1:8 Scale ‘MOON’ base replica!!

[winf]

I’m currently a Model Making student at the National Film and Television school just outside London.

Over the last five and a half weeks we have been busy building a 1:8 scale replica of base set from the film MOON. This was our first team project which was lead by John Lee (who actually built some of the original models on MOON).

It was such a fun build! I was personally responsible forpractical lighting, graphics and the large bulkhead sliding doors that separate each bay (these aren’t in the film, they’re my own design!).

Here are some photos as well as a link detailing more about the project. I would love to hear what everyone thinks!

>>> Link to school article

 

[Pyramidrep]

WOW! Beautiful, impressive work. I see you’ve used a lot of laser cut MDF and other materials. Did the group have to produce CAD drawings- plans & elevations, cross- sections of the set or did John Lee provide them?.
They take time to do and with a tight, short build time, I can imagine it might have been hectic to finish in time.

 

[TazMan2000]

For a while, I thought, no way is that a physical replica. It must be a rendering. Well done!

TazMan2000

 

[winf]

WOW! Beautiful, impressive work. I see you’ve used a lot of laser cut MDF and other materials. Did the group have to produce CAD drawings- plans & elevations, cross- sections of the set or did John Lee provide them?.
They take time to do and with a tight, short build time, I can imagine it might have been hectic to finish in time.

Thanks! We had to produce everything ourselves! One of my fellow students Callum Higgins made a final CAD drawing once we had agreed on the final measurements. Gavin Rothery (the production designer of Moon) has a fantastic blog with some photos on it that we referenced, but a lot of it was done by watching the film over and over and over.... and over.

It was indeed a very tight deadline, but there were 11 of us working on it so enough to spread the stress load!

 

[winf]

Here are a few more snaps of the build in progress.

 

[joberg]

Beautifully made you guys!! I thought I was looking at real sets

 

[Pyramidrep]

Thanks! We had to produce everything ourselves! One of my fellow students Callum Higgins made a final CAD drawing once we had agreed on the final measurements. Gavin Rothery (the production designer of Moon) has a fantastic blog with some photos on it that we referenced, but a lot of it was done by watching the film over and over and over.... and over.

It was indeed a very tight deadline, but there were 11 of us working on it so enough to spread the stress load!

The quality of the finished model is fantastic. Very professional for what is student work. It’s not that big a jump from here to building full scale sets. Well done again.

 

[yaris]

Most impressive......!!

Thank you for sharing.

 

[kermet]

I love anything space or Nasa now you need a couple of those DID astronaut figures make a clear rod stand for them look like their floating Very nice work it does look like a set.

 

[stevielewis]

You all did very fine work putting these sets together. I'm impressed.

 

[winf]

I love anything space or Nasa now you need a couple of those DID astronaut figures make a clear rod stand for them look like their floating Very nice work it does look like a set.

Hmm.... there may be something special on the way.......

 

[Treadwell]

Man, if that school and curriculum existed in the 80s I really blew it by not finding out about it and going.

 

[CallumHigginsMM]

I worked on this project with Tom and one of the things I focused on was making the communications console. As you can see in this first pic, it took a number of prototypes to figure out exactly how we were going to make it, and how we would fit all of the lighting inside so that it would give an even back light to the screens. We also needed to make sure that we would be able to stick the screens in once the bulk of the console was made.

The main structure was lasercut out of various thickness of mdf and then clad in two layers of 0.5 styrene to give the slight recesses around some of the screens. the edges were then filled sanded and primed over and over until I was happy with the surface finish, before painting with an off white spray can. The keyboards were printed on my Anycubic photon S resin printer, will the various buttons were made from styrene rod.

The screens themselves were designed by Tom and then printed as custom dry transfers from 4D Modelshop. These were then applied to 0.5 styrene before being cut out and glued into place. This gave a really nice back lit effect, and the black on those dry transfers was great at blocking out the light.

In the 6th picture you can the see the working 'book' light. This was pretty challenging to make and to install but it was worth the effort I think.

 

[joberg]

TFS with us!! Great console and Pro-Job on making that set

 

[Analyzer]

Looks like a real full size movie set

 

[Attirex]

Note to self: time for a career change?

 

[the DOCTOR]

I've been seeing pictures of this on Facebook this last week- very impressive work, have you found Steve Howarth on FB? He made Gertie and the Rovers, his sure to be interested!

 

[Snow Builder]

Adding my voice to the choir, an absolutely stunning build.

 

[kruleworld]

It must be a rendering.

I initially though the same thing. its so clean and well built and the lighting is phenomenal.

 

[winf]

I've been seeing pictures of this on Facebook this last week- very impressive work, have you found Steve Howarth on FB? He made Gertie and the Rovers, his sure to be interested!

Thanks! No we haven’t.... although John Lee might have, I’ll make sure to pass it on to Steve if he hasn’t.