a note on kitbash . kit bash is the basis as what we do as star ship modelers . we grew up watching amazing space ships fill a screen , all from carefully merged images based on a technology thanks to ilm and george lucas . they wanted to bring our now beloved spacecraft to screen in a way never before done in cinema . lifting us out of the dark ages of special effects which had not changed much since the buck rogers days . how long would we sit still for a dorky model with a sparkler for exhaust ? the japanese tried to step it up in the Godzilla days , and did reasonably well . the side effect of that was great model making companies like tamiya emerging from the craft .2001 a space odyssey took us even farther , and led to silent running with bruce dern saving the last plants of earth in his greenhouse ship . an iconic model to say the least that has been in countless movies and television shows since . back to lucas , while he has angered many out there with his revisions of arguably the most important and innovative space saga/movie ever made . lucas had a vision that could not be met with the technology of the times, his solution was simple if it doesnt exist make it . so with a budget that was laughable by anyones standards , especially today . ten long hairs with brilliant mins went out and cleaned out model shops of existing stocks , then set to work on kit-bashing together the most iconic star ships ever made . not only did they make them , they made them in different scales which was unheard of in its time . they lit them up , animated them , put them on the screen in a way which was believable . so now here we are decades later , cgi has replaced our beloved craft in a way i lament . i personally think that to some this is great but to us i think it doesnt hold the same magic . maybe soon will will see our mighty ships return to their roots , and hold a physical presence in the real world as an animate object we can adore in person , find those little clues that show us how it was made , and of what . enter the age of the rivet counter . we have all dealt with rivet counter syndrome at one time or the other . i suffer from it too . my prime example of this is the millennium falcon . it makes no sense what so ever , and evades all attempts at making a useful reconstruction . after ten years of making sense of it i have given up because it never will make sense . why ? because it was never supposed to . i build a lot of kits from military to space . many of you have seen my hanoflug , and given me positive marks for it which i thank you . the hano is my attempt at going back to the roots of the fun . the basics are done , and now i find my self trying to make it make sense . thats where the fun goes away . my models will never be in a show , and no one will ever see them unless i bother to post them on a fb page or some other forum . so i wonder why i try . i think its because its because i want to be a part of this new generation of modelers that are trying to bring back the past glory of kit-bashing . i have seen amazing works from all of you , and others . it gives me hope in this age of video games , cgi , and instant gratification that some one still cares about elevating a craft , any kind of craft . with advances in 3d printing , photo etch , and resin-casting that anything is possible . i say keep it up . we are the vanguards of the craft , lets set an example for the next generation of kids and crafters . with out us leading by example , what would be left behind but a digital image that lies flat on a screen , and not blinking with leds , the worn and scorched rebel fighter lying battered on a hanger floor to stir imagination in our youth . i look forward to your comments and future builds . Gillette Bret . MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU .
Posted on: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 02:24:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015