Maltese Falcon

[Ozymandius]

It's possible. The chest feathers on the film and auciton bird read only as a series of triangular indentions that only make sense when taken as the upper intersections between feathers. In fact, to get my chest right, I had to sculpt the feathers whole and then carve them down so that they blended together.

That would seem to make sense given the line in the story that it "had aquired a thick layer of enamel".

 

[Ozymandius]

Thank you, MooMoo. Can I call you Moo?

It's subtle, but that line is definately there.

Now granted, somewhere along the way mine managed to get rather unsubtle. :confused So thanks for the catch.

Oz

 

[sctcarts]

Excellent work - I've enjoyed watching this as you've come along - can't wait to see the first cast!

 

[lastdiplomat]

It's possible. The chest feathers on the film and auciton bird read only as a series of triangular indentions that only make sense when taken as the upper intersections between feathers. In fact, to get my chest right, I had to sculpt the feathers whole and then carve them down so that they blended together.

That would seem to make sense given the line in the story that it "had aquired a thick layer of enamel".

Right. Most replica makers simply draw triangles on the chest which doesn't look right. I was curious as to how you achieved the proper look on yours. Interesting to hear you sculpted feathers and then took them down.

At first, I thought what people claimed was the "original mold" was just a made-up story and it was simply a copy of the version used in "The Black Bird." But if you look closely at the alleged "original mold" cast pictured, it's obviously been cast a few times and has lost some detail, but the feet and claws appear (to me at least) to be the same as the movie prop. As are the wings and the pedestal. They all match up. You can see that if you simply shaved back the feathers on the chest and legs, you'd get a very close version of the original movie prop. I wonder if when they made "The Black Bird" they cast the original WB mold but didn't remember or realize they should shave back the feathers to get the same smooth look? I do wish I knew more about the history of this prop. There's still a lot of mystery surrounding it. (Which is, admittedly, part of the fun.)

Does anyone have the 26-page PDF document that Profiles In History used to have on its site detailing all the research that went into authenticating the resin bird? Similarly, can anyone (students?) access this article by Vivian Sobchack called "Chasing The Maltese Falcon: On The Fabrications Of A Film Prop"? It sounds like it could be an interesting read related to all the different versions of the prop said to be out there.

 

[Ozymandius]

I hope I don't sound stupid, but I assume you're going to be useing a non-shrink Platinum type rubber for the mold. You may have already covered this in your posts. Just something that popped into my head.

Yes, I just picked up a fresh kit of platinum silicone today just for this project.

And that brings me to something that I've been meaning to mention for a while. I think I owe Adam Savage and apology :lol. Previously I had said that he was mistaken and that it wasn't the silicone that shrank, but the wax when he did his bronze casting. I based this on past experience and the fact that I have never had a problem before.

Of course, I've never done a project that tried to be this accurate, and was under this much scrutiny before either. Once I actually bothered to check the data sheets and run the numbers I found that the tin silicone would loose up to 1/4 in height. Suffice to say, I suddenly found a Nike lodged between my molars.

Just goes to show the difference between a hard model maker and a sculptor. They remember to check their math more than we do.

 

[GeordieIndy]

I mentioned to Ozy about the base being a little off also, it lacks the shaping of the original which can clearly be seen on the resin auction bird from the side shots.

I really appreciate you taking your time on this and listening to us with OCD when it comes to props!

I also noticed a few of the feathers looked to be a little off in shaping, but as I mentioned to you I know it's hard for me just looking at pics as appose to the bird up close and without it being painted at this stage...

I hope if you have time once the changes that have been mentioned are done that you could post a few new pics before it's molded.

Thanks again for being understanding and listening to us!!!!

Andy

 

[lastdiplomat]

I think I see what you mean about the pedastel, but it's worth noting the resin is a bit damaged on the base. When in doubt, I like to compare things to the film version and the pedastel is unfortunately covered up by Greenstreet's hand in the rotation scene. One thing I've just noticed is some of the between feather triangles/indentations near the bottom (they're shaped more like drops of water) should probably be a little deeper than they are on Oz's sculpt. But it's a minor detail.

What's so impressive is how these comments we've made are just minor things. A touch-up here and there. Overall, this sucker is near identical to the original, which given that Oz didn't have an actual prop to reference, only photos, and those photos weren't extensive and weren't taken by himself, is astounding. I can't believe how close this one is to the real dingus from so many angles.

 

[GeordieIndy]

Yeah the shaping of the pedestal can be seen here marked in red, the red marks on the picture of the bird on the very right towards the back of the pedestal are just something I was unsure about as I couldn't clearly see this on Ozy's bird:

Better seen here without my red markings:

and Ozy's bird:

Also looking forward to seeing a dead on frontal view Ozy.

Many Thanks,

Andy

 

[whoever]

George, if you feel like doing an indepth comparison to the MK, I sent you a link with pics.

 

[GeordieIndy]

Thanks whoever, just looking through the pics now!!

btw, it's Andy not George! Saying that many people see my username Geordie and call me George, so no worries!! ha ha

Cheers,

Andy

 

[GeordieIndy]

Just got looking through the MK Falcon pics whoever sent me! This is a great looking Falcon! MK certainly has caught a lot of the detail. Sure his is not 100% accurate, I noticed his pedestal was slightly off, the chest looks a little flatter, one ankle bell is also a tiny bit off and a few other things I noticed..

One thing MK did catch which I think Ozy might not have picked up on, was how defined the lower neck feathers are on the falcon. See here:

Thanks,

Andy

 

[lastdiplomat]

Nice observations, Andy. I think the closer we can nudge this little fella into accuracy, the better it will be for all those who decide to pick one up!

 

[GeordieIndy]

One thing the MK bird does have which is the same as the original are these lines/defined feathers:

In my personal opinion I know these are SA but I do not like them and I think they look out of place to the rest of the Falcon, they are not on the other side or on the resin auction falcon. They look to be just marked into the paint.

But at the end of the day it is Ozy's decision and I thought I had better mention it.

Andy

 

[whoever]

Some MK falcon pics

 

[division 6]

MK actually went and studied the one that is on display at the studio museum.
No pictures where allowed especially with a guard near by.

 

[Ozymandius]

Well, it's almost midnight and I'm calling it a day. You guys should be happy to know that almost all the problems pointed out were things I knew about and had made mental notes to address before going to mold. But since I have a tendency to misplace those notes, the little reminders do come in handy. :lol

I also did spot a few areas where things had gotten shifted during the sculpting process, like the bell on the left foot. Somehow it had gotten pushed back nearly a quarter of an inch. Personally, I blame Justin Timberlake for these wardrobe malfunctions, and will thank him for taking his pervy avian foot fetishes elsewhere.

I'm going to do one more pass in the morning and finish punching up the leg feathers. With any luck I should have it in the mold by the afternoon.

And one last thing before I go. I just wanted to thank everyone who has contributed reference photos for this project, as well as the overwhelming support and feedback. It has been an invaluable help and greatly appreciated. I hope you all enjoy the final product as much as I have enjoyed making it.

Cheers, Oz

 

[MooMooEgg]

I think, as you can already see, we're all ready and willing to help out as best we can, especially with the great job you're doing with this piece. It's not often that we get to see a dingus run, especially one this good. thumbsup:thumbsup

 

[Ozymandius]

You know, I once paid good money in Tiajuana to see a Dingus Run. It's an image that still haunts me to this day. :sick

 

[lastdiplomat]

In case anyone's still not satisfied when Ozy is finished with his meticulous work, there's an original Maltese Falcon going up for auction at the end of the month: Guernsey’s Announces New Auction Event for September in New York City: “ICONIC”

No further details yet, but I imagine it's the resin bird that originally sold back in 2000 for $92,000. It turned up for sale again in 2008 with a starting bid of $250,000 but failed to sell. Looks like it's going back on the auction block. Anyone want to pool funds and we can each keep it for a week at a time?

 

[missileman]

Hi Ozymandius,

Any idea how much the resin bird will weigh?

If it feels substantial enough I'd go for it, otherwise it's all out for a Bronze one.

When it gets to order stage don't forget to get some rough shipping quotes to, I don't know, far away destinations....