I had this wild idea: what if we explored props that weren’t necessarily on set or even in the frame, but instead captured the spirit of the movie? Objects that feel like they belong just out of sight—familiar totems of a world we love. Today, I’m sharing something straight from that mindset: the Haynes manual for the Caterpillar Power Loader P-5000.

We can imagine this Haynes manual for the Caterpillar Power Loader P-5000 from James Cameron’s Aliens (1986) just beyond the frame of the camera.

Now, think about it—why, in the year 2122 (the setting of Aliens), wouldn’t this be some holographic PDF or futuristic tech? Maybe there’s a reason. Maybe, in a world of advanced technology, there’s still something reassuring about a tangible, dog-eared paper manual lying around. It’s a small nod to humanity’s roots amidst all that sci-fi grandeur.

When I started looking into this concept, first I realized I wasn’t the first person to think of it. But I did notice that most versions of the paper manual label the Power Loader as a Weyland-Yutani product. But let’s be real—the CAT logo is right there on screen! So, I took inspiration from an image shared by imgur fatherbrain (seriously, check out their work and buy a t-shirt from them if you like it) and gave it my own spin. I reworked the background and restored iconic CAT branding to create this homage.

It’s not just a manual—it’s a bridge between worlds: our industrial present and James Cameron’s gritty vision of the future. A little slice of cinematic history you can almost touch.