Added the scratch between the pommel cubes and installed the d-ring. I’m still letting the booster and grenade oxidize. I’ll probably give them some more weathering and bluing treatments before knocking back the rust and oiling them.
The windvane still needs more work. I may pick up some Brass Black to supplement the ammonia-fume tarnishing I’ve already done. Then it’s on to light denting and physical damage.
Meanwhile, Roman’s FX cage should be arriving in the near future.
That all being said, I need to make some decisions regarding just which direction to go in. I could go with the Tunisia version of the prop, assuming the same prop was used throughout production. Most people tend to go with the Chronicles look, but I’m a little leery about adding all that damage and detailing without being sure what was actually onscreen.
After all, the Chronicle clamp has the badly damaged tape, but we don’t know exactly how it got that way, or what condition the prop was in during filming. There only appears to be one transistor washer in the death scene, but two in Tunisia. The prop was obviously intended to have two, and one apparently fell off. The prop was also apparently intended to have a fully-taped (or perhaps even tapeless, depending on whether or not the Tunisia version had it) clamp. And the damage and dents in the clamp may well have come from being dropped on the floor in the death scene.
It may even be possible, considering the plating damage on the lever, that the Chronicles clamp had tape on the clamp to hide existing damage/rust, as opposed to just covering the Graflex stamping.
At the moment, I’m kinda aiming for a Death Star look, but maybe with both washers (which the prop likely had before the death scene).
Basicslly, I have to decide whether to go full-Chronicles, with damaged tape/screws/wires, or a more idealized version of what the prop probably looked like during Elstree filming.
Any tips, theories, or reference would be appreciated!
