A L I E N Narcissus *Completed*

She is stunning!!
It only took hours of research, hours of planning, hours of computer time, hours of building, hours of weathering, and you are still not done!
( I wish everyone could follow the build of models such as these before they get up set at how much a custom model costs!)

(Climbs off his soap-box)

Outstanding work!!

Going to see Alien on the big screen next Sunday as I originally saw it. Can't wait!!!
 
Thank you very much.

Yep, it's just some cheap perspex,.plasticard with model kit parts glued on top :)
As the saying goes - it is so much more than the sum of all the parts!

Enjoy seeing it (again) on the big screen - I'm very jealous!
 
Be honest now, you are using your time machine to go back to 1970s England to take pictures while the original is being built.
 
Thanks to a kind follower of the build, I now have some screenshots of the Narcissus from the new UHD 4K release of Alien!

Unfortunately, although they look great, they just don't offer any additional detail on the ship that I had hoped they might (including on the decals).
So with that, I will be moving forward with what I currently have.

Here are a couple of the screenshots.
I recovered some of the shadow detail in one of them in an attempt to bring out as much detail as possible.
Enjoy!

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Awesome project. I always felt that the models that are out there were 'off' by a little bit and I am excited to see one that appears more accurate.
 
Thanks Polygonix!

The weathering is now complete on the underside of the ship.

I really like using the graphite. It allows for incredibly subtle results, is easy to apply and forgiving if you make a mistake.
It's only drawback is that you can't achieve a deep dark application.
For this reaon I have added an acrylic "wash" just to the darkest areas.
It's quite striking what a difference it makes too.
Rather than liberally brush over the model as you normally would, I restrained the application to individual kit parts - doing them one at a time.
Although time consuming (it took a couple of days to do the underside), I think the results are much more realistic and it doesn't look like...well - a wash!.

The top has yet to have the acrylic treatment, but I will do that next.
The majority of the work is on the underside, so it shouldn't take too long to finish that off.

In the meantime, enjoy these few shots of the ship as it current stands.
More updates soon..

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The top of the ship is done and the weathering is now complete!

The acrylic wash adds an extra bit of contrast that really brings out the details in the kit parts.
I'm very pleased with the way it has turned out.

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Next up is mapping the locations and adding the pencil and pen marks that are scattered all over the ship (and there are a LOT) - These are just a few examples of what I mean:

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Getting close now...
 
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I just read through this whole thread. Amazing work in all regards. I kept waiting for it to get into trouble, like something wasn't lining up or you losing momentum on it, but it all came together and you followed through on everything perfectly!

For whatever reason, I'm always most into the hyper-accurate builds, and for me, that means exactly what you've done with the photo-matched digital models. I love that approach and I love the transition to the physical with how you kitted it out and had all the laser cut pieces, and 3D-printed parts, and templates drawn from your digital work.

I kept thinking, with how well it had been laid out, that it's a shame it isn't a kit for other builders. I'm not in the market for one myself, but I would think all your work over the last couple years should or could be put to good use by a least a few other fans of this ship. I can't imagine you'd recoup your investment, much less account for your labor, but it might be gratifying to see other models exist in this world because of your work. I hope you think about it!

By the way, I don't want to be "that guy" but I did see a part missing from your reference comparisons. It's a little piece that you have on one half of the ship but not the other side. Is that intentional? Your reference image was from prior to filming, so I thought maybe before it went in front of cameras that it was removed or fell off.
 
What a great post - thank you so much for the kind words.
It's definitely been a challenging build, and to be honest I was waiting for just those things you mentioned too!
I purposely spent an extensive amount of time on the digital model in an effort to make sure that didn't happen, and for the most part it went pretty smoothly. There were small inaccuracies - like the armature not being 100% square after being welded. I tried to allow for that in the design but you will always get small issues no matter how much you plan to avoid it. It is a "garage" kit after all.

I think many folks outside the SS building community would probably think that it was way over the top, but I wanted to make sure that I made an as accurate replica as I could as I will *probably* only ever build one. Without the original model for reference, digitally matching the photos was the best way I could see to move forward and acheive that. It was a huge learning experinece, but ultimately very rewarding.

I've certainly toyed with the idea of releasing the model as a kit - or even on commission (I've have had a few inquiries about it too), but beside the huge amount of work to put it togther (I know the ship inside out, but for someone else I would have to put togther some extensive instructions), my concern is that someone gets hold of it and then "recasts" it.
I really have an issue with someone taking it and selling a likely inferior product for personal profit.
You're right - it would never come close to covering the cost of almost 5 years work, but I never did this as a way to make money.

I love that you have studied the pictures enough to notice a discrepancy!
You are spot on - there are about half a dozen parts that were modified/lost/removed before being committed to film.
I chose to represent the replica as it would look when it was filmed - missing/modified parts and all.

Thanks for taking the time to read through the entire thread. I've said it before, but the build would not have been half as much fun for me if I didn't get to share it, and that interaction is what has pushed me to keep working on it - so thank you!
 

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