Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Miskatonic Merkur
Marcos Saintout sent over this cool little mockup of a Merkur II with Miskatonic expedition markings.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Wings Over Antarctica: The Waffling
Based on feedback from the comments and some emails I'm having second thoughts about revising the Miskatonic Antarctic patch.
As I said before, I'm pretty sure Lovecraft meant the aircraft used by the Dyer expedition to be the Dornier Do-J "Wal". On the other hand, the specific mention of securing the landing skis almost certainly identifies the plane as the Dornier Do-B "Merkur II".
From a realism standpoint I think the scale tips in the Merkur's favor. The story specifies that the plane has a range of at least 800 miles and a ceiling of 24,000 feet. The Do-B can hit those targets with relatively minor modifications, like swapping out the BMW VI engine for a BMW VII with a supercharger.
Ironically, the BMW VII is the same engine Wolfgang von Gronau used on the modified Dornier Wal he flew around the world shortly after Lovecraft wrote the story. With a pair of them the plane easily had a range of 1000 miles, but it's service ceiling was only 11,500 feet. The problem with climbing higher was the Wal's tremendous weight. Even with superchargers the engines didn't have the performance to hit the 24,000 ceiling "At the Mountains of Madness" demands.
Frankly, I don't think Lovecraft cared a whit about the flight ceiling issue, but getting the Wal to meet the criteria he sets out would take some major work. The story contains several mentions that the plane was lightened for Dyer and Danforth's final flight, but I can't see the aircraft's performance more than doubling just by stripping the interior. Beyond that we could speculate the expedition aircraft were already considerably lighter than the stock Wal. The easiest approach would be to cut the plane's weight by replacing some of the steel frame with aluminum. That's still a pretty radical move, but given Pabodie's canon expertise in lightweight aluminum frame construction it's not beyond the bounds of belief.
Ultimately, what plane was used seems to come down to taste. Rely on logic and historical accuracy and it's the Merkur II. Trust in Lovecraft's original intent and it's probably the Wal. I can see equally valid reasons for embracing either.
So what do you think? I've already invested a considerable amount of time developing prop photographs and imagery using the Wal. I'm willing to put the same effort into redoing all of it with the Merkur II.
Update: I want to thank everyone who has weighed in, both in the comments and via email. Even the ones pointing out that I'm being a bit obsessive. Heh. I'm in no rush to make a final decision and ultimately it only really matters for the next run of swag. That won't be happening until after the first of the year, so there's plenty of time to fiddle with things.
As I said before, I'm pretty sure Lovecraft meant the aircraft used by the Dyer expedition to be the Dornier Do-J "Wal". On the other hand, the specific mention of securing the landing skis almost certainly identifies the plane as the Dornier Do-B "Merkur II".
From a realism standpoint I think the scale tips in the Merkur's favor. The story specifies that the plane has a range of at least 800 miles and a ceiling of 24,000 feet. The Do-B can hit those targets with relatively minor modifications, like swapping out the BMW VI engine for a BMW VII with a supercharger.
Ironically, the BMW VII is the same engine Wolfgang von Gronau used on the modified Dornier Wal he flew around the world shortly after Lovecraft wrote the story. With a pair of them the plane easily had a range of 1000 miles, but it's service ceiling was only 11,500 feet. The problem with climbing higher was the Wal's tremendous weight. Even with superchargers the engines didn't have the performance to hit the 24,000 ceiling "At the Mountains of Madness" demands.
Frankly, I don't think Lovecraft cared a whit about the flight ceiling issue, but getting the Wal to meet the criteria he sets out would take some major work. The story contains several mentions that the plane was lightened for Dyer and Danforth's final flight, but I can't see the aircraft's performance more than doubling just by stripping the interior. Beyond that we could speculate the expedition aircraft were already considerably lighter than the stock Wal. The easiest approach would be to cut the plane's weight by replacing some of the steel frame with aluminum. That's still a pretty radical move, but given Pabodie's canon expertise in lightweight aluminum frame construction it's not beyond the bounds of belief.
Ultimately, what plane was used seems to come down to taste. Rely on logic and historical accuracy and it's the Merkur II. Trust in Lovecraft's original intent and it's probably the Wal. I can see equally valid reasons for embracing either.
So what do you think? I've already invested a considerable amount of time developing prop photographs and imagery using the Wal. I'm willing to put the same effort into redoing all of it with the Merkur II.
Update: I want to thank everyone who has weighed in, both in the comments and via email. Even the ones pointing out that I'm being a bit obsessive. Heh. I'm in no rush to make a final decision and ultimately it only really matters for the next run of swag. That won't be happening until after the first of the year, so there's plenty of time to fiddle with things.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The Spawn of Cthulhu
The incredibly talented Simon Lee brings us the spawn of Cthulhu. He has a real gift for capturing the look of tortured flesh, and I mean that as a high compliment. His technique is very reminiscent of Berni Wrightson's best work.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Cameo
The Miskatonic University pennant makes a cameo appearance in this article on custom headlamps by Amanda Kooser.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Stop! A Head.
The invaluable CoastConFan posted a link to these goatskin shrunken heads in the comments for yesterday's post. As he pointed out, for less than $20 bucks these would make an ideal base for crafting your own tsantsa. They're a bit goofy as is, but could be turned into real showpieces with a little bit of remolding and some patination.
(My apologies for the horrible joke in the title, but it's one near and dear to my heart. One of the reasons I went into broadcasting is because of the "Stop! A Head." bit by Steve Dahl and Garry Meier. It originally happened in the summer of 1981 when I happened to be visiting relatives in the Chicago area, and to this day it's one of the funniest and most horrific things I've ever heard on radio.
A nasty car accident in the city resulted in a gruesome decapitation death during rush hour. Making the whole thing even more terrible was the fact that rescue workers couldn't find the victim's head. As soon as the news broke Dahl and Meier speculated about where the missing head might be, and eventually launched a scavenger hunt with prizes to locate it.
Years later I learned the bit was a set-up, but to this day I'm in awe at the sheer hilarious perversity of it.)
(My apologies for the horrible joke in the title, but it's one near and dear to my heart. One of the reasons I went into broadcasting is because of the "Stop! A Head." bit by Steve Dahl and Garry Meier. It originally happened in the summer of 1981 when I happened to be visiting relatives in the Chicago area, and to this day it's one of the funniest and most horrific things I've ever heard on radio.
A nasty car accident in the city resulted in a gruesome decapitation death during rush hour. Making the whole thing even more terrible was the fact that rescue workers couldn't find the victim's head. As soon as the news broke Dahl and Meier speculated about where the missing head might be, and eventually launched a scavenger hunt with prizes to locate it.
Years later I learned the bit was a set-up, but to this day I'm in awe at the sheer hilarious perversity of it.)
Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Trophy
From Kumo-No-Kuchi, a classic-style shrunken head. I'm a sucker for tableau displays filled with adventuring gear.
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