"C" Movie Starship Miniature Effects Model

wow! I envy the talent and love the build. That ship is beautifully detailed and amazing. It would be great to see it in person and marvel over the small details. I am interested in seeing the movie when it is out.

Wow. Still blown away by the quality and craftsmanship.

Realfiction,

Thanks! It was a lot of fun to build and detail. I wish we had had more time to finish up everything we wanted, but it turned out better on screen than I could have ever thought! The complex lighting really brings the ship alive. Charles did a good job with it, even though it was a real pain to run everything we needed. That models interior is literally stuffed full of wires, fiber optics, connectors and circuit boards.

Rick put a spectacular paint job on it making it a real ship instead of a model and that makes it look huge in the movie. I am eagerly awaiting my copy of the movie. :)

Richard
 
This is really cool Charles. Congratulations and Well done. I love the 2001 elements in the design and as a whole it does look very "real". It's easy to see you were very passionate about the design and the job in general. Lotsa talent dude! A thumbs up seems not enough but in lieu of virtual cash here you go.:love:thumbsup
 
They did promise that. Sort of like "Department Heads" in that list. Don't worry -- we'll all be featured in the credits of the film itself. :)

I got to see a rough cut of the finished film between Christmas and New Years. The visual effects sequences turned out really great. I managed to get some screen shots of my favorite scenes. One of them is attached (posted with permission).

You can see a fleet of these ships in the trailer. Each ship is referred to by the class name and the registry number. The specific ship on which our story takes place is the Kestros IV.
 
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At long last, here is the Kestros 1...

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Here are some screen caps:

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When I received the model from Charles, there was still a fair amount of construction to do before I could paint it. The parts that needed the most work were the nose, the inside of the large ring and the rear engine block especially, also all the fiber optics needed to be trimmed and secured in place. I also did a lot of kit bashing where it needed it. I spent the first of two weeks finishing the model...

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Then on the second week, I began the painting process. Here are some photos of it near completion...

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The ship had to look like its stages were blasted apart. Because this is supposed to be a new ship on its maiden voyage, I was not able to do a lot of weathering, so I especially enjoyed this part. Also, all these openings were empty and needed to be kit bashed. This was going to get a close up, so it needed detail...

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Finally, The producer, Otto Stockmeier (left) and director, Derek Van Gorder (right) came to pick up the model. They were very pleased with our collective efforts! Immediately they were walking around it, saying how they couldn't wait to film it from this angle and that. I set the ship up as you see it here with a black backdrop and lighting. I demonstrated the lighting system and how each of the modules fit together. We then packed it in the crate and they took it away to film it.

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It was a very successful job. Charles, Richard, Preston and I are very proud of the final model. It looks great on screen. Great job, gentlemen!
 
First time seeing this thread, and man that is an amazing job you guys did! What is going to happen to the model with the movie complete?
 
I'm not quite sure. The producers own the model. I'm hoping we can convince them to bring it to WonderFest 2013!

I must admit I am not much of a Facebook enthusiast. I am registered, but pretty much never go there. But, I was just told they've updated their Facebook page with some photos of the model being filmed. If you're on Facebook, you can view it all here.

For everyone else, I am attaching some of the images so you can see them. :)

What's really interesting is the model was not filmed using a movie camera or video camera. They opted to use a system designed for time lapse photography. They were quite clever in turning this into a motion-control rig that could be used to film a spaceship miniature very much like ILM did back in the day.

The rig, called DittoGear, provides a robotic track with precisely controlled movements. They used an ordinary digital still camera and took the shots frame by frame. What makes it work is the fact the system can move the camera ever so slightly during each shot to create motion blur. This is what makes the difference between staccato frame-by-frame animation and apparent smooth motion on screen.
 
This is absolutely amazing! The ship’s design, details, lighting, painting and weathering all came together so well. You guys make a great team. Thank you for sharing this.
 
Thanks!

By the way, there were a few homages to some legendary movie models built into this ship. For example, there are X-wing parts on the engine block, and TIE fighter parts in the nose of the ship. Most of the tiny decals that I applied all over this ship are the same decals used on a lot of Star Wars filming models. One of them actually mentions ILM, but you need a magnifying glass to reed it. The decals were a gift from Jason (moffeaton).
 
Thanks for the pics as I don't have a facebook ;p

Wonder if they'd be willing to sell it afterwards :eek:
 
Thanks for the pics as I don't have a facebook ;p

Wonder if they'd be willing to sell it afterwards :eek:

From what they told me, they are not going to sell it. I believe instead they made arrangements to have it on display at a library. I don't remember exactly where.
 
Thanks! I just heard from the producers:

You guys might also be pleased to know that the Kestros IV has docked on display in a sci fi bookstore in Brooklyn for the time being, where she has a daily stream of admirers and is being kept well maintained for possible future flights.

The film makes it debut a week from today -- January 28!
 
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