Studio Gekko

Prometheus - Space Jockey suits?

2012-01-25T14:39:00.000+10:30

Just what exactly do we have here! Are they suits? Statues? If they're suits then what goes in them and how do 'they' get into them?

I wonder if this is the end of the corridor that leads into the room we've all seen in the trailer with the Space Jockey chair in it?

Judging by the distance Noomi is away from them I'd say that the suits are about 7' tall. Now this leads to even more questions, because as you'll recall, the Space Jockey in ALIEN was gigantic, more like 25' in height. So, what are these things in the corridor??

Look at their feet, they look more like boots than 'feet'. Which makes them more likely to be suits. Are the suits made in the image of their maker?

Prometheus, some more thoughts.

2012-01-13T16:29:00.000+10:30

Looking at the trailer in Hi Def again and I noticed something that I missed!

These two red balls! Looking at the Apple trailer in 1020p and pausing it and sliding the slider back and forth I noticed that this astronaut is watching one of the two balls as it tracks from left to right. The balls are emitting a red laser, you can see this on the astronauts chest and helmet and near the top arrow and bottom right corner.

I'm guessing they are scanning/mapping the internal dimensions of the cavern they are in? As far as technology goes, this would have to be the most advanced I've seen yet. Reason? Well, what is powering them? How are they able to float in mid air like that?

Next is the Space Jockey ship.

Looking at the footage again I've noticed that not only is there fire coming out of the ovoid openings at the front (where the crew from the Nostromo gained access in ALIEN) but also along the left 'arm' in various places. So the ship is a lot more damaged than I first thought, with fires at its centre and entire left side.

The cap.

On better examination the second word couldn't be Magellan or Megellan. I'm pretty sure the first word is WHEYLAND but the second word is MEGH... or MEGA....... What could it be?

Space Jockey room.

Highlighted in pink on the right we see the 'lid' of the sleep pod. On the left we see that the 'lid' of the sleep pod is not there! It could be flipped up and out of shot, I'm not sure. Also notice the black 'spikes' along the edge of the open sleep pod. They could be part of a locking mechanism?

What is that?

And is the drop ship parked in the same spot in the above shot as this one below?

The distance of the 'object' in the first image looks quite close, whereas the second image with the road, the distance from the dropship looks further. I realise it could just be because of camera focal length, or something like that. But I like speculating!

The Ridley Scott Prometheus quotes.

2012-01-10T02:42:00.000+10:30

I’ve gone through the teaser trailers and written downRidley Scott’s quotes. I think they tell a lot, yet give us nothing! JHere are my thoughts.

The Ridley Scott quotes.

“So here we are. I’m back again.”

And thank goodness too! It’s been far too long! He seemshappy to be back doing Science Fiction.

“It’s epic. Not by just definition of the scale of sets.It’s about the very grand ideas and notions. The surprising things that willappear to be small and yet will be enormous.”

Wow. All of it is in that quote! But just what could it be?What is it that could be considered insignificant and yet is everything? I’dsay that it’s not the Space Jockey or its ship. So, something else? The chestburster perhaps? The eggs?

“The surprise is in the story.”

I’d say whatever the surprise is, we haven’t seen it in thetrailer yet. Ridley likes surprises. He likes to get people to think. And we’recertainly doing that!

“It’s all about everything.”

I’m guessing this is to do with the genesis of human life?

“I’m thrilled to be doing another science fiction…..”

Generally if one is happy doing what they do, they do itwell!

“The cast find an establishment which is not what theyexpect it to be. What we find in it, dangerous elements that in a heartbeat arecapable of eviscerating all of them.”

Now, not being an English scholar, I had to look-up“eviscerating” because it is a word I’d never heard before and I must say I wasa bit surprised by what I found!

Medical Dictionary

evis·cer·ate definition

Pronunciation: /i-ˈvis-ə-ˌrāt/
Function: vb
-at·ed ; , -at·ing ; vt 1 : to remove the visceraof
2 : to remove an organ from (a patient) or the contents of (an organ)
vi : to protrude through a surgical incision or suffer protrusionof a part through an incision

Just what the hell happens to them in that “establishment”!

Also, if the “establishment" is not what they expected it tobe, just what were they thinking it was going to be? Was what they find onearth a trap to lure them back to our maker to be toyed with??

Thoughts?

More Prometheus!

2012-01-04T18:04:00.000+10:30

Prometheus is certainly creating a lot of commentary and theories over the Internet! Based on what I've been reading and what people have sent to me I have discovered more things to look at, discuss and wonder about.

The control room.

There is a lot of things to see in this room. Let's go through them:

A. These look a lot like galaxies. Are they systems that the Space Jockey's are "fixing" or developing?

B. Entry. Would this be tall enough to allow Space Jockey entry?

C. A chair. Though too small for a Space Jockey. It would fit that humanoid we've been speculating over.

D. "Goo", well that's the best name I've got for it at the moment! Looks like it 'comes to life' when operational. What could it be?

The red circle surrounds what I'm speculating could be the Space Jockey's Homeworld.

Here's that chair again. Notice that it's 'human' size. The red arrows point to what looks like a control panel. I have seen an image, sent in to me by Frank from Norway, where what we see here as white egg size shapes, glow a luminous yellow-green!

Obviously the red circle is the platform from which the Space Jockey chair rises out of.

A. Looks to be a ramp.

B. The chair.

C. The control panel.

D. The sleeping pods.

So if the chair is human size those sleeping pods are at least double the length of a human!

Here we see the back of the chair (red circle).

A. Control panel.

B. "Goo".

Now, here we have something that I hadn't noticed initially and was pointed out to me by Frank from Norway! On the left it looks like the sleeping pod is either open or empty. Also, on the right we see the chair. So, that puts this humanoid individual standing just in front of the control panel. As we've seen from the images above, the chair is human size, so, so is this guy. He may well be tall, even 7 foot tall, but not a giant by any means.

Question is, has he come out of the sleeping pod on the left? Questions, questions?!

Ampules.

Notice the writing on them. Same type of writing on the big head. Also, what is it on top of the ampules??

Dead Space Jockey?

My, my, what here we here! Two of the crew members are studying the head/helmet/ skull. You can just make out an eye socket (blue arrow is pointing to it). Over on the right is the body/suit. Now this image just leads to many questions and no answers!

Why is the head separate from the body?

If it is a body, who/what has killed it?

Why is it dead?

One thing is certain! It is BIG! I recall reading somewhere that the Space Jockey in ALIEN would have been 30 feet high? Well this one doesn't seem as big. A female perhaps? Or a juvenile?

Dropship.

Whether it's the Prometheus we've seen in the trailer or it's the Megellen. One thing that I've wondered about is if this 'pod' we see outlined in blue, is something that has descended down from the main body of the ship and is still attached to the ship, or if is like the cargo pod on the Space 1999 Eagle transporters, and can be dropped off and left. Could the Dropship have more than one of these pods?

Imagine if the dropship drops off a couple of these things then goes back to the mother ship, leaving the explorers on their own down on the planet while the mother ship supports from orbit?

Now, I've included this image for more than the obvious reason that Charlize looks amazing in this shot! But, also because this shot seems to show the command element of the crew watching from the command ship. Which is either landed on the planet, or in orbit. Is there more than one expedition going on at once?

At some stage Charlize is running away from the crashing Space Jockey ship with Noomi. So she leaves the command ship at some point. Is that when we see her running down the corridor and into the escape pod??

Hanger Bay.

What is on fire here? The crew are desperately trying to burn something, but what?

Something small, running around at ground level?

Burning with purpose!

Noomi.

Watching one of the teaser trailers I noticed that there is a door rising up in this scene (A). Followed by a blast of 'steam' (B). A sealed room perhaps??

I generally look like this at the Dentist! Noomi is not happy here! Has she been impregnated??

The hole!

What the hell is with that hole! That is very creepy looking! What is down there? Why is there water running into it?

Also notice the stalagmites, similar to what we see in the shot with the vehicles heading back to the dropship. And more writing on the entrance door.

That head!

Some people still seem to think this is a helmet. Maybe they're right. However, just to illustrate my point. If it belongs to the humanoid we see standing next to the Space Jockey chair the eye sockets would be way too wide for a humanoid head. I'm still going with skull.

Anyway, that's all for now.

PROMETHEUS!

2011-12-25T04:32:00.000+10:30

Hi guys, well to say that I'm obsessed with the movie ALIEN would be an understatement. I remember first reading about it in a Sunday paper way back in 1978! I remember the article saying that in the movie was a planet made of bones and a terrifying alien creature the likes of which have never been seen before. I was intrigued!

The first time I saw it, 1979, was the first time I'd gone to see a movie by myself. I was 15 years old. That was how desperate I was to go and see it! I remember standing in the foyer of the Regent Cinema in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia; looking at the images of the movie that had been put up on the wall. That image of the Space Jockey sitting in that chair had me mesmerised. What was it?

Then in the cinema I sat, watching anxiously, as Kane climbed up that ledge. He winces with exertion as he makes that last heave up. Then! That moment! A moment I will never forget! The surge of music, the camera pulls back.....................and there it was.................The Space Jockey!

I couldn't believe it. I was stunned. Never before had I seen anything like it. Or its ship. This was so unique, so original and I hadn't even seen the alien yet!

That movie sparked my interest in so many different things. Science. Story writing. Design. Movies. Illustration. My imagination went wild and from that, evolved all the different things that I'm involved in to this day.

ALIENS was the first date I went on with my wife to be! She wore THAT red dress! I wasn't quite as impressed with ALIENS as I was with my date though! ALIENS was good, but not as good as ALIEN. It didn't have that certain something? ALIEN 3 came next, and I went to see that with my wife too! At first I hated it! Killing off Newt and Hicks was such a stupid idea I thought at the time. But years later I saw the uncut Directors version and I changed my mind. It was quite brave a movie to make and considering the problems that I later found out about that surrounded it, we were lucky that it was made at all. Then came ALIEN RESURRECTION. Holy fucking mother of god! What were they thinking! I was so disappointed! I couldn't believe what they had done! They had ruined everything! It was over. Through their greed and lack of love for the art of movie making they had killed off something that was so precious to me. I would never know who the Space Jockey was, where he came from, why he existed and why he had all those eggs on board that awesome ship! It was over.

I began writing my own versions of ALIEN stories. But none matched up to what people were crying out for. People seemed to only want more movies like ALIENS. Soldiers in space killing "xenomorphs"! I hated the idea. My stories were of a more peaceful nature. I always saw the Space Jockey as a peaceful being. Its warning signal to stay away from the planet a good gesture to save others from its fate. I likened it to a whale or dolphin, yet more sophisticated and, of course, alien.

Then early this year I began to hear that Ridley Scott was interested in going back to where it all began. To go back to the Space Jockey! I couldn't believe what i was hearing. Could it be? Could it happen? Well, now we've all seen the trailer! Prometheus is 6 months away!

So; why am I posting about it here? Well, why not? It's my Blog. Everything on this Blog came out of what happened to me in that Cinema way back in 1979. I've watched the trailer so many times. I've noticed so many things! But as I've read through various sites and Blogs I've noticed people haven't noticed the things I have. And maybe people aren't aware of some of the things Ridley Scott has said about this new movie. So, here I will share what has caught my eye and explain why this movie is in fact not what so many people seem to think it is. It is not a prequel to ALIEN, you'll see why.............

First we see a Dropship over an alien world. A big storm is brewing on the surface. Then the Dropship descending past some huge mountains.

People seem to think this is the same planet that we last saw in ALIENS. No, it can't be. For many reasons. Firstly Ridley Scott has said that Prometheus is set 30 years before ALIEN. The planet we see here has an atmosphere, clouds and water. LV426 was a moon, it was small. It was barren and lifeless. It had no atmosphere, that is why in ALIENS we see the Terraforming. To give LV426 an atmosphere. In Prometheus we have a new alien planet, and it may not be the only one!

I do not believe this is the Space Jockey's homeworld. I think that is something the Studio is keeping a secret until opening night!

The giant human head. Why is it there? Notice the markings carved into it? They look a lot like the sort of clay tablet writings of early mankind. Could there be a connection? Notice also the varying sizes of the ampules around it. What is in them?

Anybody recall the famous illustration by Ron Cobb in this shot?

Some think this is a helmet. I say no, reason, Noomi Rapace plays an archaeologist named Elizabeth Shaw. Why would an archaeologist want to look at a helmet on a medical table? This skeletal head is found next to a Space Jockey body in the ampule room where the giant human head is.

As Prometheus is set 30 years before ALIEN there is no Weyland Yutani Company. The Company in Prometheus is Weyland Corps, as can be seen here, both as logos and in name.

This is Science Fiction at its best! What a shot! However what is going on here? There is a missing vehicle! The two tracked quad bikes are there, but only one of the Personnel Carriers! And why is there a road!? Also, notice what appears to be stalagmite formations. Interesting!

What have we here? A UFO? Is it human, or Space Jockey?

Why is Meredith Vickers, played by Charlize Theron running to what looks like an escape pod?

In this quick shot we see Meredith again. This time perhaps in a Space Jockey ship? Wherever she is she has managed to activate a star chart. Notice the Space Jockey sleeping pods in this room also.

Wow, what an image! Many people seem to think that the Space Jockey ship has blown up. But if you look carefully.................

the explosion is happening behind it (centre of red circle). Smoke is billowing out of the entrance portals in the Space Jockey ship (big red arrow), but it is intact. Note the debris of what I think is the remains of a human ship (small red arrows).

OK, now we come to the image that has everybody so excited, and rightfully so! However most people seem to think that the humanoid on the right is a Space Jockey. I don't believe that to be the case. Reason? Look at the size of his head (small red circle), now compare that to what the size of a Space Jockey's head would be (big red circle). Even with a helmet on he wouldn't fit in that chair.

However! What I think nearly everybody has missed are the sleeping pods! (marked with a red outline). Looking at the closest one, on the right, we see markings very similar to that on the big human head. Also a clear 'window' on the top, pretty much directly under the bum of the humanoid figure.

This is NOT the same room we saw in ALIEN. It is a little different in design. And has what looks like 4 Space Jockey sleeping pods! The red arrow points to a hallway. Is the humanoid waking up the Space Jockey's because contact with the humans has been made? Or does he perceive a threat that needs to be dealt with and needed to wake up his masters??

Here we see Captain Janek. On the logo of his cap I can make out “WEYLAND MAGELLAN”. Is the Magellan the Drop Ship we see in the trailer, or is it the Prometheus? At the beginning of the trailer we hear Charlize Theron crying out "Prometheus, Prometheus.....". Is it a distress call?

Wrong! As somebody has just pointed out to me (3-1-12). The second word on the cap badge begins "MEG......". So it can't be Magellan. So, what could it be?

Or, could it be spelt "MEGELLAN"??

Is this crew member picking up the Space Jockey skull?

Here we see the Space Jockey ship crash landed on the planet. The arrows point to smoke still pouring out of it and the red circles show what I think is wreckage of the human ship that blew up next to the Space Jockey ship in the upper atmosphere.

Supporting evidence of a destroyed human ship (red circles). Noomi and Charlize have obviously escaped the human ship, but now risk getting flattened by the falling Space Jockey ship! What the heck has taken place here!!

More reckage of the human ship falling all around Charlize, and the Space Jockey ship crashing down too!

So, I hope my little analysis has shed some light on Prometheus for you and that I have made my case in defence of what Ridley Scott himself said. This is not a prequel to ALIEN. The planet is not LV426 and that Space Jockey ship, although of the same design, is not the same ship we saw in ALIEN. And NOBODY has seen a Space Jockey yet! Their images will, I have no doubt, be kept very secret right up until opening night! Just like the original alien in ALIEN was.

I can't wait, it is going to be something very special!

Cheers

Richard.

A new "What if?" site is born.

2011-12-12T02:45:00.001+10:30

For those of you into Alternative History or "What If?" type military profiles and plastic models, you may be interested to know that there is a new site that has just been created for exactly that purpose. It's called "Beyond the sprues". So if you're into that sort of thing, and lets face it, it is becoming more and more popular every year, here's the URL so go check it out!

http://beyondthesprues.com

World Of Tanks!

2011-08-21T14:27:00.000+09:30

Hi guys,

well it's been a while since my last post so I thought I'd just update you on what I've been doing. Just got my Tax done, big thanks to my wife Criss for helping me with that! (actually she did it all for me :)).

Apart from that, the usual working like a dog and all the 'fun' of raising a family of five! :/

I've also been discussing with wifey where Gekko is going for 2011/2012 and there should be some results of that discussion on here soon.

Apart from all that I've recently discovered World Of Tanks!

http://www.worldoftanks.com/

It is the most amazing on-line tank battle game I've ever played! If you're into that sort of thing and haven't checked it out go ahead and do so, it is awesome fun! My whole family play it!

In the game I'm known as "gekko1"

My wife Criss is known as "Smiley_69"

My 17 year old daughter is "Raaraa"

My 8 year old son is "zac_8yrs_old"

and my 5 year old son is "noah_5yrs_old"

If you're a regular player and see any of us playing please don't hesitate to say 'Hi'!

See you on the battlefield! lol :)

A couple more.

2011-07-12T00:22:00.000+09:30

More MiG profiles.

2011-07-06T17:05:00.001+09:30

MiG-21 progress update.

2011-06-24T03:24:00.003+09:30

The main undercarriage bays are now glued together, just a few parts left to add and they're ready to install.

The cockpit is slowly coming together too.

REMEMBER!

Airbrush a base coat of white before spraying the blue/green mix!

If you don't, the resulting colour will be slightly too dark. With the white base coat it matches the intensity of the painted photo etch parts very well.

A slight problem was encountered handling the photo etched parts.

No.2 points to where the paint on the photo etch part came off during assembly. I managed to find the two tiny pieces and will 'glue' them back on with flat varnish once everything else in the cockpit is done.

No.1 points to where, during the glueing process, the capillary action of the glue flowed in between my finger and the cockpit part! Luckily the ejection seat hides it. :/

No.3 points to an area of the port side panel that I'm not sure what to do with? Should it be bent down? The instructions are a bit vague on this. (No.2 below)

No.1 points to a very slight gap between the photo etch part and the fuselage. I'm not going to try and 'fix' it as its not that big a deal.

Remember to paint the section highlighted by the red rectangle in the undercarriage bay colour before glueing the fuselage together! Same with the outside edge of the front undercarriage bay.

The arrow here points to slightly protruding ejector pin mark that needs to be dealt with before painting and gluing the fuselage halves.

Weathering experiments!

2011-06-11T05:34:00.000+09:30

If you haven't watched any of the AK Interactive DVD's on weathering you should, I highly recommend them!

These are the 3 I've been watching over the last couple of weeks.....

Watching Mig Jimenez paint and weather these vehicles is nothing short of amazing! Through his efforts to teach the wider modelling community and AK Interactive's high quality production values, these DVD's are a 'must have' for the modeller wishing to learn more about how to paint and weather their models. Even though only armour is shown on these particular DVD's it shouldn't stop the Aircraft or Science Fiction modeller from gaining valuable information either.

I must admit I've had to watch and re-watch these DVD's many times, such is the depth and wealth of information in them. The main secret to Mig's techniques is 'layers'. One techniques is layered on top of another to get the effect of the finished product.

Over the next weeks/months I will be practising many of the techniques and variations thereof on several of my ongoing projects. I have already begun some initial tests to see what I can achieve after what I have learned. See for yourself......

Here's an old King Tiger turret from a model I build many years ago.

And here we have some camouflage experiments mixed with some weathering experiments.

Inside the yellow circle is a mystery substance, probably some sauce dropped by one of my children! Not to worry it's only a practice model! :)

I must say a big "thank you!" to Mig and the AK Interactive team for a very good product and for reigniting my passion for an awesome hobby!

Another robot?

2011-06-11T04:56:00.000+09:30

For those of you wanting to see more of the White Glint robot, unfortunately the owner of that robot wanted it back before I had a chance to finish it. I will however be building and weathering a Kotobukiya GN GAN01 Sunshine-L and a Rayleonard 04-Alicia Unsung later in the year. In the mean time I asked my 5 year old son if I could paint one of his toy robots for some weathering practise. He gave me permission! So, over the next few weeks/months (time permitting) I'll be painting and weathering this robot just to see what I can come up with as an experiment!

This is what it looked like to begin with.........

And after two coats of Vallejo Grey Primer airbrushed unthinned.

Stay tuned!

Eduard MiG-21MF undercarriage bays.

2011-05-25T04:17:00.000+09:30

Hi guys,

here's what the unassembled undercarriage bays look like after an airbrushed base coat of Vallejo Model Air 71044 Lt Grey Green, then a dark wash, and finished off with a drybrush of Vallejo Model Color 70884 Stone Grey.

Central African Republic MiG-21MF

2011-05-11T02:35:00.000+09:30

I didn't really like the Central African Republic flag or roundel, so I made my own! And invented a Squadron to go with it. ;)

Slovak Air Force MiG-21MF Chad 1982

2011-04-29T17:59:00.000+09:30

Don't know how/why a Slovak Air Force MiG-21MF would be involved in a desert war in Chad? Whatever the situation was it managed to shoot down a MiG-19. But who's????

Slovak "What if?"

2011-04-25T21:50:00.001+09:30

Here we have a Slovak MiG-21MF (7708) in its final year of service in the Slovak Air Force. (replaced by Su-27's)

In 1983, 24 Slovak MiG-21MF's (including 7708) were sold to Gambia in a special trade deal. These jets didn't receive the tender love and care they deserved and quickly fell into disrepair, although they were kept flying.

Engine bits.

2011-04-17T17:12:00.000+09:30

Once I had put the engine exhaust together as a test fit (no glue) I realised that there was going to be a quite noticeable gap between parts C7 and C55 that could indeed be easily seen with the naked eye. So, it had to be filled and sanded. To do this, once parts C7 & C55 were glued I applied some "goop" to the offending gap.

The "goop" is Tamiya extra thin cement mixed with sprue to form a very thick plastic filler that has the same consistency as the plastic of the kit. Once it is dry it can easily be sanded and does not shrink. I've found it the best solution to filling gaps for my needs. Though we modellers all have our preferred methods of doing things.

I have a post on Britmodeller about this here:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9003

Also during the test fit I realised that parts C45 (the engine fan) & D24 would not be seen at all so there was absolutely no point in painting it. Same goes for the fitting of the photoecth part PE27. You're never going to see it so there is really no point fitting it.

Be careful cutting off PE28, I managed to bend it in the process! To attach PE28 to part D84 (both of which were already painted) I used Vallejo Matt Varnish. The bond must have been pretty good because the part survived a 4 foot fall onto concrete as I was getting ready to photograph it!

With the engine exhaust parts (C7 & C55) filled and dry it was ready to sand.

I rolled up a piece of wet & dry sand paper and rotated it whilst pushing it in and out. After about 15 minutes of that it was done.

Now, to re-paint it!....................

A little more progress and some more paint mixes.

2011-04-14T02:57:00.000+09:30

First off a reference book that I highly reccomend for the Eduard MiG-21MF is this one....

In the instruction booklet Eduard states that the colour of the inside of the exhaust should be bright green! I wouldn't have believed it if not for this book!

The colour mix for this bright green I arrived at from these colours....

Game Color 72032 Escorpena Green : 2
Model Air 71094 Green Zinc : 4
Model Color 70883 Silver Grey : 1

All are acrylic paints from the various Vallejo paint ranges. Those of you not familiar with them should know they are fantastic acrylic paints and can be quite safely intermixed from the various ranges on offer, as I have here. I thin them with demineralised water.

The other colour that I have mixed is for the various 'green' panels and nose cone of the MiG-21MF. Colours are as follows...

Game Color 72032 Escorpena Green : 2

Model Air 71094 Green Zinc : 6

Model Air 71014 Gunship Green : 9

In the instruction booklet it shows that the area at the back of the nose cone is to be painted Dark Iron. The actual area, as shown clearly in the Wings & Wheels Publications book, is much larger than that shown in the instruction booklet and should cover an area much further forward, illustrated here in the pink.

Next up is the cockpit. Here you see the sidewalls under construction.

Busy MiG-21 night tonight!

2011-04-11T03:02:00.000+09:30

And another version of South Sudan.

Eduard MiG-21 cockpit colour.

2011-04-11T02:46:00.000+09:30

Finally I'm back in the model room and the experiments continue. After a lot of drops of paint I've finally matched the Eduard MiG-21 cokpit colour to Gunze paint!

Here's the number of times I tried.....

And finally a result that I was happy with!

In the end it turned out to be a 50/50 mix of Gunze Sangyo H25 Sky Blue and H46 Emerald Green.

There, the mystery is solved, now lets all start building!

What if? South Sudan MiG-21

2011-04-08T05:10:00.000+09:30

Hi guys, feeling a lot better now, should be able to carry on with the Eduard MiG-21MF tomorrow. In the mean time here is a profile for a "What if?" South Sudan MiG-21.

I had a bit of fun creating the roundel design for this one. The leading contender at the moment is number 8. Let me know you're preference and I'll do another profile with the most popular.

Man down!

2011-04-02T17:44:00.000+10:30

Sorry about the lack of update, I've gone and hurt my lower back quite badly and am currently in bed using the laptop to write this. I have a couple of bulging discs at the moment and am in quite a bit of discomfort and pain to say the least!

It is so frustrating because I can't even sit in a chair at the moment, so I can't do any modelling or profile art! Ahhhhh!

I had actually begun the paint mix experiment for the MiG-21 cockpit colour and nearly had it, then the next morning whilst playing with my kids prior to them going to school, I made a wrong move and ended up in this state!

I've been lying here checking out all the various posts on the Internet about the Eduard MiG-21. Damn, I've never been so keen to get started on a model kit like I am with this one! So, for a couple of days at least, I'll just have make do with watching what everybody else is doing with the kit. On one site I was looking at, the modeller commented and showed photos of just how good the fit of parts is. Very impressive stuff!

Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to comment, left a star rating or have ticked one of the reactions boxes. For me it's good feedback and it gives me some idea of what you think of my Blog and what I can do to improve things or provide more of what you want to see.

Something I hope to have active on my Blog soon is the ability to buy Gekko Graphics decals directly from the Blog using PayPal. The first two sheets that will be available will be the 48th scale RNZAF A-4G/K decal sheets. Parts 1 and 2.

On the subject of RNZAF Skyhawks, I am currently preparing the "Last Day" sheet which I know some of you have waited an eternity for. Well, it's finally happening. I'm trying out a layout that will have 32nd, 48th, 72nd and 144th scales on the one sheet. I'm not sure if I'll go ahead with it like that or not just yet, but I would appreciate some feedback on whether you'd like it in multi scales on one sheet or individual releases??

Cheers!

Eduard's MiG has arrived!!!!!

2011-03-29T04:39:00.000+10:30

Well, today I went to the post office hoping my Eduard MiG-21MF Subscriber Limited Edition kit and Overtrees had arrived and yes sure enough it had! Once the gorgeous Jolene had handed over the big box it was off home to eagerly open the boxes and see for myself what Eduard had managed to produce!

Having seen the Facebook posts that Eduard had been doing during the preparation for the kit I knew this kit was going to be something special. Then having read the review on Hyperscale that Jennings had done and reading that he was impressed with it I was even more keen to get my hands on one.

All I can say is “Wow!” I was blown away with the attention to detail and love that had gone into this kit. Without a doubt it is the benchmark of modern jet aircraft kits to date. Nothing even comes close in my book.

For many years I have been jealous over the sort of ‘out of the box’ detail that armour modelers have been able to get with Dragon 35th scale kits and was frustrated that we aircraft guys didn’t have the same level of detail in our current kits. Well now the wait is over for that sort of ‘out of the box’ detail! This kit has it all!

There is quite a lot crammed into the box, as you can see! Plastic parts, colour photo etch, masks, resin & decals. The plastic parts, in dark grey, which I much prefer to Eduards normal grey/green colour, are right up there detail wise with Hasegawa and Tamiya. In fact I even think this kit’s plastic parts surpass Hasegawa and Tamiya! I’ve taken some close-up photos so you can get an idea of what I mean.

Note the fine raised rivet detail!

Now if you agree that the plastic parts are good, then you’re going to love the colour photo etch!

Now on to the resin parts!

I hope these images have helped you to see for yourself that this kit is indeed something quite special!

Next challenge, building it!

But first, I'll need to find a match for that very strange cockpit colour! Eduard recomends Gunze Sangyo H46 Emerald Green.

It's close, but not quite the same. I'll do some mixing experiments tomorrow and get back to you.

So, was this review with these sorts of large clear images helpful to you? I did it this way simply because it is something I always look for in a review but very rearly see. Anyway let me know what you thought of it.

A 262 over Africa.

2011-03-17T04:53:00.000+10:30

Another African Phantom.

2011-03-13T18:57:00.000+10:30

A new Blog, about zombies!

2011-03-08T17:10:00.000+10:30

Hi guys, just letting you know that I've started a new Blog. This Blog is a story, and it's about zombies in the United Kingdom. Any of you that are familiar with the British television series called Dead Set and wanted to see more of it may well enjoy this story.

Check it out here:

http://fragmentsofdawn.blogspot.com/

Cheers!

Ta-183 in Afrika

2011-02-26T00:09:00.000+10:30

Since the TA-183 seems to be a popular subject I thought I'd begin a few new profiles for it. Here's the first. Don't forget to comment, let me know what you think! Cheers!

I will also begin a build article on the AMtech Ta-183 in these markings soon.

Another Starfighter

2011-02-23T01:21:00.000+10:30

Ahhhh, looking a little better now.

2011-02-21T02:53:00.004+10:30

I'm starting to get my Blog back to how I like it now. I hope you like the new look? Still a few little tweeks here and there to do.

In the mean time here are 2 new Starfighter profiles.

OK fixed the spelling errors......

2011-02-20T03:16:00.000+10:30

thanks Darren!

Now the long wait to hear back from Google.

Hope to have something new for you later today/tomorrow.

Some changes.

2011-02-18T04:29:00.001+10:30

Hi guys, as you may have noticed the Blog looks quite different today. The reason why is that I've been having a lot of trouble with trying to Monetize the site. I'm much more of an 'arty' type and not very much of a 'computer geek', so trying to get the site Monetized has been a real headache for me and although I got approval to Monatize the site somehow I made some errors that Google didn't like and I've been banned from Monetizing my site! :/

Now I'm more confused than ever and have written to them hoping for some common sense and a bit of clarity. Had I known that for me Monetizing the site was going to be such a headache I wouldn't have bothered!

Now, you'll also notice that there are some crazy spelling errors in the boxes on the right hand side. I don't know how to fix that at the moment so bare with me. I have messaged a friend and hopefully he can offer some logical advice.

Aaaaaaarhhhhh computers!!!!!!!!!

North Dakota Air National Guard F-104C+

2011-02-06T23:45:00.000+10:30

Added one new Starfighter profile in the Misc profile section.

White Glint.

2011-02-04T03:51:00.000+10:30

Today I assembled the components of the right arm, mainly to check and see how much of the inner 'elbow' area could be seen once it was assembled.

Here we see a small section of the inner elbow that will need a little touching-up with the dark grey paint. Overall though the Vegemite masking worked very well.

OK, I'm pretty happy with that, now, on to the left arm!

3 more Starfighters.

2011-01-29T13:59:00.000+10:30

Added 3 more Starfighter profiles to the Misc profile section.

More MiG-21's!

2011-01-25T04:27:00.000+10:30

I've added another 19 MiG-21 profiles. Lots of interesting schemes to check out!

More Starfighters!

2011-01-25T02:12:00.000+10:30

3 more Starfighters added to the Miscellaneous profiles section.

Masking with Vegemite!

2011-01-25T00:41:00.000+10:30

A situation arose where I needed to mask areas of the forearm to spray dark grey. I thought about using Tamiya tape, but because of the complexity of the area I thought Vegemite may work as a more flexible masking agent in such an area.

To do this I added a little water to make the Vegemite a little more fluid than it normally is, then painted it on by brush. Any areas that I accidentally touched with the Vegemite that I didn't want to be masked I removed with a wet brush. The whole process was remarkably easy to control. I have used Vegemite on many occasions before with good results.

With all the necessary areas masked I applied Blu-Tack to cover the rest of the shape.

I then sprayed the dark grey Vallejo paint.

Then removed the Blu-Tack.

Tomorrow I will wash off the Vegemite with warm water using a soft brush. Stay tuned!

White Glint continues........

2011-01-24T00:59:00.000+10:30

I had to put the White Glint aside for a while so I could work on an aircraft illustration job that came along, and with that completed and out of the way I can now go back to the White Glint model.

Haven't done too much new, just added some decals, both kit and those I deemed appropriate from the spares box.

Starfighter.

2011-01-20T15:52:00.000+10:30

Added an RAAF Starfighter profile to the "What if?" Misc profiles section.

A robot model? White Glint!

2010-11-07T12:01:00.000+10:30

Hi guys,

recently I was approached by a friend to paint his robot model. He is a "gamer" and not a modeller and realised he didn't have the skills to paint his model the way he wanted it to look. After looking at the intro movie for the game, called Armored Core................

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2khLx5WAid0

I was intrigued by the weathering on the robot, called White Glint. Anyway after looking at the intro movie several times I decided to rise to the challenge and paint the model.

The kit is the Kotobukiya 1/72 White Glint & V.O.B Set Movie Color Version. See here:

http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYVI-061

For those not familiar with such kits they are snap together kits, but I would have to say they are probably the most advanced snap together kits that I have ever seen! The moulding of the kit is well up to the standard of Tamiya, Dragon and Hasegawa.

The model will be painted exclusively with Vallejo paint using many of the techniques covered in the recent AFV. Acrylic techniques by Mig Jimenez which is a fantastic DVD that I have watched many times and highly recommend to all, both beginner and experienced!

I began with the shoulder section. The section you see below was first painted grey, then masked/chipped with Vegemite, sprayed off-white and after about 10 minutes drying time washed with warm water to dissolve the Vegemite revealing the chipped paint. This was followed by some brush chipping and scratches. I was so happy with the result I decided to leave it as it was and moved on the opposite side.

The opposite side, seen below, was chipped only with a paint brush. It gave a different effect, but was much more controllable, although so can the Vegemite chipping method if not rushed. I rushed it as it was only initially to be an experiment!

The rest of the sections of the shoulder unit were painted their relevant grey or white, chipped by brush and assembled. For an initial experiment I was very happy with how it turned out and decided to leave it as was and move on to another section of the model.

Next came what looks like some sort of armour plating for the rocket launcher packs? These were initially sprayed a lightened version of the grey, masked with Vegemite and sprayed grey. Then washed with a soft brush in warm water. Then they were given various thinned black washes and glazes to give the varied tones and finally some dry brushing.

Next came the 'forearm section. Sprayed off-white and chipped by brush with grey.

Finally some more sub sections in various stages of finish.

So far I've really enjoyed this model. It's something very different from what I'd usually do. It's a great platform for weathering experiments too! :)

Tamiya F4U-1 Corsair

2010-09-01T17:47:00.000+09:30

I've added pics of my Tamiya Corsair in the Plastic Models section. I can't believe I made this 12 years ago!

"What if?" Lightning F.6

2010-08-10T04:08:00.000+09:30

As well as the F-111 build I am also beginning a Trumpeter 72nd scale F.6 Lightning in the markings of Burkina Faso.

You can follow the build thread here:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53613

F-111SA 'What if' build.

2010-07-26T02:46:00.002+09:30

I've started the first of the build blogs. First off is the Hasegawa F-111G to be built as a fictitious 'What if' South African Air Force F-111SA with an asymmetrical weapons load of 2 Taurus Cruise missiles and drop tank and IRIS-T air to air missile.

Japanese Phantom

2010-07-16T14:50:00.002+09:30

Thanks to some friendly advice I have changed the side profile of my first Japanese Phantom, eliminating the Godzilla name for the more accurate Gojira in katakana. It was also pointed out to me that the FGR.2 Phantom was in fact designed for land based use and that the FGR.1 was the Navalised version. I have decided then to name this version, and the Canadian, Australian and French Phantoms to come, FGR.3 Phantoms as they would be not only Navalised versions but would also have been heavily modified to enable them to take on the "Wild Weasel" SEAD role as well as be able to handle anti-ship missiles and laser guided munitions etc.

2010-07-10T21:04:00.004+09:30

Wow, it's been a while since my last post!

When I started this blog I spoke about life and its ups and downs. Well, things have changed once again. I have decided to step down from my supermarket managerial job and go back to being a Nightfiller (the minions that re-stock the shelves over night and make the store look all neat and presentable for you shoppers the next morning). For me and my family it means my income will be halved and we'll be dependent on Government financial support (Centerlink here in Australia) to help out with rent assistance etc.

Why did I step down? Bottom line, I was spending more time at work than with my wife and kids for very very little financial gain. I wasn't enjoying life at all. For those of you who have a creative mind you may appreciate that living in a "work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep" environment kills all creativity dead, as does non stop stress, and that is what was happening to me. Now, a week after I stepped down things are slowly coming back, my creative side that is. I've actually started modelling again, something that I haven't had time for in months.

So, hopefully now I'll have a little more time to model and create side profiles and stories!

Royal Canadian Phantoms.

2010-05-24T15:44:00.002+09:30

Hi guys, just added three new RCN FGR.2 Phantoms to the profile section. These Phantoms will be the subject of a "What if?" story and part of a commercial screen printed decal sheet that I'm currently planning. I hope to add some Japanese Navy FGR.2 Phantoms to the mix very soon too.

Viruses!!!!!!!!!!

2010-05-19T21:19:00.002+09:30

Wow, ya gotta love these little arse-holes that sit in front of their computers and create viruses hey!

Just recovering from 801 viruses that swamped my computer! And YES I did have anti-virus software, and yes it was up to date.

Anyway things should return back to normal today. I should be able to update this blog later today too.

Me-262 profiles & Translator.

2010-04-24T11:27:00.003+09:30

Hi guys, small update today, very busy at the moment. Added some Me-262 profiles in the Misc profiles section and added a Translator at the bottom of the page to help our international readers.

More profiles updates & Me-262 model pics.

2010-04-18T02:55:00.001+09:30

Hi guys, I've uploaded some He-162 profiles, some more Phantoms and a couple of MiG-21's, plus some pics of my Trumpeter 32nd scale Me-262. Enjoy!

Paint chipping experiments!

2010-04-13T01:43:00.001+09:30

Tonight I show you some of the different paint chipping methods I've used over the years and the latest techniques I'm experimenting with at the moment.

Check it out in the Plastic model techniques and experiments. section.

Focke-Wulf Ta 183 Huckebein

2010-04-09T13:40:00.002+09:30

Small update today. I've uploaded some of my Focke-Wulf Ta 183 Huckebein side profiles in the Misc section and photos of my AMtech Ta-183 model with Gekko Graphics decals in the Plastic Models section.

Side profile uploads continue.

2010-04-08T14:30:00.000+09:30

I've added another 7 MiG-21's, ten F-16's in the Misc section and 19 FGR.2 Phantoms, mainly Canadian Phantoms! As of writing I can see that I have had 25 visitors from Canada, so I hope you like the Canadian Phantoms.

Well, I must say that I'm surprised by your interest. So far I've had 2867 page views in 24 hours!

Anyway thanks for visiting my blog, more updates soon.

Studio Gekko Blog up and running.

2010-04-06T02:08:00.002+09:30

OK, so I've worked out the basics of how everything works and the blog is active. Most of the pages do not have content in them yet, I will be adding this as time permits over the next week or so.

Enjoy and don't hesitate to leave comments!

Studio Gekko - The continuation of Gekko Graphics.

2010-04-05T00:03:00.001+09:30

Hi guys,

as of writing I'm completely new to this blogging business and have to admit I'm not quite sure what I'm doing, so, bare with me and I'll learn as I go.

Some of you may be wandering what the hell ever happened to Gekko Graphics? Well, in short, nothing. I simply let it lay dormant as I tried to get my life together and prioritise what was happening around me that was for the most part out of my control.

Like a lot of people, life has its up's and down's. Mine being no different. When I started Gekko Graphics I was unemployed, married and had one child. Now I'm a Supermarket Manager, am still married and have three children!

Children, as I'm sure you know if you have any, are a lot of work! Trying to run a home business, raise children as well as look for full time employment was more than I could handle. My wife, Criss, helped as much as she could, but basically I was doing all of Gekko on my own and there just simply wasn't enough of me to go around, so production of new Gekko Graphics material came to a stop.

Trying to make a living from a home business, so I soon discovered, is pretty much impossible, so looking for fulltime work had to prioritise. Lucky for me I found work in a supermarket and have slowly worked my way up to a Managerial position. In the mean time Gekko was put on hold and work and kids became my daily focus.

I'd noticed some of these blogs popping up here and there and thought it may be a good way to get back in touch with the modelling community and give me a chance to let those who were interested know what I was up to these days.

Gekko Graphics is still on hold for the time being as I prioritise my main job, and of course the family. However I am still working on decals, as well as building models, practising techniques and continuing my other loves, they being writing and "What if" subjects.

On this blog I hope to be able to show many of my "What if" side profiles and stories that have found their home on various web sites and bring them here in one easy to find location for you all to enjoy, and perhaps get some encouragement to do more.

So, that's basically where I'm at at the moment.