DRINKIN' BIRDS & GASHAPONS

[8th_Passenger]

I'll keep an eye out Fred.

Have you removed the eyes from the Frog?


Colin

[SKIN JOB 66]

Thanks Colin !

Yes, I have removed the eyes, they need to be reworked in order to match the screen-used Hoptimist...

More soon when I get the melamine rice bowl I found yesterday on eBay UK... Not a close match but I have good hope that some sanding will give it the proper shape needed for my replica...

Wait & see...

Fred
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[SKIN JOB 66]

OK, new option... I have finally abandoned the melamine bowl option, anyhow the proportions and size of the ones I found were not matching the screenused prop... (and I don't talk about the extensive sanding process it implies... Melamine is a strong material)

So I went down to the Hoptimist head and drilled a hole on top of it... and to my surprise the result looks very convincing in my book !



There's more work to be done on the eyes and other tiny parts attached to the head but at least I'm back on tracks...

Stay tuned guys, more soon !

Fred


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THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST

[joberg]

It's looking good...

[8th_Passenger]

Fred, How about one of these to set off Ripley's toys and a few other Nostromo essentials!



Not too difficult to build but the cost of all the lights and switches may add up!

The top switches look like the rectangular versions of the ones used on the MU TH UR key box. There are two or three other styles of switches/lights, but it's hard to get a clear view of what these actually look like. So I've just done a representation on this illustration.

The same is true about the strip above the name plate.

I've probabley spent too much time on this already but I may add a few more items in time.

Colin

[joberg]

Nifty render Colin ...yeah, a 3/4 round around that box and a few switches (albeit expensive ones) could do the trick...maybe an ashtray and it could be a very nice display

[8th_Passenger]

Thanks joberg.

I have started the ashtray but its quite a complex shape to reproduce in the 3D software I'm using... But I'll give it a try.

Colin

[SKIN JOB 66]

He He, excellent Colin, love the idea !!!



Fred
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[retrogarde]

Thanks to Tom Southwell's awesome contribution of the original woodcut, I have modified my Balaji imperial cigarette pack. But there's a problem: we still don't have the the full woodcut. The photo on the right is the original prop, notice the extra background detail to the right of the pipe. On the left is the woodcut that matches the man, and (as you can see) I have duplicated the leftmost bit of scenery to see if it matches when placed on the right.



Do folks think I'm on the right track with this approach? I need to trim the duplicated scenery so that it ends just after the door (thereby losing the fountain), and extend the oval of grass he is standing on to match the shape of what we see in the original.

I'd like to note that while I am manipulating this digitally, I am not texture stamping or in any other way "photoshopping" the woodcut. I want this to look just as it did when it was assembled by hand for the film.

[joberg]

You gotta be careful not to be confused by: lens distortion, package is bent, it seems that the right-hand side of the drawing was cut (not enough space on the pack)...but I don't think that the original has to be transformed drastically to achieve the overall look.

So, keep the original as is, just cut the right side to make it fit

[retrogarde]

Hi Joberg,
I may have been unclear in my last post. Here is the original image from Tom:



Comparing this to the packaging it is clear there is more scenery to the right of the pipe on the prop. I believe the builder simply snipped the left side off a second copy of the woodcut and added it to the right. I'm basing this on the shape of the doorway and the tops of the trees. My earlier post shows how this might look, but doesn't have the oval of grass duplicated.

We can't see the lefthand side of the woodcut on the prop thanks to the Tupperware mug, but it seems to me the builder's intention was to center the Smoking Man, and so we would find that side of the woodcut untouched.

Does that make sense? Sorry if my words and images didn't add up![/img]

[joberg]

O.k. gotcha you...as you can see my eyesight is playing tricks on me Yes, so cut and pasted the left side to the right side and filled the "gap" between the cut with their own drawing to imitate the look and removed some of the bottom with white paint.

Get to work (kidding of course).

[Backlight]

[andy]

[Backlight]

[SKIN JOB 66]

OK guys, I'm back !



I have posted this photo earlier in the thread, thinking if was Ridley's office at the time it was interviewed... Well, I was wrong :



Same bird, same lamp, same fan...



I'll post a long overdue update on the green Hoptimist soon... Stay tuned ! (Damn, I hope this project will be completed before the end of the year, I'd like to tackle the Balaji pack of cigarettes next !)

Fred
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THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST

[retrogarde]

Well how about that! I always loved the office set. This makes me want to re-watch Alien3...

[SKIN JOB 66]

Saw it a couple of times these last days, and it made me want to open a new thread devoted to it...

Will do in a minute in the "Coffee Shop" !



Fred
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[joberg]

Another good one Fred! Who thought of that?...

[SKIN JOB 66]

OK, time for an update on Ripley's Gashapons...

Last time we talked about them I had removed the eyes from the large green frog, as they needed to be redrawn in order to match what's (barely) seen on screen.
Look at the photo where RS is standing just above them earlier in this thread (scroll down to 8th post of that page) :

http://propsummit.com/viewtopic.php?t=1454&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=300

Now they look more like Kermit's eyes :



The lower parts of the eyes were also re-glued higher on the head, because some room is needed underneath for a mustache... Yes, believe it or not but this Gashapon wore a mustache ! (I think this was intended to make it look like Groucho Marx)





After I talked about the hole atop the head with Colin I decided to leave it as is, because we both agreed it matched pretty well most of the refs we had in hand... That's when I thought the hole was maybe simply drilled in order to turn this Gashapon into a pen holder... Think about it, it would make sense since the crew used pens on the bridge :



I thought I'd just have to figure out how they did the mustache (transfer letters would be my best guess) and this one would be completed... and that's when I stumbled on this new ref in my archives :



See the little flat area atop the head ? Is it just me or does it look like a lid of some sort...
So for now I'd be inclined to think again that there was a lid, the hole was sealed after all...

Thoughts anyone ?

Fred
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THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST