. I continue to be impressed with your Aliens. They look just like the movies! Also really like your special marines, but Dutch in particular is awesome. That arm is over the top in the best ways. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the rest of the marines.

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    1. Thank you! I just commented, there are other 'regular' versions of the characters, as these were special editions. I hope I can paint them anytime soon!

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  3. Awesome, very inspirational Alien stuff friend!

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    1. Thank you! The minis are exceptionally good, I have to say. Only the Marines to finish... :D

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  4. That alien piece is just badass!
    Pure cosmic evil!
    Really would like to paint some cosmic snails similar way and see them on my post-apo game table 😁

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    1. Thanks! Well, the monster is huge, it's a little bit intimidating to paint, even with my lazy recipe. But with regular size monsters things get more manageable. I'd love to see what you do !

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  5. Great work on all Suber, hadn't heard of an Alien King so that was something new. Fell your pain with the photography, and think you've done a better job than I could.

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    1. Thanks! Oh, pics have always been my recurring issue and something I don't manage to get right, no matter what. At least you get an idea of the minis, so mission accomplished!

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  6. That Alien King is just magnificent, let alone terrifying! Great job on the painting and the photos aren't terrible at all: figures can be absolute buggers to light and photograph, as I keep discovering.

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    1. Thank you for your encouraging words! They are buggers indeed, aren't they? I don't despair, some day I'll get them right. Some day...

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  7. Wow, that's a very large Alien! They look very good. I know what you mean about the annoyance of not being able to get the right photos, but the vignette works very well. I had no idea that Dutch had acquired a new arm though. I'm clearly behind the times. Cool models and really good painting!

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    1. Haha, I'm behind the times too, all these minis were totally new for me, I had to do some research to even understand what I was going to paint :P

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  8. That king looks boss.
    They made some surprising choices when it comes to the marines in my opinion. They definitely look like they belong

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    1. Thanks! I think I'm taking a little break before I come back to this Avp project for the marines. On one hand I'm looking forward to put my hands on them, but on the other I need to breathe before I go nuts painting cammo. These minis have been the test, I'll see what I can manage...

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  9. Dirty great big alien! The marines and little vignettes are good to, bring on the jungle terrain!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you! I have to finish some large scale projects first, but I need to produce that jungle board indeed!

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  10. Me gusta muchísimo el minidiorama que has pintado. A pesar de lo pequeño que es y la sensación de agobio que genera, logras que todo quede muy cohesionado. Te ha quedado de lujo.

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    1. El diorama este de One Last Mission es buenísimo, justamente consigue eso, transmitir agobio y claustrofobia. Pintarlo es un tema, para mí es la típica composición que, si viniera en piezas, las pintaría antes de pegarlas. Pero bueno, me he apañado como he podido :)

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  11. I too am surprised by this Alien King. I would have assume the Queen was head honcho and the biggest of them all and that there was no king at all save some minor male pieces. Anyways, brilliant job on all the pieces. As for that last piece, I kind of get what you are saying. If my guess is right, all you are missing is just one more photo from an angle which the Alien's hand does not cover its face. Am I right? :)

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    1. I also thought that about the Queen. In fact I'm not a big fan of the King, even considering the model is awesome.
      About the other issue you may be right, but I'm not getting more frustrated by taking more lousy pics!! :D

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  12. Damn, these are so cool! Especially the Queen looks ace!

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    1. I think I could repeat what I said on the previous post, the one about the Predators. All the minis are awesome, they did a really good job. The tiny vignettes are fantastic, a pleasure to paint, I'm rewatching the movies any moment now!

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  13. Te han quedado geniales, a ver cuando pones fotos con todo el juego completo, escenografía, aliens y marines, que tienen que lucir mucho.

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    1. ¡Gracias! Tengo que empezar todavía con los marines, la verdad es que tengo ganas :)

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