Model miniatures for a movie project

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:29 pm

I'm currently filming two movies. One of them is a spin-off/sequel to a very popular sci-fi/horror franchise that takes place in the distant future. Instead of using obviously fake CGI models of ships and vehicles, I decided to make physical model miniatures, keeping with the dark retrofuturistic look of sci-fi of the 80's.

Since I can't afford to buy model kits and make huge kitbashes from them, I had to start everything from scratch, using the most basic things around my house... cardboard, plastic containers, blister packaging, cassettes, computer parts, and even disposable items used to build the models themselves.

--

First I have here the main model for the movie, the massive commercial starship USCSS "Dreadnaught". It's the main setting of the entire movie, and in that universe it is almost half a mile long, with corridors and spaces that stretch and bend throughout the interior. I made sure it gives the impression of a nightmarish mechanical monster, with no visible lights to indicate windows to look inside... it's a dark, gritty, claustrophobic industrial bulk hurled into the deepest reach of space.

It's made from a fiberglass replica of a fighter jet fuselage, with containers and shaped cardboard glued together, and riddled with computer parts. I haven't properly measured it, but I estimate it to be 4 and-a-half ft. long.

It's only half complete.

http://files.activeboard.com/932580?AWS ... m3Cx6tw%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/932585?AWS ... 70iaAlg%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/932587?AWS ... 2BN67ek%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/944969?AWS ... LWSNAvg%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981562?AWS ... 640%2FQ%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981565?AWS ... GPNimI8%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981675?AWS ... ku4xStU%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981676?AWS ... kgckWh4%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981674?AWS ... aHW33d4%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/1017802?AW ... p4r2Tbc%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/1017803?AW ... JmNwV20%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/1017804?AW ... J6ctsfc%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/1017805?AW ... oTYB5M8%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/1017806?AW ... yrV76FM%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/1017809?AW ... nG4Nlw0%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/1017810?AW ... heACiLc%3D

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:38 pm

Next is the ore refinery, which is towed by the "Dreadnaught" in the opening sequence. In that universe, it dwarfs the ship at a massive 2 and-a-half miles in diameter.

It's made from a computer monitor motherboard and printer parts.

It's completely finished. I didn't add much detail, since it only appears for brief moments and doesn't get as much lighting as the rest of the models.

http://files.activeboard.com/932588?AWS ... zO3AVDc%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/932589?AWS ... npxVSWU%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981670?AWS ... jKKo9H0%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981671?AWS ... r63J3nE%3D

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:48 pm

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:52 pm

By the way, this is the "Taarna" shuttle set under construction.

http://files.activeboard.com/981569?AWS ... 3K1ahMI%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981570?AWS ... FtFKodg%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981572?AWS ... hbI65NY%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981574?AWS ... CK8XwIU%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981577?AWS ... IDhC13g%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/981579?AWS ... QuM4gx8%3D

Looking for less pathetic of parts

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:02 pm

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:09 pm

Finally I have here a special model for a visual effects shot. It's the only window you ever see on the Dreadnaught and it's in an undisclosed location.

It represents an observation window, where I shine a light in the BG of a 4 inch distance and move small wires behind it, to represent movement of crew members.

Almost complete.

http://files.activeboard.com/1017819?AW ... VcjLszc%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/1017820?AW ... SRFFnO4%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/1017828?AW ... RfGGTlQ%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/1017832?AW ... A8p8k2o%3D
http://files.activeboard.com/1017833?AW ... Votaz8c%3D

And here is an effects test before I painted it. It will be further perfected.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7EbvNK-SyY

en'til Zog · Post by **en'til Zog** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 7:27 pm

"Never give up! Never surrender!"

That's a good start, Keep Going! The only thing that can truely stop you is giving up.

Don't.

Are you going with film or digital video? Each has advantages and drawbacks.

Rogviler · Post by **Rogviler** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:49 pm

You've got great ideas! Doing things on a budget without computer effects (like in the good ole days) is exactly how you come up with simple but really effective techniques.

I hope you'll post the finished product.

-Rog

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:35 pm

Thanks very much for your kind replies.

I will be filming with a Norcent digital camera, because I can't afford any higher-resolution of cameras. Quality will be fair, just a point below what average B-movies have to offer. Effects will be all conventional, since my computer can't handle special 3D software AND I despise CG effects with a passion. However, I might do small touch-ups like fire and green-screen effects.

I will never give up on this project, even if I'm the only one doing everything! I'm the writer of the script, director, conceptual artist, model-maker, prop-maker, costume designer, set-builder AND decorator, and even an actor. I took one character role, the main one, but I need four other people and no one seems to want any part of it.

I will update my builds as regular as I can for you all.

To put you in further suspense, here is a teaser trailer for my film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKJpzP_xTFI

Would any of you be interested in seeing the concept art, props, costumes, sets, and other goodies related to the project?

Mr. Badwrench · Post by **Mr. Badwrench** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:46 pm

This sort of thing is why I got interested in building models in the first place.

Rogviler · Post by **Rogviler** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 10:34 pm

Stingray24 wrote:Would any of you be interested in seeing the concept art, props, costumes, sets, and other goodies related to the project?

Silly question.

Let's see it! It'll be nice to have such a unique project around here.

-Rog

Mr. Badwrench · Post by **Mr. Badwrench** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 10:40 pm

^^ What he said. ^^

en'til Zog · Post by **en'til Zog** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 12:45 am

Actors are important - but need to be entheusiastic about your project.

Don't rush into production with lukewarm talent. Find people who really want to participate. Film production is a long hard process. Too many people will think it's a lark, fast and easy. It's not.

(I used to work in the T.V. commercial game.)

"Never give up Never surrender!"

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:42 pm

This is the very first concept of the USCSS Dreadnaught, then called USS "Logan". It was originally a military vessel like the USS Sulaco, with a crew of 10, eight of them being space marines.

I started this adventure when I was 13 years old.

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/ ... 33ip2i.jpg

In an early draft of the script, the ship's name was changed to have an ironic meaning... "Dreadnaught" literally translating to "without fear", serving as the main setting of a horror film. It still retained military status, but the ship's class changed to a scout ship.

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/ ... 33gpfr.jpg

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/ ... 33gpjo.jpg

I then decided to rewrite the script, being that the first one was the first script I've ever written, and therefore the worst one ever written. I drastically changed the story to make it a civilian starship like the USCSS "Nostromo", but still with the original 10 crew member count as in my early draft.

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/ ... 33gppl.jpg

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/ ... 33gpww.jpg

I decided the script should call for the Dreadnaught to deliver some kind of cargo to a certain area in deep space, or pick up cargo to deliver it to another location where the story would unfold. One of the locations was an artificial colonial planetoid called Ketzel 942.

It had a back story as well:

"It takes the company almost eight years to fully complete these planetoids which are about the quarter of the size of the Earth's moon, about two years faster than terraforming. Unfortunately it's more expensive than terraforming, so the company dropped all funding for these complexes during the first four years of their construction. Only two of them are in existence, with accomodation for only 400 colonists. Since no customers invested in the colonization of these complexes, they only serve as deep-space re-supply spaceports with a maximum of 30 inhabitants, mostly workers."

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/ ... 33gs2q.jpg

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/ ... 3hdh4y.png

I decided that would be too complicated, especially since it appears so briefly, so I dropped the idea. Instead the ship will simply appear towing cargo in the opening sequence. I also simplified the plot, and reduced the crew count to 5. I changed most of the names as well, and added the ship's on board intelligence, named Overscan (named after the administrator of the Secret Projects forum, who I'm friends with).

Here are further concepts of the ship:

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/ ... 33gq4o.jpg

http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/ ... 33jefj.png

Some of my drawings leading to the actual model are missing. I'll try to find them.

This is a pressure door concept, with an emergency system where the panelling blasts away if it malfunctions.

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/ ... 3hdfzp.png

This is a heavy intrasystem shuttle, which never made it to the script.

Description:

"Used for quick interplanetary or intra-system transportation, cargo-hauling, or surface bombing; Four hybrid booster engines with transatmospheric capability and multi-directional thrusters; Advanced communication system with "blade antennae" for reaching system-wide frequencies, plus universal communications with any type of air/space vehicle; Weather radar under nose, "needle" air-data probe mounted on nose, anti-collision early-warning system with automatic evasion and course-correction, infrared and NV tracking and targeting software, interplanetary or intra-system target tracking radar evident with convertible dish able to stow away in the fuselage to prevent blockage of airflow to the upper transatmospheric intake."

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/ ... 3eye9n.png

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/ ... 3eyfmp.png

In the script, many types of craft and equipment can be found in the cargo bay, such as a "Hover-Copter", tracked surface repairing unit, and several utility/repair vehicles, including "Taarna".

DA artist Rodney Sellars drew me sketches of three of those vehicles...

The utility/repairing craft, later named "Taarna":

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/6871/shuttle1h.jpg

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/2720/shuttle2v.jpg

The "Hover-Copter":

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2268/hovercopter.jpg

And the tracked surface repairing unit:

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/6208/repairunit.jpg

However, his design for the Hover-Copter was far too large and I decided to shrink it down to a Nagler-type design:

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/ ... 3z8v46.png

I had also realized that I didn't plan the escape shuttle design. So I decided that I recreate the utility/repair shuttle to a more boxy shape, and give the escape shuttle the aerodynamic look.

Taarna revised concept:

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/3208/taarna.png

And so I designed the escape shuttle like the earlier Taarna concept, with a mix of another design Sellars had done, a small hovercraft called "Aeronaut". With his kind permission, I used that name.

I removed the repairing arms and made a special mechanism to reveal the shuttle within the Dreadnaught's hull, in which a panel slides back, exposing the craft to the vacuum, and a large hinge would rotate the shuttle to an outward position, allowing the shuttle to safely blast away.

Sellars' concept for "Aeronaut":

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/ ... 34uj4x.jpg

My concept, as the escape craft, demonstrating it's activation:

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/3154/aeronaut.png

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/52/aeronautcopy.png

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/1783/aeronaut2.png

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/4343/aeronaut2copy.png

For the fun of it, here's a futuristic drawing unrelated to the project:

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/ ... 3edii2.jpg

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:57 pm

Early observation room concept:

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/ ... 3juxlt.jpg

These were tests for logos for the crew patches:

http://th00.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2 ... 3juxul.png

I decided to go with the last one, since I figure a bit of a ZZ Top reference would be fun.

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/ ... 3juybl.png

Final design:
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/ ... 3jvdz5.png

Final design, alternate version:
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/ ... 3z7mn8.png

In the script, the characters completely improvise their equipment... the tracking device, flamethrowers, etc.

There are two different flamethrowers: A basic propane model with limited range and less damage (Model 1), and a more portable version with liquid fuel (Model 2).

Model 1:
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/ ... 3iztxd.png

Model 2:
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/ ... 3izu7p.png

Tracking device:

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/ ... 3izuw0.png

Rogviler · Post by **Rogviler** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 5:28 pm

Wow...

Lots of amazing designs. If you had the budget to turn all that into a big movie I'd definitely pay to see it!

-Rog

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:19 pm

MillenniumFalsehood · Tue Oct 18, 2011 11:27 pm

If I didn't live halfway across the continent, I would most definitely participate! I've always wanted to do a fan film, even a small one.

Have you tried putting out a casting call on Cragslist? You never know: it might be just the thing to get a cast and crew together.

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 7:32 pm

MillenniumFalsehood wrote:Have you tried putting out a casting call on Cragslist? You never know: it might be just the thing to get a cast and crew together.

No, I haven't. Great idea!

Rogviler · Post by **Rogviler** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:57 pm

You're right about it looking completely different on screen. When I first started working in theater I couldn't figure out why nothing was being sanded, why there were pencil and even marker lines being left in plain view, and why nobody was patching the thousands of screw holes all over the set. Finally I saw it under lights and from the audience point of view and it looked absolutely flawless.

Wish I was closer too.

-Rog

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 1:47 pm

Rogviler wrote:You're right about it looking completely different on screen. When I first started working in theater I couldn't figure out why nothing was being sanded, why there were pencil and even marker lines being left in plain view, and why nobody was patching the thousands of screw holes all over the set. Finally I saw it under lights and from the audience point of view and it looked absolutely flawless.

Wish I was closer too.

-Rog

I guess... it's a kind of magic.

Sorry for my absence, progress is a bit slow due to the weather. Will try and get some new stuff posted up soon.

WarpeD · Post by **WarpeD** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 2:48 pm

All of your Activeboard links are dead. Access denied.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 8:57 pm

Rogviler wrote:
Stingray24 wrote:Would any of you be interested in seeing the concept art, props, costumes, sets, and other goodies related to the project?
Silly question.

Let's see it! It'll be nice to have such a unique project around here.

-Rog

Bah! Models are silly. We're more into quilting and macromay. But if you *must*, I guess I'll look at your stuff.

Kenny

srspicer · Post by **srspicer** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 12:19 am

Links are all denied to me as well.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 11:38 am

Same here.

Blappy · Post by **Blappy** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 1:37 pm

I can't access most of the links either.

KWSTAS · Post by **KWSTAS** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 2:10 pm

The only working links are the images links. can you do something about it???

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 2:51 pm

Oops! Sorry, I forgot ActiveBoard attachment links expire!

Here is the thread I was linking from regarding the models, sets, costumes, etct.

http://stingraysrotorforum.activeboard. ... ject-ever/

And this is the thread where my concept art is:

http://stingraysrotorforum.activeboard. ... ldestFirst

Stingray24 · Post by **Stingray24** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 12:55 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKJpzP_xTFI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZBXFfPU64U