Lead Adventure Forum

Miniatures Adventure => Pulp => Topic started by: Evilcartoonist on February 28, 2008, 02:54:06 AM

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Evilcartoonist on February 28, 2008, 02:54:06 AM

I wanted a film crew for my pulp collection, so I converted a couple Copplestone figures and built myself a camera:

http://bp2.blogger.com/_OegChr5Zg_s/R8YglEOGs_I/AAAAAAAAAkQ/nY_9ugKFBrA/s1600-h/Film+crew+just+finished.jpg

http://bp1.blogger.com/_OegChr5Zg_s/R8Ygk0OGs-I/AAAAAAAAAkI/QWdLzeGP_Ak/s1600-h/film+crew+reverse.jpg

The director and script girl are converted Back of Beyond archaeologists (walking sticks removed, and megaphone and clipboard added.) The camera operator is actually an uncoverted pugilist from Copplestones gangster line; the camera was built specifically to fit him.

Apologies to Bob Murch and Pulp Figures; I know he has his excellent film crew set, but I wanted something that would better fit my Copplestone collection. I hope you understand, Bob  :oops:  :)

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: The Hooded Claw on February 28, 2008, 03:14:49 AM

An excellent conversion.  Honestly they look like they were made for it.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Chairface on February 28, 2008, 03:21:58 AM

They look brilliant!  Nicely done!

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: wolfgangbrooks on February 28, 2008, 03:43:47 AM

Very nicely done.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: dusser on February 28, 2008, 05:17:46 AM

Beautifly done!  I would not know they were conversions if you hadn't mentioned it.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: archangel1 on February 28, 2008, 06:25:06 AM

Very nice work but why didn't you mount the camera on a base, too, so that it would always be on the same level as the figure and you wouldn't have to worry about it being too delicate?
I've never understood why so many designers create a beautiful weapon, for example, and crew and then proceed to mount only the crew on bases.  If you decide to display the gun in a vignette, there is often up to 1/4" difference in height between the pieces which can, in some cases, be unsurmountable.  GW's Skaven Warp Lightning Cannon is a case in point.  If you remove the bases of the slaves pushing on the handles, they are nowhere near the mounting position of the handles, unless you saw off their arms and replace them with some that are lifted up higher.
Please excuse my little rant but since I mainly build dioramas, it's one of my personal bugaboos.  Absolutely no reflection on your excellent conversion work.  I like the colour schemes, too.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Hammers on February 28, 2008, 06:34:54 AM

Fantastic! I have found a hundred uses for that guy with his fist raised but I never thought of this. Special cudos onb the paint job, both coice of colours and paint job.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Malamute on February 28, 2008, 08:31:41 AM

Beautiful workmanship :D

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: uti long smile on February 28, 2008, 08:57:34 AM

Cracking stuff! Excellent conversions - you'd never know!

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Admiral Benbow on February 28, 2008, 01:19:40 PM

Really nice and clever conversions plus a beautiful paintjob - hope there's more to come!  :love:

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: dodge on February 28, 2008, 01:24:17 PM

Well done that looks very good.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: fastolfrus on February 28, 2008, 01:55:45 PM

How did you make the camera ?

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: twrchtrwyth on February 28, 2008, 02:22:03 PM

Fantastic conversion, love the camera. 8)

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Operator5 on February 28, 2008, 02:50:34 PM

Excellent work. I love conversion figures. I used to spend so much time doing that, now I barely have time to pull them out and stare at them for a few minutes before putting them away.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Plynkes on February 28, 2008, 03:44:57 PM

Quote from: "Operator5"

... pull them out and stare at them for a few minutes before putting them away.

Glad to know I'm not the only person that does this.  :)

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Hammers on February 28, 2008, 03:59:33 PM

Quote from: "Plynkes"

Quote from: "Operator5"

... pull them out and stare at them for a few minutes before putting them away.

Glad to know I'm not the only person that does this.  :)

Hand on heart I think it is the norm.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Svennn on February 28, 2008, 07:31:31 PM

excellant stuff. The camera man looks so "right"

cracking paint jobs too

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Darkoath on February 28, 2008, 07:41:22 PM

Quote from: "hammershield"

Quote from: "Plynkes"

Quote from: "Operator5"

... pull them out and stare at them for a few minutes before putting them away.

Glad to know I'm not the only person that does this.  :)

Hand on heart I think it is the norm.

My preciousss... :lol:

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Evilcartoonist on February 28, 2008, 10:51:26 PM

Quote from: "archangel1"

Very nice work but why didn't you mount the camera on a base, too, so that it would always be on the same level as the figure and you wouldn't have to worry about it being too delicate?

I actually considered mounting it on a base, but then the figure and camera would not fit together properly (the bases getting in the way.) If these figures were for veiwing, I'd have mounted both together on a 40mm base, but these are for gaming, so I wanted the camera to be a separate piece (but still fit with the figure). It really was a reluctant compromise I had to settle for; Thanks for the question- I too am a basing/size stickler :)

Quote from: "fastolfrus"

How did you make the camera ?

A little wordy, but I think I have it all covered:
     The film canister is made from two disks sawed off a wood dowel. The camera body is a section of basswood. The lens is a piece of metal (pewter) sprue. The handle is a piece of brass rod painted to look like it has a separate handle. The motor box (from where the handle emerges) is one of those disks sawed in half. The eyepiece is a section from a Foundry Masai spear.
     The tripod mount is another wood disk and the legs are all brass rod. Have a go at your own- it's fiddly but worth it! :)

I hope to add a sound man, but I need to do a bit of research to get the equipement somewhat correct for the 1930s. I also hope to add a camera assistant carrying a spare film canister.

Thanks for the comments, all!

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Captain Blood on February 29, 2008, 10:45:01 AM

Really nice work. Lovely job.  :)

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: TadPortly on February 29, 2008, 10:55:24 AM

Some sound machine links:

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/02/15/the-talking-newspaper/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_film

http://www.filmsound.org/film-sound-history/

http://www.georgegroves.org.uk/soundfilm1900-23.html

Not many pics I'm afraid

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Aaron on February 29, 2008, 02:39:14 PM

Lovely conversion and paint job, but you still need Murch's crew. These guys look decidedly liveral to me and you need a Fox newsreel team to shoot the "fair and balanced" opposing newsreel! :lol:

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Evilcartoonist on February 29, 2008, 06:32:08 PM

Quote from: "TadPortly"

Some sound machine links:

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/02/15/the-talking-newspaper/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_film

http://www.filmsound.org/film-sound-history/

http://www.georgegroves.org.uk/soundfilm1900-23.html

Not many pics I'm afraid

Not many pics, BUT, there are enough pics for me to get started, especially this one:
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/02/15/the-talking-newspaper/?Qwd=./PopularScience/8-1930/talking_newspaper&Qif=talking_newspaper_1.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig
Now I have a whole van I have to model! :mrgreen:

 This is perfect. Thanks a million!

Quote from: "Aaron"

These guys look decidedly liveral to me and you need a Fox newsreel team to shoot the "fair and balanced" opposing newsreel! :lol:

 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Cory on February 29, 2008, 06:48:12 PM

Quote

I actually considered mounting it on a base, but then the figure and camera would not fit together properly (the bases getting in the way.) If these figures were for veiwing, I'd have mounted both together on a 40mm base, but these are for gaming, so I wanted the camera to be a separate piece (but still fit with the figure). It really was a reluctant compromise I had to settle for; Thanks for the question- I too am a basing/size stickler :)

For basing equipment I use plastic or neoprene fender washers for the base with crescent shapes cut out of the edge to accomodate the crews' bases. That way everything fits together but the item can still be left behind.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Evilcartoonist on February 29, 2008, 07:07:31 PM

Quote from: "Cory"

Quote

I actually considered mounting it on a base, but then the figure and camera would not fit together properly (the bases getting in the way.) If these figures were for veiwing, I'd have mounted both together on a 40mm base, but these are for gaming, so I wanted the camera to be a separate piece (but still fit with the figure). It really was a reluctant compromise I had to settle for; Thanks for the question- I too am a basing/size stickler :)

For basing equipment I use plastic or neoprene fender washers for the base with crescent shapes cut out of the edge to accomodate the crews' bases. That way everything fits together but the item can still be left behind.

Thanks for the idea, Cory- I'm gonna give it a try.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Boggler on February 29, 2008, 08:42:25 PM

Neat!

Nice painting too.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Argonor on February 29, 2008, 10:12:15 PM

Quote from: "Evilcartoonist"

Not many pics, BUT, there are enough pics for me to get started, especially this one:
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/02/15/the-talking-newspaper/?Qwd=./PopularScience/8-1930/talking_newspaper&Qif=talking_newspaper_1.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig
Now I have a whole van I have to model! :mrgreen:

Yes, and how about that lab equipment ("We have to go get that footage, boss, it may reveal our operation!")  :wink:

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Cory on February 29, 2008, 11:41:38 PM

Quote from: "Evilcartoonist"

Thanks for the idea, Cory- I'm gonna give it a try.

I found neoprene hard to cut at first, but I made a punch out of a 1/2" galvanized nipple that I sharpened on a rotary grinder and it became fairly easy.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: archangel1 on March 01, 2008, 02:36:55 AM

Quote from: "Argonor"

Quote from: "Evilcartoonist"

Not many pics, BUT, there are enough pics for me to get started, especially this one:
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/02/15/the-talking-newspaper/?Qwd=./PopularScience/8-1930/talking_newspaper&Qif=talking_newspaper_1.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig
Now I have a whole van I have to model! :mrgreen:

Yes, and how about that lab equipment ("We have to go get that footage, boss, it may reveal our operation!")  :wink:

This is my idea of a camera car!

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip36/m198512560077.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip40/m198512691097.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip38/m198512620297.jpg)

and some equipment.

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip39/m198512620580.jpg)

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Prof.Witchheimer on March 01, 2008, 06:30:54 AM

phantastic pics  :love:

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: bandit86 on March 01, 2008, 07:39:42 AM

Great job! the camera is fantastic as is the conversions and paint job, well done

archangel1:  thanks for the pictures those were great

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: archangel1 on March 01, 2008, 07:48:18 AM

Quote from: "Prof.Witchheimer"

phantastic pics  :love:

Like those? Here's a couple more.

Sikorsky

(http://www.airminded.net/sikorsky1/G923.jpg)

Vehicles

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip40/m198512690737.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip38/m198512620096.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip40/m198512690827.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip36/m198512560418.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip39/m198512631083.jpg)

I've got a couple more if you like.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Prof.Witchheimer on March 01, 2008, 08:38:01 AM

:o  every scene of them is worth to make it in 28mm  :love:

Quote from: "archangel1"

I've got a couple more if you like.

yes, me likes

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Vanvlak on March 01, 2008, 09:36:58 AM

Eeep! Sikorsky!
What's it painted up for?
And why is everyone crouching behind the car?
VERY nice  8)  8)  8)

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Grimm on March 01, 2008, 09:37:50 AM

The film crew are fantastic !!! very good work .

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Le matou rouge on March 01, 2008, 09:42:06 AM

Quote from: "archangel1"

I've got a couple more if you like.

yes, please: where's your mine ? Tell us more please, about the background, area, people...

moew,
Matt

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Plynkes on March 01, 2008, 11:33:34 AM

Quote from: "Vanvlak"

And why is everyone crouching behind the car?

Looks to me like they're bogged in the mud and are trying to free that front wheel.

But that's just my opinion.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Zafarelli on March 01, 2008, 11:46:21 AM

Quote from: "Vanvlak"

Eeep! Sikorsky!
What's it painted up for?

Obviously, it is camouflaged to become invisible in a herd of zebras :lol:

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Plynkes on March 01, 2008, 11:55:18 AM

You may laugh, but disguising things as zebras was quite the fashion in British and German East, back in the day:

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/PonytoZebra.jpg)
A genuine photo from the Great War of the East African Mounted Rifles painting black and white stripes on their mounts. :)

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Zafarelli on March 01, 2008, 12:01:16 PM

Must be something genetic, then. I remember owning a Playmobil safari jeep, on which I painted black stripes with a marker to give it that unique zebra look.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Evilcartoonist on March 01, 2008, 02:08:52 PM

Now I have to build a plane and automobile fleet for my film crew :)

And ESPECIALLY, I'll have to build that "Congorilla" wagon :lol:

Seriously, Now I am considering building a camera to mount in one of my Crossleys. I'm enjoying all these pics!

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: archangel1 on March 01, 2008, 03:25:05 PM

Thanks, guys! I'll show you what else I've found and then give you some more info.  Here you go...

More vehicles

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip40/m198512690738.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip40/m198512690502.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip38/m198512620097.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip37/m198512570548.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip40/m198512691103.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip40/m198512690918.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip36/m198512560147.jpg)

More to come.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Plynkes on March 01, 2008, 03:29:33 PM

Wow. Lovely. Where were these taken, do you know? Some of those warriors' headresses and shields have a Kipsigis look about them. Is that what they are?

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: archangel1 on March 01, 2008, 04:41:50 PM

Quote from: "Plynkes"

Wow. Lovely. Where were these taken, do you know? Some of those warriors' headresses and shields have a Kipsigis look about them. Is that what they are?

Sorry, Plynkes.  Now I can't find the original page I pulled it from! I think it's one of those times when, each time you do a search, it pulls up a slightly different combination of results.  If I find it again, I'll let you know but it's probably an ambiguous caption, anyway, like 'East Africa, 19**'.

Here's some more...

Cameras and equipment

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip38/m198512611146.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip36/m198512560084.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip40/m198512691085.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip38/m198512610786.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip39/m198512620578.jpg)

Generator

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip39/m198512630833.jpg)

Another car

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip36/m198512570301.jpg)

Tea time!

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip40/m198512690695.jpg)

On the hunt!

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip40/m198512690667.jpg)

One more batch to come.  More on the plane(s)!

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Plynkes on March 01, 2008, 05:10:29 PM

Oh that's okay. I know how it is. Great pics.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: archangel1 on March 01, 2008, 05:39:05 PM

Last batch.  The aircraft.

Sikorsky S-38 Flying Boat Amphibian ''Osa's Ark''

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip38/m198512610944.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip38/m198512611364.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip38/m198512610880.jpg)

(http://www.airminded.net/sikorsky1/G1489.jpg)

Sikorsky S-39 Flying Boat Amphibian ''Spirit of Africa (and Borneo)''

(http://www.airminded.net/sikorsky1/G949.jpg)

(http://www.airminded.net/sikorsky1/s39_G361.jpg)

(http://www.airminded.net/sikorsky1/G970.jpg)

Both aircraft

(http://www.airminded.net/sikorsky1/G986.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip38/m198512610888.jpg)

(http://www.geh.org/ar/strip37/m198512600004.jpg)

Okay, for those who are interested...

Between 1917 and 1936, the husband-and-wife photographer/cinematographer team of Martin and Osa Johnson roamed the wilds of Kenya, the Congo, Borneo and the South Pacific, taking hundreds of photos and making both documentary and theatrical films.  These pictures are just a sample.

For more information on the Johnsons, check these links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osa_Johnson

http://www.safarimuseum.com/

There are also several books available, both by and about the Johnsons, although unfortunately, I haven't read any.

I found the pictures by entering 'osa johnson' into Yahoo's 'Images Search' field.  There are 50 pages of pictures, nearly 1000 in total.  Great stuff!

For those interested in the aircraft, Fiddlersgreen does paper models of both, including both of the Johnson's zebra and giraffe schemes and they were also available in plastic or resin, only in small scale unfortunately.  I am thinking of taking Fiddlersgreen's black and white versions and rescaling them for 28mm.  Then I can paint my own schemes!

Hope you enjoyed the pics!

Cheers,
Mike  :mrgreen:

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Vanvlak on March 01, 2008, 06:29:53 PM

Wow! Thanks Mike, that WAS a treat  8)  8)  8)  8)  8)

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Admiral Benbow on March 01, 2008, 06:52:35 PM

Mike, the Fiddlersgreen's model comes in two sizes; can't find any scale measurements on the site, do you know how large the papermodels are?

Very interesting machine, and so many ideas when looking at the photos!  :love:

So much inspiration - so short of spare time  :? , the common fate of the Lead Adventurist ...  :mrgreen:

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Evilcartoonist on March 01, 2008, 07:27:41 PM

OK, Mike- your photos just cost me $40. I purchased (eBay) a 1/48 scale Keystone-Loening Commuter by Ertl.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.the-collections.com/Texaco/wings8.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.the-collections.com/Texaco/wings.htm&h=302&w=250&sz=33&hl=en&start=19&sig2=_l0Z-V6A7deuMxM1woZa_g&tbnid=jHNlLFPs51Zc5M:&tbnh=116&tbnw=96&ei=iK3JR4-CJoPOigHt8KSkDg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dertl%2Bduck%2Bplane%26start%3D18%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

My film crew is goin' places!

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: archangel1 on March 01, 2008, 09:19:35 PM

Quote from: "Admiral Benbow"

Mike, the Fiddlersgreen's model comes in two sizes; can't find any scale measurements on the site, do you know how large the papermodels are?

Very interesting machine, and so many ideas when looking at the photos!  :love:

So much inspiration - so short of spare time  :? , the common fate of the Lead Adventurist ...  :mrgreen:

Each model comes complete with two scales.  The regular sized S-38 is 1/50.  I'm not quite sure about the large.  I think it's about 1/32, if I measured right.  The regular S-39 is 1/46 while the large is about 1/24.  The figure enclosed is 70mm when printed.  No figure with the S-38.

Hope that helps.

Title: Bad picture placement
Post by: bandit86 on March 02, 2008, 06:30:10 AM

3rd picture down has everyone enjoying picnic. 4th Picture down has the Lions enjoying a picnic.  I hope everyone made it back into the plane other the woman or maybe the lions are enjoying them  YIKES!   :o

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: twrchtrwyth on March 02, 2008, 07:02:16 PM

Thanks for the pics, so many ideas. 8)

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Evilcartoonist on March 03, 2008, 03:52:23 PM

Here's the finished film crew. I've added a microphone, some equipment (couple boxes and film canisters) and a couple more assistants to do various tasks.

http://bp2.blogger.com/_OegChr5Zg_s/R8wdqpfe3uI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/s2RjVOyqbMA/s1600-h/Documentary+film+crew.jpg

Now I need to paint them up a van and a plane :)

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Aaron on March 03, 2008, 04:22:50 PM

Wow, very nice and inspiring!

Are you planning to come up with a scene for them to film? Watching Shadow of the Vampire for the umpteenth time this weekend has me thinking of doing something similar....

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: twrchtrwyth on March 03, 2008, 06:38:02 PM

Very cool. 8)

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: Ironworker on March 03, 2008, 06:59:55 PM

Quote from: "Evilcartoonist"

Here's the finished film crew. I've added a microphone, some equipment (couple boxes and film canisters) and a couple more assistants to do various tasks.

http://bp2.blogger.com/_OegChr5Zg_s/R8wdqpfe3uI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/s2RjVOyqbMA/s1600-h/Documentary+film+crew.jpg

Now I need to paint them up a van and a plane :)

Great conversions!  They look very natural.  I've always felt a conversion shouldn't look like a conversion.  Great job on the painting as well.

Title: Film crew and apologies to Bob Murch
Post by: TadPortly on March 04, 2008, 09:35:52 AM

Quote from: "Evilcartoonist"

Not many pics, BUT, there are enough pics for me to get started, especially this one:
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/02/15/the-talking-newspaper/?Qwd=./PopularScience/8-1930/talking_newspaper&Qif=talking_newspaper_1.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig
Now I have a whole van I have to model! :mrgreen:

 This is perfect. Thanks a million!

Glad I could be of help :)