Artifact discovery: The long-lost ICONS Hero Pulse Rifle Prototype

Another old thread raised from the dead!

Cool!

Guys...don't even BOTHER arguing about BB vs OD G while looking at recycled pics on your monitor.

I have given this speech before, but for those who aren't aware...

Color, as the human eye percieves it, changes with a million variables. And most guys are slightly color-blind (red-green deficient) and don't even know it. I have heard/read many eye doctors state that.

In person, OD G and BB are pretty darn close if you look at them under incandescent light. If you move to a room with flourescent light, the difference becomes more obvious. And of course, direct sunlight changes everything again.

There is NO WAY you can tell the difference in some low-rez pics on an internet site. What settings is your monitor set TO?...which version of the pic are you looking AT? How much color shifting occurred from your print of the movie to when it finally got here? How was the prop lit ON-SET? What kind of bulbs are in your room right now?

Makes your head hurt. Crazy to even debate it.

That is why they make Pantone charts and color spectrum analyzers, and color-calibrated bulbs and monitors....and things with molecular structures...and...

stuff. :lol

Because most people can't REALLY analyze colors properly.

Compare the original prop...in direct sunlight...with a Pantone chart (not an old one...they change) and THEN, MAYBE you can get adamant about colors.

FWIW...I helped out Icons with their business plan before I realized that Latta was screwing me over on the side (looong, now-funny story. If Jim's lips were moving; he was lying.)

In return, he and Doug let me take lots of pics and measurements off the Alien 3 rifle he had in his possession. That was the basis for the Icons Hero and the SD Studios replica.

Point of this: I DID see (with my OWN eyes) that there was greenish-brown paint under the black, so it was most-probably a recycled rifle from Aliens.

From what I learned while working with Fox at MR, all of the Aliens props were BB with a fine black overspray.

Everybody misses this detail. The black overspray is not apparent in pics, but if you KNOW it is there and THEN look at the pics, you will say...HEY! LOOK! THERE IS A BLACK OVERSPRAY on the props!

I have seen several original props up-close and yup... It is there on every piece. Not sure WHY they did it, but it is definitely there.

Amen.
 
SD Studios said:
Another old thread raised from the dead!

Cool!

Guys...don't even BOTHER arguing about BB vs OD G while looking at recycled pics on your monitor.

I have given this speech before, but for those who aren't aware...

Color, as the human eye percieves it, changes with a million variables. And most guys are slightly color-blind (red-green deficient) and don't even know it. I have heard/read many eye doctors state that.

In person, OD G and BB are pretty darn close if you look at them under incandescent light. If you move to a room with flourescent light, the difference becomes more obvious. And of course, direct sunlight changes everything again.

There is NO WAY you can tell the difference in some low-rez pics on an internet site. What settings is your monitor set TO?...which version of the pic are you looking AT? How much color shifting occurred from your print of the movie to when it finally got here? How was the prop lit ON-SET? What kind of bulbs are in your room right now?

Makes your head hurt. Crazy to even debate it.

That is why they make Pantone charts and color spectrum analyzers, and color-calibrated bulbs and monitors....and things with molecular structures...and...

stuff. :lol

Because most people can't REALLY analyze colors properly.

Compare the original prop...in direct sunlight...with a Pantone chart (not an old one...they change) and THEN, MAYBE you can get adamant about colors.

FWIW...I helped out Icons with their business plan before I realized that Latta was screwing me over on the side (looong, now-funny story. If Jim's lips were moving; he was lying.)

In return, he and Doug let me take lots of pics and measurements off the Alien 3 rifle he had in his possession. That was the basis for the Icons Hero and the SD Studios replica.

Point of this: I DID see (with my OWN eyes) that there was greenish-brown paint under the black, so it was most-probably a recycled rifle from Aliens.

From what I learned while working with Fox at MR, all of the Aliens props were BB with a fine black overspray.

Everybody misses this detail. The black overspray is not apparent in pics, but if you KNOW it is there and THEN look at the pics, you will say...HEY! LOOK! THERE IS A BLACK OVERSPRAY on the props!

I have seen several original props up-close and yup... It is there on every piece. Not sure WHY they did it, but it is definitely there.

Amen.
Click to expand...
Steve i respect what your saying
but this guy worked on aliens .
I have seen a few of the surviving pulse rifles all are green
that I have ever come across . They used left over paint
thats was used for painting other pieces on the set. The od green paint was used all over
in the film . When all the pulse rifles that have been broken down for
sizing and replication you always find the green paint under all the rest .
So many collectors just will not ever even hear that any of the rifles
were painted green.
 
All of the screen used pieces I own and have seen are all Brown Bess (with the black overspray that Steve described). I've never seen a screen used Aliens item that was green.

Here is one of the surviving hero rifles retouched with the same color on it originally:

pulseriflealpha.jpg


pulseriflealpha3.jpg


simonatherton1.jpg


pulserifle2medium.jpg


Here's a massive photo of the headset painted the exact same color:

http://www.alienscollection.com/behindthescenes/aliens/props/headset1.jpg

Flame Unit:

http://www.alienscollection.com/aliensbtsflameunit.jpg

Definitely not green.
 
Last edited:
Hello matt , I will post some of the pics I have of the Green.
My same friend loaned his screen used pulse
to a replica company that used his to mould the one they sold to the public
and his is green . I have been very int in rifles ever since Icons said they would
produce one. The Pulse Jim latta had and sold was od green under all the old layers of paint. Could have been why the painted it was painted green.
One of the guns in your pictures looks green .
Rips close up gun is green in any lighting thats how I feel . Didn't some of the rifles get repainted brown for other productions ? Some months ago the Propstore sold a stunner pulse
rifle that was in the best condition I have seen . I am not sure what color it was
they removed the photos rather quickly . Would have really like to see that one again.
Great close up picture of rip !!
 
Last edited:
Beeb89 said:
Too cool! Love the pics! I actually got to play with it a little when Icons was still in business. I was in LA on business and stopped by their shop. They had a lot of cool "prototypes" in their showroom... if I recall correctly, I saw a Jaws maquette, a Bladerunner blaster, around a few other trinkets. Al Z. was my tour guide, a great guy!

Thanks for sharing!
-B89! :D
Click to expand...
Thats great! wonder if anyone has those or pictures ,
the blaster must have been so nice same with the jaws.
 
Cameron loved light over sprays of black on his gun designs. Did the same during the production of T2. Thought those plasma rifles looked too pretty. ;)

I'll try to dig up the actual account on that, if anyone is remotely interested.
 
The Brown Bess debate is trying to die but somebody just has to keep resurrecting the poor thing. :rolleyes
 
alienscollection.com said:
All of the screen used pieces I own and have seen are all Brown Bess (with the black overspray that Steve described). I've never seen a screen used Aliens item that was green.

Here is one of the surviving hero rifles retouched with the same color on it originally:

pulseriflealpha.jpg
Click to expand...

What the hell is wrong with that sight rail? ...it looks bent?...
 
alienscollection.com said:
Jim Latta's Alien 3 Pulse Rifle with black vacuform shrouds:

pulserifle.gif


blackpr2.jpg


blackpr1.jpg


The shrouds on this Pulse Rifle are not original to Aliens, only Alien 3. There were no vacuform shrouds for the second film, only the third.

gammapulserifle.jpg


Full color photo:


http://www.alienscollection.com/profilespr.jpg
Click to expand...







W,
here is part of a Q and A
about the building of the Hero pulse rifle from an issue of
icons vault magazine.
Rob K. Examining the interior was also
invaluable because we were able to color match the original military
green paint job on the exterior of the carry/shell housing . The
reference original had been painted black for Aliens 3.
 
I do not think its silly seeing its an original piece that was green.
Here is a few pictures of the green hero pulse rifle
I do not own the pictures so I am only using them for this discussion ONLY
I don't want to upset anyone .
Also look at Frost using a clear as day green pulse rifle.
The Screen used pulse Hcg used for their replica was green.
I won't argue that more then one paint was used on the set,
yes brown was used . The Od green was in the film on some rifles also.
Why is this so impossible to admit?
Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/mu600pxalienspulsej
 
Same gun diferent lighting and backdrop.



prx2colorwalter.jpg


Also if you ask an older veteran pre vietnam, what color that was, hed say 'olive drab'.
For real world use of the color we know as Brown bess check out vintage P40 warhawks.

Mr. Green, is there even the remotest possibblity that your friend is saying Olive drab while referring to the "Bess" without knowing it? What Harry, The Collection, The Archive, and I are saying is that every single shred of info that we have on the colors used on the production says brown bess.

M
 
Green said:
I do not think its silly seeing its an original piece that was green.
Click to expand...

It is an 'original' piece from Alien 3. How has that got anything to do with the second movie?

As a source of information on the second movie 'The Vault' is laughable.
 
They could well have originally painted the pulse rifles pink, not liked the look, then there might be pink under all the other paint.

Most every screen capture I've seen, photo of an original, descriptions from people who worked on the film, testimony from people who own screen used pieces - all says that the rifles used on the film used "Bess Brown" (which is a greenish brown) for the pieces onscreen. I'm not sure anything else matters to most.
 
aliensarchive said:
It is an 'original' piece from Alien 3. How has that got anything to do with the second movie?

As a source of information on the second movie 'The Vault' is laughable.
Click to expand...
This is the second time you have done this
we are having a discussion why do you want to turn it into insults?
saying this and that is funny I just don't understand that.
 
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