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Death From Above

Started by Paul Barber · 25 ≡ · ↻ 5 years ago

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Paul Barber said 5 years, 6 months ago:

As I see it, someone had to do it.

And if it was your dream build just say now and I'll hand it over - honestly no problem!

If not I'll be collecting a few of these (6-8) from different manufacturers and learning how to model water and build stands. A year might just be enough...

Cue the music...
david leigh-smith said 5 years, 6 months ago:

Oh, tell me you are not just teasing, Paul...
Paul Barber said 5 years, 6 months ago:

Unless someone else has their heart set - I’ll give it a crack. I don’t think it’s a scene we can let go unattempted in this GB.
david leigh-smith said 5 years, 6 months ago:

I think as far as war movies goes, it is one of the truly iconic scenes ever. For sure you have the skills for this, and I’m sure without any doubt it’ll be an absolute show stopper.

Kudos!
Paul Barber said 5 years, 6 months ago:

I’m happy to do it, but I am mindful that there might be someone who was just about to put their hand up. Or who has always wanted to do it. And if that’s the case they should do it because mine is a decision made in the moment - not a long time/bucket list calling. The RAF GB can have a hundred spitfires and that is just fine - different pilots and squadrons, marks and scales etc. I don’t think this GB needs 2 of anything particularly - so I’ll give it a couple of months, read the book again and do a bit of research to get in the mood. I’ll post whatever turns up and is interesting on the subject. If no one else comes forward with a burning desire to do it I’ll have tied up the RAF100 build by then and will unequivocally take it on!
david leigh-smith said 5 years, 6 months ago:

Paul, take all the time you need. The clock is ticking slowly on this one for exactly that reason. I’d like modelers to get at least one ‘marker’ build out of this group, something a bit unique. ‘Apocaypse’ Ticks all the boxes in a huge way - and if you were/are thinking of the ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ scene, well - if someome else has done it I ain’t seen it (and I’ve looked).

Part of the reason I put such a long leash on this was so people can work on the RAF Group and the Nose Art builds (I have at least two projects in each group build). GB’s are the lifeblood off sites like this, bringing people together in what is a solitary pastime/obsession.

Bravo Zulu.
Paul Mahoney said 5 years, 6 months ago:

an iconic scene for sure - if you can get the waves looking good, be sure to include Kilgore's surfboard! 🙂
one of my all-time favorite movies - love to see this done
david leigh-smith said 5 years, 6 months ago:
Gary Wiley said 5 years, 6 months ago:

Excellent choice! I’m thinking of doing a scene with a PBR. Don’t let that stop you from doing a helicopter scene. Different elements of the same movie, and I hope that is OK with you.
Paul Barber said 5 years, 6 months ago:

Gary it'd be great to see the PBR - even being moved by a chopper!

Paul and David - yes the board should be stashed on the chopper - have found a few pictures - might need to do a balsa approximation.

Meanwhile here's some music:
Peter Hausamann said 5 years, 6 months ago:

Wow Paul, At 1/72 scale, how big is the diorama base going to be?
Paul Barber said 5 years, 6 months ago:

Hello Peter, I have learned that you can pick up choppers in scales from 1/32 down to 1/100. So something might be done 'in perspective'. Perhaps a 'pre-build' sighter using 'blocks' the same size as the kits and trying to arrange them as a prototype for scale, so that if viewed from in front (as in the photo David posted) the front to back distance could be reduced. If the single nearest chopper on the left third line was 1/48, then 3 x 1/72 in the next row and 4 x 1/100 towards the back, it may stack up. Even if the front four were all 1/72 and the back four 1/100 it may still work.

That would leave some considerations about sculpting the sea (at least it is pretty flat for the most part) and adding some sky at the back. In the next frames on from David's photo the beach appears - which could be used to add more depth - that has the implication of having to sculpt surf which is more complex but might pay dividends too.

The 'stands' or 'supports' are key - should they simply be positioned vertically and painted to match the sea? The 'back row' could probably be supported horizontally as they would be quite small. Plenty to ponder!
Peter Hausamann said 5 years, 6 months ago:

Great thinking there, Paul.
If using forced perspective, then it needs to be viewed from an ideal (eye-level) position. Peep shows are Ideal for this, since the viewer has to be in that ideal position. Perhaps you can play with that idea too. Also, the distance from front chopper to backdrop of sky plus water (to last row of waves) is short. Short enough to have all choppers fixed to a horizontal support as you mentioned.

Using dummy blocks for experimenting perspective positions is a brilliant idea. How are you going to do the water and waves; paper mache? If so, it works quite well. Here, I used 50-50 PVA-water mix to apply on the tissues, then with a flat long haired artist brush, I pushed the tissues around to form a small wave.

Looking forward to see updates on how you work this all out.
Paul Barber said 5 years, 6 months ago:

Thanks for all of these ideas. That water looks very good indeed! It may well be the way to go for the breaking shallow water. I am going to take a long lead in and read around perspective and water making. The ‘peep show’ idea is certainly intriguing! I am thankful there is a year to play with! Thanks so much for your suggestions, Peter! keep
‘em coming. This project feels like a real team effort!
david leigh-smith said 5 years, 6 months ago:

Paul, the great thing about iModeler is that so many projects feel like team efforts. This site has been a real game changer so far as my modeling is concerned. It also makes my life a bit happier, never a bad thing.

Your Ride of the Valkyries will look incredible, of that I have no doubt. It’s great to have a longer term project you can research, play around with, and learn a few new things. Love that idea of different scales and forced perspective.

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Death From Above