Gale Anne Hurd met Cameron when they worked for Roger Corman’s production company New World Pictures on BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. After her work at New World Pictures, Hurd formed an independent production company called Pacific Western Productions. The first project the company produced was THE TERMINATOR, which Hurd produced and co - wrote with Cameron. Since then, in additional to her work on ALIENS, Hurd has produced numerous films including THE ABYSS, DANTE’S PEAK and ARMAGEDON.
Robert Skotak and James Cameron worked together on GALAXY OF TERROR as Art Director and Production Designer/Second Unit Director respectively. Dennis Skotak supervised the special effects for the ALIENS.
THE NARCISSUS - The opening scene of ALIENS called for shoting THE NARCISSUS, the original escape shuttle from ALIEN, but neither the model nor the original designs from ALIEN could be located. Los Angeles model maker Jay Roth was commissioned to reconstruct The Narcissus using frame blow - ups from ALIENS as visual reference. Miniatures Technical Supervisor Pat McClung detailed the model around the window area. Peter Lamant and his crew reconstructed The Narcissus Interior Set. It is interesting to note that The Narcissus Interior Set was the first set seen in the film though, it was the last scene to be shot.
THE SULACO - James Cameron rejected Syd Mead’s first concepts of the Marine ship because he wanted a more streamlined craft. The model was constructed by Peter Astin and detailed by pat McCling. John Lee and Robert Skotak (on one side only; the other side would not be seen by the camera). The Sulaco’s approach to LV 426 was storyboard by Roger Dear.
The Drop-Ship - Syd Mead and Ron Cobb both designed Drop-Ship but Cameron ultimately built his own miniature out of Apache AH-64 model parts. Cobb then detailed the ship on paper, from which both full - size and 1/12th scale miniatures were made.
APC - Ron Cobb’s early concepts for building an APC from scratch were abandoned due to budgetary restrictions. The final APC was a dressed four-wheel drive, four-wheel stering vehicle used for towing aircraft, it’s design modified by Cameron. When it was first delivered it weighed 72 tons. The production crew cut off 44 tons of metal. Cameron came up with the basic design for the APC details and then an outside firm completed the transformation in less then two weeks. Top speed for the final version about 35 mph. A miniature was also constructed with a mechanized gun turret. The Command Center and the rest of the interior were dressed by Crispian Sallis and Mark Harris. The hand controls for the APC were foot controls from a Vulcan bomber. Standard video equipment was used to create the images of the Marines penetrating the Aliens nest, which were displayed on the Command Center’s monitors
Colonial Marine Armor - Most of the Marine armor was designed by Cameron. There were two basic design for the armor, one worn by the majority of the Marines, and the Smart-gun operator version, which was less restrictive. Cameron also designed Marine’s helmets.
Marine Weaponry - Cameron designed the two major weapons fo the ALIENS: the M41a Pulse Rifle and the Smart-Gun. The Pulse Rifle is a hybrid between a Thompson submachine gun and Franchi SPAS 12 pump-action shotgun placed in a futuristic shell. The Smart-Gun marries the MG-42 and a Steadicam harness. Cameron and Rob Cobb designed the Sentry Guns. Both the Sentry Gun and Smart-Gun fired wooden blanks. A baffle was installed so the projectiles would disintegrate before leaving the barrel. Nick Finloyson built the working flame-throwers and Terry Reed built the trackers.