Alien Nostromo interior models

By all means, point out the weak points! :) Back in the day, it was just me, myself, and I, trying to figure this puzzle out and the three of us often just said, what the heck? and drew it in despite screen evidence otherwise. The whole screen evidence vs. reality can give you a migraine, but I like to stick to it when I can.

I figure A Deck was crew & accommodations,including the autodoc; B Deck for maintenance shops and parts storage, and C Deck for the fabrication shops, vehicle garage(s), and other such griminess.

Never could figure out how the airlock got from the gangway lift to the pristine white airlock annex, but there again, reality and screen evidence must be weighed.

Looking forward to seeing your ideas drawn out. It's been a looong time since I've traveled this territory.,.I miss it and welcome the return, with some fresh eyes, to boot! :)
 
By all means, point out the weak points! :) Back in the day, it was just me, myself, and I, trying to figure this puzzle out and the three of us often just said, what the heck? and drew it in despite screen evidence otherwise. The whole screen evidence vs. reality can give you a migraine, but I like to stick to it when I can.

I figure A Deck was crew & accommodations,including the autodoc; B Deck for maintenance shops and parts storage, and C Deck for the fabrication shops, vehicle garage(s), and other such griminess.

Never could figure out how the airlock got from the gangway lift to the pristine white airlock annex, but there again, reality and screen evidence must be weighed.

Looking forward to seeing your ideas drawn out. It's been a looong time since I've traveled this territory.,.I miss it and welcome the return, with some fresh eyes, to boot! :)

I've been fascinated with this movie ever since I first saw it, which is why I made those models in the first place back in the early 80s. When I started I, like you, had little to go on apart from multiple viewings of the movie, hence some of the mistakes I made in passageway and hatch dimensions. I figured much the same as your decks, going by the blueprints that have appeared online; those for A & B decks I posted further up this thread in case you hadn't seen them. A Deck was built as a complete set as you know, including the bridge, galley & Autudoc, but in one of the deleted scenes Ripley is seen descending to the level of the Autodoc apparently from the bridge, which suggests the Autodoc was intended to be on B Deck, which would make sense as it would then be on the same level as the main airlock, and would avoid the need to cart Kane between decks. There is also the contradiction in another deleted scene of when Parker & Brett go off to make the cattle-prods. They scoot off down the passage from the Galley to the T junction of the passageways from the Autodoc & Hypersleep chamber. But as there is no other passageway or room in that direction, where were they going? These inconsistencies suggests to me that after building the A Deck set, it was then decided to deliberately not show certain parts of it so they could be imagined as being in different parts of the ship and not all on the same level. This also suggests there were four decks not three, but on the Mother screen the legends A Deck B Deck & C Deck are clearly visible, but there is no D Deck legend.

Like with the apparent contradiction of Parker & Lambert descending into open space through the bottom of the hull, and the discrepancy in the orientation of the landing feet, the interior sets and spaces don't match the outside dimensions.

As B Deck is only seen three times I think; when the crew go below following the facehugger's leak; in the sequence where they do the initial search for the small alien; and when Parker, Lambert & Ripley go towards the shuttle, much of what this deck housed is never shown or described, so we can only speculate on it's uses and functions. In one image I found of the outer main airlock set, it is quite clear that the science blister is also on this level, as it was built at the same height as the airlock, overlooking one of the landing legs. When I can I'll post that pic too.

I imagined C Deck was the maintenance level, with the passageways full of machinery, where the vehicle 'garage' is where Brett goes chasing the cat, and the engine control room where Parker & Brett are seen several times (and where Ripley sets the self destruct sequence). I'm sure you know this was the Autodoc set and passageway heavily-redressed. There must also have been some kind of workshop onboard to make minor repairs. This was hinted at but not seen, and I imagine it would have been on C Deck. When I posted that speculative drawing of a maintenance workshop I envisioned it as being on B Deck, but now I think it would be better suited to C Deck.

Something else I've just thought of. In the sequence where Brett goes into the landing leg room after the cat, in the one scene another set of landing legs is visible as a silhouette in the background. They then must be the rear two landing legs. However, to have them visible to each other means they would have had to be so far up in the outrigger nacelle sections, they would have been above A Deck and if you look at the height of the extended legs and the height of the nacelles, there wouldnt be enough space to accomodate the height of the legs. Another example of where the interior sets and exterior shapes don't match. With Ridley Scott repeatedly saying he's a perfectionist and he must have shots right, how did he make these apparent glaring errors? In the words of Toyah Wilcox: It's a mystery :)
 
Heya, just thought; anyone interested in Alien at-ALL, let alone building interiors: should defcheck this out... Alien: Isolation Gameplay Commentary - YouTube

It's not the Nostromo, but crucially; it LOOKS like the Nostromo. The designers have spent 3 and a half years on this already, have access to 3 terabytes [whatever the hell that is] of original sound and artwork from FOX-much of it unseen, and it's slated to run at a native 1080p on next gen console [and PC, obviously]. Interested? Thought so. They've also stated, that the environments have been cobbled together ONLY using tech and whatnot, available from up-to 1979. So everything has that chunky '70's 'push-button' feel.
Do you like sleep? I don't like sleep either...
I also enjoy changing my underwear; on an hourly basis...

Regards

Z
 
Most awesome work, Andyrowlands62! A group of us were working on a set of internal blueprints, based on my very (very!) primitive deck plans from my old "The Nostromo Files" site from the 90s. Your work shows a creative approach that would help inform that project, since I have been using the set plans as a template for each deck's beginnings, figuring modular construction would be key in the future. Here are said blueprints <cringe>, but maybe they'll spark some insight...

View attachment 270335View attachment 270336View attachment 270337View attachment 270338

In addition, here is a summary of all the details we could compile to help wrap our heads around the project...

Best of luck,
Darrell C

Thanks for your kind words Darrell. I had come across your blueprints several times during internet searches for behind the scenes images from the film. I have worked out the configuration of B & C decks under where the facehugger spills acid onto the Autodoc floor, but for some reason the thing you use to add pics is not currently working, so I'm unable to post them. When it's working again I'll add them in case they are of any help to you. The one thing that stood out on A Deck was where you have an extra passageway to the maintenance lift & lockers, that wall is shown in the movie as a soild wall. Part of the drawings I made for the decks below the acid spill also show the only unseen sections of A Deck passageway where washrooms and lockers could be. Also I found a shot of the shuttle airlock during model construction which shows there is 'just' enough room to house the ladderway Parker & Lambert descend to what would presumably be C Deck while Ripley goes to prepare the shuttle & when the photo adding part works I'll add that pic too.

Hi Darrell, I think it's working again, so here's the pic that shows the deck layout when the crew go below chasing the acid spill from the facehugger. I gauged the orientation from the position of the ladder on each deck. Keeping them in the same orientation then allows you to locate the areas on B & C Decks as they descend. This does show that the acid somehow emerges at totally different locations through each deck, but the sequence is over so quickly that it took me ages to realise it.
A B C Decks acid spill plan.jpg

This pic shows the aras of A Deck where there are sections of passageway not seen, or not seen closely or clearly enough to say there could not be a hatchway into a locker room/washroom. I've marked these sections in red & I hope they stand out enough. My own idea would be the locker/washroom was in the area inbetween the hypersleep chamber & the galley, the most convenient place for it to my mind. It could then be accessed via the long galley passageway and/or the hypersleep passageway.
A Deck unseen parts.jpg

The last pic shows the model of the shuttle berth. If you see the size of the hatchway, you can see there is JUST enough room for another deck below, but I'm not certain of this myself.
Shuttle docking bay model minus shuttle.jpg
 
I've been fascinated with this movie ever since I first saw it, which is why I made those models in the first place back in the early 80s. When I started I, like you, had little to go on apart from multiple viewings of the movie, hence some of the mistakes I made in passageway and hatch dimensions. I figured much the same as your decks, going by the blueprints that have appeared online; those for A & B decks I posted further up this thread in case you hadn't seen them. A Deck was built as a complete set as you know, including the bridge, galley & Autudoc, but in one of the deleted scenes Ripley is seen descending to the level of the Autodoc apparently from the bridge, which suggests the Autodoc was intended to be on B Deck, which would make sense as it would then be on the same level as the main airlock, and would avoid the need to cart Kane between decks. There is also the contradiction in another deleted scene of when Parker & Brett go off to make the cattle-prods. They scoot off down the passage from the Galley to the T junction of the passageways from the Autodoc & Hypersleep chamber. But as there is no other passageway or room in that direction, where were they going? These inconsistencies suggests to me that after building the A Deck set, it was then decided to deliberately not show certain parts of it so they could be imagined as being in different parts of the ship and not all on the same level. This also suggests there were four decks not three, but on the Mother screen the legends A Deck B Deck & C Deck are clearly visible, but there is no D Deck legend.

Like with the apparent contradiction of Parker & Lambert descending into open space through the bottom of the hull, and the discrepancy in the orientation of the landing feet, the interior sets and spaces don't match the outside dimensions.

As B Deck is only seen three times I think; when the crew go below following the facehugger's leak; in the sequence where they do the initial search for the small alien; and when Parker, Lambert & Ripley go towards the shuttle, much of what this deck housed is never shown or described, so we can only speculate on it's uses and functions. In one image I found of the outer main airlock set, it is quite clear that the science blister is also on this level, as it was built at the same height as the airlock, overlooking one of the landing legs. When I can I'll post that pic too.

I imagined C Deck was the maintenance level, with the passageways full of machinery, where the vehicle 'garage' is where Brett goes chasing the cat, and the engine control room where Parker & Brett are seen several times (and where Ripley sets the self destruct sequence). I'm sure you know this was the Autodoc set and passageway heavily-redressed. There must also have been some kind of workshop onboard to make minor repairs. This was hinted at but not seen, and I imagine it would have been on C Deck. When I posted that speculative drawing of a maintenance workshop I envisioned it as being on B Deck, but now I think it would be better suited to C Deck.

Something else I've just thought of. In the sequence where Brett goes into the landing leg room after the cat, in the one scene another set of landing legs is visible as a silhouette in the background. They then must be the rear two landing legs. However, to have them visible to each other means they would have had to be so far up in the outrigger nacelle sections, they would have been above A Deck and if you look at the height of the extended legs and the height of the nacelles, there wouldnt be enough space to accomodate the height of the legs. Another example of where the interior sets and exterior shapes don't match. With Ridley Scott repeatedly saying he's a perfectionist and he must have shots right, how did he make these apparent glaring errors? In the words of Toyah Wilcox: It's a mystery :)

This is the pic I found of the airlock & science blister, and you can see they were intended to be on the same level. I imagined the airlocks being on B Deck.
Landing leg with blister and airlock 3.jpg

This is the pic of Brett in the landing leg compartment, with the extra leg silhouetted in the background. This is not my pic so the highlighting was already there, but it perfectly illustrates my point about the landing legs.
Landing leg room with 2nd leg visible.jpg
 
This is the pic I found of the airlock & science blister, and you can see they were intended to be on the same level. I imagined the airlocks being on B Deck.
View attachment 273776

This is the pic of Brett in the landing leg compartment, with the extra leg silhouetted in the background. This is not my pic so the highlighting was already there, but it perfectly illustrates my point about the landing legs.
View attachment 273777

That's a screenshot I modified for the propsummit.com site discussion about Nostromo, to show the 'extra' leg, which I believed at the time was an accidental inclusion of the mirror used to make the set seem bigger. A similar mirror setup was used to make C-Deck look longer; if you watch closely early in the film when Parker is telling Brett he has figured out why none of the others get down there very often, you can see a flicker of their reflection at the right frame.

- - - Updated - - -

Afternoon all. I've been working on an imaginary set of specifications for the Nostromo for some weeks, and here is what I've come up with. Please feel free to comment.


The specs are impressive and quite imaginative!
 
Last edited:
That's a screenshot I modified for the propsummit.com site discussion about Nostromo, to show the 'extra' leg, which I believed at the time was an accidental inclusion of the mirror used to make the set seem bigger. A similar mirror setup was used to make C-Deck look longer; if you watch closely early in the film when Parker is telling Brett he has figured out why none of the others get down there very often, you can see a flicker of their reflection at the right frame.

- - - Updated - - -

Afternoon all. I've been working on an imaginary set of specifications for the Nostromo for some weeks, and here is what I've come up with. Please feel free to comment.


The specs are impressive and quite imaginative!

Thanks for your kind words about the specs, and sorry if I nicked your picture!! I had noticed a flicker of movement at the far end of the passageway when P & B are just about to turn the corner. I had assumed it was either some prop falling over or someone walking past the end when they shouldn't have, until I saw one of the many documentaries about the movie, where they said they used a mirror to make the passageway appear longer.

I did include various in-joke movie references in the specs just for the hell of it, I'm sure you spotted them :). By the way, the fire suppression systems are real as are most of the company names, and I tried to make it as realistic as possible, with hopefully nothing that could be considered nonsense.
 
No worries, my friend! Just amazed someone else thought to comment on it. You tech piece is all the richer for those in-jokes, a hallmark of great sci-fi techno-babble in the grand tradition of shows like Trek: TNG and the like, I like your fresh approach to this all and would enjoy collaborating. ,
 
No worries, my friend! Just amazed someone else thought to comment on it. You tech piece is all the richer for those in-jokes, a hallmark of great sci-fi techno-babble in the grand tradition of shows like Trek: TNG and the like, I like your fresh approach to this all and would enjoy collaborating. ,

Sure, collaborating sounds interesting :) Are you actively involved in anything at the moment?
 
I just accepted your friend request Darrell. They don't make it easy do they? There was no on-screen indication of how to actually accept your request. By trial & error I discovered I had to check a little box that appeared over your avatar, but there was no instruction to do that.

Please feel free to ask anything you wish that might help you with your blog. I've found lots of pics on 'tinternet, so if there's something in particular you're missing a pic for, if you let me know I'll see if I've got one. I found an interesting pic that shows how props from an episode of Dr Who were re-used in the Nostromo & I'll add it in a separate post.

Last night I spoke to the man who is organising the fundraising show at Coventry airport who wanted me to exhibit my models & he thinks it will be at the end of April, so if you are in the UK & free when I know the dates, maybe you could visit if you wished. I'm assuming he will publicise the event through the various Facebook pages, two of which I'm a member of, but I will put my own reminders that my models will be there as well. Now I know how long I have, I'm breaking out the scalpel & glue again & I'll be over at Mom's house tomorrow sorting out what repairs are needed, as over the years some of the detail parts have broken off various things & some of the paintwork needs refurbishing.
 
While doing one of my periodic trawls of 'tinterweb for any pics from Alien that might have appeared, I found one from an episode of Dr Who which shows part of the Nostromo galley set behind the, as she was then, rather luscious Lalla Ward. This suggests these sections of set walls were originally made by the BBC, unless these Dr Who episodes were made after Alien was released and the BBC got hold of some of the set props.

A Deck Galley 1.jpg Unused sequence Kane in galley 3.jpg Wall panels behind Lalla Ward.png
 
That is interesting. Inside of Movellan ship from Doctor Who "Destiny of the Daleks" (Season 17, 1979).

8050876_f520.jpg


Nostromo parts also in the episodes "Warriors' Gate" (Season 18, 1981) and "Earthshock" (Season 19, 1982)
 
Last edited:
Not a lot of prop houses in the U.K. So it's easy to spot the re-used stuff from major studio warehouses to the BBC;) and vice-versa (it's a small club and everybody knows each other).
 
What is this business with 'reputation' on this site. If you hold your mouse over the little oblong box under your name, a message appears saying how much 'reputation' you have been 'awarded'. I and quite a few other people have, according to this message, 'not been awarded enough reputation to matter'. I don't know about you guys, but I find that rather insulting.
 
Compare my rep points to almost anyone elses - I've been here for over ten years and I barely have more than you do. There was a rep points thread where you could go and beg for rep points. It doesn't matter, anyway - as far as I know they're not used for anything. It's not really an accurate measure of your reputation, anyway :)
 
Compare my rep points to almost anyone elses - I've been here for over ten years and I barely have more than you do. There was a rep points thread where you could go and beg for rep points. It doesn't matter, anyway - as far as I know they're not used for anything. It's not really an accurate measure of your reputation, anyway :)

Hi Mike. No I suppose it doesn't really matter whether you have 'reputation' or not. Here in England if you 'have a reputation' it usually means you are known as a trouble-maker. It would be interesting to find out who awards these reputation 'points' and what it's purpose is though.

Anyway, yesterday I managed to borrow my Brov's phone & got some pics of the individual pieces of machinery I created for the various passageways & storage rooms. Do you think anyone would be interested in seeing them on here?
 
This thread is more than 9 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top