“Well, I'm not going to keep this up forever!”

"The Engineer" — from Ridley Scott's film "Prometheus" — the sequel to the first "Alien." A beautiful, large resin figurine — 53 cm...

Gray model of Engineer Prometheus with pink annotations circling the details on the bust that need to be retouched

The character's costume has numerous cavities and various holes. After it was removed from the mold, resin beads became lodged all over the inside and will need to be removed before painting. In the photo, you can clearly see one along the bottom edge...

All the rough edges are smoothed out with a fine grinder, along with some seams along the sides of the figure. Liquid putty will finish it off...

Rear view of an unpainted Prometheus figurine showing the sculpted biomechanical details on the back

The back side is treated in the same way...

The gray torso and legs of the Prometheus model being assembled, with a hand featuring pierced fingers visible

Once removed from the mold, these figurines are sanded to “quickly” remove all impurities, and this one’s fingers were accidentally shortened. They were lengthened to the correct size using Evergreen plastic tubing, covered with putty, and then sanded...

Close-up of the pearlescent hand and arm of a Prometheus figurine being painted

The result, after the improvement...

Scale model of a Prometheus Engineer with a muscular body featuring biomechanical details, gray primer

After spending a few hours checking everything over, we apply a coat of white acrylic primer using a spray can...

Painting

The Head

Painted bust of a Prometheus engineer with a bald head and bluish veins

The figurine will be painted using, among other things, Liquitex in tubes...

Painted bust of a Prometheus engineer with a bald head, pale, veined skin, and light-colored eyes

We'll start with the skin. The veins are painted using dark turquoise and Naphthol Crimson with a fine brush...

Close-up of the gray hand and arm of a Prometheus figurine with blue-painted veins

The same goes for the hands and the upper part of the forearms...

Painted bust of a Prometheus engineer, with a bald head and white armor featuring biomechanical details

After drying, the skin is "colored" using a small amount of Naples Yellow and titanium white. Some veins are left "transparent"...

An improvised paint palette on paper with mixed colors and a red jar for model-making

The Body

Torso of a Prometheus biomechanical figurine with sculpted, alien-like details in greenish tones

Start by darkening all the recesses—black, Payne's gray, burnt umber—(on the left side of the thorax). Then use burnt green, dark olive, burnt umber, and primary yellow (on the right side)...

Close-up of the back and side of the Prometheus model, featuring sculpted gray-green biomechanical textures

Based on the concept art for the film, we smooth out the image by adjusting the colors...

Prometheus Engineer figurine with a bald head and a biomechanical suit, painted in shades of gray-green

Bit by bit, we gradually paint each section, taking the shadows into account...

Painted Prometheus Engineer figurine bust, with a bald head and detailed gray-beige biomechanical armor

We continue by highlighting each section with white, which blends with the other colors. After it dries, we apply more pure white to certain areas; then, once it’s completely dry, we finish by spraying glossy varnish onto the most highlighted parts of the costume. We reapply matte black to the recesses that would have received the varnish...

Profile bust of Engineer Prometheus with a bald head and painted biomechanical armor