It seems we are all in agreement that to get the true look of Alien we would need a theatrical print from '79. Scanning from the negative, as hairy_hen points out, is often the best details but not the right colors.

Sorry, thxita I thought you were quoting someone about the jacket, the way the forum posted it. I fixed my reply to reflect that was not the case. Anyway, you are right the model's true color means nothing towards the true colors of the film but that is the same for the jacket as Jonno pointed out. My point with the model was you can't pick out any detail and say this points to the true colors. Which you already pointed out so I guess we agree.

The problem I have with the '99 DVD is that it is way too bright. Brighter then the BD and LD. You are seeing details that shouldn't be seen in a dark and scary movie. I also checked the shuttle scene to see if it had any tinting like the LD and it has none (or very, very little). So the 99 has no tinting, the BD has select scenes and the LD has it consistently through. Its very odd. I thought that maybe the '99 was a scan right off of the ON and the neutral tones and brightness reflected that but I found this last night:

LD/99 DVD/BD with LD colors

The remnants of the Nostromo's explosion are different on the BD. Its a few seconds longer and starts off more oval before thinning and then fading. On the DVD and LD it starts out thin and then fades. It doesn't look like a new effect or a re-composite so maybe something missing since the ON? Just an interesting note.

Updating my progress. I finished the first go around color-grading. I watched the new video compared to the LD and found a few dozens scenes that need tweaking. So I'm working on that. The 4.1 is synced (obviously). the 5.1 Sensuround is synced and the Dolby Stereo/PCM 2.0 is being worked on. The goal is a BD, no menus (I can't make them) built with TSmuxer probably.