Adam Savage Inspects Original Aliens Colonial Marine Props!

[@ol6374]

My dad was a ex royal marine and a costume designer on the film, I've got so many props from the film lists unbelievable.

[@propagandapandas]

Any for sale?

[@Daveyboy100880]

I met Terry English and saw (indeed, closely studied!) the original Hudson armour at an Aliens event in England, 2015, as well as some other screen-used props and costumes, and the level of detail and character that is still visible in each & every piece is astounding! Whoever picks these up at the auction is a lucky bughunter indeed!

[@Feintgames]

Aliens was a movie I obsessively watched as a kid, seeing it maybe 55 times. I memorized the whole thing. Seeing the props and costumes is pretty sweet. Glad other people loved the movie as much as me.

[@Nickcooper625]

Regarding the "mssing" Steadicam harness, a friend of mine is a film grip in the in the UK, and a camera operator he worked with bought at least one of the harnesses at auction after the production wrapped, cleaned it up, and then simply used it as it was originally intended. Back then it was worth more as a working Steadicam harness than as a ex-prop.

[@Mrav79]

Love that they used a vintage camera lens on the helmet, it's a PENTAX-110 18mm f2.8 Asahi Opt Co. Japan if anyone is interested, they can still be found relatively cheap 😉

[@Punisher6791]

one of the greatest Sci Fi films ever made. still holds up today. the film was so well written and perfectly paced with suspense and interesting characters that you not only cared about but cheered on till the very end of the film. Newt and Ripley have to be one of the greatest duos on screen ever. oh, and Michael Bein as well :)

[@jarls5890]

One of the best sci-fi films ever. One of the best action films ever. One of the best sequels ever.

[@brettbaratheon9776]

100%. We just watched it last night again actually. It was funny this popped up for me today. I wish I could watch it as a kid again for the first time again. So great.

[@Punisher6791]

@@brettbaratheon9776 when i watch it i always watch the directors cut for the extra scenes which are great and add to the story of Ellen Ripley.

[@brettbaratheon9776]

@@Punisher6791 yep, with her daughter and all that. Agree, so good.

[@olliedee]

One of?

[@andersborum9267]

Alien and Aliens are arguably two of the best sci-fi movies ever, and likely always will be. True classics.

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

The sheer joy that Adam has while exploring these props is what makes these videos so fun to watch.

[@vonsopas]

It's contagious!

[@pschroeter1]

I've always thought of Aliens as one of those rare sequels that's as good as the original. The same can be said of T2.

[@MysterySemicolon]

I would have given anything for a Hicks chest plate and an authentic pulse rifle when I was a teenager.

[@jimmyzhao2673]

The gun on the steady cam rig was one of my favorite props in the movie.

[@giovannisantos9062]

Aliens is one of my favorite movies of all time!!! and now it is also my sons too

[@andy-in-indy]

It's is not just the fans that love Aliens. All of the cast and crew interviews I see from that movie have show people absolutely in love with it, even if they are talking about difficulties. They know they were part of making something really good, and they share the fan's joy.

[@bondjames7867]

Omg! That would be my dreams come true if James Cameron would make another alien movie/adventures of the colonial marines...❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@tmac20031]

The guy wears gloves and yet Adam always proceeds to touch everything like it's a subway sandwich

[@jonny67h]

A maker knows how to act with working props

[@Thomas_Esson]

Interestingly, Adam has occasionally been right to not wear gloves, as they are not quite as mandatory in archival/museum preservation as we’re often led to presume. While practices differ among institutions, case-by-case, and depending on fragility, in general, gloves are most necessary for metals and photographs, as those are most sensitive to hand oils (so he definitely should have used a pair for that Smartgun). With other materials like resins, or especially paper, it can be okay - even preferable - to use freshly-washed bare hands. This sounds counterintuitive, but gloves reduce dexterity, increasing the risk of a slip or a tear. So he arguably should NOT have worn them when handling the Grail diary. Also, even Brandon is playing it a bit old-fashioned, as current standards tend to favor the disposable surgical type because cotton readily absorbs oils and grime, and fibers can catch on objects.

[@aflodesigns]

hahahaha so true..thats something woke idiots would called white privilege. adam is the coolest dude with the coolest name, just like me

[@HonkeyKong54]

Wearing those cloth gloves you have a better chance at dropping the item imo.

[@Alexdrod]

It's for looks. Used to work here and they never wore gloves.

[@GermanNightmare1976]

There's little more satisfying than the sound of those guns in the movie.

[@robertsneddon731]

The camera lens on the helmet is part of the Pentax 110 SLR film camera system, a very niche product, a bit like a regular SLR that had shrunk in the wash. I used to have a Pentax 110 kit with a body, about four lenses, the flash and autowinder (which broke, very fragile little device and the plastic gears stripped). Sold it a long time ago though.

[@simonclarke9276]

some years ago,here in the UK, I had a great chat with the model maker,who's work included the LV426 landing craft, and the Thunderbirds rockets. He was asked to build another, many feet long, to be displayed in this guys office, for a substantial price, but the plans were long gone. Luckily,he had taken many photos during the origiinal build,that he could make another. He shared with me stories discribing the tiniest little details in the model. He also made alot of the original die cast cars for a well known manufacturer. A very lovely guy.

[@e7yu]

I love hearing stories of the original Aliens props.😎

[@sdrrshock5594]

I hope there’s more of these videos to come, there’s so many amazing props in this auction

[@mikeincinci]

I keep feeling the curator shiver every time Adam touches the props without gloves....

[@mr.nobody9697]

Its insane that no one has brought back the Colonial Marines in any film since. Absolutely iconic and influential. Just look at Halo. Theyr are clearly inspired by the CM.

[@MysterySemicolon]

We had a discussion about how the Colonial Marines fit in a hierarchy of various characters and tropes for a roleplaying game a number of years back. Most people said they were just average marines and the consensus was that they were only maybe about 30% more costly than the average starting character a player might play. But someone pointed out something everyone missed. There is a single platoon delivered by a large warship, probably cruiser level at least. That single platoon is a designated planetary occupation and recovery force. Every one of them knows multiple specialty roles. Driving. Flying. Computers. Electronics operations. Yeah, this is a platoon of highly capable, seriously trained, heavily armed, bad asses. The fact that any of them made it out of the hive alive speaks to that as much as the fact that they were able to withstand a huge force of aliens coming after them once they knew what was going on, despite having a traitor in their midst. The subsequent games of AVP 1 and 2 made this really stand out as well. Great story and the marines were bad asses again. Too bad we just had crap since then with jump scares and no real consideration for the actual nature of Colonial Marines.

[@badvermin]

It would really behoove Prop Store to set everything up for auction in a museum for six months before each sale. That would increase awareness and interest, driving up the prices. I'd pay $40 to enter.

[@vegancam]

A lot of these things turn up last minute and often are finessed or wrangled out of collections as part of other deals, ad hoc negotiations, etc. Also too, many deals are time-based where people are letting things go in order to get a swift turnaround and money back promptly. More than 50% of these auctions - probably closer to 90% - are as much about finagling with sellers as they about getting items from one place to another and then on sale. I don't think they have much of a luxury with time in order to set up a museum style viewing. Prop Store have their own locations but that's about as far as it goes practically.

[@Willysmb44]

A friend of mine was in England when they had the big studio auction where a lot of "Aliens" props and uniforms were sold off and he managed to get one of the "pulse rifle" shells. Back in the US, he knew someone who had a M1A1 submachine gun, so they mounted it in the shell and fire live ammo out of on a range near Atlanta in the mid 90s. I heard about it ahead of time so I drove up there and got to shoot the thing. It was horribly inaccurate as a weapon as the sights are so much higher than the line of sight for the weapon inside, but the 'cool factor' of getting to just HOLD the thing was right up there with later holding one of John Wayne's screen used six shooters and one of the BARs that snuffed Bonnie and Clyde...

[@mr.spongylikeaboss4987]

M1A1 is a tank.. there is no "M1A1" submachine gun.

[@alericc1889]

The Pulse Rifles were Thompson Submachine guns with the shell of the pulse rifle built around it. They were .45 magazines with a cover used over them to hold the blank rounds they were firing....

[@divBy0]

@@alericc1889 Nope, the shells for the blank rounds came out. You can actually see that in the movie.

[@alericc1889]

@@divBy0 Correct, they ejected the .45 blank rounds

[@thoriated]

@@mr.spongylikeaboss4987 "United States Submachine Gun, Caliber .45, M1A1" is a version of the Thompson standardized by the US military in October 1942.

[@nanorider426]

Cameron should read the comics. There is a 90's comics about the Colonial Marines (1-12) where Vasques' little sister is one of the protagonists. That could be a really good film.

[@Jemppu]

Always love seeing these two geek about things together; such different approaches, and bases of knowledge to the same items, yet both equally respectful of the items and the history behind them.

[@killerbee2562]

You know what I'd pay to see? A James Cameron directed Predator movie in which the Predator fights the colonial marines.

[@peterw8835]

That would be a good sequel. And pretty much a Predator remake. Bet it would work too

[@bucknasty69]

That would be a lot of fun. James Cameron would need to bring his A game though. His last film, Terminator Dark Fate, was terrible.

[@wolfe1970]

I love that fans get to own these items, but deep inside me i feel they belong in a museum where thousands can enjoy these props

[@BenSuzuki]

Beloq: So do you!

[@DJ-nh5lh]

@@BenSuzuki No ticket.

[@PeterRichardsandYoureNot]

Curator: white gloves, super careful. Savage: bare hands leaning on props as he talks.

[@steverino6954]

I'm digging that Lost In Space, John Robinson outfit, in the background.

[@jedironin380]

That's it!! It was bugging me where I'd seen that outfit. Thanks!!

[@zaxonov]

Knowing how Adam is with his stuff, I'm always worried when he touch the props in this series :D

[@Nitro1000]

He worked as a professional prop maker so he is careful

[@jmalmsten]

He's not exactly Linus from LTT so I think it's fine. :P

[@TheErockaustin]

I was laughing, watching homeboy in his white gloves give him the side-eye while he's touching everything 😂

[@PikkaBird]

Because he has "piss hands"?

[@ericy4522]

@@TheErockaustin Was going to say the same thing! Honestly I would have said something to Adam, who's obviously so excited about it that he forgets many props were not built to last, and break down with skin oils and touch. Having said that, these Aliens props aren't really in the fragile category.

[@Shroommduke]

Adam is my favorite nerd. or geek ... I'm not that into this stuff but his joy and knowledge just warms my cockles!

[@erichurst7897]

I've heard Aliens described as the best Vietnam War movie. It's certainly where they got the idea of each marine customizing their equipment with grafitti.

[@PanekPL]

Cameron himself described it as a movie about Vietnam but in space. It's in the commentary on the Aliens DVD with the Director's Cut and bonus footage.

[@normanchamings8156]

Maybe due to the soldiers being so confident but actually getting their asses kicked

[@jublywubly]

I also have an archive of movie prop photos for reference. I've accumulated nearly seven thousand photos from many movies. (2.64GB of them.) Half of the photos are reference photos only from the Terminator movies.

[@Alakazzam09]

That armor and smart gun just put a big grin on my face. Awesome

[@chazzyb8660]

Just two fan-boys doing what they do best - awesome.

[@larryfontenot9018]

I had to smile when I saw the helmet and Adam said the word "fiberglass". That's a US Army M1 helmet liner, a style that was introduced in the 1940s and used until 1985. It's not fiberglass. They were made of strips of cloth impregnated with a plastic material under high pressure. They were designed to fit snugly inside the M1 helmet and had all the suspension straps. The steel helmet was just a shell with two swiveling loops for a chinstrap. We often wore the liner without the steel helmet because they were so light, and that's very likely the reason why one was used as the base of the Alien prop. Camouflage covers like the one used for the Frost helmet were introduced during the Vietnam war, and mine was double-sided. It had a green pattern on one side and a tan and brown pattern on the other. It was issued with a green elastic band that was used to hold the cover down and for holding leafy twigs, grass and other materials to customize the wearer's camouflage with local vegetation. That band is missing from the Alien prop, and the camouflage coloring on the cover isn't the Army style.

[@OteeseDreeftwood]

These videos are SO great- loving this

[@jasonfisher1496]

Friends of ours are prop and makeup folks and they have (or did at least at one point) Gene Roddenberry's hat. They got it from Eugene one time. I got to try it on at a house party once so somewhere there's probably still pictures of us all wearing Gene Roddenberry's hat around.

[@rossgill5911]

I cannot help loving the Prop Store episodes. Some of the things that Adam looks at, are so unbelievably awesome to see, as an 70's kid. So many iconic films and cryptic movies. I never thought that I would enjoy this so much. Mythbusters is the real reason I found Adam on KZbin. Love the real bought builds as well. I built a Star Destroyer, drilled holes for fibre-optic lights, windows, doors excetera. Paint and all, broken by myself in moving it. I still have a slight bit of regret, not having a photo of it. Keep up the great work!

[@approverman]

So funny to see the guy with gloves and then Adam uses his bare hands on all of the props. That guy must be freaking out on the inside.

[@SkageXL5]

Why aren't these things in museums? They're literal art *and* history!

[@ANonymous-mo6xp]

C'mon, the line is "it belongs in a museum!" 😉

[@SkageXL5]

@@ANonymous-mo6xp Indiana Jones was a criminal and grave robber who stole priceless artifacts from peoples he considered "lesser". I will not quote him.

[@peterw8835]

@@SkageXL5 eh, sort of. The Golden Statue, yes. The Ark, well that was him versus Nazis. I am not sure about the Providence of the diamond, but it was Chinese, sold to a Chinese man, so no. The Stones he took returned 1 to the rightful owner, so no. The Cross, well they said all the descendants were dead, so it should go to a museum, so no. And the Grail, again Nazis and he left it, so no. So you are 1 for 6. Unless you are a Nazi….

[@peterw8835]

Most art isn’t in a museum. I would like this video turned into an longer and bigger series. More people would be able to see it.

[@CapitalNick]

$$$

[@warrblade]

PURE JOY!!! Aliens is my favorite of many ganre of movies!

[@a.freeland179]

So cool... I started gathering a mock armor set for paintball, after your video of making your set.

[@crunchyfrog555]

I always remember watching the film and seeing those bike footrest mounts on the gun and recognised them. So much so I put it up on IMDB years later. It amazed me that I'd actually recognise something like that. I'm fairly sure it ain't Kawasaki though. I can't recall offhand but I think Yamaha.

[@djdrthq]

Kawasaki AR 125 footrest :)

[@crunchyfrog555]

@@djdrthq That's it. I KNEW it was something either I had or a friend. Cheers.

[@paulbrown-kc5ip]

Back in the 90s i worked on a film and met a cam operator and he said that the steadycam was Vasquez gun harness from the film Aliens . And i got to wear it so cool

[@estouch]

I love that Adam is such a fan like I am. His enthusiasm is intoxicating

[@fishdisc7022]

Colonial Marines sounds like at TV show to me. The crew on expanse should be finishing up pretty soon. We should start a petition now for Adam to have a cameo as a driver for a biped loaded.

[@nevertrustatory9412]

Outstanding. All we need now is a deck of cards..

[@sartori69]

Just a nitpick: Frost wasn’t in 90% of the movie. He was one of the first marines to die.

[@treyd1906]

I am loving this series!

[@vonsopas]

Man this series is pure eye candy for all us movie prop fools! Quite a bunch of amazing pieces!

[@marcelovolcato8892]

Oh, Yes! More Aliens movies!

[@beauxr.benoit1374]

You think they can make one that won't suck?

[@gunkyzip]

Yes, a sequel to Aliens, not another sequel to Alien.

[@aleisterseverusgrey3778]

Wow thats cool, you met the guns and i've met the people that used them. Many moons ago at a sci-fi convention both Jenette Goldstein and Mark Rolston were sitting beside each other. My eyes almost couldn't believe it

[@davidgoff5883]

Last time I met Terry English he still had a set of Frosts Armour. What a true gentleman he is !

[@G3rain1]

Best thumbnail on any Tested video.

[@6900pilot]

I could watch this stuff for hours!! Thank you!

[@VictoryWorks]

Superb! I have a few cosplays but Drake is my favourite, walking around a con with a light/sounds smartgun gets a lot of attention 😀

[@tacoenvy]

It's always a good day when we get to see real Aliens props

[@jessicabarnhill8415]

The Kawasaki parts are the foot peg mounts from a 1984 Kawasaki GPz. (I used to own an 84 GPz 550) They are mounted to the gun upside down

[@randycheow4268]

Hopefully we got to Adam build a Smartgun harness and headset in the future

[@gullyfoyle2615]

Aliens is a very special film to me, thanks for showing these gorgeous props.

[@RobPanico]

Years ago, I met Ricco Ross, who played Frost. I asked him about the "Heath" name in his armor and he told me that it was supposed to be "Heather," which is his mother's name. But he ran out of room and could only fit "Heath" and just went with it. I then told him that I assumed all these years that it was the name of his male Arcturian "poon tang" and upon hearing this, he doubled over in laughter. Best celebrity chat I ever had 🤣

[@challenger516]

Lame, he probably doesn't even know what is a "poon tang". He laughed just for being polite. lol

[@RobPanico]

@@challenger516 It's his line in the movie, he knows, and that's why I said it ;)

[@tykjenffs]

Damn that is awesome. I visited "Alien War" in London back in 96 and saw a lot of the very same props. Aliens...Best movie (and sequel) ever made!

[@robertmcmahon4549]

I was there too,cant believe it was that long ago

[@benj5386]

I was lucky enough to go to see the Alien War attraction at the Trocadero, London. I wonder how good the armour and gun props were for that and where they are now. It was a brilliant immersive attraction.

[@Rockhopper1]

I went there whilst serving in the army, when they knew soldiers were going to join they upped the action. They did have a Scottish soldier spooked by the alien, and he punched the alien knocking the actor out.

[@billbennett9309]

@@Rockhopper1 I can relate!! When the frigging alien warrior suddenly appeared right next to me in the strobe light, I leaped backwards and crashed into my brother in sheer panic. Haven't been that scared by a dodgy rubber costume since Dr Who in the 70s (aged 6). As for the props, I believe they bought a bunch of the film props for the Trocadero thing. I remember the pulse guns being slightly shonky (flashing LED and a recorded sample of the shot noise) but a brilliantly executed experience nevertheless.

[@5chr4pn3ll]

Damn that smartgun tho. Vasquez

[@Mikolt1911]

When I had my gunshop back in the day, I built the first fully functional pulse rifle. I used a tax stamped Thompson, Rem 870 and an airsoft alien pulse rifle kit with handmade custom parts. I talked with a guy from the movie. He said that the pulse rifles from the movie was rubber or either the tommy gun or the shotgun worked but not both. I built it for a retired US Army Col. that worked for a video game company. Now there are several functional pulse rifles. It was cool to build the first one though.

[@themonarch8251]

I love these videos and the shared passions of Adam and Brandon. I love this stuff too.

[@humanafterallTF2]

These aliens prop vids come very conveniently. I'v been playing aliens fireteam elite, watched the the movies this summer and now seeing this. Awesome.

[@tonisiret5557]

Adam, you're doing great work. My inner child is having a time-out for being too excited 👌😆

[@billautomaton5998]

These are screen used items. Adam: ah ok let me touch everything...

[@Infinityplus1111]

...Adam, where are your gloves?

[@sketto1283]

Very cool to hear about these props!

[@TeddyLeppard]

Ridley Scott’s own Scott Free Productions and James Cameron’s Lightstorm should join up again and do a Colonial Marines series again set in the Alien universe.

[@DealerDream82]

Well look what they did with Predator. It should be doable!!

[@thorsbanhammer1359]

Adam - "I don't throw anything away anymore." All of us fans - "PLEASE DONT EVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY!!". That's what make his collection and building style so magical. He pulls out a piece he used on a project 20 years ago and it works perfectly for what he's making now. How can Adam keep track of all this in his head?!

[@tested]

Somehow he does, but he’s also starting to work on documenting all his inventory in a single list.

[@thorsbanhammer1359]

@@tested I can't wait to see it!

[@bedfordshiremodeller4491]

@@tested Their2FB groups whereby you build either a3D printed smart gun or afully working airsoft version. +their,2more if you wanna build the colonial marines 3D printed or airsoft fully working pulse rifle complete with working grenade launcher😉👍🤝🇬🇧🇺🇸

[@geordiekimbo2]

A friend of mine had the steadicam arm for that Smartgun. That was a few years ago, I don't know if he still has it. He worked on props for AVP and Gulliver's Travel (amongst others).

[@toi_techno]

"lets's rock" is my favourite action film moment

[@f1matt]

I'm curious how many reference photos Adam takes of each prop. I mean, what a perfect opportunity.

[@adoraquodincendisti]

I would kill for that smartgun. Holy cow that thing is the nicest gun I can imagine.

[@SecretSquirrelFun]

“That’s it man. Game over man. Game over. “ Do you know just how many times Private Hudson says the word “Man”? He says it about 35-36 times!! Hudson always drove me nuts. Being the super tough guy and asking Vasquez if she had ever been “...mistaken for a man?” and her reply “No, have you?”. Awesome come back. But Hudson is all tough and macho, waving his weapon around etc. But then the minute they have to really use their weapons and actually face their enemy, Hudson totally falls apart, becoming a whiny little baby - “We’re all gunna die man. Game over man, game over”. Gahh. Meanwhile Private Vasquez is as cool as a cucumber, I just love her character, she’s just super cool imo. Her character is very similar to the character in the Matrix movie. The soldier that fires that launcher thing as the other character loads it as they are protecting the Zion dock, or whatever it’s called (sorry I can’t remember) and then she leans out over that enormous drop as the other person is holding onto her, so she doesn’t fall. Eeeeek. Both characters give off the same energy. Yup, so it’s decided then. I’m now (right now) going to watch Alien. I’m going to set up the old DVD player and pull out my “collectors box set” of all the Alien movies - all that have Ripley in them. (none of those more recent films). and watch...the first one at least. If you bring some snacks, your welcome to join me. It’s 2am here in Sydney Australia so it’s probably going to be just me. But the invitation still stands 🙂🐿❤️ Game Over man, Game over.

[@umbraelegios4130]

Vasquez: Hey, mira, what's with Snow White? Ferro: She's supposed to be some kinda consultant. Apparently she saw an alien once.

[@SuperPress23]

Thank you for showing this, I love the alien movies!

[@25Robbo25]

Adam & Brendan need to have their own show where they look at & discuss different movie props that they’ve tracked down each week 👍

[@cliffharkreader3326]

Would love to see the smart gun shoot again!

[@1777DK]

Could we PLEASE talk about Decard’s shirt?

[@pixlpotions]

Just finished the Armor series with Terry English and watched Alien for the first time this week. Aliens next!

[@GryphonDes]

Add to all of this, things like the always popular ALIEN franchise in RPGs as well (TTRPGs I mean). This was a fun romp!

[@Matt..S]

I just realised that this guy is the same guy who wrote the Star Wars costumes book. wow. I have watched so many videos with him and never made that connection despite owning the book haha Highly recommend it to everyone, because it highlights the achievements of the women that created that part of the universe and sadly passed away before the release of the original movie and the sequels, and never got credited for it, nor did they see what a huge impact they had on so many people.

[@JiggyGnorrus]

My favorite film as a kid!! It terrified me. Let's roooock!!!!

[@TurboCharged_RubberDuck]

The lenses on the helmet cams are from Pentax Auto 110 cameras! :)

[@TheMako1000]

The scratch-built boom microphone looks an awful lot like an old turntable tonearm.

[@scottmantooth8785]

*good eye there...noticed the resemblance as well....*

[@troyyoung953]

Great movie, wow that bang stick is awsome

[@manuellujan666]

Let's ROCK!!!!

[@Mike_Y.]

So freaking cool!!!

[@swampjajc]

Everytime Adam touches a prop like this my ansiety raises :D

[@kyrauniversal]

Me, noticing The Riddler costume behind them: "SURFS UP, BIG KAHUNA!"

[@dennisd7]

The Further Adventures of the Colonial Marines 👍

[@SuperDaveWood]

Is it just me, or does the thumbnail for this look like Adam is getting ready to give us the most epic air guitar solo in the history of air guitar?

[@Bassquake76]

God Id love to play with those props!

[@blindrocket]

If I were wealthy beyond my means, I would definitely have collections from films that I love. I’ve always found this stuff so cool. 😎 Keep the videos coming!

[@itsabughunt6310]

My favorite movie ever.