Tag Archives: model

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May the Fourth be With You

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This came through the prop managers group this past week (which got it from the stagecraft mailing list). Canadian mail-order catalogs from 1880 to 1975; like historical Sears catalogs, these are useful to see what the average Jane and Joe were buying throughout the last century and a half, making it great for period research.

The Design Observer Group has a semi-regular feature called “Accidental Mysteries”. The most recent installment features photographs and scans of antique measuring and marking tools. Other Accidental Mysteries have interesting things, such as these weekly rail passes from St Louis in the 1940s, and these punk and metal flyers from the 1980s-90s.

Chris Schwartz (of Popular Woodworking and Lost Art Press) is working on an interesting-sounding book on the “furniture of necessity”. Where the furniture of the rich and powerful is well-documented and archived, the furniture of everyday life is difficult to date and keep track of, particularly before the age of photography and mail-order catalogs. He is delving deep into research to come up with the forms of furniture that have remained unchanged for 200 years or more. It sounds like it could be potentially interesting for those prop masters and set designers who need to make period furniture for characters who couldn’t afford Chippendale chairs.

Here are a few interesting snapshots taken behind-the-scenes from the original Batman TV show (1966-68). Not much information on their provenance, but still pretty fascinating.

This site has a large number of videos, such as several different “documentaries” on various matte and miniature artists who have worked on films like Superman, Dark Crystal, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Thief of Baghdad, La Fin du Monde, The Third Man, Clash of the Titans, and The Da Vinci Code. It also has video featuring interviews of people who have worked on the FX crews of the Alien movies, and a video talking about restoring the Nostromo (the giant spaceship model) from the original Alien films. The videos are rather long and kind of all over the place; some of them have original 3D animation interspersed within the interviews. I’m not sure where the videos came from, but if you are willing to fight through the odd parts, you can pick up some interesting tidbits from the creators of some of cinema’s best visual effects.

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First Links of November

What a week, campers! After last weekend’s freak snowstorm (with thunder and lightning!) we’re all set for a sunny and mild two days off here. King Lear opens next Tuesday, Love’s Labor’s Lost closes on Sunday, Titus Andronicus began rehearsals and Mike Daisey’s show continues making audiences think. Let’s see what’s on the internet:

Photographs of toy manufacturing in China. Amazing how much of the work is done by hand.

This next one is an oldie but a goodie; I somehow missed it all these years. Mike Lawler gives an introduction to the theatrical props department, with interviews of Jim Guy, prop master at Milwaukee Rep, and Michelle Moody, former prop master at PlayMakers Rep.

I like this tutorial for sculpting a tiny horse figurine by Hilary Talbot. Again, it’s a few years old, but I’m just finding it now.

James Kendall’s grandmother-in-law never threw packaged food away. He photographed some of the oldest bottles and cans. It’s a fantastic look at packaging going back to pre-WWII days in Britain.

Here is a massive list of tips and tricks for tabletop gaming modeling.

Beware the time-suck that is Cracked. But they do have a fun article on 5 ridiculous gun myths everyone believes thanks to movies.

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Friday’s Rehearsal Report

Through some bizarre set of circumstances, we find ourselves here at the Public Theater in technical rehearsals for three different productions within the same week. I sometimes wish all the theatre that is made from September to November could be spread out over the entire year. Until then, we keep on moving and keep on working. And we keep on reading this blog, because I have some excellent links for you!

Yours truly has an article in this month’s issue of Stage Directions magazine, in which I detail our shop’s process for creating a break-away wall for The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. So head on over and read it, and maybe leave a comment.

This has to be seen to be believed. Gabriel Suranyi spent 19 years creating a scratch built model of the USS Enterprise naval aircraft carrier. The site has dozens of photographs showing off the astounding level of detail.

Thanks to Seán McArdle for pointing me to this fantastic arrangement of nearly a hundred vintage spraypaint cans.

Paint-Sculpt has a nice little tutorial on sculpting realistic skin texture. They have a few other helpful tutorials as well.

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Monday Link-o-Rama

Welcome to the first full work week of September! I’ve been away all weekend, so enjoy these articles and sites:

The Art of Manliness has a nifty guide on sharpening your edged tools. It deals mainly with knives and axes, but it covers a lot of the basics.

Once you’re finished sharpening your tools, you can find out why your teenager can’t use a hammer. The decline of shop and industrial arts classes are leaving even the most basic of manual jobs with a dearth of skilled young workers.

Air and Space Magazine has a nice little gallery of Vietnam War—era Zippo lighters.

I recently came across The Clubhouse, an online community for model-builders, sculptors, and collectors. It seems to be a good resource for help and information on working with plastics and resins, as well as painting and weathering.

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Monday’s Rockin Links

I spent the weekend with my wife at Monomoy Theatre, where she is the guest scenic designer for two shows. I wish I could turn that into a segue for today’s blog post, but unfortunately, it just means I only had time to hunt down some links for you all. Maybe at the end of the summer, I’ll have a “what did you do on your summer vacation” post to hear your stories about propping summer stock shows and what not.

  • Here is an interview with Paul Alix, one of the model-makers on the new Predators movie. It also includes a video of him demonstrating some casting techniques.
  • Speaking of casting, here is Sarah Gill casting a sheep’s head. It’s from 2007 but still loads of fun.
  • Design*Sponge has great pieces on the histories of certain objects. Two recent ones include the history of the fork and the history of the curule (an x-stool, or folding stool).
  • British Antique Furniture Restorers’ Association has loads of information on antique furniture, including a glossary of terms used to describe pieces and parts.