VFXFoamRob
New Member
Hey everyone! This is my first official post besides my introduction post so please be gentle 
I wanted to share an interesting project we're working on over at VFX Foam in Washington. We're doing things a little bit differently when it comes to making certain cosplay and props and this new Aliens Xenomorph head piece is a good example.
Project Background: There's a young man that's a huge fan of the movie Aliens, especially the Xenomorphs (yes, a kid that takes after our own hearts!). He's been wanting a full Xenomorph costume for Halloween and we teamed up with his mom and dad to create the head piece for his costume. We started with scanning a Xenomorph action figure's head, cleaned up the 3D model in 3ds Max, removed the neck so we could add a bike helmet system to strap the head piece to the young mans head and widened the neck area and shortened the overall length so it would like right on his 44 inch tall body. We're machining this out of high density EPS foam using our 4axis cnc foam router, coating the piece with a hard coat to give the foam durability and to make it last a long time, as well as prime, paint, airbrush, and clear coat once we're ready.
3D Scanning the head from the Action Figure
3D model comparison vs action figure head
First half of the head being cut out on the 4axis CNC foam router
3D rendering showing how the bike helmet will fit inside the Xenomorph head
Another view of the bike helmet attachment
Xenomorph head beside bike helmet (size comparison)
Another comparison of the helmet and head
Side view of Xenomorph head
Another side view
If you're not familiar with what hard coating a prop does, here's a quick video we made of a test piece from the Alien Xenomorph project showing the impact resistance of the coating. We know this isn't the most scientific or ASTM approved way to measure/test durability but we feel it gives a good idea of what the coating can do:
We'll post some updated pics as we continue moving along with the project. Hope you guys like what we've done with the project so far!
I wanted to share an interesting project we're working on over at VFX Foam in Washington. We're doing things a little bit differently when it comes to making certain cosplay and props and this new Aliens Xenomorph head piece is a good example.
Project Background: There's a young man that's a huge fan of the movie Aliens, especially the Xenomorphs (yes, a kid that takes after our own hearts!). He's been wanting a full Xenomorph costume for Halloween and we teamed up with his mom and dad to create the head piece for his costume. We started with scanning a Xenomorph action figure's head, cleaned up the 3D model in 3ds Max, removed the neck so we could add a bike helmet system to strap the head piece to the young mans head and widened the neck area and shortened the overall length so it would like right on his 44 inch tall body. We're machining this out of high density EPS foam using our 4axis cnc foam router, coating the piece with a hard coat to give the foam durability and to make it last a long time, as well as prime, paint, airbrush, and clear coat once we're ready.
3D Scanning the head from the Action Figure
3D model comparison vs action figure head
First half of the head being cut out on the 4axis CNC foam router
3D rendering showing how the bike helmet will fit inside the Xenomorph head
Another view of the bike helmet attachment
Xenomorph head beside bike helmet (size comparison)
Another comparison of the helmet and head
Side view of Xenomorph head
Another side view
If you're not familiar with what hard coating a prop does, here's a quick video we made of a test piece from the Alien Xenomorph project showing the impact resistance of the coating. We know this isn't the most scientific or ASTM approved way to measure/test durability but we feel it gives a good idea of what the coating can do:
We'll post some updated pics as we continue moving along with the project. Hope you guys like what we've done with the project so far!
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