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many thanks for the how to on the lamination process silver!... but I have to ask anew... what do you use for laminating? do you use just the same glue you use for all the other work you do? somehow I thought you would do something that would involve a tool we here call a "lamination device"... where you put sheets of paper inside a plastic bag and due to heat melts itself around the paper... but I guess my fault is due to speech errors we Germans inflict on our own language^^... the guns you made show how much patience you can muster up for such a project... for this I have the biggest respect!

adamsouza wrote:The amount of detail in making the model and documenting the process are both impressive

Thanks for looking in and for your comment

shasolenzabi wrote:One of my favorite movie vehicles.

The only drawback to this APC is that it is really not a feasible combat vehicle but it looks good and mean never the less.

Viktor von Domm wrote:many thanks for the how to on the lamination process silver!... but I have to ask anew... what do you use for laminating? do you use just the same glue you use for all the other work you do? somehow I thought you would do something that would involve a tool we here call a "lamination device"... where you put sheets of paper inside a plastic bag and due to heat melts itself around the paper... but I guess my fault is due to speech errors we Germans inflict on our own language^^... the guns you made show how much patience you can muster up for such a project... for this I have the biggest respect!

I use regular white glue for the whole build, but sometimes i will use super glue, like if I have to glue metal to the paper. And no, I do not use a heat laminating machine. This method is like making plywood and holding the parts together under slight pressure. Mostly holding it together for a minute between the fingers will do but if it is about half the size of a paper sheet, then I will place the laminated part between the pages in a book, but use wax paper to protect the pages and to keep the part from sticking to the pages.


More details to go for the inside before the rear is closed up.

more photo update on the build. Enjoy and see you all next posting.

This is genius!
I loved this vehicle in aliens, and you've done a great job in recreating it.

TermaGrant wrote:
This is genius!
I loved this vehicle in aliens, and you've done a great job in recreating it.

Thanks for looking in and for your comment. Glad that you are enjoying the build thread. More to come.

Here is the update on the build. The top will be removable so as to see the interior. I figure that it would be a shame to cover up all the details so with this build session I built and detailed the top covers.

And now, for that sliding door and some extra details. The rail cannon will be for last, due to how fragile it will be and I still have to handle the main body a lot more. Enjoy and see you all next posting.

That was the only problem I had with the thing, a side door for the troops to get in and out, just the single door.

 shasolenzabi wrote:
That was the only problem I had with the thing, a side door for the troops to get in and out, just the single door.

As mentioned earlier, this is not a viable APC. It is based on an airplane tractor mule. It has lousy ground clearance and is only okay for urban use only. The front turret rotates but does not elevate, (My version will have elevation control) and neither does the top/sliding turret.. It has no mud guards, which means, that the rail turret when in the stowed position will be packed with road debris. For the propulsion system, ?????? is there an engine?????. there are so many questionable attributes to this APC. The only thing that it has in its favor, is that it looks good and mean.

Thanks for looking in and I will back soon wih more photo updates.

Oh the thing screams "We only use this in built up areas where elevation is useless and we have an electrical undercarriage for all drive and power, like this episode of Top Gear.

It looks more like a literal command bunker that can be dropped by the drop ship and just sit tight. It's obviously not meant for major off road usage. I guess that might be why Ripley breaks the axle of the thing the moment it's out of the complex and off road.

Awesome build! Exalted!

This vehicle is one of my favourites, I'm dismayed that it only had so much screen time. I love what you're doing here!

As for engine and propulsion system, it's an electric vehicle and (as you said before) is meant for urban environments.

shasolenzabi wrote:Oh the thing screams "We only use this in built up areas where elevation is useless and we have an electrical undercarriage for all drive and power, like this episode of Top Gear.

I surmise, that it has a cold fusion devise that generates the electrical power to move this thing. Each tyre would have in its internal hub the gears to operate the wheels, brakes and steering. since there is no or very little internal space for those items. Now to work on that low ground clearance???

TheLionOfTheForest wrote:It looks more like a literal command bunker that can be dropped by the drop ship and just sit tight. It's obviously not meant for major off road usage. I guess that might be why Ripley breaks the axle of the thing the moment it's out of the complex and off road.

Awesome build! Exalted!

It could be made into a police SWAT vehicle of some sort. I cannot envision it as a combat vehicle.

Deunstephe wrote:This vehicle is one of my favourites, I'm dismayed that it only had so much screen time. I love what you're doing here!

As for engine and propulsion system, it's an electric vehicle and (as you said before) is meant for urban environments.

There is an abundance of reference material for the vehicle but unfortunately, all those interior props would have a hard time fitting inside. I just cut and chose those items that make it look like it is feasible.

Thanks to all of you for looking in making comments. There is still more to come, I am not finished yet.

In the first photo you will see my first tyre. This will slow me down somewhat since every thread has to be done individually and glued individually. The turret from the plans and the reference material have a turret with no visible elevation process. with this version, I made the slots for the guns to elevate. I was going to make the guns do just that, but since I made the center tube, it would have been hard to place the mechanism for this effect. As is, the guns can be posed in the up or down position. At least, this APC can shoot down flying intruders. Again, this model is as solid as a plastic or resin model. There is nothing flimsy about it.

That low ground clearance shows that they made it for use on planets they have laid out roads and or inside heavy build up zones. Says something about the society they have that such a machine would be considered, It could also be a turbine Lithium cell where the belly has the Lithium cells, the undo several bolts, lift the body from the chassis, and the turbine is not needing to be very big, would mostly be a "bump" somewhere, and just have to be turned on for charging the cells when they got low in power is all. That would even be the case for the small cold fusion generator such a layout would need

 shasolenzabi wrote:
That low ground clearance shows that they made it for use on planets they have laid out roads and or inside heavy build up zones. Says something about the society they have that such a machine would be considered, It could also be a turbine Lithium cell where the belly has the Lithium cells, the undo several bolts, lift the body from the chassis, and the turbine is not needing to be very big, would mostly be a "bump" somewhere, and just have to be turned on for charging the cells when they got low in power is all. That would even be the case for the small cold fusion generator such a layout would need

Later on in the build, I will show the proposed seating arrangement for the movie set, and you will see that there is very little space for a power generator plant inside the vehicle. Regardless, the vehicle still looks menacing.

More details. I am at a slow down for the moment, Only got two wheels finished. Those tyres are time consuming but There will be a build thread on it. If you happen to check out some of my tyre in my build thread, this will be the third version on making wheels.
It surprised me when doing the front tow hooks, that none of the references have any for the rear. For this version i will make some for the back as well. Also missing, is the trailer towing pintle, but I am not going to make one for this one.

The last photo is of a possible display of the vehicle but with a different apparatus to hold the top plates in the open position. Enjoy and see you all next posting.

Well, here are some more updates, I have caught up with the photos and it will be slow going for a while. Those Tyres are very tedious indeed. As for those who are interested in looking at my work station, the last photos is where I make it happen. The photo shoot are in the dining room on top of a handmade cabinet serving station. Enjoy and see you all soon with more updates.

I have finally finished the tires but again, that is for another posting. Here is another update on the tires.

More wheel construction. This part is almost done,and then the steering and suspension system will be coming up soon

Just a bit more to finish the tyre sequence. This is the most tedious part of the build and it is mostly because there are 4 wheels to make. If I were to have made this out of styrene, I would have made one wheel and casted the other one.

And now for the wheel attachment and the steering. I made some clamps for the steering dowel and the shock absorbers also have a function other than looking good. they help in holding the steering clamps in place. The hardest part, belive it, was the thin strip around the wheel shields. the strip is extra thin and very fragile. the first attempt frayed at the ends and I had to revert to using the toe clipper for a sharp cut without the unraveling.

As of the moent, I have made the rail system and it works, Now I have to play around with the gun turret to make it swivel. So far so good and I am almost done but I still have a few more postings to do

omg... that tire detail work... that is so outside of the box thinking...

looks really the part i may add if the above may seem heretic

 Viktor von Domm wrote:
omg... that tire detail work... that is so outside of the box thinking...

looks really the part i may add if the above may seem heretic

This process can also be used for making the wheels for other imperial, chaos and orky vehicles, it is not restricted to this vehicle only. thanks for looking in and I am glad that you are enjoying the build.

So here is the process for making that steering possible. There is a way for making the wheels work in tandem with each other but since it has an interior, it is hard to make that steering linkage. I can still do it from the outside, but it would require an extra hollow panel under the hull for it. I actually drilled a hole for the steering linkage but it is not visible in the photos. I will probably finish with it in the next couple of days but not with the overall project. There are some details I have to work out with a possible diorama. I got some Tamiya figures and I have to prep them to make them look somewhat like the USCM (United States Colonial Marines) Enjoy and now to work n the top turret.

Amazing that they did that with the wheels, shocks and ability to steer

 shasolenzabi wrote:
Amazing that they did that with the wheels, shocks and ability to steer

Thank you for looking in and enjoying the build thread. More to come.

Okay, I am back again with more updates. This session will be on the railing system. If I had made this model from styrene, I would have used the channels used in HO scale buildings and it would have been thinner. Because of the material in use, the railing is a tad more thick. The hollow carrier/truck would not have been viable if I wanted the slide to work. The truck is made from a piece of bass wood and the skin is the one from the plans. The wood truck can now accept the pins and the heads of the pins will simulate the bearing wheels. The head of the pins will slide inside the channel made from the laminated rails. The outside of the rails is further strengthen by gluing the channel to a piece of card stock. This method will help in the railing maintaining its shape during use and not de-laminating. The next session will be on the turret which I had to scratch build due to the one in the plans being to flimsy for constant use.

As mentioned earlier, The turret plans are too flimsy and it needs an internal support system. I used the plans as a reference and made an internal structure of thick laminated ribs. The skinning is made from 120lbs weight paper stock. That ring on the truck, helps to keep the turret on and helps the stability of the turret. The cannons are coming up next and see you all then.

The model is finished and only things left are options, like the crew hanging around, A mechanics bay diorama, or whatever the imagination can think of. I still have the Tamiya figures to consider for it. Last item I attached, were the handles which I made from paper clip wire.

Anyhows, I said that he main model is finished but I had to remake the front gatling turret, The one from the printed plan is not quite right. The rest of the turret re-build will be in the next posting.

So here is the new turret for the APC, it sits lower below the top plate and it seems scaled to the reference photos. You can make out the new turret as a better version than the original plans. For the next few days, I will probably post a bit less, due to my visiting family and friends and I will not have access to my tools of the trade. I will post the last photos of the APC as I get to them so until next posting, enjoy

Looks good! excellent work!

 shasolenzabi wrote:
Looks good! excellent work!

Thanks for looking in and for your kid comment. There are models to come in the future. Enjoy and see you around the forum.

Sorry for the threadromancy, but I just needed to say That is amazing build. Especially for the medium you used, I never would have thought a paper kit could be so detailed. I love it.

This would be perfect for the new/soon to be released Aliens vs Predator miniatures game in 1/48th scale I think.

Do you have any photos of it next to a model, maybe a 28mm one please