Building The Death Star - PRODUCTION

Art Andrews said:
We took quite a few shots but only a few turned out and only one that I actually liked (which Rob already posted). I am sending all we took to Rob to do with as he likes and post as he likes, but we had a number of technical issues, and even on the best shot, I had a bit of crud on the CMOS that left with a dark mark on the far left...

Seeing the Death Star in person was a true joy and once you got the lights on it, it truly is breathtaking and feels like you are reliving your childhood. There is no photo and no words that could truly describe it. I did my best and hopefully it gives it some justice, but seeing the real thing makes any photo pale in comparison.

As always, click to enlarge.

These are scaled to 1920X1080 so they can be used for backgrounds if you like.

View attachment 47354

View attachment 47355
Click to expand...

Art and Kristen, I honestly don't know how to thank you enough. You're a class act through and through. You go to pretty extensive lengths on my behalf to generate the most stunning images ever of this model, then beyond that, you offer incredibly gracious compliments of the project.

I am so "close" to the project at this time that in response to you compliments, I want to say, "Nah...! It's not that good...!"

But on the other hand, that comp shot with the star field is mind-blowing. Even though I built this damn thing, I honestly could not tell the difference between my model and the original. At least on the dome surface.

The dish is a give-away though. The styrene strips are too robust, which I have already babbled on about. Its and easy fix though. Tape off a strip/piece, knock it down a half a millimeter, re-paint the piece (which I can do now thanks to CrackerJazz!), rinse and repeat...

With Art and Kristen's images, I can now get this one step closer to a perfect match.
 
Art Andrews said:
We took quite a few shots but only a few turned out and only one that I actually liked (which Rob already posted). I am sending all we took to Rob to do with as he likes and post as he likes, but we had a number of technical issues, and even on the best shot, I had a bit of crud on the CMOS that left with a dark mark on the far left...

Seeing the Death Star in person was a true joy and once you got the lights on it, it truly is breathtaking and feels like you are reliving your childhood. There is no photo and no words that could truly describe it. I did my best and hopefully it gives it some justice, but seeing the real thing makes any photo pale in comparison.

As always, click to enlarge.

These are scaled to 1920X1080 so they can be used for backgrounds if you like.

View attachment 47354

View attachment 47355
Click to expand...



****ing awesome.



.
 
Couple from the shoot

Sorry, cell phone pics in the rain dont turn out to well

Art and Kristin setting up
7495e871.jpg


Rob, Brad and Mike
cb94c0eb.jpg


Robs Death Star photo shoot with Art behind the cam and I believe Brian M trying to recreate shots.
143d1656.jpg
 
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PHArchivist said:
I am so "close" to the project at this time that in response to you compliments, I want to say, "Nah...! It's not that good...!"
Click to expand...

Rob, it really IS that good... but I know you want to make a few changes. When you have them done, let us know and on our next trip out we will plan a final shoot. I will have a MUCH better camera by then and hopefully it won't be raining so we can take more time with our shots and get some that represent your hard work even better.
 
Rob, your Death Star looks great in person but in the pics that Art took, comped together with a star field, it looks incredible. Really fantastic work and dedication to accuracy. WOW!
 
Thanks guys... Gino that comp is awesome! Alderaan is toast...

I do see another "error" I need to correct. The inner dish pulls up at about 8:00. I actually did this intentionally (by inserting a thin piece of plastic under the inner dish). Why...? Because the original shows this.

But...

As is the theme of this model, the finer the scale the better. Not only is my inner dish a tad too thick, but it pulls up way too much. The thickness of the inner dish plastic cannot be modified at this point. But if I can "undo" the pulling up so that it lays flat, then the overall thickness of the plastic will be far less apparent.

Again, these are details I would not have been able to confirm without Art's photos.

Photographing my projects and examining them on the computer - I have found - is an invaluable method of seeing things you just did not see before. It is a different medium (than the naked eye) and you simply read things differently. And after all, these models are meant to be photographed.

And while I can take shots of my model until the cows come home, I cannot duplicate the type of "scale photography" that Art and Kristen nailed. My own images - at best - would only suggest the need to make these corrections. But not confirm.

The Andrews Images will without a doubt help take this up a level.
 
Oh wow, those shots are amazing, and if the model wasn't as stunning as it is, it would have shown up in photos. It's my new deskptop at work, and it'll probably be a long, long time before it changes. Super cool, great work and thanks again for the updates and sharing the great pics!
 
Ghadrack said:
Oh wow, those shots are amazing, and if the model wasn't as stunning as it is, it would have shown up in photos. It's my new deskptop at work, and it'll probably be a long, long time before it changes. Super cool, great work and thanks again for the updates and sharing the great pics!
Click to expand...

I'm honored, as should the Andrews be as well! :)
 
Good calls on the detail thickness. It does become apparent especially when the styrene thickness casts shadows like in that pic. It's so close to being exactly how the prop feels. All that extra detailing really paid off!
 
Jedifyfe said:
This is the ONLY "issue" that I agree needs changing.
Click to expand...


I've already corrected three...

Its easy. Lay tape on either side of the styrene strip, carefully sand away with 150 grit, ensure that the sanding is even along the length of the strip. Mask off and repaint. Takes about 20 minutes per strip.

Again, both the main dish and the inner dish (not the smallest core disc) are too thick as well, but I cannot fix that. And there is enough paint build-up on the very edge of the dish that the edge is rounded off a bit, but again, I can't fix it so I'l just let it go.
 

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