Father Son Model Building: AT-ST

This is Zeke and his finished AT-ST model.

Since my last foray into model building went so well I figured my 9 year old, Zeke, may enjoy building his own model.

So I let him pick out a model from Amazon, bought two, and over the past week or so we've been building them together.

It wasn't until we were 5 steps away from being completed that I realized the model was labelled as "15 years or older."   Didn't seem to matter tho as he managed to get everything together nicely.

This afternoon we finished the build.  Happiness ensued.

Foray into Model Building: Star Wars AT-AT

For a project over Labour Day I decided to try my hand at model building.  I haven't build a model since my childhood. It dovetails with my toy photography hobby, so it seemed like a thing to do.

I picked up a Bandai 1/144 scale Star Wars AT-AT kit. It looks like this:

When I was but a wee lad and engaged in model building, I always got stuck up on the glue(no pun intended) and I could never get it all attached correctly.  So I was happy to see this model didn't require any - win!  Also it doesn't have any decals, which is also a bonus.

So I spent a few hours putting together the model.  It ended up looking like this:

It turned out pretty good, but of course it has that flat grey plastic look to it.  I have become accustomed to a better looking model (standards increase when one gets into toy photography), so I knew I needed to do some painting.

Now an AT-AT is naturally grey, so what I really needed to do was to grunge it up a bit - something called "weathering".   Before I started I needed to decide the history of this machine.  Most of the time AT-ATs are thought of as being on the ice planet Hoth, and are shown in snowy weather.  However they went other places as well - there was an AT-AT guarding the force field generator on Endor for example.  I decided to make an AT-AT that has spent its lifetime trudging in a forrest environment.

So I spent a few hours putting on various washes of acrylic paint, and wiping off the excess.

After a few layers of build up, the finished product looks like this:

I tried to get the feet to look worn from mud and forrest detritus.

And I tried to make the vents look rusted from the moist forrest air.

I am pleased with how this turned out, for a first attempt at model making and aging.  In fact I liked it so much I have an X-Wing on order for next weekend.

I may have found a new dimension to my toy photography. I can't wait to get this in front of my lens.  Exciting!

Disney: Hollywood Studios

 Our second day in the Disney parks brought us to Hollywood Studios.

Now you might ask why we picked this park to attend this day, and the answer is: we didn't.  We had  our super awesome travel agent Missy recommend a schedule, and this was part of it. Missy is awesome, and if you go to Disney, you should use her services - they were invaluable for us enjoying the Disney Experience.

So, this was a day that ended up way more enjoyable than I expected it to be.  I expected it to be a lot of movies I don't really care about. Turns out it was mostly Indiana Jones and Star Wars (with some plasticated Tom Hanks thrown in for kicks).  So it was right up my alley, and the alley of a certain son of mine.

We arrived just as the park opened, and were one of the first people in the park, so for the first half hour it almost felt like we had the place to ourselves.

Our first stop was to sign up the kids at a unique experience later on in the day (stay tuned for details), then we wandered over to Toy Story Land for our first FastPass ride: Toy Story Mania.  The ride was very well done, and involved traveling thru a shooting gallery, and shooting toy rubber darts at targets, and trying to get the highest score.

I won ('natch).

Then we headed over to our next FastPass stop, but first we paused for an Incredibles style photo.

The next FastPass was for a Star Wars ride - a 4D thinger with comedy, action, movement, and other fun stuff. Zeke loved it and begged to do it again, but we had FastPasses waiting at our next stop, so we were forced to say "nay".

Our last FastPass was for the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular show.  Again, not what I expected, but it turns out it was a whole lot better than my expectations.  It was basically an entertaining demonstration of how stunts in movies are performed and filmed.  Very good stuff.

Though it did start with some classic Indy re-enactments.

 Ever since then the phrase "throw me the idol and I'll throw you the whip" has been going thru my head.

Next stop: lunch.  It was at Minnies Silver Screen Dinner, which is a buffet, with characters.  We got pictures taken with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Daisy Duck (tho personally I thought Daisy was just a person in a duck suit - cheesy! Totally real mouse tho)

After lunch we headed over to the Star Wars Launch Bay, and met the best wookiee in a galaxy far, far away. The fuzzy and totally real and authentic Chewbacca.

This day I learned that Chewie gives the best hugs. No wonder Han let him hang out for so long.

 We all gathered around for a photo, cause Chewie is great with his fans.

Now, remember that unique experience we signed the kids up for?  That was for Jedi Training at the Jedi Temple.  So we wandered over, got them signed in, and sent them to the temple (don't tell them we secretly sent them to school during vacation - our secret, OK? Shhhh...)

The kids were given some lessons on how to do lightsaber stuff, and use Jedi force pushes, and all kinds of mean, nasty ugly things that Jedi are asked to do.

Then Kylo Ren showed up.  Yes, *that* Kylo Ren.

 But wait - there's more!

James Earl Jones Darth Vader also showed up!  There was much posturing, threatening, and other mean nasty ugly things. Then shit got real, yo, and it was time for Vader to die.

So Abigail stepped up, and fought the Dark Lord... however she's cute, and sweet, and between you and me, not that tall.  So while she bravely faced her foe, she did not defeat him.

So Zeke, the Zedi himself, stepped forward.  Zeke is taller, and stronger, but lets face it, not overly rich in midichlorians, but he stood his ground, and eventually, as is written in the script, ran Vader off.

At that point the kids were declared trained, and we went on our merry way.

Now this is where the awesomeness of Missy comes into play.  As we left I send her a message to ask about getting another FastPass for that awesome Star Wars ride, and 10 minutes later we walked passed the 30+ minute wait line and rode that very same ride for the second time.

Then we went back to the hotel for a rest.  That evening we returned to the park to attend a show called Fantasma.  It was the most amazing show - excellent lighting, acting, and fireworks.  However I took no photos, so you're gonna have to trust me.

Then we went back to the hotel for the second and final time that day, fell into bed, and drifted off to sleep, with the magic of Disney (and one too many root beers) dancing in my head.

Building The Millennium Falcon: Dejarik

Historical photos of the Millennium Falcon, original designation YT-1300 492727ZED has been unearthed from the Corellian Ship Yard archives.  This series covers all of them.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the famous Dejarik game was installed early in the construction phase of the Falcon. The reason for this is lost to the mists of time, but the prevailing theory is that the foreman's kids needed a place to hang out after school.

The main Dejarik module is built off-site, and installed into the frame of the spacecraft.

Once the game system was installed, high paid tech workers swooped in and programmed it.  It takes a long time to properly tune the game, as each creature in the game is trained like a Tamagotchi, making each game unique*.

It is due to the unique way this game is programmed that I don't think the game is installed early because the foreman needed a place for his kids to play after school.  However I do think it is likely that the real truth is that the foreman had a teenage nephew that he described thusly. "That boy is really good with those comp-u-tor thangs.  I can never figure it out me-self, but he knows how to make web pages for his pet tribble**.  He's a lazy mofo, but with comp-u-tors he's like a genius or something, so I did my sister  a favour and gave him a job with the game thinger."

Those of you in IT will also recognize this line of thinking on the part of the foreman as the likely cause for why the game pieces flicker a lot when playing.

I suspect similar stories are behind the high quality of the ships light speed drive.

* This is not an actual fact

** yeah, I know it seems odd for the nephew to have a pet from the Star Trek universe, when he is clearly based in the Star Wars universe, and you are likely all feeling smugly superior that you recognized that fact.  Good for you!  However I would point out that there is a lot of evidence that Star Wars is based in our universe, and you can, right now if you wish, visit the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk, USS Enterprise, making it also our universe, so it doesn't seem like that much of a stretch now does it, you smugly superior sum-bitch.

Happy Star Wars Day

May the 4th be with you, always.

LEGO Ultimate Collectors Series: Slave 1 Review

The Star Wars Universe has many unique style of ships.  One of the most unique is Boba Fett’s ship, which is called Slave 1. Of particular note iit lands in a different direction than it flies. It does not get a lot of screen time during the Star Wars series, but it does play an important role in the film as it is the ship that takes the carbonite frozen Han Solo back to Tatooine.
When I notice that LEGO has an Ultimate Collector Series version of this ship  I jumped at the chance to own one.

This is my review of this iconic set.

Overview

This set is one of the Ultimate Collector Series, which are the larger sets that LEGO produces.  This set, at 1996 pieces is no exception.  When built, the model is 7” high, 17” long, and 14” wide.  This size puts the ship is at minifig scale, which helps with the sense of play, as well as a more realistic sense of scale.  This will come in handy for us toy photographers.

Being an Ultimate Collector Series set,  it does come with a rather handy stand that can be used for display.

Included Minifigures

The set comes with 4 or 5 minifigures, depending on how you count.  Included is a Bespin Guard, a Stormtrooper, a Han Solo, and a Boba Fett.  The Boba Fett minifig is more detailed than the version of him that comes in other sets. The Bespin Guard and Han Solo are rather plain looking in comparison, but still perfectly cromulent. The 5th item that may or may not be counted as a minifig is Han Solo encased in a slab of carbonite.

The carbonite slab is hollow at the back, and contains a couple studs that the Han Solo figure can grip with his hands, essentially hiding Han behind the slab.  This isn’t over useful for photography, but sort of clever and worth mentioning.

Slave 1 

If you look at Slave 1 you realize that there isn’t a square angle on the thing. It is bulbous in certain places, and cylindrical in others, but never square.   I can only imagine how much trouble this gave the LEGO build engineers as they had to figure out how to recreate this ship.
They pulled it off beautifully.  It is a very complicated build, and uses the concept of SNOT (studs not on top) to an degree I have personally never seen. This allows for the complex shapes and structures that make up this ship. There are studs facing almost every direction.
The ship itself is very detailed.  It sports an expansive cockpit, which swivels to be appropriate for both landing and flight modes. The swivel guns on the tail look very accurate. It sports two hidden compartment on the sides that contain additional weaponry.  The tail contains a cargo door that is especially designed to hold the carbonite slab.

Hidden Benefits For Photographers

Unfortunately the base of the ship, while detailed, is not solid.  Consequently, it is not overly photogenic from underneath.  I don’t think this will cause too many problems in practice. The inside of the ship is fairly hollow.  This, combined with the non-solid base, makes it easier to slip small lights inside for that more dramatic photo.

I took this behind-the-scenes shot of my customized light inside the cargo bay of the ship:

And this is the resulting image:

The core of the ship is incredibly solid. However there are a lot of decorative bricks that come off fairly easily.  For example, while taking the above photo, I had to replace the round bits at the base of the tail several times.  As a result, I would be cautious taking this ship out into the field, however in a studio setting this doesn’t seem to cause many issues.

Conclusion

The Slave 1 model is a master class in creating complex shapes with LEGO bricks. It is a true work of art in and of itself, and is therefore worth adding this to your collection for that fact alone.  The ship’s detail, relative correct scale, and incredibly rugged build means that it will both look good in photos, as well as on the shelf.

I don’t believe this set is a must have for the toy photographer. However, if you are looking for an interesting model to add to your collection that is both a challenging build, and will look good in photos, this ship should be high on your list of sets to consider.

Note:  This review originally was posted on the Toy Photographers blog on February 17, 2018.  Reposted here for posterity.

Investing In The Arts

I have recently made an acquisition for my art collection.  A print of an amazing photograph from +Ang Cheng Ann aka ZekeZachZoom.  Here it is hanging up on my studio wall:

The moment I saw this image I fell in love with it.  It works on so many levels. 

First of all it is the classic riff on the "Alas, poor Yorick"  scene from Hamlet. 

Second this is a scene that could have actually happened when Darth Vader was on Cloud City over Bespin... and C3P0 was conveniently dismantled at the same time.  So it is not a stretch to think they would have been in the same room at the same time.

Finally Anakin, who would become Darth Vader, created C3P0, which means the next line in the play "I knew him, Horatio" is a totally legit thing to have been said (assuming one of the Storm Troopers was named Horatio, which granted is a stretch, but this is fiction about galactic empires and space wizards, so why not have a Stormtrooper named Horatio?  We have one named Finn after all.)

It now sits proudly in my studio.    If you want your own +Ang Cheng Ann print, check out his store: zekezachzoom.com/store/

Toy Photography Blogging

If you are a fan of  toy photographer, you may be interested in this kick-ass blog called toyphotographers.com.

I know it is kick-ass because some amazing toy photographers contribute to the blog.  I know you'll like it because I am also now contributing to the blog on a regular basis - I'll leave the kick-ass designation for Yours Truly as an exercise for you, the reader.

Today they published a review of a LEGO set I wrote with help from my son, Zeke.  It is a review of the LEGO Star Wars set based on Luke Skywalker's island called Ahch-To.  You can check out the post here: Review: Ahch-To Island Training.

I am also working on a series of posts called The Foundation Series. It centers on insights I've gained during my artistic journey so far, both philosophical and practical.  Hopefully others can benefit from them and help them along their own personal journeys.  The first post in that series can be found here: The Foundation Series: A Journey Begins.   New posts will drop approximately once a month.

I'll link to any posts I write for toyphotographers.com from this blog so if all you are interested in is the stuff I contribute, stay tuned here and you won't miss a thing.  However there really is some great stuff over there from everyone, so I suggest you follow them directly.

Storm Trooper With Flowers

This is the first of a new series of Star Wars themed images in the style of Monet, the father of impressionism.

You can check out all the photos as I post em either here, or on my collection on Google Plus called Star Wars: A Masters Tale.

Spring Break: A Miniature Land, Long Ago And Far, Far Away

When last we spoke, my family and I were in the middle of a visit to Miniature Land in Legoland, Florida as part of a Spring Break vacation.

A whole section of Miniature Land is the Star Wars section, where many scenes from every movie (except the current one) are laid out in a sort of geek based space-opera paradise.

They based the Endor scenes in the woods running along the edges of the pathways where the main displays lived, which made for some great backdrops.

The Battle of Naboo from Episode I: George Lucas' Acid Trip

A wider view of the same scene.

Another scene from Endor.

The Battle of Hoth. One of the more epic scenes.

You have never seen a more wretched hive of scum and villiany at 47:1 scale.

Catch you next time!

Selfie: The Force Awakens

Han Shot First: Lego Edition

One of the biggest controversies to ever reach geekdom is the changing of the Mos Eisley scene in Star Wars Episode IV.  George Lucas changed the scene where Han Solo faced off against the bounty hunter known as Greedo in the 1997 Special Edition re-release.  Ever since there has been a mystery about the events of that epic encounter.

This is my response:

Empirical Two Wheeling

Last weekend I found myself in possession of the following things:

1) One life-size Stormtrooper helmet from Star Wars (The Original Trilogy).
2) One camera.
3) One bike.

When faced with such a collection of objects, what is one to do?  

I mean, what would you do?

Go for a ride of course!  Then capture it for all to see.  So I give you: a bicycling Stormtrooper. Cause why not?

Making the world a little more surreal... one ride at a time.

You are welcome.