Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Northern Creek Sprite
Duncan Eagleson brings us this preserved example of the Northern Creek Sprite. Given the small size of the figure the level of detail, particularly the flowing lines of the fins, is impressive. I think it would benefit from distressing, but that's purely a personal judgement.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Catch of the Day
One never knows what will show up in on your hook when you're fishing off Innsmouth. Anders Eriksen brings us this silicone cast from his original sculpt. I'm not sure about the teeth, but I really like how color is used to bring the bust to life. The red wash over the milky white of the flesh gives an approximation of flesh tones while the eyes are nicely set off by the dark rings.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
The Pirates
Tom Banwell is an incredibly talented artist who has created some of the best retro-futurist artwork and artifacts I've ever seen. Beyond that, he's consistently provided in-depth looks at the creation of his work that are filled with advice and detailed descriptions of his techniques. That willingness to share is one of the reasons I have such an immense amount of respect for the man.
Sadly, he's also been ripped off by the Norwegian oil company Det Norske.
You can read about the sad hijacking of his art, along with the work of other artists, over here at the Art Theft blog.
Sadly, he's also been ripped off by the Norwegian oil company Det Norske.
You can read about the sad hijacking of his art, along with the work of other artists, over here at the Art Theft blog.
The Blues Brothers...in Spaaaaace!
No, you haven't ended up at the wrong site. While there's a case to be made that John Belushi's character in "The Blues Brothers" is a chosen favorite of Nyarlathotep, the film isn't something that falls within the normal purview of Propnomicon. Except in this case, it does.
Two years ago I stumbled across an interesting "Italian wooden space helmet prop" being offered by the Blackman Cruz design and decorating firm. It allegedly dated back to the 1930s, but bore a striking resemblance to some of Ralph McQuarrie's concept designs for the stormtrooper helmets in "Star Wars". Given the rabid community of fans that microscopically study every detail of those helmets I thought it was amazing that no one had ever remarked on the similarity.
Last night "TK826" left a comment on the original post about the helmet that points to this still from the making of "The Blues Brothers". It's filled with vacuum formed casts from the "1930s Italian space helmet prop" master, presumably from a toy store in the mall rampage sequence from the film.
The picture doesn't prove the Blackman Cruz helmet isn't from the 1930s, but I think it's pretty strong evidence in that direction. To date no one has ever identified an Italian film from any era featuring that particular helmet design. It seems far more believable that the master was produced in the late 1970s by the prop house providing set decoration for "The Blues Brothers" and was intentionally patterned after the McQuarrie designs. An intriguing alternative is that it's an actual master from the pre-production period of "Star Wars". If that's true there's someone out there who thinks they have a pricy objet d'art sitting on their tabletop, when in actuality it's a prop master a "Star Wars" collector would die for.
Two years ago I stumbled across an interesting "Italian wooden space helmet prop" being offered by the Blackman Cruz design and decorating firm. It allegedly dated back to the 1930s, but bore a striking resemblance to some of Ralph McQuarrie's concept designs for the stormtrooper helmets in "Star Wars". Given the rabid community of fans that microscopically study every detail of those helmets I thought it was amazing that no one had ever remarked on the similarity.
Last night "TK826" left a comment on the original post about the helmet that points to this still from the making of "The Blues Brothers". It's filled with vacuum formed casts from the "1930s Italian space helmet prop" master, presumably from a toy store in the mall rampage sequence from the film.
The picture doesn't prove the Blackman Cruz helmet isn't from the 1930s, but I think it's pretty strong evidence in that direction. To date no one has ever identified an Italian film from any era featuring that particular helmet design. It seems far more believable that the master was produced in the late 1970s by the prop house providing set decoration for "The Blues Brothers" and was intentionally patterned after the McQuarrie designs. An intriguing alternative is that it's an actual master from the pre-production period of "Star Wars". If that's true there's someone out there who thinks they have a pricy objet d'art sitting on their tabletop, when in actuality it's a prop master a "Star Wars" collector would die for.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
The Mountains of Madness Project Update
Things are moving along with the Mountains of Madness project. Here's a work in progress shot of the blueprint for the expedition's Dornier Wal aircraft.
A lot of the work that went into getting it to this point is totally invisible. I've been trying to make logical tweaks to the baseline design to bring it more in line with the level of performance in "At the Mountains of Madness". That means taking into account the increased power from an uprated engine, the weight savings gained by swapping structural steel for aluminum, and the increased lift generated by an enhanced wing profile. Much of the inspiration for those changes has come from the improved military Wals produced under license for the U.S.S.R and the two modified reconnaissance planes used by the German Antarctic Expedition of 1938-1939.
Update: Elmo Iscariot sent over a snapshot of the plane in Ian N. J. Culbard's graphic novel adaptation of "At the Mountains of Madness".
It's a pretty faithful depiction, and I absolutely love the page layout.
A lot of the work that went into getting it to this point is totally invisible. I've been trying to make logical tweaks to the baseline design to bring it more in line with the level of performance in "At the Mountains of Madness". That means taking into account the increased power from an uprated engine, the weight savings gained by swapping structural steel for aluminum, and the increased lift generated by an enhanced wing profile. Much of the inspiration for those changes has come from the improved military Wals produced under license for the U.S.S.R and the two modified reconnaissance planes used by the German Antarctic Expedition of 1938-1939.
Update: Elmo Iscariot sent over a snapshot of the plane in Ian N. J. Culbard's graphic novel adaptation of "At the Mountains of Madness".
It's a pretty faithful depiction, and I absolutely love the page layout.
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