Trencher Criticism

Hello Moonbasers! 

Before I could shout "Stop the Presses" I'd finished my Cultivator, but Woodsy had already published!

The Cultivator No.6 was Winston Churchill's WW1 dream of a Trenching machine that could plow across a battlefield cutting a trench, with troops marching behind it as it went.

By WW2 he had enough influence to have it built. But WW2 was a different tactical landscape and trench warfare was old hat.

It was built, it was tested, it was never deployed. The plans for dozens of dfferent sized machines were quietly downsized and deferred.

It's code name was White Rabbit -although White Elephant would have been more appropriate! Churchill later commented "I am responsible, but impenitant!"

I thought it would be a funny throw away gag in my puppet film, to suggest he was using it to drive to work in his war bunker beneath Whitehall!

In the tradition of the real vehicle, the journey from dream to reality was a fraught and lengthy process.

I originally intended to scratch build it out of cardboard, but quickly progressed to drawing it up in vector work for laser cutting.

My work pal, Warren had been experimenting with AI programs that converted 2D photographs into 3D printable meshes. As much as I detest AI, I thought as a simple tool, I should at least try to know my enemy...

As I quickly discovered, despite the instant, glossy look, there were problems.

I needed at least three sections for my model, and due to AI hallucinations, each generation started again from nothing and while cillectively they looked fine, when I fitted them together, nothing matched.

I spent an inordinate amount of time 3D modelling to reconcile everything. Some parts like the spill ejector belts, had to be junked and 3D modelled from scratch!

Anyway, here is the finished model. It's under half of the machine and it still clocks in at 750mm long! It comes in two sections, held together with a magnet. Getting the cable stanchions and spring steel cables to split and join up was a task. After yesterday's house paint base coat, it now sports custom printed waterslide decals and subtle weathering, with dry brushwork and my old favourite -polished graphite!

I was a little worried about the contour map surface effect of FDM printing not holding up to 4K camera scrutiny, but I suppose I'll find out on the shooting stage!

It's now all finished, bubble packed and laid aside as I get on with the Prime Minister's pin striped pants!

" This man will be our hero, as he attempts to do everything himself. His name: Bleedin' Insane..."

Looey,

Oz

I lost the Sun...

Just another long story short.

This is the World War 2 equivalent of the Crablogger from Thunderbirds.

750mm of Diesel powered trench digger!

-And this model is just half of the actual machine!

These are 3D Fibre prints, made from PLA, which is a bio plastic. They are reasonably sensitive to warm temperatures, so even if they were put out to dry in the sunshine, I'd have to be careful, that they didn't warp.

This Olive Drab scheme is actually water based house paint, put on with an airbrush.

It'll need two coats to get an even coverage, but once the first layer is set, the second should stick without any problem.

But using a paint that dries by evaporation, on a cold winter's day has it's own problems.

To get a faster dry, I'm blasting it with cold air from a desk fan. No warpage and the first coat is almost dry!

Some better pix as they become available...

Post if you like, but I'm still working on some Superman Returns piccies for you!

Cheers, 

Looey

Oz

With One Eye on the Cake!

 Hello Woodsy, 

This past Sunday my missus had a birthday party to celebrate her 70th - Egad!

Her long time friend Nick Stathopoulos made and amazing card and cake based on her childhood love of Ray Harryhausen's 7th Voyage of Sinbad. 

A pity we couldn't invite Moonbasers everywhere!

Looey

Oz

In General, it's Pants! Looey's Puppet Film Progress

Hello Moonbasers!

Trying to be a one man Gerry Anderson is a hard slog. Sure Gerry had the big ideas and the money, but he also had a lot of "little people" fulfilling his dreams.

Apart from my ex-film pal, who is building a 1/3 scale Spitfire cockpit, acting as my tech bro, 3D mesh fixer, script and research consultant, it's just me, trying to do it all, on my onesies!

Recently I found I also have a Producer living inside my head, who threw all my existing plans onto the back burner! I had filming models almost ready to go and they are all now in storage, while the peripheral "Bunker Scene" gets full attention.

Before any rivet counters get their knickers in a twist, I've done my research and chosen to ignore it!

This is a test layout for part of the Bunker set. It still needs more weathering and furniture added.

Certain details and motifs have been removed. This isn't a love letter to fascism and I'm not giving those bastards any free advertising, apart from the satirical Joan of Arc style painting and the carpet pattern, which is a visual reference to the carpet in The Shining... 1/12th notable civilian figure for scale.

The logic is unarguable. My central character isn't featured, but this scene has established historical characters that an unfamiliar audience can instantly relate to. I've just about completed the filming model set and I'm FINALLY getting on with the actors!

All my hard work with designing puppet bodies is finally getting an acid test. I need at least three Wehrmacht Generals, their Boss and his opposite number...

My 3D printed puppet bodies are threaded together with window blind cord.

So I'm sewing up pants, or more specifically, jodhpurs! Sometime soon, I'll have to add the wide red line down each leg! The sewing machine my mother bought for me as a gift, 26 years ago was really spitting the dummy until I did some maintenance. Thank the Lord for WD40!

The test patterns, sewn from old flannelette bedsheets worked out fine. I've had a lot of trouble sewing the thin Poplin fabric I'd chosen for the costumes. 

The black especially has been very thin and difficult to seam.

After five full sets of 1/3 scale 2001 spacesuits, I thought this was going to be a doddle...

The full black pants will have to be totally redone, but the dark grey trews are passable, so I'm feeling a bit more encouraged.

Hmm, don't remind me I still need to sculpt five character faces onto that underskull!

This puppet film is my dream,

but the film story structure is itself a dream. - and this bunker scene is a another dream within that dream...

Oooooh! My head hurts!

Looey,

Oz Base

P.S. in Australia in the early 70's there was a clothing outlet called General Pants. This has absolutely nothing to do with them!

Monsieur Tin Tin, Is Your Dog Dead?

One thing that used to really annoy me as a kid...

Toy astronauts that weren't dressed for the job. Action Man with no gloves, Johnny Apollo with no gloves OR helmet visor!

Well 60 years on, it's still happening.

I'm not too fussed with Lego, the models always look like they're made from... Lego. But a good pal got me a Lego Yellow Submarine and he was baulking at the price of the new Tintin Moon Rocket. As a cashed up retiree, I decided to return the favour.

It's a big beast in a big box!

A full Moon team (sans Woolfe!) But what's up with Snowy? No helmet? No moon walkies for you!

So I 3D scanned him ( no mean feat as he's less than an inch long!) Then I 3D modelled a space helmet. Secret Tip: it's not a perfect sphere, I had to stretch it in several directions to get it to fit his head shape.

Then I 3D printed it in High Clear resin as opposed to the Clear Tough resin I normally use. The results were much better, but only 1 of the 4 units was usable. The High Clear has a slightly violet tint as opposed to the slight yellow of the tough resin. I put a good coating of clear Auto lacquer over the whole bunch.

I put a tiny crack in my one surviving helmet while I was grinding it out, to make it fit past Snowy's ears. I then washed out the grinding dust with meths and painted a coat of clear nail varnish on the inside.

All up, it worked out pretty well, although not 100% perfect.

Snowy lives!

Looey

Oz Base

Looey's Movie News

In Puppet film news... I might have mentioned I've changed tack a little and I'm working on the stand-alone bunker scene.

I'm currently putting in 1/12 scale skirting boards. I decided not to use existing photos or AI for the pictures on the wall. As such, I've modified research photos in Photoshop and printed them out on A4 paper. I then used a lightbox to trace them onto art paper and do each piece as a coloured pencil drawing.

Then it's a quick scan and back into Photoshop for tweaking and printing out at the tiny sizes I need.

Cheers

Looey

Oz Base

... Plus some propeller and plane work. 

Wonder Art Takani Style

Hello Moonbasers! 

I often read your comments and I'm tempted to answer off the top of my head without checking Mr Google for verification.

In a recent post I commented how the box art for Bandai's Robot Arm toy was by Yoshiyuki Takani while Mr Anonymous said it was Shoji Kawamori. Mr Google was no help at all so I went into my library and pulled out one of my favourite books. I noticed the price tag still on the back, but it was still one of the best A$106 purchases I've made!

Takani's style was loose and scratchy, but he was able to imbue even outlandish anime based scenes with a total reality.

Check out just a few of his greatest hits, I'm sure like me, you'll see images from your childhood!

Looey 

Oz Base

Oz Base Film Update: HP Sources

Hey Moonbasers! 

How are you faring with the Brave New World of AI?

I hate generative art with a passion, because the systems have been trained with everything on the web, including artworks -regardless of copyright.

I searched "Have you been Scraped?" and sure enough, some of my work is already included.

I've decided I will not use Generative AI imagery in my puppet film, but it is almost impossible to use any system, without some form of AI lurking in the workings,

So I'm making background models and I looked at the new systems that create a 3 Dimensional model from a single photo.

I wanted BG models of the Houses of Parliament and King Charles' Gate - could the new systems come up with a basic shape I could work on in the real world?

It turns out the answer is yes. But as with all things AI, the spectre of "Hallucinations" are ever present.

I bet you never knew that Parliament had two Big Bens, or that they had rows of trumpeting angels on the roof!

Here are some screen grabs of the 3D meshes I'm working with, Good enough for background work, but still not a reliable substitute for reality!

Looey

Oz Base

Thunderingballs!

Hello Moonbasers, my pal Arnum is always mooching around Auction Halls and he's picked up some bargains over the years..

A case in point is this vintage James Bond board game. It's actually a very clever game, as it requires deductive reasoning as well as the element of chance.

As an agent, you have to collect clues that can reveal where the stolen atomic bombs are hidden.

The only thing missing from the game is booze and dames -so I set about fixing that!

I've added girl and drugged Martini hazard spaces and modified the rules accordingly.

I also reprinted the original Secret 007 Notebook page, to more closely resemble the paperwork seen in the film!

" Oh, the things I do for England! "

Looey

Oz Base

Going Nuts about Dianauts

After Woodsy's recent Spacelink post, I did a bit of research about Capsenauts and whether there was any link to Takara's Diaclone toy line...

It turns out, no. But I did learn the little figures with plastic fronts, arms and legs and diecast backs with magnetic feet, are called "Dianauts".

Here are a few from my collection. The original multicoloured crew of five, from the Great Robot Base, still in their blister pack.

The aforementioned Great Robot base.

My Battle Convoy robot with two Dianauts inside.

And last, a "tell 'em they're dreaming" eBay offering - at least it's free shipping!

Anyone else out there, with some of these lil' fellas, Moonbasers? 

 Looey 

Oz Base

So, Tron we go...

Hello Moonbasers!

What do the movies Tron, Tron:Legacy and Tron:Ares all have in common apart from their names?

They were all box office flops. Yet Disney keeps making them!

I just caught up with Ares on DVD.

Disney made the decision not to realease physical product in the Australian market any more. Unfortunately as they also own Fox, this means a significant array of titles are no longer available.

I used to trot along to a JB HiFi shop and buy my DVDs there. Now I have to buy from eBay and as I'd prefer the cheapest price, some of these might just be Chinese bootlegs, so Disney isn't making any profit from their change in marketing strategy.

...but I digress.

I was absolutely amazed at how good I thought Tron:Ares was. The idea of bringing the world of The Grid into ours was a clever variation on the established formula.

Does anyone else have an opinion?

Looey in Oz

Dig for Victory In the Blue Mountains

 Hello Woodsy! 

Yet another visit to one of the Antique shops in the Blue Mountains...

This is the Victory Theatre in Blackheath, once a cinema, now a two storey cavalcade of old wares!

Some nice tin toys at "Tell 'em they're dreamin'!" prices!

Vintage die-casts

These Corgis are obvious re issues, but not too outragious.

     Happy shopping, Moonbasers!