Props of A New Hope (part 2)

Here are some in-progress renders of the next two props from A New Hope. The DH-17 Blaster used by Rebel Marines aboard the Tantive IV, and trusty (if inaccurate) E-11 Blaster used by Stormtroopers the whole galaxy over.

Both props started out as Sterling Submachineguns, popular during WWII, and had lots of greebles piled on top to make two distinct blasters. One of the unique features of Star Wars was the use of modified real world weaponry, which often fired blanks during filming (to which laser bolts and sound effects were added in post-production) In Pre-Star Wars movies laser weapons were completely static, and actors would pretend (or not) to feel any recoil from them. Props that fired blanks in Star Wars, adding a real kick to the action, gave the film a much more realistic feel. That said, in the opening scenes of A New Hope, only the Stormtroopers had functional blank-firing guns, the Rebel weapons were crude rubber castings.

and here's a collection of all the props I've modeled from A New Hope so far...

Imperial Star Destroyer (WIP)

TIEs

another bit of something I'm working on.

"The moon with the Rebel base will be in range in thirty minutes..."

"I got a bad feeling about this..."

New Work

Just a bit of something I'm working on...

There will be no one to stop us this time.

my god... what kind of can of worms have I opened this time?

Millennium Falcon in Docking Bay 327

The model nears completion!

No Hope for the Princess This Time

Well, after all that hoopla getting the Tantive model built just so I could do the photomatch of the tractorbeam scene, I got some funny results.

The impression that you get when you watch the film is that the Tantive is drawn into the Star Destroyer Bay with everything at right angles...

well, it turns out the whole thing was kind of catty-wompus...

 fig. 1 photomatch results

The green lines are the geometry of my models, overlaid on a still from the movie, and with the perspective of the still matched in-program.

looks fairly straight forward, right?

nope.

the Tantive is pitched down 12 degrees from horizontal, and yawed to port about 14.

  fig. 2 elevation view of photomatch results

  fig. 3 plan view of photomatch results

Ultimately I don't think this was supposed to be the case, but is an unintended artifact of the effects composite. The production department didn't perfectly match the appropriate angles when the photographed the ships separately, and instead made it look passable. Still, it's kind of interesting... if you're deeply obsessed that is.

Size Comparison

An updated version of the size comparison chart I started this blog out with, now that I have some new models.

Millennium Falcon and Deathstar Docking Bay (Part 8)

the Millennium Falcon Exterior in the Deathstar Docking Bay

Uploaded a video flyby of the exterior model of the Falcon. All the details you see on the Falcon are composited from the full scale movie set built for ANH, and the 5' Studio Scale Falcon used for effects shots. The movie set itself was only partially constructed, and lots of details are completely omitted from the top side, to save on budget.

In case you're wondering, the words "DRIVE SAFELY" and that long serial number really are on the back of the studio scale model of the Falcon. A fun little in-joke by the art department.

Yavin exterior with the Millennium Falcon

This is a composite that shows what might have been if the full scale prop of the Falcon had been composited into the shot of the Yavin Base exterior. I found copies of all the original elements of the shot that ended up in the film, and started playing around with recreating it from scratch, adding an element of my own. To get the Falcon into the shot, I used sketchup's photomatch tools to match the perspective of the hangar shot below. Then I added some simple figures into the scene where the actors are standing, to set the scale. Next I added my replica of the full scale movie set into the scene.

Here is the final composite

Now here's the the stack of effects elements

and finally, here is the shot as it appeared originally in 1977, without the Falcon

 

Millennium Falcon Exterior and Death Star Docking Bay (part 3)

Millennium Falcon Exterior and Deathstar Docking Bay (part 2)

Millennium Falcon Exterior and Deathstar Docking Bay