Gamera

...Space 1999, one of the worst and most boring SF series I've watched..

I'd second that.  I tried to watch it again recently and got throgh a small portion of it before I gave up.  The setting and production design were really cool but not enough to get me to stick with it till the end.

I'm not arguing with you Captain, I agree with everything you said. 

Actually the last few episodes have been better. No, it's not Trek, B5, FarScape, etc but I swear LiS is better than Space 1999, one of the worst and most boring SF series I've watched... 

Gamera

I just got annoyed when they just keep having a guest star pop up and act like a big goofball and that's the whole plot. The last one I watched 'Cave of the Wizards' or something like I really liked. No goofball guest star, just Smith fooling around with some lost alien technology that bites him on the butt.

Well, that was the old model of episodic tv.

Once you have the cast identified, and the characters invented, you then "stand up" enemies/foes/obstacles they can resolve in either 17 or 44 minutes of run time.

Early on, that, for SF stuff was easy, just invent one more rubber-suited alien to overcome/defeat/whatever.

But, that becomes tired and hackneyed; even the writers will tire of it, until they "jumb the shark" (intentionally or unintentionally).

One of the "breakthrough" things Roddenberry brought to TOS was a willingness to embrace larger issues, to stand up, and take away, characters (if typically tangential cast, not 'core' cast).

And the reflex to set things up as actro-based, rather than setting based is often what can cripple shows.  If the premise, the setting, is good, it should not matter which actor is present.  An example of this is ER, where Mike Creighton was very much focused on a show about a hospital, and not just one member of staff, but the interaction of a changing "envelope" of people.  Which mirrors how "real life" functions.

This is challenging, as we each, ourselves, ar the center of our own stories, even as we exist within a swirl of interactions with other people.

We all benefit from great story telling, and fiction serves as a way to look past the mundane, and experience all that is good as well as the bad in life.  That latter being something too many fiction producers sometimes want to shield us from.  Usually to the detriment of the story.

Bakster

As busy as you are... do you have time to work on scale models for yourself? I would love to see your projects

Sadly, just too busy.  I have to live vicariously too much of the time.

That's life.

Bakster: Keep your head down! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with when you get some more time. 

Will do, Gam. I still have a joy for the build. That is half the battle.

Bakster

Very interesting, Capn. 

Also interesting is the RP work. 

I was wondering how you came across those glues and now I know why. Thanks again for that info. Something tells me it will prove to be very useful with what I am working on.

As busy as you are... do you have time to work on scale models for yourself? I would love to see your projects.

As for me... I did not have time to work on my project this weekend. Too much going on. Add to that... it is hard to relegate myself to a basement when the summer is here. Though, Canadian smoke and oppressive humidity has forced me indoors anyhow. For the most part, the smoke has moved eastward...for now.

I often wish I had a screened gazebo structure where I could install a small bench. Then, I could be outside, and still work on my projects. Well, at least during cooler days.

Off to do chores now. My entanglements never end. Looking forward to retirement in a few years.

 

 

Bakster: Keep your head down! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with when you get some more time. 

CapnMac82

 

 

Gamera

The series left behind any pretense of being a science fiction series and it's totally fantasy at this point. Who or what will pop up next?

 

 

This can be the fate of too many shows just "left to run" without any thought of an over-arcing story arc, or some reasonable point to move to, and then from.

It's endemic in the SF genre, and one that particularly plagues episodic SF.  The writers get caught up in the heroic ensemble cast, and fail to give equal consideration to their foes.

If you stand up an implacable foe, even worse, and invincible enemy--what happens when your heroes win?  This is particularly complicated if you have a resolution in mind, but you get canceled a season before you can carry that off (see Farscape, among others).  It's worse if you have no resolution in mind, and get continued for another season.

Also, the production companies need to understand, and believe in the success of serials with multiple, interleaved, story arcs, to where an episode can be "padded out" with forshadowing and left "hanging" at the end.  J. Michael Strazinski really proved that with Babylon 5.

He built a five-year story arc, and put not one, but two "end points" in the middle of that, to allow for early cancellation.  Until B5, most "tv people" assumed you "had to" resolve the entire episode in the episode, or no one would come back next week.

The notion was slow to "take"--witness Andromeda, one of Gene Roddenbery's last, and helmed by his widow, Majel.  About halfway through Season One, they started writing in deeper arcs, and incorporating parts of earlier episodes as foreshadowing (if after the fact).  S2 uses those more effectively.  Which is what carried Andromeda through 5 seasons.

It's the "grit" that kept The Expanse going, despite SyFy canceling it (or, perhaps, because of).  Interweaved story arcs is the definition of Farscape, too (also cancled by SyFy for being "too successful"). 

What do you do with an implacable foe after you defeat it?  Well, SG-1 found a way, a brand new enemy.  (That is, until SyFy, itself, became the enemy of the series).

 

Captian,  some great points there. 

But was there any regular enemy on LiS other than Smith? I don't have an issue with episodic TV, both Trek and ST:TNG did it really well. I liked when the Robinsons had to deal with something like a quake, drought, or some crazy alien technology on each episode. 

I just got annoyed when they just keep having a guest star pop up and act like a big goofball and that's the whole plot. The last one I watched 'Cave of the Wizards' or something like I really liked. No goofball guest star, just Smith fooling around with some lost alien technology that bites him on the butt. 

Very interesting, Capn. 

Also interesting is the RP work. 

I was wondering how you came across those glues and now I know why. Thanks again for that info. Something tells me it will prove to be very useful with what I am working on.

As busy as you are... do you have time to work on scale models for yourself? I would love to see your projects.

As for me... I did not have time to work on my project this weekend. Too much going on. Add to that... it is hard to relegate myself to a basement when the summer is here. Though, Canadian smoke and oppressive humidity has forced me indoors anyhow. For the most part, the smoke has moved eastward...for now.

I often wish I had a screened gazebo structure where I could install a small bench. Then, I could be outside, and still work on my projects. Well, at least during cooler days.

Off to do chores now. My entanglements never end. Looking forward to retirement in a few years.

Bakster

You are a wealth of information.

Most of which I'm doomed to never forget--a near eidetic menory is not always a blessing.

Conrad's Heart of Darkness, one of those bits of educational hazing, like Moby ***, Wuthering Heights, or Little Women, meant to "enrich" the urchins and keep them at their studies.  They wind up as checkmarks, rites of passage, Merit Badges, if you will.

Getting actual value out of those is as complicated as it is individual.  Heart of Darkness is handy for having many pithy quotes, if less utile becasue so few recognize them.

So, Shakespeare is actually better, as more people will recognise the refernce, if not necessarily know it verbatim.

I spend too much time doing too many things.  Found some gigs printing off Rapid Prototypes.  As a paid gig, that makes the resin cheaper for my use.  At least until you trade in the Elegoo for an AnyCubic Mono [o_O]

Doing RP work often wants making things in smaller assemblies and sticking them together.  Which keeps a person looking for cool adhesives.

The more I do the less time seems to be in a given day.  Sigh.

Hey Capn, Wow. That story sounds awesome. I don't have much time for reading but that sounds like one to note. Thanks for sharing that.

Thanks about the curtains.

Also, thanks about the glues. That is good info to know and I might try ordering some. I think particularly for when mounting the panels. Maybe the Micromark PSA would work well. 

You are a wealth of information.

Gamera

The series left behind any pretense of being a science fiction series and it's totally fantasy at this point. Who or what will pop up next?

This can be the fate of too many shows just "left to run" without any thought of an over-arcing story arc, or some reasonable point to move to, and then from.

It's endemic in the SF genre, and one that particularly plagues episodic SF.  The writers get caught up in the heroic ensemble cast, and fail to give equal consideration to their foes.

If you stand up an implacable foe, even worse, and invincible enemy--what happens when your heroes win?  This is particularly complicated if you have a resolution in mind, but you get canceled a season before you can carry that off (see Farscape, among others).  It's worse if you have no resolution in mind, and get continued for another season.

Also, the production companies need to understand, and believe in the success of serials with multiple, interleaved, story arcs, to where an episode can be "padded out" with forshadowing and left "hanging" at the end.  J. Michael Strazinski really proved that with Babylon 5.

He built a five-year story arc, and put not one, but two "end points" in the middle of that, to allow for early cancellation.  Until B5, most "tv people" assumed you "had to" resolve the entire episode in the episode, or no one would come back next week.

The notion was slow to "take"--witness Andromeda, one of Gene Roddenbery's last, and helmed by his widow, Majel.  About halfway through Season One, they started writing in deeper arcs, and incorporating parts of earlier episodes as foreshadowing (if after the fact).  S2 uses those more effectively.  Which is what carried Andromeda through 5 seasons.

It's the "grit" that kept The Expanse going, despite SyFy canceling it (or, perhaps, because of).  Interweaved story arcs is the definition of Farscape, too (also cancled by SyFy for being "too successful"). 

What do you do with an implacable foe after you defeat it?  Well, SG-1 found a way, a brand new enemy.  (That is, until SyFy, itself, became the enemy of the series).

Bakster

Question: What is the context of, the horror the horror. Where does that come into the story and why?

In Heart of Darkness, the main character, Charles Marlow relates the tale of how he spent more than a year--close to two--up this fictional version of the Congo, in his quest to reach Kurtz's station and return again.

His first steamer is wrecked, and it takes months to repair it.  The boat then is stricken upstream, but this time by disease.  Months and months later, Marlow finally reaches Kurtz, only to find him dead of the plague already.  His return trip is no better than the upstream version.

So, it's really a form of the Oddessy, with Marlow as Oddyseus, the only survivor.  Only, he has no riches, no golden fleece, nothing but, "The Horror the horror" of it all (notably several print versions, no doubt due to persnickity type setters, rendered the manuscript as "The Horror!  The Horror!" to make it gramatical).

And, of course, Conrad'a point was to paint a very ugly picture of Beligian Colonialism in West Africa, and its utter inhumanity.  The swells in Bruges, or any of Europe did not let the book interfere with their fois gras, truffles, or mayo on their pommes frites in the slightest.

The curtains look realy good.

I've not used GG as an adhesive.  I do rather like the AK SuperGrip, which seemst for be a very "sticky" PVA much like a blend of Titbond II & Titebond III (both flexible when set, but sticky while curing).

You probably do not have enough bearing surface to use the MicroMark PSA (Pressure Sensitive Adhesive) which can best be imagined as the "glue" on transparent tape only without the plastic film.  It's huegely 'polite' for adhereing transparent materials to other things (sandwiching glazing between bulkhead panels for one).  But, it's very much "activated" by pressure.

The series left behind any pretense of being a science fiction series and it's totally fantasy at this point. Who or what will pop up next? Durned if I know....

Wow. That is perfectly said.

Lol Bakster you're completely right...

Watched the episode with the Norse god Thor last night and the one with the wizard tonight...

Oh gawd were they awful. I was prepared for the whacky adventures of Will, Dr. Smith, and the robot but not for the whole let's just bring on a guest star and have them act like a giant goofball for an hour. 

The series left behind any pretense of being a science fiction series and it's totally fantasy at this point. Who or what will pop up next? Durned if I know.....  

"I guess like anything it's a matter of just fiddling with things till you find something that works"

Bingo. Same is true with the tissue and glue method. Work with it long enough you might get what you want. I don't want to get that bogged down. 

"My hat's off to all the actors there, anyone who could do that with a straight face is a heck of an actor in my book"

So true. So true.

I am glad the GG seems to be helping some. I guess like anything it's a matter of just fiddling with things till you find something that works. 

If you did the facial tissue I wonder if you hit it with a good solid coat of primer and then sprayed it with Alclad aluminum or so other metal shade would it work?

I'm going to keep watching the show. It's fun in how goofy it can be. I watched the carrotman episode with some friends in a watch party a couple months ago. Good grief it's bad. I am not surprised the actor playing West couldn't stop laughing. My hat's off to all the actors there, anyone who could do that with a straight face is a heck of an actor in my book. 

Gamera

Good luck Bakster! I've gotten so I don't use any CA anymore. Generally I just use the GG or two-part epoxy. Not sure epoxy would work any better though. It'd be stronger but it's really slow drying. 

And I know what you mean Phoenix. I wash my glasses about five times a day and still they have something smeared on them constantly. I can't imagine what Bakster is going though...

 

As to LiS tonight was 'Space Mutiny'. And yeah, I think I've crossed the Rubicon. It stank, nothing good about the episode at all. I'm still watching just to see what sort of batguano insane plot they come up with next... 

 

Hey Gam... I tested GG on the bare metal foil. It shows promise! It seems to stick. Yeah... it not fast acting, but I must say, not terrible either. That might be the solution. It will take a lot of patience but it might just work! Thanks for suggesting that. 

I just built another test frame. I will try a test run using foil and GG glue.

Btw. I just tested the facial tissue water and glue method. I can see where this would work very well for lets say, cloth curtains. But for the look I am going after, it's not gonna do it. I think this is a punt.

Oh no about the rubicon. I was enjoying your reviews. Wait until you get to the great vegetable rebellion. As a kid...it was that episode that made me say, I am done. Lol. I watched a video where Don West talks about that show. They had to keep doing retakes because Don could not stop laughing at how bad the carrot dudes costume looked. If you watch the shot that they eventually use, you can see Don trying not to laugh.

PhoenixG

It's a darn shame the glue is reacting so oddly to the current iteration of the curtains.  They looked superb in the test fit.

Random thought.  Whenever I see that clear plastic canopy I can't help but wonder how much time Bakster spends cleaning off fingerprints before he takes a photo.  ;-)   :-D

 

Hey PG, thanks for chiming in. Your opinion of the current iteration encourages me to keep going in that direction. 

You might be surprised to learn I am not cleaning the canopy much. Very little, actually. Maybe the camera is not capturing the grimy prints!  

Good luck Bakster! I've gotten so I don't use any CA anymore. Generally I just use the GG or two-part epoxy. Not sure epoxy would work any better though. It'd be stronger but it's really slow drying. 

And I know what you mean Phoenix. I wash my glasses about five times a day and still they have something smeared on them constantly. I can't imagine what Bakster is going though...

As to LiS tonight was 'Space Mutiny'. And yeah, I think I've crossed the Rubicon. It stank, nothing good about the episode at all. I'm still watching just to see what sort of batguano insane plot they come up with next... 

It's a darn shame the glue is reacting so oddly to the current iteration of the curtains.  They looked superb in the test fit.

Random thought.  Whenever I see that clear plastic canopy I can't help but wonder how much time Bakster spends cleaning off fingerprints before he takes a photo.  ;-)   :-D

Gamera

Bakster the curtains look great in the photos! But I can see what you mean about being really fiddly. Not sure what to do for cement. I use Gator Grip on a lot of stuff like that but the owner shut down the company so you can't buy it anymore. When my bottle is gone, it's gone..... (sniff)

If you get glue spots I guess you could say Debbie drooled over the glass. Or maybe Dr. Smith did..... 

 

That is interesting Capt Mac. I had no idea.... 

 

Watched 'The Questing Beast' episode last night. In it a knight arrives on the Robinson's planet chasing a pink (actually it's more a mauve) dragon. 

Really, I... am... not... making... this... ... up...

The knight takes Will on as his squire and Penny befriends the dragon, whoops now we've got family drama... 

I did like that Smith did the first decent, good, and selfless thing I've seen him do in the series. When Will becomes cynical and depressed by the knights over-the-top tales of combat and gallentry (aka he's a bull**** artist) Smith acts to restore Will's sense of awe and wonder. Best part of a painfully gawdaful episode... 

 

Say Gam, thanks. Actually, I do have some Gator Grip. It's a few years old but probably still good. I have not used it much. I am pretty sure that the product is made of acrylic gel. I could be wrong but the smell, texture, color, and drying properties is similar to the acrylic gel I purchased from Hobby Lobby several years back. For this purpose, GG might work for installing the panels but for attaching the curtains to the frames, it is too slow setting, and probably not strong enough.

I have a couple thoughts about the glue issue. The first is, my CA is getting old. By now, it must be well over two years old. Maybe it's gone bad. I have noticed it takes a little longer than usual to set. I will buy a new bottle. Regarding the UV resin and discoloration. It might be a chemical reaction to CA and/or CA accelerator. I had used both just prior. So, maybe, still hope along these lines.

With the above in my back pocket, I will try the tissue/glue method. I have not tried that process before, it is a good excuse to.

And boy. It sounds like you are hitting the LIS wall of horrible writing. I am interested to see if you can stomach it. Lol. It only gets worse as you progress. 

Bakster the curtains look great in the photos! But I can see what you mean about being really fiddly. Not sure what to do for cement. I use Gator Grip on a lot of stuff like that but the owner shut down the company so you can't buy it anymore. When my bottle is gone, it's gone..... (sniff)

If you get glue spots I guess you could say Debbie drooled over the glass. Or maybe Dr. Smith did..... 

That is interesting Capt Mac. I had no idea.... 

Watched 'The Questing Beast' episode last night. In it a knight arrives on the Robinson's planet chasing a pink (actually it's more a mauve) dragon. 

Really, I... am... not... making... this... ... up...

The knight takes Will on as his squire and Penny befriends the dragon, whoops now we've got family drama... 

I did like that Smith did the first decent, good, and selfless thing I've seen him do in the series. When Will becomes cynical and depressed by the knights over-the-top tales of combat and gallentry (aka he's a bull**** artist) Smith acts to restore Will's sense of awe and wonder. Best part of a painfully gawdaful episode... 

So, after a few more hours of fiddling... here is what I came up with.

1. Remember how I said I did not like the crinkly look to the BMF? I found that if I sandwich a layer of tracing paper between the foil I can minimize that look. An added benefit is it gives the material more body and holds the shaping better.

2. I built an extra frame to experiment with. Trying this and that, see below.

I like it. The problems... it is extremely fiddly to do. I can deal with that. What I can't deal with is another BIG problem, the glue. For some reason, CA is not holding well. Then I tried UV Resin and that had an odd reaction as well. The resin turned a brownish color when hit with UV. Scratching my head on both issues.

I might have success fighting through this but at this point ... I am rethinking the issue. What really concerns me is when it's time to attach the panels to the canopy. If my only solution is to slather the heck out of things... it is a recipe for disaster. 

I might need to try the more traditional methodology of how we can model tarps and such. Maybe I can make the curtains that way, and then paint em.

Not sure. 

CapnMac82

 

 

Bakster

Darn. I missed the boat.

 

 

Charles Marlow, in Conrad's novella, arrives in the congo on the Sloop "Nellie."

The steamer taken up the river, which spends months being repaired after being wreced repeatedly, is never named (although popular modern opinion is certain it's the "Nostromo"--it's  not, that's a different Conrad novel, set in South America.)
(It's also not the Sulaco, depite internet lore.)

 

That is too funny. I didn't know a boat was involved and here you go... a sloop. 

Sounds like a good story, Capn. Question: What is the context of, the horror the horror. Where does that come into the story and why?

Bakster

Darn. I missed the boat.

Charles Marlow, in Conrad's novella, arrives in the congo on the Sloop "Nellie."

The steamer taken up the river, which spends months being repaired after being wreced repeatedly, is never named (although popular modern opinion is certain it's the "Nostromo"--it's  not, that's a different Conrad novel, set in South America.)
(It's also not the Sulaco, depite internet lore.)

Yeah, never read it or seen the movie either.... 

CapnMac82

 

 

Bakster

"The horror the horror" Apocalypse Now...

 

 

Trick question, actually, it's the last line in Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Used to be taught more for the deliberate non-use of a comma.

 

Darn. I missed the boat.

Bakster

"The horror the horror" Apocalypse Now...

Trick question, actually, it's the last line in Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Used to be taught more for the deliberate non-use of a comma.

Gamera

Capt: If I tried to cast a new canopy I'd be running around, waving my arms wildly,  and shouting 'DANGER, DANGER!!!' 

Bakster: Thanks for turning me onto the show. Tonight a green dude turned Bill Mumy green too. I'm watching just to see what kinda crazy **** they're going to do next. 

 

Lol. You crack me up, Gam!

Capt: If I tried to cast a new canopy I'd be running around, waving my arms wildly,  and shouting 'DANGER, DANGER!!!' 

Bakster: Thanks for turning me onto the show. Tonight a green dude turned Bill Mumy green too. I'm watching just to see what kinda crazy **** they're going to do next.