Building and Painting the Miniatures of Aliens: Part 3

[@franciscoguerra5439]

Looking good! I used a very similar technique in the Alien figures for Prodos' AvP: The Hunt Begins. And because I'm a giant Aliens nerd (it is my favourite franchise, by far), I can answer a question you posed in the video: there were three reasons they went with ridged head domes in "Aliens" as opposed to the translucent smooth dome of "Alien". Firstly, it was far cheaper since they had to mass-produce cheaper suits rather than the incredibly-intricate suit of the first film, with its complex translucent dome. Secondly, the ridged domes were also far less likely to be damaged during the more action-oriented shooting, as the translucent dome of the first was prone to cracking. Thirdly, the ridges were actually already there in the first film's suit, but they were covered by the translucent dome. James Cameron wanted to expose the ridges beneath the dome as he just felt it looked cooler. In the canon, there is a reason why they look different, too: the Alien is born with a smooth dome (even in subsequent films), and the translucent protective covering falls off as the creature ages. The Alien in the first film was a youth, so we never got to see it reach this stage, but the Aliens in the second movie are fully-grown adults, so their domes have been shed by this stage. And that's your nerd info for the day.

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

That was absolutely fascinating, and here I was thinking I knew everything about Aliens. :) Cheers Francisco!

[@jackrutter9797]

Great job on those Aliens, I never realised how much detail was in those minitures! I wasn't going to paint mine but I will now!

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

It's really worth doing, and as you can see, very easy to get great results.

[@zedman2879]

Nicely done. I have been trying to think of a way to paint mine and you have solved it for me. Quick simple and effective. Thank you.

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

You're welcome. Hope you've grabbed my rules & reference too!

[@robertpapancsev8891]

I was following your instructions and the aliens turned out super, thank you!

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

Always good to hear!

[@catherinetaylor556]

Really enjoyed watching these. Found it really relaxing. Thank you

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

Relaxing, really? That's nice to hear!

[@DaveinLedbury]

Excellent. Thanks very much!

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

You're welcome Dave.

[@leighpritchard549]

Mine are still waiting to be assembled. Apparently the bumpy heads were because the smooth ones shattered in action sequences.

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

I can relate, I have a smooth head!

[@gehtgooglenixan8138]

aloha. very nice tutorial 😊 I primed my aliens black and dry brushed them completely with Stormhost silver. then 3 coats of Drakenhof Nightshade over it. finally painted over with Ardcout. now look very moist and slimy and, thanks to Drakenhof, have the subtle blue tinge that you know from the second part of the film series.

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

👍👏

[@usbsol]

Show us 🤙

[@justinavery8664]

Nice job, on the paint series... Now we need an Esoteric play through👍

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

Indeed we do!

[@Andy-ok7wy]

So cool. I'm solely into Warhammer minis but these Aliens minis are very tempting.

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

Warhammer's fine, but there are so many miniatures and miniatures games out there to explore! :)

[@Fissi0nChips]

I wonder if going over that silver with black contrast would have been better. I'll have to to try that.

[@karebear4485]

One of my friends guesses that the aliens look metallic because they are hiding out on starships and industrial areas with lots of metal surfaces, so they camouflage themselves to hide better. What do you guys think? I’m really new to this universe (i just saw the first two a couple weeks ago for the first time and i loved the second one especially a ton!) so if anybody has thoughts on this I’d love to hear them!

[@4khero]

Looks great, do you have a list of paints used for these and the marines?

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

I've started listing the paints in future videos but not in this one sorry.

[@FirstDouchaEver]

Ahh I did this technique before seeing this I used a drakenshade? Blue one but it was dull, I opted for colleia green shade (whatever is called), I really like the sickly green hue which actually seems to appear a lot in art, unlike the blue of the movie. But I think I'll do the darkened head and gloss on the forehead that's cool!

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

Sounds like an excellent alternative!

[@fetishboy13]

Guy, do a search for 1986 Aliens Xenomorph Suit pics and you will see that they are actually brown and black! Most think they are blue because of the lighting during the filming and that set the color standard but it’s not accurate.

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

@@fetishboy13 Who cares, paint them pink if you want! Accuracy be damned.

[@danielmoloney6743]

These look great! I’m new to this and was wondering if you have a list of the paints you used? Did your citadel paint came in a set?

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

No, I have a large collection of paints from many years painting. Just go through the video and note the ones I used.

[@Helghast73]

That does look very effective and fast, fast is important for me when dealing with mass body of troops 😂

[@sylvandread9721]

Is there another video of you painting the expansions?

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

No, sorry.

[@sylvandread9721]

@@EsotericOrderGamers Oh no! This video will have to do. Outstanding by the way. It inspired me to paint the base game and your guidance was invaluable to me as a new painter.

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

@@sylvandread9721 Thankyou! It's good to take the training wheels off though - I'm sure you'll have no problem painting the other minis, just use some still photos of paint jobs you like for reference like I do. :)

[@sylvandread9721]

@@EsotericOrderGamers Right you are. In fact, I took your advice when you said "be a little more free and easy with your colours." I now enjoy blending and discovering new colours on my wet pallet. All this coming from someone who have never touched a paint brush.

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

@@sylvandread9721 That's wonderful! I'm glad I could help. GW/Citadel were very clever in cultivating a strong attachment to the particular names of their paints, but you can save a lot unnecessary purchases by knowing just a few basics about colour mixing.

[@Mailed-Knight]

Did you actually end up painting the expansions?

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

Yes, but I didn't film a tutorial about them. You're on your own now - be free - just use the same techniques! 🤣

[@edgerunnerproduction]

When are you going to do the loader and other expansions?

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

I felt I'd covered enough to let you do the rest yourself! :)

[@edgerunnerproduction]

The Esoteric Order of Gamers ok. Your vids on painting these are my favorites and just followed up because you mentioned you were going to do the expansions later. I suppose all other pieces are mostly the same as what you’ve done already with the exception of a few pieces. The loader and the Bishop models. But thanks for the reply and nice vids.

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

@@edgerunnerproduction Thankyou, I'm glad you enjoyed them! I haven't painted those minis yet so you never know, I may film the process when I do!

[@lucentv]

So 4 weeks later, I'm gonna guess you can't get ahold of the expansions ether? I don't know what's going on there. All that's available is scalper prices. My local game shop got in one of each and I wholeley regret not buying them at the same time with my game.

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

I do have the expansions, you can see them in my unboxing video. But I have no access to information about availablity I'm sorry.

[@michaelsutherland4656]

Look a bit lighter than in real life 😂

[@shahtatty]

Not gonna lie I’ve seen some tutorials for the xenos and they’re just .... meh Tried this simple and quick way and BOOM perfect my xenos look AWESOME

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

Now that's what I like to hear! :)

[@alexr.4225]

Lol, did we watch the same movies?

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

I'm sorry, you'll have to be more specific, I don't know what you mean.

[@jerkypower]

Nice guide to paint this game, Thank you for this. But am I the only one who has a problem with alien models? They look nice but why do they have a wrong model of their tails? That spine think near the end of the tail should be on the top of a tail. It took me a lot of time and hot water to change the shape.

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

I must admit I didn't lose any sleep over it! 🤣

[@jerkypower]

@@EsotericOrderGamers so I am the only one 😁

[@EsotericOrderGamers]

That's a pretty small poll group of 2! 🤣