papasmurf

Mmmm...I saw 2001 in that awesome "Cinerama" setting, the huge curved screen. I was around 8, so it would have been around 1968. It played at the HUGE Odeon Theater in Montreal. The 60's version of "I Max", not as technological, but for that time, quite an impact on the audience of that day. In my humble opinion, it's probably the finest and most elegant SF film ever. I agree that some elements were left out, from Clarke's book. But you can't always include every little detail in a film. Which is why, you should read the book first! In a film of this mind blowing proportions, it's a must to do so. I don't think that "marooned" was somehow equivalent in any way, in entertainement impact. it's a good film, but not in 2001's league whatsoever. An entirely different film, about the Space program of that era. The 2 are very different themes. No offense intended, just my 2 cents. Marooned had some fine moments though, the noble sacrifice of the crew, it was quite moving. I do agree that a lot more data should have been included about the monoliths, somehow, they really were the most interesting characters in that film, and not as fully explored as they should have been. But their nature was to work like "God" in the background, unseen, unknown. So this was probably deliberate. The imagery was a bit much for me back then, now, it makes sense, after reading the book at the age I could fully grasp the concepts. The "Colorized Freakout" scenes gave me nightmares for months. And the "Apes" scenes at the beginning, scared the crap out of me, to this day I don't like primates. So you can imagine how freaky "Planet of the Apes" was, oddly, I don't think anyone has mentioned that one?? The theater was wrapped in rows three deep the day that opened up, I have never seen that many people waiting on a film. Even the premiere of Star Wars, didn't have that "cast of thousands". And another fine piece of trivia! The letter designation of the Hal Supercomputers is soooo cool! Think I heard that a while back, but you spell it out clearly, nicely done! It was an "Art" film, but oh boy, what a film!!

I'm a huge Prisoner fan, I believe I mentioned it in an earlier post. I never heard about "The Village" being an attraction, how cool is THAT!! One of the most interesting tidbits of trivia I have heard this year, thanks very kindly for sharing that!

I LOVE that show, and even though it's out of production, all epsiodes are found on Netflix! Mike was the "straight man" in that comedy team, and he was supposed to be the "bland" one. And,....he was. Didn't know that about Mr. Weinstein, good trivia there!

I ordered a fairly "rough" version, cast in solid resin, of the famous Pulse Rifle from the film "Aliens". I do the "Mystery Shopper" bit once in a while, to see "what's out there". Also, I don't have time to build for myself much these days. After months of waiting, and some pretty poor excuses from the seller, it finally arrived, minus the digital counter kit. After a few more weeks of "Cyber Terrorism", I duly inflicted, I finally got that too. It was plainly painted, had some fit and warp issues, but it was something to work with. I had considered ordering the extrtemely "pricey" version that sells for about a grand, but my Wife would have "Terminated" me, so no go. "Aliens" is one of my favorite films, "Alien" was awesome, but this second film was more exciting in my opinion. The Marines weapon, the "M41-A Pulse Rifle" is an iconic SF weapon. It's still extremely sought after, "Monsters in Motion" sells one, for the very outrageous price of 3,000.00. OUCH!! My Wallet Hurts!! London Prop Store sells them for about the price of a decent car. Jeez..... So I had this "Basic and Rudimentary" block of a prop reproduction, and I got to work on it over one weekend. Color was off, so I redid that, Barrels were not bored, bring out the big bits son... The digital counter was a raw board, and the prop version had a "smoked glass" lens on it. I whipped one of those up by epoxying some car window tinting film, onto a pre-cut piece of clear styrene, not bad. Now, it was time for weathering effects. Using a sponge, a little one, and some different brushes, I added some "Bare Metal" stress marks, all per an image of the original screen-used prop. Now it's not "perfect" The rear stock was a bit deviated, but I whittled that to some kind of linear shape. A lot of other little things were missing too, like a trigger for the forward shotgun section. Some Bolt details on the main body, but in time I got a pretty decent version for under 400.00. The only thing that still bugs me, it's that I don't have the equipment to bore out all the air cooling fins and holes. However, from a "Prop" perspective, this would have been a great "Stunt" version, and looks quite realistic on film. I'll let you be the judge, but do consider the price, versus the other versions, not bad for a few bucks.

"The Thing" was scary as heck back then, and I have to admit, the remake with Kurt Rusell wasn't bad. Call it a "guilty pleasure", as most remakes just don't cut it. Like the already mentioned "The Day The Earth Stood Still" remake, which couldn't capture Rennies' stellar performance. "Star Wars" was a HUGE leap in FX, that's fer' sure Dude! Finally, a film were the hardware wasn't shiny, silver, and right off the showroom floor. God bless weathering, it made all the difference. Thanks Les, gosh...I do believe this almost "dead" topic is slowly coming back to life!! "Rise, Rise....Muhahahaha...." Frankenstein (Don't forget Karloff and Bela...)

All those "oldies" do bring back memories of a better time, in my opinion. You didn't mention "The Prisoner", which was a spin off from "Secret Agent Man", and the original "Outer Limits", and "Twilight Zone", which scared the heck out of me as a kid! Little known fact is that the concept for "Terminator" was written years before, by my favorite author, Harlan Ellison. A Lawsuit straightened that out, and he was awarded a settlement. I completely agree that "The 5th Element" and "The Chronicles of Riddick" were highly underated, both great SF films! "The 5th Element" has become a cult favorite to a lot of SF fans. "Dune", well, I read all of Herbert's books, and although the first version wasn't bad, no one has really captured the true essence of that tale. The Worms were simply "awful" and killed that section of the film. "Hey, I can see the wires". The first Star Wars release did impact me, but it's "Empire Strikes Back" that really stood out then. Those Imperial Walkers on Hoth, truly memorable! And yes, "Avatar" in HD at home, on my first "Big Screen" TV, was amazing. I hear a second film is in the works. Nice post, thanks very much for sharing that!

AAaaaahhh yes. Mz. Danning, quite hot in her time! Know the movie, MMMmm, call that one a "Guilty Pleasure", but she was easy on the eyes. "The Day of the Triffids" was a great Brit film. done on a tight budget, was that the "Hammer" guys again? Can't remember, but that's a classic, no doubt about it. "Rocky Horror" was an SF film, and it was a lot of fun! Curry's put on a little weight since then however, see him in "Congo". Godzilla is a childhood fav, so much modeling work in those films! It's amazing The Japanese artists are really talented, love their work! Blade Runner first, you are the "Man"! A film that really "knocked me up-side the head", as they say down here. Nice post, they are all really good!

OK, here's some more "stuff" on this project. I have worked on the upper saucer section to the point where it can be later painted with the primary color. For now, it's going to be filled up with lighting doodahs. Love the new format by the way, very nice! Clean and efficient, Papa likes! These "garage" kits are done with limited facilities, so a fair amount of small defects do show up after casting. Caused by trapped air, they must be filled with decent putty, like Apoxy sculpt. Once this is done, the additonal coats of primer can be applied. Primer is great for revealing these defects that are hard to see, especially on a clear cast kit like this. Once those little suckers are gone, you know you can apply a final coat of primer, and get on with it! Additionally, the HUGE display case, destined to show off this build in the clients home, arrived. Over 50 inches long, and very nicely done per my specs! It wasn't cheap, think several grand for something like this. Ouch.... I can only hope that the final results, late next year, might be worthy of another article in the IPMS Journal! Maybe, perhaps, we'll see how it all turns out. They did a marvelous job on the refit article, I was extremely impressed with the layout that was printed! Back to the subject at hand.... As these big sections are refined and ready to work with, I enter the lighting stage on one of the detail features of this display, the Shuttle Bay at the rear of the primary saucer. Some nice metal etch parts augment this area, and I am trying very hard to add the lighting effects I see on the actual prop from clip captures. It's very tiny work, and the spotlight effects will be done with some fiber optic strands. Channels must be drilled that allow curved strands to shine down on the exterior Door area. The Bay details will be scratch-built, and it seems that the Shuttles from the 1/350th Polar Lights kit may be good to use, slightly altered. I'll go by screen captures on that stage as well. The images show some of these stages, I got somewhat familiar with Photoshop techniques lately, so I cut down the size of my "UnGodly Big Pictures"! Next time, I should have some actual lighting shots, and it will get more interesting. Gotta do the "nuts and bolts" before you get to the fun stuff.

I saw that, it was very well done indeed Ron, I really enjoyed it as well! Stewie as Darth was a great concept, thanks for adding this comment! :P You just never know when a topic is going to come back to life! I also want to add "Avatar" as one of the very best films lately. I haven't seen "Skyline" yet, anyone got a revue on that one?

Solid choices, can't go wrong with classics! I have a very old Comet Nautilus kit, not very big, but nicely detailed. Still in the box, and the graphics on the box are very sweet. Not seen a post in this topic in some time, thanks for sharing!

I hear that Ed! Those track links are a pain! The masking sheets are made for me by a fellow named Lou Dalmaso, he supplies this custom stuff to builders. Tedious, it's MIND-NUMBING!! The masking of the entire hull is hard to "eta" as each section is built as a sub-assembly. The entire project will take approx. 8 to 10 months. I'm trying to light each and every window, we'll see how that goes. You can see more on the process by visiting the Video Gallery on the Kit Factory website. Thanks for your comment Ed.

Here's my latest project currently "on the bench", I like this topic thread, good thinking! This is the Fiberglass, resin, and metal etch kit by Sovereign Replicas. A "no-nonsense" kit, big, few parts, and requires some serious planning. Cast in clear fiberglass, allowing porthole and window masking without the need for cutting out apertures, and creating glass in them. At this early stage, I am in the upper Saucer window masking stage. This requires the masking of several hundred windows on the outer and inner Hull. Next step will be the first coat of primer, and a blackout application. Then I'll be moving on to the lower Saucer section. For some video's on this current project, you can visit the Video Gallery at http://www.thekitfactory.com/

Very nice!!!

Just the small 1/500th Bandai version. Not the best kit they make, and that HUGE 1/350th makes me drool! If I'm lucky, one day I will get a client that wants one built, that sucker has motorized everything! Thanks for the praise Mark! It had Flashing main Guns effect, lighting inside and out, and a very cool firing forward Cannon circuit. Lots crammed into a tiny kit, it was around 12 or 13 inches long, something like that. Those "Grab Bags" are really nice, if you choose the ones which have a lot of brass tubes, it can really be the cheapest way to get Gun Barrels. I also get Brass Tubes at the hardware store and cut them myself, that would be the second cheapest way. And they last through many projects. Hope that's helpful!

I used some brass tubes in one of those "grab bags" they sell at Hobby Town stores, worked just fine!

Glad you recovered, and thanks again Ed. "The Invaders" was a great series! Scary, smart, and very well executed, with the the special effects of that time. The diorama base was painted in Reddish "Desert" tones, much like what I saw in a few of the episodes. Bought the DVD set, it's worth it! If you want to see this build in action, a couple of film clips are in the video gallery, on the Kit Factory website.

Thanks very much Ed! After around 30 of these guys produced here, I am happy to retire it and move on to a bigger and more detailed version. LIS was a childhood favorite, I never really considered it serious SF, more along the lines of Space Fantasy for young viewers. There are still a heck of a lot of fans out there however, and they are all adults who loved that show back in the 60's!

Thanks guys, yep, never enough time to get it all done anymore, I can relate. You can get the E kit from Sovereign Replicas, but it is rather "pricey", around 800 bucks. Ouch!

Thanks Tim, but I never left! I posted 2 builds just a few weeks ago, but I don't think anyone commented or replied on them. Hurt my li'l smurf fellins' there, hohohoho.......... I know you guys have seen plenty of my Jupiter 2's, hey, it's a popular build on my site, but the Invaders UFO was really nice, anybody check that out?

Awwwwh ED!! You made my day!! This "Bird" is unlighted! This was an attempt at simulating lighting in that forward module! I see it worked, bless you man. Sorry for not being around much, I am extremely busy. This is the only forum I post on, so it's not like I am being a "stranger" or anything. This would have been stunning lighted. Some lightsheet inserts would have really brought out the Warp Engine's green "glow" as seen on screen. And the "Photon" torpedo effect in the front really would have gone over the top. As some of you know, I do these builds per client specs, and he didn't want a lighted version, just a static for his office, shame. Maybe next time? I'm so pleased you liked it! Check out my website if you have the time, a HUGE 42 inch (Or is it 48", senility is setting in....) Enterprise "E" build is on the Workbench at this time. The kit is by Sovereign Replicas, and it is not your average "off the shelf" kit!

Here's a static build of the ERTL Klingon Battle Cruiser from Star Trek's "The Undiscovered Country". All hand painted, and airbrushed, lots of Hull detailing! Hope you like it! ^_^

This was the last version of the 12 inch Polar Lights kit built at the studio. I am moving on to the 18 inch Moebius version next year. After building about 30 of these PL kits, it was time to retire that tired puppy! This is the "Best of the Best"! It features all the augments, and "doodahs" that I found the most effective from all prior builds. A magnet activated Fusion Core and Dome lighting, fully detailed instruments in the interior, variating light effects in the Cryo Tubes, and a lot more! The exterior Hull is airbrushed in a Metal finish with light weathering effects (Yes, I like those!). Presented on a "Desert" motif Terrain Base, and all powered by (3), 9 volt cells, housed inside the Saucer. You can see videos of this model in action at http://www.simonmercs.biz/video_gallery towards the bottom of the page. My apologies for these HUGE images, I tried to reduce them in the post, but it wouldn't stick. Hope the editors don't mind, or they can simply reduce the images a bit.

Hello Space Fans! Here's a few images of the latest production item at The Kit Factory, the Monogram "Invaders" Saucer kit. I added a lot of lighting effects for my client in the UK. This one features a rotating Beacon on the top of the Cabin area, a fader effect on the lower, blue toned landing lights, and a red/orange lighting effect for the Engine port. This is a tiny kit, only 7 inches in diameter, and the Cabin area that houses the electronics and power cell, is only 3 inches in diameter. The Hull is painted in Stainless Steel, with some weathering effects to make it more interesting. The original prop was all silver, but that is a tad dull to the eye, so I "spruced" it up a bit! Hope you like the images posted. You can also see the lighting in action at this link http://www.simonmercs.biz/video_gallery on the bottom of the page.

Your most welcome Romrod! When I began to do these lighted schemes, I struggled to get the basics under wraps, over time it started to make sense. As always, practice makes for better concepts, and taking it a bit further each time. These methods can make any kind of model more interesting to the eye.

Many thanks Jamme!