Aliens: M41A Pulse Rifle (Brown Bess or Olive Green) perhaps not Brown Bess after all? (light tests and prop pictures and recent Savage video)

[Alien]

Fresh out of the printer.

Polymaker PLA Pro in Brown vs HCG Brown Bess resin rifle

 

[Sahare Studios]

Hi there!

That‘s my Facebook post about my paint samples. It‘s correct that it‘s the „olive“ Snow Wolf I mistakenly called brown, I just wanted to point out that it isn‘t the „tan“ version. I included it to show as wide a range of reference color as possible.

I also never said that they used RAL7013 in the movie. Ian Mutch said that they used a generic „Braungrau“, which makes sense as they needed much more paint than a few humbrol tins.

The main point of my Facebook post was that it‘s impossible to show the „true“ color under all lighting conditions. I definitifely believe that under the right lighting conditions, Brown Bess (or Braungrau) will look OD. See the last pic of my post, where even a slightly blue tinted LED panel managed to make most brown tones look OD.

There certainly is more evidence that the original color resembled Brown Bess rather than OD (even though it most likely wasn’t Humbrol Brown Bess). The RAL7013 also seems to vary wildly between manufacturers, so it‘s not easy to simply say RAL7013 is correct.

In the end it seems to come down to personal preference. I personally believe that the original color was more brown(-greenish) than OD, but the HCG shroud was very brown. Of all the color samples, the SMS Blaster Brown seemed nicest to me and came very close to what I see on screen but also in reference pics. The RAL7013 is a tad too light, but does seem like a solid alternative.

Cheers!
Roman

Thanks for your reply!

I appreciate it

You mentioned they used Braungrau (Brown Bess) in the movie.

This is where things get confusing. I speak fluent German. Braungrau in German means “Brown Grey”.

 

[Astyanax]

 

[Metalalien]

OD for life

 

[Xhiwar]

Thanks for your reply!

I appreciate it

You mentioned they used Braungrau (Brown Bess) in the movie.

This is where things get confusing. I speak fluent German. Braungrau in German means “Brown Grey”.

View attachment 1900363

Well, German's kinda my first language, so not really a shocking revelation there...
"Braungrau" or "brown grey" is the official name of RAL 7013, see here:

List of RAL colours - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Also, I never equated brown bess and "braungrau". I actually said:

Ian Mutch said that they used a generic „Braungrau“, which makes sense as they needed much more paint than a few humbrol tins.

and

I definitely believe that under the right lighting conditions, Brown Bess (or Braungrau) will look OD.

Emphasis added.

So my main point was:
- They most likely didn't use Humbrol brown bess.
- It could have been RAL 7013.
- Ian Mutch - who seems to know more about the subject than both of us - says it was not RAL 7013, but rather some other, generic "braungrau". Quote from Ian Mutch in the Facebook thread posted on page 2: "the best colour RAL 7013 braungrau it's not perfect but close"

Lastly, I don't quite get your point. Even in German, it still means braungrau / brown grey. So I'm unsure how this would point to any kind of green or olive drab being used.

However, as I said, I don't think this is ever going to be settled. I for one find the screen matched ammo box quite convincing, but you're free to paint your Pulse Rifle any color you want.

Cheers!
Roman

 

[septic]

I agree with Roman [/others], re the colour originally being some version of brown [and in my mind, it is settled].

The Propstore pics of the Hand Welder look BB to me (I'll rewatch the Adam Savage video at some point, as I don't recall it's colour from that).
My Master Replica's Motion Tracker, purchased back in 2004ish is most definitely a version of BB, and while of course it's obviously not a screen used prop, it's colour is based on something, right? Where did this idea of BB coloured props come from, given that on screen the props appear OD[ish], if not from ppl sighting the actual props?

I also agree with Roman re paint your PR whatever colour you like!
[I'd love to see a pink & white Hello Kitty PR!]

 

[Sahare Studios]

It's interesting to discuss.

I'm not making any pulserifle so I won't be painting but I'm interested in movie prop accuracy.

I have a RAL K5 swatch which does not include 7018, but I'm planning to get a more comprehensive swatch that includes it to compare.

The RGB pictures we see online really dont give an accurate impression.

In any case, when I get it I'd send it for free to whoever buys these screen used welder and motion tracker (if they make themselves known) so we can get the most accurate RAL code of what this color is and if it is indeed 7018.