Alien Narcissus *Completed*

[NS4]

Thanks Satazius!
lol - after this is done I will be taking a long break!

[NS4]

The top of the ship is done and the weathering is now complete!

The acrylic wash adds an extra bit of contrast that really brings out the details in the kit parts.
I'm very pleased with the way it has turned out.

   

   

   

   

   


Next up is mapping the locations and adding the pencil and pen marks that are scattered all over the ship (and there are a LOT) - These are just a few examples of what I mean:

     

Getting close now...

[JAWS]

Outstanding work.

[NS4]

Thanks Jase.
Almost at the finish line!

[JAWS]

Looking forward to it.

[NS4]

Progress!
I have been setting out all of the markings scattered around the underside of the ship (mainly on the front), and matching them to the reference images.

   

The underside is now pretty much done and is a good match to the original when overlayed.

   

As a side note, I noticed that these markings change under varying lighting conditions and appear to be somewhat reflective.
This is exactly the same effect I am getting using the graphite powder, so hopefully that means I'm on the right path in terms of accuracy.

   

I will now move on to mapping the decals for the underside.
More updates soon...

[JAWS]

Excellent work.
I wish I had some of these skills.
Thanks for updates.
👍

[NS4]

Thanks Jase!
I'm flying by the seat of my pants with these techniques as I've never done anything like this before!
Just goes to prove that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks! lol

[NS4]

The underside is finished.
I have mapped all the graphite and pen markings to the reference photos as well as all the decals.

   

   

I will now get these printed at 1:1 so I can use them as full sized templates - this will allow me to transfer everything on to the replica and match the digital model precisely.

[Satazius]

Stunning work. It's been a real treat watching this come together. Thanks so much for sharing.

[NS4]

Thank you very much - finally on the home stretch!

[NS4]

Apologies for the lack of updates lately.
I've been working hard on the top decal matching, but it is taking longer than I originally anticipated - mainly because I'm stubborn and I want to get it as perfect as I can (especially the iconic pin-up girl).

Getting closer now though, so hopefully I can do an further update soon.

   

[NS4]

I hit a significant milestone today - the 3D CAD model is now 100% complete!

With the mapping of the upper decals and markings (which took way longer than I had anticipated), the model is done.

It's taken 6 years of work (on and off) to finally have it finished.
It is as close to the original as I can possibly get it.

I did find that some decals weren't able to be made out 100%, but unless new reference becomes available (or the original model resurfaces), they will probably remain a mystery. The same goes for a couple of the kit parts.
For anything unknown, I have still made sure that what I used matches over the reference images as closely as I can.
It's easy to get carried away starring at something on screen and forgetting that it is only mm's in size.

Attached are a set of some of the reference images I used with the finished full model overlaid over them.

         

         

         

       

       

       

       

       

       

The next step is to extract all the decals from the model and send them off for printing.
In the meantime I'll add all the pen and graphite marks to the ship in preparation.

The end is near!

[JAWS]

Damn amazing work!

[NS4]

Thanks very much Jason!

[NS4]

The artwork for the decals is all done.
I extracted the photo matched outlines from the 3D model and then took them into vector editing software to modify the line weights and add the colours.
They will be professionally printed using a commercial wide-format 8-ink solvent-ink printer on premium-grade 18 micron clear waterslide media.
I managed to fit 2 sets of the studio scale decals on an A4 sheet along with a set each for 1:48 and 1:72 - just to see how they translate to a smaller size.
They are being printed as we speak and will be here next week.
I plan to spend this weekend finishing off all the final weathering and markings ready for when the decals arrive.

Here is a comparison shot of my decals against the original.
Note - the pin-up decal evolved during the course of building the ship.
The blacked out text, "Miss Piggy" and garter belt were all added after this shot was taken.
Mine represents how the decal would have looked at the time of filming (it never ended up being in the movie)

   

And the full decal sheet:

   

Close now!

[NS4]

I have one more task to finish before I can fit the decals, and that's adding the (mostly) rectangular graphite shapes scattered over the front half of the ship.

I'm currently half way through the process, so I thought I'd share a post on my approach to getting them as accurately as I can from the CAD model to the physical one...

I printed out full size paper templates of the ships individual panels with all the markings (and decals) showing.
Using low tack painters tape, I place the tape onto the template, flush with the nearest panel edge and cut along a second edge so that I have two edges to align to. The tape is relatively transparent so you can see the template through it.
I cut out the part that needs to be added directly over the template which acts as a sacrificial guide to ensure I get the size and placement correct. I peel the tape off the template and transfer it to the ship, lining up the edges to the corresponding panels.
It's then just a matter of brushing over the cutout with graphite powder and carefully removing the tape.
If I find that it need to be "dialed back" a little, I just use an eraser to knock it down a touch. If I don't like the result, I can rub it out and try again!

The trick with these marking is to be subtle. Many of them are very light and you have to look hard to see them.

The photos show the series of steps I describe above and the 1st panel completed.
It should take me a couple more days to knock the rest off.

   

   

More updates soon...

[NS4]

This picture was posted by Lou Zutavern on FB today.
It's of the original Narcissus garage from Alien - long presumed lost.
Apparently, it is in LA and will be undergoing a full restoration - awesome!.

However, the reason that this particular image is exciting for me, is that it represents the first time that there has ever been a measurement reference that can be tied directly back to the (long lost) original ship - as the garage and engine recesses were made to fit it exactly, obviously!.
I have measured the rear engine centres on my model and am relieved to report that they match Lou's dimensions exactly! 

   

[NS4]

All of the graphite marking are now done.
I had a few of them drawn up as decals, but as they were done by hand on the original, I opted to go that way too.

The templates worked well and locating the markings was relatively straight forward and more importantly, it was accurate.

   

   

I will use them again to add the decals - which is all that remains to be done to finish the ship off.
I have them in hand now and they look good...

   

Final updates coming soon!

[Satazius]

Daaaaammmn. So nice!

[NS4]

Thank you!

[NS4]

The Alien Narcissus studio scale replica is now complete,

It's taken literally 1000's of hours work, from creating the photo matched digital model and recreating every one of the 100's of kit parts (from scratch after buying all the donor kits), to converting the CAD model into layouts suitable for building a physical replica. Tracing over all the marks, scratches and decals and finally adding them to the physical build of the ship - along with the weathering.
It was a LOT of work, but I can say that I'm satisfied that I have achieved what I set out to do - create the most accurate replica of this iconic model possible.

For the final stage, the decals went on well.
There are a few inconsistencies where I didn't quite match the correct shade on some of them but that was always going to be the case and I needed the printed decals in hand to confirm it. I have gone back and revised the decal files to be correct.

I spent yesterday setting up for photos of the model to compare against the original. It was a lot of fun to try and match the camera and lighting angles. The few hours it took to take them were well worth it to see how closely the replica has turned out.
These photos are also the final check of accuracy.
I've spent the past few hours analyzing them for any differences. I've made a few VERY minor changes (n the range 0.2-0.5mm range lol). This is something I have done throughout the build - a continual process of refinement.
The digital model has been updated along the way so that it now represents the most accurate model possible.

I would like to say a big thanks to everyone that has followed along with the build.
As I've said on previous occasions, it would not have been the same without being able to share the progress with everyone.
This was also a large contributing factor in keeping me motivated and getting to where we are today.
So THANK YOU!

For those that have asked about decals for the Halcyon model -
I will be working with a volunteer who as agreed to test fit the set I have and report back.
Once that is done I hope to have a few sets printed up for those that would like them.
I will update here when I have any news.

In the meantime, please enjoy the photos.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

[Turrican]

Man....that's indeed P-E-R-F-E-C-T-I-O-N !!
Great journey to a more than just wonderful build model.

Really, really great job! Well done!

[NS4]

Thank you so much Turrican!