Predator consoling Alien desk ornament

Now we know where “Welcome to the suck” comes from.

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Thanks for the tips.

I got these real cheap and were advertised as desk ornaments, not as kit figures. While the print lines are extremely heavy on these, I am not going to do too much work fixing them. I did use regular Krylon primer. I am thinking maybe one or two more coats of primer is about all I will bother with. I do plan to use some CrossDelta 1/16 OCP camo decals on the resting soldier so that will cover up most of the print lines. My camo hand painting skills are zero to none. I am sure some of the print lines will show through the decals but this was a really cheap ornament.

Here are the CrossDelta 1/16 OCP decals. There was no scale to the figure except that total height is 4 inches. I guessed if standing, it would be probably 6 inches so thought the 1/16 decals would be close enough as this is again, only an ornament.

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In about 99% of the cases, when I offer a tip on this forum, it’s becasue I’ve done it and know that it works.
That will not be the case here. :joy:

I know there are products out there like Mr. Surfacer. I was thinking of a poor man’s version that might work even better - PVA. You can “paint” it onto the larger area and let it settle in. A portion at a time so that it can let gravoty help it. As it cures you can shape it with a cotton swab. (that part I know works) If it looks assed yup you can simply wash it off with water and try again.
Just a thought.

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I appreciate all the tips, suggestions and recommendations but those 3D printed filament figures/ornaments are real cheap and not that detailed at all. The resting soldier has much softer details than the Predator/Alien but even so, both have very soft details that just isn’t really worth spending a lot of time on. If they were nicer and better detailed, I would more than likely spend the time to do them properly. Again, these were very cheap, less than $5USD each.

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It’s a shmae the soldeir isn’t 1/35. I dig the post. Then you could simply swap out the head of the gear from something better detailed.

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I haven’t seen that resting soldier anywhere else other than Aliexpress and only advertised as desktop ornament. I was trying to find if there was an STL file and maybe someone can print it in regular resin but can’t find the STL file anywhere either.

I just sprayed a second coat of the Krylon primer on both the resting soldier and Predator/Alien and the much finer print lines started to fill in a bit but the more exaggerated print lines still look the same. I unfortunately don’t have any Mr. Surfacer so the Krylon primer is it. I won’t be bothering with a third coat as the more exaggerated print lines will need the Mr. Surfacer as Mike1, you and others have suggested. Maybe one day I will invest in some but for now, these cheap desktop ornaments aren’t really worth the hassle. I am hoping the camo decals cover at least the finer print lines but the more exaggerated ones need serious work.

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If it wasn’t the height of summer I’d say they are a fun take on the “Elf on a Shelf” craze…

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“Embrace the suck” was quite popular as well in my old LRS unit :smirking_face:

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That’s a good analogy.

Someone should do a sculpt of this soldier in the Santa outfit. The caption didn’t say where the photo was taken except for circa 2010.

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Yes, I have heard that one and actually heard it more than the welcome one.

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I’d hate to be on his naughty list!

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Have you seen Fatman? I wouldn’t want to be on his naughty list but he wasn’t going after people on his naughty list. I don’t want to give spoilers but I thought it was OK!

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In '80’s Germany, liability was between ages 18-25 or so, and you could defer your ‘pflicht’ (Obligational Duty) for medical or University reasons, OR do ‘Civil Dienst’ (Civil Duty) working in hospitals, or for the ‘general good’ like charities, Youth Hostels, from a very specific list, most often away from your home town/region.

At that time service was 18 months military, 2 years Civil, much reduced in later decades.
You could also volunteer, 2 years for Infantry, 5-7 years+ for specialist training roles like pilots, etc.

There were exemptions for medical/handicap grounds and criminal convictions barred you from serving in the military, but maybe not for Civil Dienst.

I did 3 months ‘Freiwillig’ filling in for a Civil Dienst pflichtiger, in my grandads’ Youth Hostel, which was then regarded generally as a rite of passage for the youth, but not girls.

2 Stories, Evasion was strictly prosecuted.
I worked with a German lad in a fast food bar in England, who popped home for christmas hollidays, he was spotted, arrested by the MP’s and started his ‘Duty’ immediatley.

Another enterprising lad got his diabetic girlfriend to err.. provide a urine sample. He got a sarcastic ‘congrats on your pregnancy’ card & immediate call up papers. :sweat_smile:

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@jon_a_its Here in the USA we have to register for the draft from 18-25 years old. I had to register but not right out of high school as I graduated a year early. I had to register the next year once I reached 18. I did enlist in high school in the delayed entry program but because I was still too young after graduating, I was not eligible. I had to wait the extra year. The next year though, I failed my medical as I have severe asthma so I was disqualified for enlistment.

Another Alien figure I just got a week ago. It is a Xenoborg or Mecha Alien and is a total height of 75mm with the base. It is 3D printed. I got it pretty cheap even at the 75mm height. I was looking at the 90mm height but it was almost $20 more so stuck with the 75mm version. It is only test fitted to the base but it doesn’t fit perfectly. If I force it into the base I might snap the arms and or legs so some modifications are necessary.

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The quality of that one is far superior.

Unless your parents moved you to Berlin in time. I dated a gal whose parents did that for her brother. Thing was - by the time he was old enough, he wanted to serve.

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Forgot about Berlin. Essentially if you weren’t in BRD (-Berlin) between 18-25 or so, you avoided it.

My dad was UK Serviceman, married my German mum, from the ‘non-fraternisation era’. Me and my sister both had consular registration papers. Many of the Male children born in Germany of Service personnel DID get call-up papers, regardless of UK or German citizenship.

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if you knew the original scale you could convert measurements or parts. For example, between 1:16 and 1:35 scale, multiply the 1:16 dimension by 0.457 to scale it down. Then in the slicer put that figure in the measurements (Global = x.y.z axis) and you are good to go.

If you do find it, let me know

Afghanistan

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Thanks!