Chris Chulamanis, AKA, FNG USCM in ALIENS: USCM Armor
Pt. C. Chulamanis
A14/TQ4.0.66993E7
This page was created in an attempt to make it easier for ALIENS: USCM fans to put their USCM costumes together with a few less hassles along the way, and to share some of my personal tips on painting and costume accessories.
Armor PICS 
Armor
Painting Tips Armor Mods Make
A Lighted Infrared Sight M41A Pulse
Rifle
Shoulder Lamp Hand
Welder Make A Hacking Tool
Belt Tool Tips Personal
Data Transmitter
Make A Personalized USCM Tin
Items For Sale Where
to Buy BDUs, Armor and Patches Essential
Links
Trying to look the part of a USCM grunt... a bit grungy, worried, and ready to kill any bugs that show themselves.
Note the lighted shoulder lamp.
Big thanks to Angie Portman for working her magic so these otherwise dull pictures look like the real deal.
Spat's New Leg Armor...
Absolutely BADASS!
Mods I made:
Added the three Equipment Brackets to the back of the torso armor. Also added the two Shoulder Lamp Brackets.
Added the Heart, Lock & Hasp, a la Hicks.
Added Grenade Rounds (resin) and Teckna Knife.
Added a bullet hit to the helmet front strike plate with the word "Ouch!" just like on my little 1:6 scale Marine.
Added a new sweat band, replica helmet strap, and a surplus OD helmet band.
Added a plate with rivet detail on the existing plate over the headphone. Added switch detail to bottom of Headphone.
Added an adjustable top strap to the groin armor pad to keep it secured in place.
Added a "working" Infrared Sight to the helmet. This little unit has a self contained power source, is spring loaded and pops down automatically with the push of a button. The light turns on when the lens is deployed. It pushes up and locks in place when not in use. It fits between the Helmet Liner and Helmet Webbing/Sweat Band.
Added black ballistic cloth to the buckle sides of the leg armor.
Some Thoughts About Painting USCM Armor
Although I pretty much knew how I was going to paint the armor I approached the task with some trepidation. This was relatively new ground for me. My experience with painting USCMs was limited to 1:6 scale. All preconceived concerns aside, making the jump to 1:1 scale, as it turned out, was a blast and a half. I approached painting it in the same way as I did the little 1:6 scale USCMs. I guess that shows, as someone commented to me, that my 1:1 armor looks just like the 1:6 examples. Works for me.
Little tins of Humbrol paints were computer color matched and mixed at a Lowe's. They mixed a quart of each color for about $8.00 each. Having the correct base colors seems like the most sensible way to start. The paints are acrylics (water based) paints. Tough stuff, these paints were formulated for exterior use on homes. They apply easily, and no nasty fumes or messy clean up. The black paint was just off the shelf generic craft store black.
Invested time in looking over references of armor from Harry's and Willies site and of course the DVD in order to familiarize my self with the armor camouflage finish. I had done this before in order to paint up the 1/6 Marines and found it very helpful. In order to achieve a fairly convincing overall finish one must go well beyond just applying the basic colors. The techniques of black washing and dry brushing serve just as well in the full sized world as they do for smaller scale modeling. The brushes I used were a 1" bristle brush, a No. 6 flat, for the fine lines, and a No. 10 flat brush for the rest of the patterns/shapes. A big note here; while you are painting on the base colors do not be in the least bit concerned about a miss here or a thin spot there because later on when you apply a liberal black wash these areas will hold the wash and enhance the overall grimy distressed appearance. You have to muck it up a bit and make it appear as if paint has been worn through to the metal. I dry brushed edges with aluminum color using a 1" bristle brush. Edges on the front of the torso armor, leg armor, helmet and so on, all got a real heavy dry brushing; to the point that all the base colors are covered and it appears that they have been worn and scoured off down to bare aluminum. Doing this accentuates the armor details too. Then I went back and black washed these areas to bring out the surface texture. Next was another light dry brushing in aluminum. The next step is a light dry brush with chrome silver to simulate new and frequently scuffed/polished areas. To make random dings and scratches in the paint I put some aluminum color on the tips of brushes and stippled it on here and there, in areas that one would expect to be scratched and worn. When I was satisfied with the new paint job I sprayed it all down with several coats of Testors semi gloss spray lacquer to help protect the finish from scratches. The lacquer tends to dull the fresh chrome/aluminum finish so go back and touch it up with fresh paint here and there, and then you're done.
Even though Spat's armor is awesome, the paint scheme is none standard. However it has redeeming qualities. I found it a bit uncanny that the brownish squiggles can serve as areas that will be painted in sand color. Just elongate the shapes a bit here and there and you have a good start. Truth is, one can flesh out Spats paint job convincingly with a bit of effort. The uncanny thing is that if one uses it to work from, what you get is a convincing and authentic looking pattern and finish. I just simply fleshed it out using the correct colors.
Never rush your work. It always pays to take your time and most importantly have fun. Remember if you screw something up it can always be fixed.
Some thoughts, and things I learned along the way. It became apparent, that from the start, I spent too much time worrying about "nothings." For example, I wanted to have the armor unassembled so I could paint around the strap attach points easily. Truth is doing that is very easy. Just use a bit of paper or card stock as you do it to mask. If you happen to get some paint on a strap just dab it off with a wet paper towel. You could also just touch up with black paint. I wanted the armor unpainted so I could prime it. Spat does us a great favor by supplying his armor with a good coat of green paint; consider it primer, and apply your base colors right over it. I guess the most important thing I learned from this is that the base colors need not be perfectly applied and that generous weathering is a must.
I hope this helps.
BDUs: Men At Arms/Scifimilitary.
ARMOR: Spat makes a great set of 1:1 scale armor. Spat's armor set comes ready to wear. What you get is a complete set of body armor, leg armor and a genuine steel pot. Everything is well made and worth the money. He also makes M41A Pulse Rifle Kits. Visit his website: http://www.spatcave.com/
Patches: Embroidered USCM patches can be found on eBay and at Intergalactic Trading Company.
Okay people, listen up. Time to let the cat out of the bag. An off-the-shelf Brookstone Lighted 2X Pop-Up Magnifier converts easily to a USCM Helmet Mounted Infrared Sight. Woooo-hooooooooooo!
FNG is giving it up. That's right (getting into character) So listen up, all you grunts with Helmets, but no lights on in your attics! No, no, no, put the pencil away, numb nuts. This is going to be easy and you won't need to take notes.
Some of you have asked how I made the "Infrared Sight" on my USCM (Spat) helmet. I danced around giving anyone a straight answer to that question for a couple of reasons. First, Spat had done some work on getting a prop replica of the sight made and I didn't want to step on toes. The other reason was because making it into a "kit" with a single cast resin piece, a printed lens display, and a simple how to instruction sheet, came to mind. Having made my reasons for not divulging how I did it clear, I also invited a few folks to guess at how I did it. Not a one could see or guess despite some hints like... This little unit has a self-contained power source, is spring-loaded and pops down automatically with the push of a button. The light turns on when the lens is deployed. OK, one more time; this little unit has a self-contained power source, is spring-loaded and pops down automatically with the push of a button. The light turns on when the lens is deployed. Long pause. I'm still getting blank looks. OK, it looks like I'm just gonna have to spell it out for you. What? No, I don't need a pencil, numb nuts!
Now, listen up, Marines! FNG says KISS! Prepare to be amazed. Here's how I did it. Started with a simple, off the shelf, ready made, comes in a nice box, Brookstone Lighted 2X Pop-Up Magnifier.
Yeah, that's right. OK, you can raise your jaw now, sonny. I told you it was easy. Sets you back about $12.00. Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen. It gets even better. All you need to do is carefully cut off a corner. Do your homework and you can probably determine the best dimensions for the corner cut so it's dead on accurate.
Next, build up a frame section using some stock styrene. The frame you make runs across the bottom and across the corner section you remove. Glue it on, paint it, and you're done. Check the PICs below for reference.
A good image of the lens markings used in the film is out there. I just made one up that was convincing enough for me and printed it on transparency film. Glued it to the back of the lens and there you have it.
I cut a clearance slot in the helmet liner so the whole unit would slide in between the helmet liner webbing and the liner. Makes for a good tight fit so it's all pretty snug. Remove the metal clip (as shown) that holds the sweatband to the liner. Check the PICs below for reference.
If there is a drawback to all this it's that the lens has 2x magnification properties but the truth is I've used the thing a few times and it doesn't really matter too much. The effect is very convincing. This unit does not represent what some would describe as a movie accurate prop replica. Spat is in the process of doing that.
So, all you grunts with Helmets, but no lights on in your attics... get out there and make one!
FNG out!
Bought this PR Kit from a pal that did a lot of work on it. It's an old Marco Kit ... "feel the weight." I've named it Evel Knievel, because it's held together with more screws and steel pins than the man himself.
Note: The Rifle Sling is the same as those found on two quart canteens and can be purchased at Army and Navy Surplus stores.
The Shoulder Light consists of a Battery Box and an Articulating Arm that supports the Lamp Head. The Lamp Head pictured here consists of real parts like those used in the film. The Battery box is a replica cast resin piece. It is rigged with an internal battery box for two "AAA" batteries and the Lamp Head contains a reflector from a projection bulb in which a high intensity white LED has been installed. It makes a nice glow in the reflector without blinding folks.
The shoulder lamp kit required a bit of work. I hollowed it out to make room for the battery box and wires, and also to lighten it up some. I reinforced the head lamp arm with piano wire and substituted parts of the resin cast arms with ABS plastic tubes. It was a kludge but it works.
If I ever upgrade I will go with a Matsuo Shoulder Lamp
Check with Matsuo for excellent shoulder lamp kits.
G-5707 Gerber MKII Combat Knife and Belt Tool.
Gerber is a casting in Black resin. Blade end is blunt and extends only .25" into the sheath.
Belt Tool shown with the replaceable resin tip (both sides shown).
Stephan, AKA Pulse Rifle Fan, has created a beautiful and accurate representation of the USCM Hand Welder, and he granted me permission to reproduce them for our fellow USCMs.
Picture on the left shows Stephan's original and faithfully crafted USCM Hand Welder. To the right of it is the resin cast reproduction. Picture on the right shows the right side of the reproduction hand welder.
These resin cast reproductions are available now.
Kit Price: $75.00, (includes metal picture hanger to form the lens hinge and hardware for mounting it)
Finished Welder: $95.00 for a finished piece with working lens hinge.
Note the "lens" is just a thin piece of resin that could be left in place or easily removed and replaced with a piece of welders glass. I left mine in place.
Finishing the welder yourself requires making the bracket/hinge (see below) and perhaps some minor sanding of one seam line. An off the shelf steel picture hanger can be used to make a strong bracket/hinge for your welder lens. These vary a bit in size and shape and work well because the existing holes serve as pilot holes for the two tabs that support the lens. The hanger is just the right width too.
Making a Lens Hinge: This is a quick and very easy, as follows ...
A typical, of the shelf, steel picture hanger.
Hammered flat.
Bent and drilled.
I used a number 24 Drill Bit for the two tab holes. Two small nails serve to anchor the bracket to the body of the welder. Drill two holes at the base of the bracket accordingly for the nails you use. Use tin snips and a file to round out the tabs.
I glued the bracket to the welder body and then drilled the holes for the two nails that anchor it. Apply a bit of super glue to the tip of each nail, insert them, tap down with a small hammer. I filled the small gaps at the sides of the brackets with Milliput, sanded them smooth and then painted it black.
To hang it from a belt one will need to install a buckle/loop, and attach a store bought swivel point.
I can supply this belt hanger. Webbing is riveted in place. "D" ring is dimpled to hold the swivel centered.
$12.00 as shown.
K, that's the skinny. Any questions or concerns just LMK.
Direct all inquiries to Chris Chulamanis, AKA FNG at CCSPEVAM@aol.com
Welder/Cutter Accessories; front and rear parts. Cast in black.
Simply screw onto the existing threaded welder fittings.
Price: $4.00
Not available at the moment.
"Hi Chris! The stuff has arrived! What can I say?!? The stuff is AMAZING!! Seriously, what is your secret? I have never seen casting as good as yours anywhere else, it's next to flawless!! Why is that? Keep up the phenomenal work, Dude. In a word, I am Flabbergasted ;o) Also, you've really gone to town on the packaging, Thanks for taking the shipping seriously, that means a lot! Wow, the welder is much bigger than I'd thought! Sweet! Savor my awe and idolization, for ye are worthy of it!"
A. Menzinsky
Sweden
I make these, by the way ...
Here is a simple and easy way to rig your belt tool so that it is secure and readily accessible. You'll need three small tie-wraps and a web belt (A.L.I.C.E) clip. A.L.I.C.E. clips are found on almost any piece of military gear that attaches to a standard military web belt. Mine came from a first aid pouch.
Thread two tie-wraps through the belt tool handle and cross them over the metal belt clip. Attache another tie-wrap at the bottom of the handle and over the clip and there you have it. Works like a charm.
A Seiko Pulse Meter Reproduction cast in Black resin.
Need one of these to compliment your USCM rig?
$15.00 as shown with Black and OD Strap installed with steel pins.
Note: This unit comes with the brand new AquaTech Watch, from which the wrist strap comes from.
I've wanted to make a Hacking Tool Kit to complement my USCM getup for a while and had thought about how I might do it easily to achieve a convincing and desirable look. In regard to what it looks like, speculation abounds, and the screen caps from the DVD yield only a few clues beyond a fuzzy glimpse of what appears to be a key pad and some electrical test leads, all enclosed apparently in a folding pouch. That works for me.
This Hacking Device/Hacking Tool Kit was easy to throw together with things I had on hand. What actually got this small project up and running was the discovery of a one-dollar calculator at a local Walmart. It's a small transparent unit with a visible circuit board and other goodies. Lends itself nicely to the "look" as it's reminiscent, perhaps, of elements seen on the Hacking Device used in Aliens vs. Predator. A three-inch strip of Velcro holds the calculator to the folding pouch. Mounted above the calculator is part of a circuit board with a few small LEDs on it. A wide elastic band on the lower half of the pouch secures the three test leads and above that, a Velcro patch holds four different power plug adapters. Looks practical and convincing enough. I'd like to add some flat cable between the circuit board at the top and the calculator.
I started with a black utility pouch; glued a strip of Velcro on it for the calculator, sewed a black elastic band to it, and glued a Velcro tab closure over the ends. I took advantage of the Velcro on the pouch and used these areas to hold the circuit board w/Velcro and the plug adapters banded w/Velcro. The pouch has a two-way belt loop so the kit can be secured horizontally on a load-bearing strap enabling it to be pulled up, opened, and made ready for use just like the real deal...
"Hudson, run a by-pass!"
Improve on it with bells and whistles and have fun.
Saw Hudson's personalized tin on Harry's site, and since then I always wanted to make one for myself.
I understand it was never screen used , nevertheless ...
It was real easy to make. Here's how I did it ...
Started with an Altoids can. Scuffed it up a bit with sandpaper.
Took a digital pic of the armor with the motif. Cropped and sized it to fit the tin top with about 1/4 inch overlap around the main image, and then some extra so you'll have some strips to cover the sides.
Printed two or three copies on plain paper. In this case, the motif is the same on both sides but anything goes. Cut out the images. Test fit.
I used spray adhesive. Apply it to the pieces as you go about putting them in place. Don't worry about getting everything perfect around corners. Later you will sand down in corner areas, to bare metal for weathering effect. Just press the paper down well, all around, and things will work out. Get a good amount of adhesive on the paper, and right up to the edges too. Finish covering the sides with scraps. I just pieced it together as I went along.
Once all is glued down, lightly sand where needed. Have a close look to spot any places where paper might be lifting. Apply white glue as needed and press firmly until the bond is good.
When satisfied apply several coats of semi-gloss spray lacquer. That gives it a nice durable sheen. There you have it.
I produce the following items for resale:
USCM Hand Welder. The master for this unit was created by a devoted fan: AKA Pulseriflefan
Welder Belt Hanger
PDT/Personal Data Transmitter. Reproduced from a master donated by DropShipBob
Gerber Knife w/partial blade. Master donated by AKA Spellbinder99
M40 Grenades. Cast from original metal master provided by DeanO
Belt Tool Barrel Tip. Master supplied by AKA Pulseriflefan
Hacking Tool Pouch (limited supply)
Belt Tool with proper tip. Cast in Black resin.
Direct all inquiries to Chris Chulamanis, AKA FNG at CCSPEVAM@aol.com
FNG at the "studio" and out of character.
FNG, in character and full dress.
(Harsh language narrative for character purposes only!)
Yeah, I know exactly what you're thinking. You think that FNG stands for F----ing New Guy, don't you? Yeah, well you are dead wrong numb nuts. Do I look like a F----ing New Guy to you? Do I? Yeah, newbie, I'm talking to you. I'm old enough to be your mama's main squeeze. Write this down pencil neck, and don't forget it... FNG stands for Funny New Guy. Oh, so you don't think I'm funny? Well, we'll just have to see about that. Now get out of my sight, and on the double! Remember, the importance of Tactical Data Base Assimilation cannot be underestimated, ever, and never assume! Is that understood? Not ever! If this motley group, behind me here, had done their homework... well, things may have turned out differently, but noooooo.
Hope you enjoyed this. More to come...
Stay Frosty!
Drops on this site since 07/26/04