It became apparent, early in the building process, that I would have to make many more "things" than I realized initially because at first glance the APC seems to lack detail but when one looks closely, the APC is actually bristling with many details. There are all kinds of short, stubby things that cover the exterior of the hull, and each had to be scratch built. There are interesting looking antennas, smoke projectors, ECM (Electronic Counter Measure) pods, turbine intakes, turbine ventilation flaps, exhaust ports, a ladder, and the rest. Most of the small details were made using styrene sheet, tube and rod stock while the larger ones like the ECM pods and Xenon light housing were done with laminated plywood and sheet styrene cladding just like the hull and main turret.
I took a few liberties with respect to the look of some detail parts. For example, when I built the ladder, located aft, I made it using square styrene tubing, rather than round tubing, and the ladder is a detachable unit, removed during transport to reduce the risk of damage. I did the same for the Xenon light housing, located on the roof, choosing to go with the boxy, flat-sided Halcyon kit part for reference, which I thought complemented the overall look. The Xenon spotlight mounted on the roof is wired to a remote controlled switch. It is connected to a power source behind an internal bulkhead by an external wire lead with a quick disconnect to facilitate complete removal of the roof for unobstructed viewing of the interior. The larger of two roof covers of the APC can be raised or removed to reveal the interior.
I used two 1/6th scale ammo cans for the boxes that are adjacent to the rear lights.
The refueling couplings, those two circular details located on the vented starboard lower mechanical access cover, are PVC pipe parts. I added some hinge detail to the door panels on the vented mechanical access panel just to boost the detail a bit. In 1/6th scale, details like these boost the "grin factor".
There are several ventilation and access panels on the vehicle that have screens incorporated in them, and after searching for something suitable to use for the screening, I discovered black plastic crochet panels. These were easy to cut and fit, and look very convincing.
The barrel-shaped smoke projectors, located just above the turbine exhaust ports were made using styrene stock. These were pinned and cemented in place.
The pair of roof-mounted (comm) antennas were made with bits of styrene and each fin was backed up, on the inside, with a bit of styrene channel for reinforcement. The hand holds were made from cast resin rod, heated and bent to shape. The single antenna (UHF) was a component off of a salvaged circuit board.
The rear light housings were made with bits of styrene stock. Rear light crash bars were made from brass tubing. Strobe light covers, reflectors, and miniature bulb housings from salvaged disposable film cameras were used for the bulb holders/reflectors. I found just the right size of these reflectors for the front side running lights as well, from among the many cameras that were mine for the asking at a local shop.
A word of caution though, should you find yourself disassembling a camera for parts goodies: the battery used for the flash system may still be good and, more importantly, so will the capacitor and it is very likely going to be charged up and ready to zap you. I pull the battery and short the capacitor leads with an old screw driver before I have at it, to avoid a shock.
I devised a very effective exhaust FX system that operates on low pressure air. It uses talcum powder for effect. The system is pretty simple, consisting of two small tanks made from off-the-shelf PVC pluming fixtures fitted with copper tubing. Each tank is mounted in a space just blow the "turbine" exhaust ports. A screw cap allows loading of talc into the tank. A copper exhaust tube from the tank connects to the exhaust port on the APC with a loop of latex tubing. The air supply tube of each tank is connected via a "T" fitting to a common air supply; a can of compressed Gas Duster.
I took some cautions when rigging the can of compressed gas, as these things can explode if they get overheated. I mounted it with a band clamp to a firewall with two layers of Fibrafrax, a material used in aircraft firewalls. The can was wrapped in a blanket of Fibrafrax and covered in foil.
The can trigger is actuated by a small servo on the firewall board. The tank/firewall unit sits between the two gear drives and just forward of the drive motors. A short burst of air from the air supply stirs and expels talc from the tanks and out through the engine exhaust ports. It looks more like jets of hot water vapor than billowing smoke and, when timed with the turbines revving, the effect is convincing enough.
All of the APC models that I've ever seen were OD in color but the APC was painted Brown Bess. I weathered and distressed the model by highlighting edges, seams, dents, dings, and some combat splash marks with shades of aluminum and a bit of silver. A black wash was applied to the entire surface of the model and then a bit more highlighting was applied. I black lined around details, as well. When it was all done I gave it several coats of dull coat.
The avoid a monotonous colored interior, I used a palette of green colors. To differentiate and draw attention to interior spaces and textures, I mixed and matched various complementary shades of greens. The troop seating area walls and the rear bulkhead were painted with Chromate Green and all the seat back and restraint bars are in OD. The seat cushions were painted black, heavily weathered, and distressed; some have repairs made from duct tape, in miniature, of course. On one of the troop seats, scratched deeply into the aluminum, it reads, "Crowe Was Here," a small tribute to Tip Tipping who played Crowe in Aliens.
"When I turn around I'm gonna #%&*@!' kill you!"
-- Sgt. "The Sarge" Kevin Burton, USCM
The main turret sports a humorous, and in context, a very appropriate bit of graffiti. A pal came up with a bit of graffiti for the custom 1:1 USCM weapon he made and it was a big hit at Dragon Con. I could not resist putting it on the back of the main turret. Just seemed . . . so right.
Git-R-Done would be an appropriate title for some flashy "nose art" on this baby because ... I finally got it done, but maybe, since I haven't gotten to that yet, it really ain't!
I will be able to switch out nose art on the APC by simply changing a thin panel template on the troop door. The plan was to have more than a few pieces of artwork to use.
"Stimpy" in a USCM helmet adorns the door, Thanks to Mike Rush of the ALB. "Stimpy" wasn't even a consideration but once I saw the little booger and how the art looks on the door, I thought this works for me.
R/C Functions
Two kiddy car gear motor drives connected to an electronic speed control and drive the APC along at a pretty good pace. Two 6 volt batteries supply power for the drive motors. Lights and receivers have independent power supplies.
Features:
- 2 electronically controlled 12 volt gear motors. Adjustable speed: forward, reverse, left, and right.
- Driver Access Door opens/closes.
- Troop Access Door opens/closes.
- Turbine Exhaust/Smoke FX
- Sound System: Movie sound bites, dialogue, turbine engine start up and run.
- Driving and running lights.
- Interior lights.
- Running lights. The front/main lights are high intensity blue- white LEDs mounted into flashlight bulb reflectors.
"Listen up!
Thanks to all you UKCM http://www.colonialmarines.co.uk/
and USCM numb nuts from the Aliens Legacy Board and the USCM Charter http://www.colonialmarines.net/, for the support, advice and encouragement along the way.
Now, all you all, drop and give me fifty!"
-- Pt. Chris (FNG) Chulamanis, USCM
Thanks, as well to Harry Harris of the Harry Harris ALIENS Collection and Archive (http://www.harryharris.com/) for those great big wonderful APC plans and helping to clarify some important and finer detail points. Couldn't have done it without you!
"Yes, there is a 1/6th scale piece of cheese in the APC, too. NOW FIND IT AND GET IT OUT OF MY APC, on the double!"
--Pt. Chris (FNG) Chulamanis, USCM
A miniature letter "from home" with ALIENS Theme Stamps; a cup with instant coffee pack, cream and sugar, and of course a baggie containing some crackers and cheese ... for Harry.
Thanks to my good friend, Angela Portman, for all the encouragement along the way and for helping me with the screen caps for the Tactical Operations Center displays.
Thanks also to Ed McDonald who was instrumental in providing not only his R/C know how, but time and effort, as well.
I hope to bring the APC to the next Dragon Con, road tested or not, at least for display, if not to run in the Parade. Having a few autographs from the stars of ALIENS on it would be icing on the cake, too. Until then ... Stay Frosty.
A pic of my APC in the Hanger Bay. TKS Angie ; ^)
Copyright © 2006 by Christopher Chulamanis. All rights reserved.