Jul 272015
 

“Hot Toys” is a manufacturer of high-end (highly detailed, expertly sculpted, terribly expensive) figures and vehicles… superheroes, Star Wars characters, etc. They have recently revealed a Toy o the Millenium Falcon that nobody is quite sure if they are actually going to produce in any numbers and sell… a 1/6 scale version. At that scale, the toy is 18 *FEET* long, 12 feet across. Given that their 1/6 scale figures sell for hundreds of dollars each, I can only imagine that this Falcon toy would run you multiples of tens of thousands of dollars.

I’ll stand by my mailbox in case anyone wants to send me one.

“Star Wars Galaxy Exhibition Powered by Hot Toys” Kick Off

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 Posted by at 10:53 am
Jul 252015
 

I have added three hi-rez scans to the APR Patreon “Extras” Dropbox folder for the month of 2015-07. If you are interested in these, they are available to all $4 and up patrons at the APR Patreon.

Bell artwork from the late 70’s or ’80’s depicting the D316 tiltrotor, a proposed operational derivative of their XV-15 research tiltrotor.

Bel D316 Tiltrotor art

Convair 58-9 SST, derived from the B-58 bomber (see HERE for a well illustrated article on this and other B-58 SSTs):

Convair 59-9 SST display model

Early artwork for a VTOL fighter concept from Ryan; this would eventually become the X-13:

early ryan X-13 art

 Posted by at 10:09 am
Jul 232015
 

I saw this in a store a few days ago. It made me laugh and go “ugh” simultaneously.

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If you were offended by the Confederate Losers Flag, what would be the chances you’d be interested in buying any “Dukes” merchandise in the first place? If you weren’t offended, would this censorship increase you interest in the product?

It appears that this isn’t just an issue of the box art; a flag decal isn’t included with the kit.

 Posted by at 6:22 am
May 152015
 

I’ve made a number of science fictional CAD models for Fantastic Plastic. Wonderfest, an annual hobby convention in Louisville, Kentucky, is coming up at the end of the month, and Fantastic Plastic is going to set up there. A while back I thought it might be interesting to take some of the CAD models I’ve created for current and forthcoming Fantastic Plastic model kits, specifically the Helicarrier, the Prometheus and the Messiah, and create 2D layout drawings… and then make cyanotype blueprints. Further, the blueprints would be at the same scale as the kits.

The end results? A moderately sized Helicarrier blueprint, two big Prometheus sheets (one showing the craft in flight, the other showing it in landed configuration), and one enormous Messiah blueprint, a full six feet long.

I don’t know if there is a market for such things. The Prometheus and the Messiah in particular are just gigantic. Were I to really try to commercialize them, I’d probably scale them down to at least 2/3 and more likely 1/2 the current size. Still, creating them was not a minor effort… so what the heck. I’m going to make them available for a limited time. Yes, they’re pricey. But they’re also *huge.* And a pain to make. And there won’t be very many of them on the entire planet (right now, two copies each of the Helicarrier and the Messiah; a grand total of one of the Prometheus prints).

These will be available for a two-week period, starting now. If some dark miracle occurs and I sell a hundred of them within that span, then, great! But however many, at the end of the two weeks, that’s it. All done, no more. I will total them up, and hand notate  each one as numbered limited edition (“1 of 5,” or whatever, based on the order that orders come in) plus I’ll initial each one. Because why not.

Feel free to order as many of each as you want. Don’t forget postage… and don’t forget that with this one-time postage you can order as many *other* cyanotype prints as you like.

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Prometheus prints:

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Helicarrier:

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 Posted by at 10:49 pm
May 122015
 

I’m interested in getting the models of the USS Bush and the ISS from the video game “Iron Sky: Invasion.” Can anyone  help out? Purpose: as aids in creating diagrams for the NPP book (which I have gotten back to working on… since finishing the Deep Impact “Messiah” model, I have created two more “pop culture Orion” models. Obviously, much simpler models than the Messiah…).

 Posted by at 1:13 pm
May 102015
 

This photo was passed to me to identify. Much of it looks like the Grumman G-623 VTOL fighter concept from the mid 1970s (illustrated below), but the tail is obviously entirely different and the nose is much pointier. It’s my guess that the model might represent an early version of the G-623 design. Can anyone confirm/deny?

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The Grumman G-623:

US- Grumman VSTOL VFAX

 Posted by at 10:10 pm