The Nostromo: A Restoration Project

The Derelict was buggered up quite a bit by being dropped off a forklift, IIRC. It was then broken up some more for the cut scenes in Aliens, where a lava flow supposedly hit it some time after Alien (stopping the signal). It did appear online a few years ago in a few pics, can't recall where. The styrofoam understructure was suprisingly OK (not good, but better than I expected) but most of the plasticine and wire detail was gone. On the back, where it was never sculpted, it still had some original paint applied directly onto the foam core. No idea of its current state. I miss that ship. :(

BIG thanks to the OP for posting this! I saw the initial pic or two that were posted a few years ago, great to know this has progressed since!
 
I knew I'd seen those pics somewhere!! Thanks, Willie!! :cool I'd forgotten the link.
I'm soooo pleased they're restoring this model. Great news!
Here's one of the derelict, as someone was asking about that...
 
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Thanks for the information on the Matilda tank piece. The guys at GMD had actually recently ID'd this as the same part and it has been replaced.

We will keep the page updated with updates as restoration progresses. Glad that everyone is enjoying it.

Best,
Brandon
 
As mentioned in an earlier post, the Nostromo sat out in Bob Burns driveway for many years. The Derelict and the large miniature landing gear that crushes the boulder in the film were there as well. I examined them many times, and of course have always been concerned about their ultimate fate.

A number of people have complained over the years about these items being stored outside in the elements. Bob simply did not have the room to store them inside, plus he never ever anticipated that Fox would show up with two big trucks and drop these props in his driveway. It's a good thing he took them too, because if he hadn't they all would have been landfill 30 years ago.

The Derelict had a layer of sulfur based clay with the wire detail pressed into it. I have to say that it absolutely stunk to high heaven, so the name "Derelict" was very appropriate. In that condition, you wouldn't want it inside...anywhere.

I examined the Nostromo again a couple of years back at KNB and I'll have to tell you that it just did not look restoreable to me, but am very pleased that the Prop Store & Grant McCune are taking it on. Not only is a historic prop being restored and preserved, but modelers and collectors like ourselves will have the fortune of finally seeing this model as it was meant to be seen.

So thanks to Bob Burns for saving the Nostromo to begin with, KNB for giving it nice indoor home, and the Prop Store Of London for sharing the restoration with everyone here.
 
Well said, Tony. Bob deserves praise, not blame, for taking the ships.

That said, I do see the argument for relinquishing them at an earlier date to someone with interior storage.

But was Bob ever even approached about something like that?
 
Nwerke said:
Well said, Tony. Bob deserves praise, not blame, for taking the ships.

That said, I do see the argument for relinquishing them at an earlier date to someone with interior storage.

But was Bob ever even approached about something like that?
Click to expand...


Yeah it's great he saved them from immediate destruction, but also very sad it was condemned to a slow motion destructive process.

Being critical of a collecting legend who truly loves the genre and shares with the world is not going to be a popular thing I know.

So without him Nostromo would have been lost forever.
I guess that is all that matters at this point given the massive losses of other props through the years.

I hope though that the lessons are learned for future prop preservation though.

Even outside, it could have been protected far better, and fans would have done the work to protect it. Even if it needed to be kept a secret.
I hope in the internet age, that such things do not happen again.

The question begs...

Is there anything else decaying away we can rescue????
 
Finding models like this and hearing about the restoration is the movie equivelant of opening an old farmyard barn door and finding a 1930's Bentley and a 1960s Jaguar E-type sitting there for decades just waiting to be made new again. It's great. :cool
 
I think some lessons have been learned. Most certainly with the advent of the internet, more open communication/sharing of information (including message boards like this one) there are probably a number of artifacts that have been kept from destruction. Also, the high profile of the Christies STAR TREK auction and the Profiles In History auctions have helped in their own way as well. And hey, The Prop Store Of London is doing their part too.

Regardless, an astounding number of historic items have been lost in the past. The molds for the Creature From The Black Lagoon bodysuit sat out in an open field on the Universal lot for years. Many important people in the industry tried to save them (Oscar winning people). It didn't work. One day they were finally pulverized with a sledghammer and thrown in a dumpster.

I don't mean to get off topic here, because this thread is about the Nostromo restoration, but we really are lucky that many of the models and props from ALIEN and ALIENS have survived over the years and can now be restored and enjoyed.
 
Tony Hardy said:
Regardless, an astounding number of historic items have been lost in the past. The molds for the Creature From The Black Lagoon bodysuit sat out in an open field on the Universal lot for years.
Click to expand...

USH let the Orca rot in the lagoon... then the Murphys let the Orca II rot on the shores of Martha's Vineyard. :unsure
 
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