Welcome to the Inner Sanctum

Tonight's post is a "Behind-the-Scenes" feature as to where I do the bulk of my model building.  So let us descend the staircase and follow the dark hallway to the end, where a most imposing door appears.  (Yes, I do work in the basement, but I live with my wife and not my Mum...)

You've gotten this far, but there is no door knocker or door bell.  Fortunately I heard you coming, so enter please....

And this is essentially it.  Yes, I do keep it this neat and organized!  The workbench area is only 10 square feet, and during a project it is crowded with all sorts of tools, a work platform, paints and adhesives, containers of greeblies, nurnies, and shapes, and the omni present rotary tool.  I also have a portable clamp mounted on the bench.  Most of the basic work is done here, but when it is time for large scale cutting and sanding, I do that outside.  The painting is done in a utility room against a large sheet so over-spray is not an issue.

Under the bench is another toolbox, along with 6 bankers boxes full of assorted parts.  The closet to the left out of sight has 7 bankers boxes of more bits and pieces and shapes.  All labelled accordingly of course!  The 20th century tube television on the left does double duty.  Something I found out by accident...  I usually have a film or series running on the TV (connected to a VHS and DVD player) during a project.  I discovered a few years ago that when the TV is on, the screen is of course static and attracts the dust (since its mostly plastic dust anyway).  So my entertainment system is also a dust collector.  I just wipe it down every few days.

So thanks for popping by!  I am currently working on a project which will have three models associated with the theme.  Hopefully be finished by end of April.  Be sure to visit the gift shop on the way out and sign the guest book!

Shape Spotting #5 - "Good dental hygiene..."

For tonights re-purposed shapes we have "Dr. Bob's Oracare Toothbrush Covers!"  Used to protect the tooth brush when travelling, these nice little shapes are available only at Dollarama in this area.  (There are similar covers available at other dollar stores but this one is the most durable.  It comes in a two pack in several colours; I prefer the clear ones when I can get them....  The dimensions are 1.75" x 1" x .75".

The covers have a hinged lid but I have removed them for both times I incorporated the shapes into a model.  I first used 5 covers in the "Tortoise", a 1/35 mech I did two years ago:

Four for the thruster units, and the other was made to be a missle pod.  Although it is some kind of vinyl I believe, a little sanding to remove the gloss and I have no trouble glueing or painting them with standard off the shelf products.  There is also a small hole at the narrow end, I guess for ventilation...  More recently I used 6 more on the Gibraltar:

A little difficult to see under all the other greeblies and nurnies!  They made nice modules and again I had no trouble in glueing them to other materials.  I have future plans to use them as cargo pods in larger numbers on ships or maybe railroad cars.  To look at them as pictured above, you could easily ad a handle, two little wheels, and a city logo.  Now you have a garbage or recycling cart!  Always look beyond the items intended purpose!

The Scrap(book) Yard #4 "When Puppets Attack!"

Tonights little TV Guide snippet is from an ABC TV movie from 1975.  The film "Trilogy of Terror", was first broadcast on March 4 of that year (should have posted this last week for the 42nd anniversary!) and was basically a Twilight Zone-ish/Night Gallery-ish anthology with Karen Black playing four different roles in the three segments.  In the final chapter, "Amelia", Karen has bought her anthropology-professor boyfriend a "Zuni Fetish Doll", a rather ugly little bastard only 12 inches tall.  The doll has a necklace which, when it accidentally breaks and falls off lets the demon within bring the doll to life.

The rest of the film has Karen running and screaming about her apartment in a bathrobe being relentlessly chased and attacked by the persistent Pinocchio.  All practical in camera effects and hands on puppetry.  Eventually she traps the murderous doll in the kitchen oven where it catches fire and burns up.  It's never good to be a wooden actor....

Bastards from Outer Space

How many times have you been watching a SF film or television series, and suddenly realized, "Hey, they ripped that (ship, vehicle, alien, structure, etc) from that other (SF film-TV show)!"  And so begins another little feature I have had in the back of mind for some time now.  I realize in this day and age, where so much has been written, drawn, or filmed, there is bound to be conscious or unconscious influences when it comes to production design.  Now to be fair, SF films have been around for over 100 years, so there is alot of material out there!  In some cases, the "doppelgangers" may be intentional, as a hommage or Easter egg.   Perhaps the director has specifically asked for "something which looks like that other thing..."   Either way, there are many examples available.  For the premiere post, I have a flying machine which falls into the category I like to call, "Cosmic Combinations".

Back in 1994, there was a Gerry Anderson live-action series called "Space Precinct".  Basically an SF cop show set on the planet Altor in the year 2040.  Familiar storylines but, the thin blue line has to deal with all sorts of bizarre crimes as well as many alien species.  There was no shortage of miniature effects either.  In the episode "Deadline", the baddies are illegally harvesting organs (both human and alien) for high paying clients.  Their base is this giant floating billboard which cruises over the city with bright lights advertising and noise.  Sound or look familiar...?

Who else could the father be but the advertising blimp from 1982's "Blade Runner"!  I could go on for hours about this film!  I've been freaked out since I saw this film on opening night!  The influences and inspirations are still strong today, (but don't get me started about this sequel!).  But the blimp is a thing of beauty.  Check out the web for many images of the blimp studio model and it's construction.  But the shape is still wrong.  I think the mother could be:

From the 1984 film "Dune".  Alot has been said about Lynch's adaption, but not today.  I am more interested in the miniature effects for the film, and this wedgie is a Carry-All, a huge flying brick which transports spice harvesters on the planet Arrakis.  So there you have it; the "Space Precinct" blimp even has the outriggers on it!  I like to think of this little "love child" as a hommage.  But as in all Anderson productions, most models do not have a happy ending...

To bad for anyone with a penthouse suite in this town!