Aprilien Roundup

April + Alien! Get it?!

Why did I choose Aprilien for the April theme instead of Maylien, which rolls off the tongue better? Well, because April 26th is Alien Day, due to the mm/dd date format giving it 4/26, and the Nostromo landing on, and Hadley’s Hope being founded on LV-426.

So to get ready for Alien Day, I wanted to paint up some of the awesome stuff I have for use in Black Site Studio’s excellent Sci-Fi horror game, Violent Dark, which makes for a great Alien themed game. Some of the models I had painted previously, like the Big Chap models by Prodos for the old AVP game, and the Violent Dark Xenos, but some of them needed their bases completed, which I did this month. Let’s take a look!

This M577 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) was sculpted by Papsikels, a name you’ll see a lot in this post, and one I highly recommend you check out. I bought this 3D Print, and it’s incredible! I’ve seen there is also the M540 Armoured Recon Carrier (ARC) from Aliens Dark Descent is available, a smaller vehicle, but also really cool looking. Maybe I’ll need it…

What good is an APC without the USCMC to go with it? These are all sculpted by Papsikels, other than the Marine on the right of the first photo, which is a model from the starter set for Violent Dark. All of the Marines are armed with M41A Pulse Rifles, other than the Smart Gunners, Drake and Vasquez, and the pilot, Ferro. There is even a sniper rifle variant of the Pulse Rifle, with an extended barrel and a sniper scope.

The crew that started it all off! Quite possibly my favourite film, Alien, has an amazing cast portraying the crew of the Nostromo. These models were sculpted by Papsikels, and are lovingly detailed. From the unusual belt buckle on Ash’s outfit, to the Three World Empire patch on Brett’s jacket. Kane even has a holster on his belt with the RXF-M5 EVA Pistol he carries in the Alien Director’s Cut, when he is investigating the eggs in the derelict ship.

The Xenomorphs! These are mostly sculpted by Papsikels, however the Xenos with the spiked arms (in the photo with the eggs) are the Xenos models from Violent Dark. I was inspired by some of the old toys I used to have for some of the colour variants I used here, like the Charger Alien in the first pic, I based on the Bull Alien figure, and in Pic 2, the left Xeno is coloured like the Scorpion Alien, and I used back, metallic blue and silver on the Xeno on the right, which I based on the Gorilla Alien. The Queen and the Perfected Xenos used Purple metallic paint, then a highlight of blue metallic paint drybrushed over black, then selective pin washes with black contrast paint. I think it gave them a great finish. I also added drool using UV resin.

Here are a few action shots! Pic 2 and 3 both feature the iconic Big Chap Xenomorph from the original Alien film. A few years ago, I bought a set of the Prodos Big Chap models (and I was lucky enough to have an extra Big Chap in the box)!

I love the scenery I’ve used in the majority of these photos. It’s from the Kill Team Gallowdark scenery kits by Games Workshop.

Now the question is, what do I paint in May? Well… Maybe I just paint more Alien and call it Maylien? I mean, I have a whole lot more cool stuff to paint, from some soldiers of the UPP, Working Joes, and a whole heap of Xenomorphs and the characters from Alien Romulus…