Angela the cheerful cynical technophile

My buddy #Zetan at the party last night, with his chocolate...

Thu, 30 May 2013 08:55:24 +1000

My buddy #Zetan at the party last night, with his chocolate #moustache #Alien #grey #ET

#mardigras #gay #sydney

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 16:00:56 +1000

#mardigras #gay #sydney

#Droplets of #Rain on the #Sunroof of the car. Mini sky spheres.

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 19:15:10 +1000

#Droplets of #Rain on the #Sunroof of the car. Mini sky spheres.

BioShock Infinite Nerf Rayven steampunk style gun

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:07:16 +1000

Another week and another video game homage, surprise surprise. This is a game I am soooo excited about I just cannot tell you, “BioShock Infinite”, the latest game in the brilliant “BioShock” series by Irrational and 2K. Anyway I wanted to do a Nerf Rayven in a different style and figured this was it. I am a HUGE fan of the BioShock series, I bought the games, most of the toys from the games and I’ve played them through a couple of times, the writing in these games is just.. well, wonderful. As well as the writing, the artistic design of the BioShock games is just beautiful. BioShock Infinite changes the style somewhat, given the setting differs from the city of Rapture seen in the previous titles, but it still looks astonishing. Anyway this is my little homage to the “BioShock Infinite” world, a Nerf Rayven with a twist…

[caption id=”attachment_2424” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”The Rolston Reciprocating Rayven… The Triple R.”][/caption] I thought this would look cool with something different than just another Rayven with colored paneling, so I went with wood grain panels (or woodgrain panels if you prefer). This added some zing to the blaster, wood grain looks nice with brass and copper tones. I’ll add another 2 images as these top photos don’t really show this gun off to how pretty it is, this is definitely a display piece for sure! [caption id=”attachment_2427” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”This shows the metallic highlights and wood grain areas a bit better.”][/caption] [caption id=”attachment_2428” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”BioShock Infinite has some cool weapons, this is a homage to the Rolston Repeater”][/caption] As with all blasters / props / art pieces, this one is for sale, so if you want it, just email me. Till next time funsters! This post written for GirlyGamer.com.au official blog of artist in her own residence, Nerfenstein. If you haven’t already, join me on Facebook!

Nerfenbot 2000 Nerf steampunk robot from scraps

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:40:42 +1000

The Nerfenbot 2000 is a silly fun Nerf mod I decided to do for a couple of reasons. One, I had a lot of scraps and wanted to use some and two, to try and get my creative juices flowing again (I’m a little stagnated at the moment and rather than churn out same old same old, went for a Nerf mod that is totally different). The result is the Nerfenbot 2000, what a fun little guy! He’s made entirely of Nerf pieces from my junk drawer (pretty much). He’s also got a red LED ‘terminator’ eye and is a homage to some of the great robots in pop culture I added the various quotes to his warning label, see how many you can get!

[caption id=”attachment_2417” align=”aligncenter” width=”378” caption=”Nerfenbot 2000 steampunk junkbot from Nerf scraps”][/caption] Hope you like him. Nerfbot 2000 over and out! Post written for GirlyGamer.com.au and Nerfenstein.com

Team Fortress 2 pistol prop toy gun mod

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 10:22:38 +1000

Just a quick one for today, This is my take on the Team Fortress secondary weapon, the humble pistol. It’s not exact, but then it’s not meant to be, this was just for funsies and I left the paint job sort of cartoony to match the idea it came out of a game. I also fully weighted it so it’s heavy to pick up. I might do a few more Team Fortress props as I’d like to try a really flat cartoon / cel-shaded style of painting. I guess we’ll see what the future holds, for now though I give you the Team Fortress pistol prop.

[caption id=”attachment_2405” align=”aligncenter” width=”495” caption=”Team Fortress 2 pistol prop - For close combat”][/caption]

Warehouse 13 steampunk Tesla prop pistol for H.G. Wells

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 15:34:25 +1000

H.G. Wells Tesla pistol W13 - I’ve gone Tesla crazy since finally sourcing some vacuum tubes (thanks again Carole!). First there was Claudia’s mini Tesla pistol last week and now a H.G. Wells steampunk Tesla pistol this weekend! If you’re wondering why a H.G. Wells steampunk Tesla over the regular Tesla, it’s because H.G. is my favorite Warehouse 13 character and I’m still having trouble sourcing parts for the actual Warehouse 13 Tesla pistol prop. Anyway I figured it only right H.G. Wells get a Tesla all her own! I LOVE the detail in this blaster, it is beautiful, I only wish I could remember where I got it from as I want more! I fully weighted it, so it’s heavy to pick up and added the vacuum tube, after finding one that fit perfectly, after I had taken a saw to the gun itself.

[caption id=”attachment_2395” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Steampunk Tesla every time-traveling lady should have one”][/caption] I’ve added a couple of other angles because in all honesty these images don’t show this gun as it looks in the flesh so to speak. I did a multi-toned dry brushing and dragging technique on this and it worked really well. You can’t see it but the colors include copper, brass, bronze, gold, lead and silver, that’s without the ‘bone’ grip, which I did as opposed to black or brown as I thought it would look better against the darkness of the metals. [caption id=”attachment_2396” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”“I smell apples” H.G. Wells - Warehouse 13”][/caption] Anyway, there it is, the H.G. Wells steampunk Tesla pistol - A Warehouse 13 homage to Helena Wells. Hope you liked it. This post written for GirlyGamer.com.au blog of Nerfenstein Blasters & Props. Jettisoned to other social networks by sky crane. Join me on Facebook if you haven’t already.

The Middleman blaster pistol prop for Wendy Watson

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 14:55:29 +1000

Just a quick update for today. I bring thee the Wendy - Dub Dub - Watson mini blaster pistol that no Middleman should be without. Yes I’ve been re-watching “The Middleman” and thought I’d do a little homage because it was such a great show (in an ultra-cheesy kind of way). I decided on the XShot Dual because it has these cool retro stylings and it’s small enough to be a sort of Wendy Watson backup blaster pistol. The XShot Dual is pretty cool because it fires both disc and dart ammo, but this prop pistol is more for display. A pretty basic mod, but overdoing it would lose The Middleman feel (the blasters in the show are essentially chrome and black).

[caption id=”attachment_2389” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”The Middleman Fighting Evil So You Don’t Have To! Gun prop.”][/caption] The Middleman: Fighting Evil So You Don’t Have To. This post written for GirlyGamer.com.au blog of Nerfenstein Blasters & Props. Jettisoned to other social networks by sky crane. Join me on Facebook if you haven’t already.

Claudia's mini Tesla pistol prop from Warehouse 13

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 08:57:07 +1000

Claudia’s Mini Tesla Pistol from Warehouse 13 - I finally got a hold of some vacuum tubes! (special thanks to the lovely Carole for her help here). Needless to say that means Tesla props. I’m working on a full size Warehouse 13 Tesla prop at the moment (trying to source some parts), but here’s a baby Tesla pistol as used by Claudia in Warehouse 13 because it’s just so darn cute! Hope you like it! Warehouse 13 is one of my favorite TV shows and it has some great prop weaponry and general gizmos (who doesn’t want their own Farnsworth!), but the Tesla pistol is kind of iconic. The full sized Tesla has a lot of parts I have nothing like, the first draft build was a fail, so I turned my attention to Claudia’s mini Tesla….

[caption id=”attachment_2381” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Warehouse 13 - Mini Tesla WIP”][/caption] I had a spare Deringer model pistol, which just happens to be the base of Claudia’s Tesla, I took the Dremel to it. Thanks to Carole I also now had the vacuum tubes, other pieces came together from spare plastic cutoffs from other mods, EVA and other bits and pieces. I changed the prop slightly by leaving the connector pins showing on one side, on Claudia’s Tesla pistol these are covered, but I liked it more open so left them. Oh and I weighted it, so it’s heavy and doesn’t feel like plastic when you pick it up. [caption id=”attachment_2383” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Claudia’s pistol inset. The Warehouse 13 box is a vacuum tube box I liked the look of”][/caption] And that’s it done, one Claudia mini Tesla prop, hope you liked it. This post written for GirlyGamer.com.au blog of Nerfenstein Blasters & Props. Jettisoned to other social networks by sky crane. Join me on Facebook if you haven’t already.

Nerf Rayven Bug Stomper blaster weapon Aliens homage

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:51:39 +1000

Yeah yeah I know another ‘Aliens homage’, sue me, it’s my favorite movie of all time, I can’t help myself! I bring thee the Bug Stomper! A cut down weighted prop from a base Nerf Rayven. Before you ask, no this doesn’t fire, I essentially cut it in half, the reason being I wanted a blaster that some bad ass Colonial Marine could use as a pistol ‘for close encounters’, but also as a powerful weapon with a fold out stock, in similar style to the KRISS Vector. This thing is pretty heavy, so it feels cool when you pick it up, it would be awesome in a sci-fi indi film.

[caption id=”attachment_2248” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Absolutely bad ass!! State of the badass art! Bug Stomper!”][/caption]

Little touches, a little mini motion tracker screen on the rear. This is just a little water toy, stripped with a motion tracker screen printed and places inside, under the plastic screen, it looks pretty cool. Added a Bug Stomper decal to both sides, I assume these are the official ones seen briefly in the movie, I also made a warning decal for the fusion power cell on the rear, well the gun needed some sort of ammunition given the mag slot was chopped off ;p

Hope you liked the Aliens blaster pistol / smg homage the ‘Bug Stomper’ Nerf Rayven.
Till next time funsters!

Post written for GirlyGamer.com.au for Nerfenstein.

Fifty Shades of Nerf - Fifty Shades of Grey is EVERYWHERE!

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 15:45:45 +1000

Disclaimer… Adult Content: So hands up if someone you know is reading “Fifty Shades of Grey”, yeah, figures, pretty much everyone I know is reading it, has read it, or wants to read it. Personally I don’t give a damn, it’s not my cup of tea, nor was Twilight, not that I am saying “50 Shades of Grey” IS “Twilight” before that whole bucket of goo is opened, I just mean in the form of truly shoddy writing that somehow becomes ridiculously popular due to it somehow being - I’m told - a genuine addictive page-turner.

Whilst learning a new tool for work purposes I came up with the piece piece of drivel “Fifty Shades of Nerf” yes a satirical pun-like infographic about our favorite hobby… Nerf wars, blasters and that sort of thing. Hopefully it will give you a laugh, at the least a wry smile, or whatever.

That’s all folks.
Fifty Shades of Nerf

Steampunk Batman blaster weapon tri-barrel gun

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:38:25 +1000

Steampunk Batman blaster weapon - tri-barrel Nerf style gun. A certain movie is released today, so here’s to “The Dark Knight Rises”, a film I’m sure loads of people are looking forward to, myself included. I thought I’d do a Batman blaster mod in celebration, but rather than just doing a Batman Nerf mod that was mainly black and Batarang like, I’d go for something a little different… Steampunk Batman pistol! The idea for this came about thanks to Brandon, when we discussed this tri-barrel blaster here at my blog.

[caption id=”attachment_2225” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Holy brass and copper Batman it’s a steampunk pistol!”][/caption] The “Triple Barrel Grapnel” gun by Mattel was reviewed on my favorite Nerf site Urban Taggers, the review stated the Batman Grapnel gun has “WOEFUL” performance, with the darts sort of dribbling out of all three barrels. Given I trust the reviews at UT, I decided this mod didn’t need to work, so I started by hacking off the plunger priming handle and filling it. This had now become a prop only Batman blaster pistol and I was happy with that. I filled the screw holes, prepped it and found some additions to steampunk it up. [caption id=”attachment_2226” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Gotham Guns - For the distinguished hero”][/caption] I usually make my own decals, but in this instance I found a “Gotham By Gaslight” steam gauge. This is a canceled steampunk Batman game allegedly by Day 1 Studios. I figured with it being canceled it would be okay to use it. The other decal I made myself and injected a tiny bit of humor as I like to from time to time. I also added a small working compass to the top, why? Why not, it looks cool and it has a gauge like feel to it. All up this gun cost a fair bit, given the base price was around $35 (I thought I’d paid $25 until I found the receipt!), then there’s all the additions and paints, time etc. Still if anyone wants it, it’s for sale like everything else, just don’t expect it to be a steal, more an art piece for display (Nerfenstein@gmail.com). Well that’s it for another mod, hope you liked it! I’ll probably go see the movie this weekend if I get time, hopefully it will be as good as I’m expecting. Written for Nerfenstein’s official blog GirlyGamer.com.au and jettisoned to various social media spinoffs that I never check, so if you want to comment, please do so at my blog or facebook page, so I see it and can respond :) Have a great weekend!

Daedric Dagger Skyrim scratch build prop from mdf

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:53:17 +1000

Daedric Dagger Skyrim scratch build prop mdf - Hi guys and girls, back with another scratch built prop, this time it’s a shout out to the Daedric Dagger from Skyrim. I went for this weapon because I thought it looked awesome, it’s sort of scary just to look at and the grip is beautifully detailed. I nabbed an official render and set to work. My favorite part of the Daedric Dagger build is the grip area. The official image of the Skyrim Daedric dagger shows this to look like it’s a bound twine grip, with leather strapping along it and nailed metal stripping along the length of it. I tried to get this as close as I could detail wise and it turned out to be my favorite part of the build. The detail brought out on painting looks really cool, at least in person, hard to see all the shading on my crappy iPhone camera images, but you get the idea.

[caption id=”attachment_2217” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Not perfect, but the grip turned out really well.”][/caption] If you’re wondering how to make the Daedric Dagger from Skyrim as a prop piece like this, there’s a few things you’ll need, most important is different thickness mdf sheeting and a scroll saw (and a filter mask, glasses etc). I outlined the dagger in photoshop and printed off a template to trace onto the base mdf, and a template of the additional outer pieces and cut those out too (in thinner sheeting) … glue and clamp. I used EVA foam on the grip, glued and bound with nylon string… also glued. Cut the other raised sections out of a mix of foam and mdf, glued on. for the butt cross guard / pommel I used moulded plastic, so it could have the detailing scored into it. I used the same plastic for the ‘metal’ detailing on the handle / grip. Needless to say there was plenty of bondo, filling, drying, sanding, filling, drying, sanding… rinse and repeat about 6 times over numerous days. [caption id=”attachment_2218” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Started with the official image and worked through”][/caption] The detail really comes in with the painting process, lots of dry brushing and even some inks. Anyway, that’s the Daedric Dagger from Skyrim, done and dusted, I hope you like it. Any specific questions I’m happy to help as always. Post written for Nerfenstein’s official blog at GirlyGamer.com.au for the Nerfenstein Facebook Page.

Functioning Nerf Lightsaber the Nerfsaber V2

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 16:32:31 +1000

Nerf Lightsaber the Nerfsaber V2 - Remember that Nerfsaber I made a while ago? I’ve one-upped it with a fully functioning version, the Nerfsaber V2. The idea of a working Nerf Lightsaber was irresistible, but you know I don’t usually dabble in internal Nerf mods, I like to alter the outside and leave the insides to the Nerf Surgeon’s out there (I should copyright that before someone steals it!). Anyway jumping in with both feet - midi-chlorians in hand - I decided to dissect a Nerf Nite Finder and try and rejig the internals so it would fire as a tube. Given I’ve got zero knowledge of such things this was trial and error. My first attempt was rubbish because I had no sled to mount the trigger attachment to. Given the tubey nature of the build I had to make a sled from scratch because using the catchment inside the body of the Nerf Nite Finder was never going to work.

[caption id=”attachment_2210” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Nerfsaber - The Foam Is Strong With This One”][/caption] Wood was my weapon of choice, I fashioned a sled out of a huge dowel with a chisel and dremel, this slid into the Nerfsaber grip and the trigger attachment slid into the the cut out made for it. I also used bondo to smooth out the wood, so it slid easily when the trigger was pressed. I also changed out the trigger spring for a slightly heavier gauge spring, as the Nite Finder spring was a bit wimpy. A ‘trigger’ button was attached to the opposing side after it was assembled, this simply screwed into the trigger slide, through a hole in the grip. [caption id=”attachment_2211” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Star Wars meets Nerf the Nerfsaber - Working Nerf Lightsaber”][/caption] And that’s it, working Nerf Lightsaber. One shot, which is what the Nite Finder fires anyway. You can leave it loaded on your waist with the metal ring on the primer (used to prime it). Having the Nerf Lightsaber in a Nerf war dangling from your waist on a quick release is great for throwing off opponents. Hope you liked it folks.. till next time! PS If I get time I’ll make a video showing it working and add it here. This post written for GirlyGamer.com.au blog home of Nerfenstein Blaster Mods & Props. Join me!

Dwayne Hicks Ithaca 37 Shotgun prop from Aliens

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:06:46 +1000

Quick update on the latest mod. This is a toy water blaster I picked up purely because as soon as I saw it I thought of Hicks’ Ithaca Shotgun in Aliens. I weighted this so it comes in at over half a kilo, not too heavy, but cool for cosplay. I might mount this on a backboard with an Aliens logo and info, like a display piece, I haven’t decided yet.

[caption id=”attachment_2203” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”No not that Close Encounters … I hear that!”][/caption] As you can see this is a more basic paintjob than my usual, but I wanted to make it as realistic as possible. For those that asked over on my Facebook page, here’s the before and after shot. It’s a Buzz Bee Water Warriors Hydro Blast. I think I got it in Target, but I imagine anywhere that stocks Buzz Bee will have it. Hope that helps folks! Till next time! [caption id=”attachment_2204” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”It was yellow… now it’s not.”][/caption] This post written for GirlyGamer.com.au blog home of Nerfenstein Blaster Mods & Props.

Tron Uprising Nerf pistol pair the good and the bad

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 15:33:13 +1000

I’m back from holiday!! Yes Thailand, Cambodia and Singapore are far behind me and it’s back to prop making and modding. This week - in the holiday wind down and back to work vibe - I’ve fit in some episodes of new Disney animated series “TRON: Uprising”. Given my - shall we say - advancing years I am indeed old enough to like and appreciate the original “TRON” movie, though the last iteration left me bored (and I am an Olivia Wilde fangirl so go figure). The “TRON: Uprising” animated series is actually really good and has a pretty awesome cast for scifi nerds like myself (Tricia Helfer, Lance Henriksen, Lance Reddick to name but a few), so I opted for my first post-holiday mod to be a shout out to TRON, in the form of the TRON Nerf Sharp Shot from the Nerf Dart Tag series.

[caption id=”attachment_2196” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”The Bad and the Good of Tron”][/caption] The Nerf Dart Tag Sharp Shot is a sweet little gun, with removable shell shielding which means you can totally detail the main body of the gun no problem and there is a lot of cool detail on it (some of which you won’t see when reassembled, but you’ll know it’s there). The shell also has some sweet detail and it just so happens to be straight lines and circles, which screams TRON.. handy! I went with a dual paint scheme on this mod, one with blue highlights (the good) and one with orange (the bad guys). To cap it off I also did one with brass / gold metallic highlights (to tie-in with the orange) and the other with lead / silver highlights (to tie-in with the blue). [caption id=”attachment_2197” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Nert Dart Tag Sharp Shot - Perfect for a TRON homage”][/caption] Hope you all liked it! Till next time, have a good one! This post written for GirlyGamer.com.au the blog of prop maker wannabe and blaster modder Nerfenstein. Facebook with her… err.. me!

Prometheus thoughts and Alien / Aliens crossover bits

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 07:38:43 +1000

Prometheus thoughts and Alien / Aliens crossover bits - Finally after years (since first hearing of it) “Prometheus”, the non-prequel prequel to the “Alien” franchise is with us and wow, is it ever polarizing. I figured though I usually post about blaster mods here on my blog, it is my blog so - for prosperity - I’m jotting down my waffly thoughts about what I liked, loved and loathed about Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” movie. Firstly this post WILL FEATURE SPOILERS, but I’ll warn you before I start posting them, because we’re not there yet. Secondly I am a total Alien and Aliens fangirl, so let’s get that right out there, Aliens is my favorite movie of all time and Alien is in my top 5. I know the scripts of both almost off by heart and I’ve read and even studied both movies at university level, needless to say I was either going to love or loathe “Prometheus”… I loved it, but it did have a few problems. PROMETHEUS SPOILERS FOLLOW: This isn’t a review, just some discussion / thoughts about the movie. Science and religion, what a messy philosophical web we weave. Prometheus tried to broach the touchy issue of religion / faith / science and it did so to fair effect. I enjoyed the idea that “life here began out there, far across the universe”, but that may be because I’m a bit of a fan of some ancient astronaut theory and Battlestar Galactica. Prometheus’ beginning with the primordial soup / or engineer aided biogenesis (or was it abiogenesis) had me hooked straight away. Mans quest for immortality was also touched upon… heck when you delve into it Prometheus runs the gamut of sociological undertones, just as its non-sequel Alien managed all the way back in 1979. If you think about it Prometheus featured all the classic sociological and psychological themes, class, gender, sexism, the human condition, religion, science, industry, family, politics. I wouldn’t be surprised if papers start popping up all over examining Prometheus via one sociological perspective or another, just as Alien has become tantamount in sociological analysis on class and gender. Prometheus managed to touch upon those themes whilst also giving us a kick-ass science fiction movie, that’s some feat, despite what the haters might be thinking. That’s not to say it was perfect of course… Prometheus silliness… These things could probably be fixed with additional scenes, so who knows, maybe they’ll be on the bluray release. Here’s the upshot of things that annoyed me in Prometheus: Elizabeth Shaw’s caesarian and post caesarian athleticism IMO this needed just a few seconds of additional footage showing the future tech of the Med Pod, with a display or something showing it had essentially healed Shaw to 70 or 80% prior to her leaving it. Let’s face it, seeing her insides ripped out, staples shot into her only for her to be climbing, jumping, running etc moments later was.. ‘Prometheus silly’ even if she was hyped on on pain meds. Milburn’s nonsensical reaction to the snake in the goo Maybe a scene earlier showing Milburn to be the type of biologist who is intrigued, though naive about biological life would have made the fact he was treating an unknown - possibly dangerous - alien creature like a cute stray cat more believable. Wait what… Reapers Slightly more confusing than the med pod or the alien snake petting was the ‘we made you now we’re going to kill you’ thread, I was having flashbacks to the ending of Mass Effect 3. I do suppose this is covered ever so swiftly when Shaw’s boyfriend Holloway and David are discussing his creation by humans, during which something about humans making him ‘because they can’ is stated. Perhaps that explained it, though I’m not so sure, I’m still confused on this plot point. No Prometheus batteries / shields? A hugely expensive mission, with the head of Weyland Industries on board and the ship has no armaments / weaponry? Also the people handpicked for this massive mission are all fairly dumb, particularly the biologist and geologist, but also pretty much all of them, I mean seriously, taking your helmets off just because there’s breathable air? Not Cool. Also there’s no command stream, though this goes for Alien and Aliens as well, so I can forgive this as it actually lends itself to the overall tension of the narrative, given no one is in charge and when the person who thinks they’re in charge (Vickers) tries to show that she is, it all falls apart because no one cares, she’s essentially like Gorman with a flamethrower. A Rubik’s Cube… I’ll say no more… that was lazy prop making, though I imagine the prop making community is happy given how simple that should be to replicate. Vickers for goodness sake, if something is rolling toward you slowly due to its bulk and is following a particular trajectory… RUN SIDEWAYS!! Her death was a total letdown, she was meant to be the villain I assume, like a Carter Burke character, but she wasn’t and for this reason the glee I should have felt as Engineer Ship 01 rolled over her was lost, I wanted her to survive, I wanted to see more. What I Loved - Prometheus Alien / Aliens crossovers! I couldn’t help but notice there were numerous scenes and even some dialogue that must surely have been a cross over / shout out / homage to Alien and Aliens, purposely added to the Prometheus script. Sadly I can’t remember them all now, but things like Vickers asking what the creature was changing into, or Vickers toting the flamethrower and saying Holloway can’t get on board (total Ripley shout out from both Alien and Aliens). The opening credits for goodness sake. David’s head saying “I can hear you”, shout out to Ash in Alien. That’s without the obvious interior shots of the Prometheus itself, the egg / urn room and all the other ones I have forgotten. Bits missing in Prometheus The trailers to Prometheus featured certain things I think were missing (I could be wrong I’ve only seen it once at this stage), most notably was Shaw seemingly praying in an alcove in the corridor of Prometheus pre or post caesarian, maybe she was just clenching her hands together in agony, either way I don’t think it was in the film.

[caption id=”attachment_2185” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Am I praying, probably… maybe I’m just in agony and panic stricken”][/caption] Also wasn’t there a bit in the trailer showing a guy leaping on someone inside the main hold, I assume this was when Fifield lost his sh-t, but I don’t think that was in it. Feel free to add others to the comments. Meh that’s it for today, I’ll probably pop back and edit this tomorrow.

Prometheus thoughts and Alien / Aliens crossover bits

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 07:23:43 +1000

Prometheus thoughts and Alien / Aliens crossover bits - Finally after years (since first hearing of it) “Prometheus”, the non-prequel prequel to the “Alien” franchise is with us and wow, is it ever polarizing. I figured though I usually post about blaster mods here on my blog, it is my blog so - for prosperity - I’m jotting down my waffly thoughts about what I liked, loved and loathed about Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” movie. Firstly this post WILL FEATURE SPOILERS, but I’ll warn you before I start posting them, because we’re not there yet. Secondly I am a total Alien and Aliens fangirl, so let’s get that right out there, Aliens is my favorite movie of all time and Alien is in my top 5. I know the scripts of both almost off by heart and I’ve read and even studied both movies at university level, needless to say I was either going to love or loathe “Prometheus”… I loved it, but it did have a few problems. PROMETHEUS SPOILERS FOLLOW: This isn’t a review, just some discussion / thoughts about the movie. Science and religion, what a messy philosophical web we weave. Prometheus tried to broach the touchy issue of religion / faith / science and it did so to fair effect. I enjoyed the idea that “life here began out there, far across the universe”, but that may be because I’m a bit of a fan of some ancient astronaut theory and Battlestar Galactica. Prometheus’ beginning with the primordial soup / or engineer aided biogenesis (or was it abiogenesis) had me hooked straight away. Mans quest for immortality was also touched upon… heck when you delve into it Prometheus runs the gamut of sociological undertones, just as its non-sequel Alien managed all the way back in 1979. If you think about it Prometheus featured all the classic sociological and psychological themes, class, gender, sexism, the human condition, religion, science, industry, family, politics. I wouldn’t be surprised if papers start popping up all over examining Prometheus via one sociological perspective or another, just as Alien has become tantamount in sociological analysis on class and gender. Prometheus managed to touch upon those themes whilst also giving us a kick-ass science fiction movie, that’s some feat, despite what the haters might be thinking. That’s not to say it was perfect of course… Prometheus silliness… These things could probably be fixed with additional scenes, so who knows, maybe they’ll be on the bluray release. Here’s the upshot of things that annoyed me in Prometheus: Elizabeth Shaw’s caesarian and post caesarian athleticism IMO this needed just a few seconds of additional footage showing the future tech of the Med Pod, with a display or something showing it had essentially healed Shaw to 70 or 80% prior to her leaving it. Let’s face it, seeing her insides ripped out, staples shot into her only for her to be climbing, jumping, running etc moments later was.. ‘Prometheus silly’ even if she was hyped on on pain meds. Milburn’s nonsensical reaction to the snake in the goo Maybe a scene earlier showing Milburn to be the type of biologist who is intrigued, though naive about biological life would have made the fact he was treating an unknown - possibly dangerous - alien creature like a cute stray cat more believable. Wait what… Reapers Slightly more confusing than the med pod or the alien snake petting was the ‘we made you now we’re going to kill you’ thread, I was having flashbacks to the ending of Mass Effect 3. I do suppose this is covered ever so swiftly when Shaw’s boyfriend Holloway and David are discussing his creation by humans, during which something about humans making him ‘because they can’ is stated. Perhaps that explained it, though I’m not so sure, I’m still confused on this plot point. A Rubik’s Cube… I’ll say no more… that was lazy prop making, though I imagine the prop making community is happy given how simple that should be to replicate. Vickers for goodness sake, if something is rolling toward you slowly due to its bulk and is following a particular trajectory… RUN SIDEWAYS!! Her death was a total letdown, she was meant to be the villain I assume, like a Carter Burke character, but she wasn’t and for this reason the glee I should have felt as Engineer Ship 01 rolled over her was lost, I wanted her to survive, I wanted to see more. What I Loved - Prometheus Alien / Aliens crossovers! I couldn’t help but notice there were numerous scenes and even some dialogue that must surely have been a cross over / shout out / homage to Alien and Aliens, purposely added to the Prometheus script. Sadly I can’t remember them all now, but things like Vickers asking what the creature was changing into, or Vickers toting the flamethrower and saying Holloway can’t get on board (total Ripley shout out from both Alien and Aliens). The opening credits for goodness sake. David’s head saying “I can hear you”, shout out to Ash in Alien. That’s without the obvious interior shots of the Prometheus itself, the egg / urn room and all the other ones I have forgotten. Bits missing in Prometheus The trailers to Prometheus featured certain things I think were missing (I could be wrong I’ve only seen it once at this stage), most notably was Shaw seemingly praying in an alcove in the corridor of Prometheus pre or post caesarian, maybe she was just clenching her hands together in agony, either way I don’t think it was in the film.

Prometheus thoughts and Alien / Aliens crossover bits

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 07:07:27 +1000

Prometheus thoughts and Alien / Aliens crossover bits - Finally after years (since first hearing of it) “Prometheus”, the non-prequel prequel to the “Alien” franchise is with us and wow, is it ever polarizing. I figured though I usually post about blaster mods here on my blog, it is my blog so - for prosperity - I’m jotting down my waffly thoughts about what I liked, loved and loathed about Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” movie. Firstly this post WILL FEATURE SPOILERS, but I’ll warn you before I start posting them, because we’re not there yet. Secondly I am a total Alien and Aliens fangirl, so let’s get that right out there, Aliens is my favorite movie of all time and Alien is in my top 5. I know the scripts of both almost off by heart and I’ve read and even studied both movies at university level, needless to say I was either going to love or loathe “Prometheus”… I loved it, but it did have a few problems. PROMETHEUS SPOILERS FOLLOW: This isn’t a review, just some discussion / thoughts about the movie. Science and religion, what a messy philosophical web we weave. Prometheus tried to broach the touchy issue of religion / faith / science and it did so to fair effect. I enjoyed the idea that “life here began out there, far across the universe”, but that may be because I’m a bit of a fan of some ancient astronaut theory and Battlestar Galactica. Prometheus’ beginning with the primordial soup / or engineer aided biogenesis (or was it abiogenesis) had me hooked straight away. Mans quest for immortality was also touched upon… heck when you delve into it Prometheus runs the gamut of sociological undertones, just as its non-sequel Alien managed all the way back in 1979. If you think about it Prometheus featured all the classic sociological and psychological themes, class, gender, sexism, the human condition, religion, science, industry, family, politics. I wouldn’t be surprised if papers start popping up all over examining Prometheus via one sociological perspective or another, just as Alien has become tantamount in sociological analysis on class and gender. Prometheus managed to touch upon those themes whilst also giving us a kick-ass science fiction movie, that’s some feat, despite what the haters might be thinking. That’s not to say it was perfect of course… Prometheus silliness… These things could probably be fixed with additional scenes, so who knows, maybe they’ll be on the bluray release. Here’s the upshot of things that annoyed me in Prometheus: Elizabeth Shaw’s caesarian and post caesarian athleticism IMO this needed just a few seconds of additional footage showing the future tech of the Med Pod, with a display or something showing it had essentially healed Shaw to 70 or 80% prior to her leaving it. Let’s face it, seeing her insides ripped out, staples shot into her only for her to be climbing, jumping, running etc moments later was.. ‘Prometheus silly’ even if she was hyped on on pain meds. Milburn’s nonsensical reaction to the snake in the goo Maybe a scene earlier showing Milburn to be the type of biologist who is intrigued, though naive about biological life would have made the fact he was treating an unknown - possibly dangerous - alien creature like a cute stray cat more believable. Wait what… Reapers Slightly more confusing than the med pod or the alien snake petting was the ‘we made you now we’re going to kill you’ thread, I was having flashbacks to the ending of Mass Effect 3. I do suppose this is covered ever so swiftly when Shaw’s boyfriend Holloway and David are discussing his creation by humans, during which something about humans making him ‘because they can’ is stated. Perhaps that explained it, though I’m not so sure, I’m still confused on this plot point. A Rubik’s Cube… I’ll say no more… that was lazy prop making, though I imagine the prop making community is happy given how simple that should be to replicate. Vickers for goodness sake, if something is rolling toward you slowly due to its bulk and is following a particular trajectory… RUN SIDEWAYS!! er death a total letdown, she was meant to be the villain I assume, like a Carter Burke character, but she wasn’t and for this reason the glee I should have felt as Engineer Ship 01 rolled over her was lost, I wanted her to survive, I wanted to see more. What I Loved - Prometheus Alien / Aliens crossovers! I couldn’t help but notice there were numerous scenes and even some dialogue that must surely have been a cross over / shout out / homage to Alien and Aliens purposely added to the Prometheus script. Sadly I can’t remember them all now, but things like Vickers asking what the creature was changing into, or Vickers toting the flamethrower and saying Holloway can’t get onboard (total Ripley shout out from both Alien and Aliens). The opening credits for goodness sake. David’s head saying “I can hear you”, shout out to Ash in Alien. That’s without the obvious interior shots of the Prometheus itself, the egg / urn room and all the other ones I have forgotten. Bits missing in Prometheus The trailers to Prometheus featured certain things I think were missing (I could be wrong I’ve only seen it once at this stage), most notably was Shaw seemingly praying in an alcove in the corridor of Prometheus post caesarian, maybe she was just clenching her hands together in agony, either way I don’t think it was in the film.

[caption id=”attachment_2185” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Am I praying, probably… maybe I’m just in agony and panic stricken”][/caption] Also wasn’t there a bit in the trailer showing a guy leaping on someone inside the main hold (I assume this was when Fifield lost his sh-t, but I don’t think that was in it. Feel free to add others to the comments. Meh that’s it for today, I’ll probably pop back and edit this tomorrow.

Prometheus thoughts and Alien / Aliens crossover bits

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 07:06:15 +1000

Prometheus thoughts and Alien / Aliens crossover bits - Finally after years (since first hearing of it) “Prometheus”, the non-prequel prequel to the “Alien” franchise is with us and wow, is it ever polarizing. I figured though I usually post about blaster mods here on my blog, it is my blog so - for prosperity - I’m jotting down my waffly thoughts about what I liked, loved and loathed about Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” movie. Firstly this post WILL FEATURE SPOILERS, but I’ll warn you before I start posting them, because we’re not there yet. Secondly I am a total Alien and Aliens fangirl, so let’s get that right out there, Aliens is my favorite movie of all time and Alien is in my top 5. I know the scripts of both almost off by heart and I’ve read and even studied both movies at university level, needless to say I was either going to love or loathe “Prometheus”… I loved it, but it did have a few problems. PROMETHEUS SPOILERS FOLLOW: This isn’t a review, just some discussion / thoughts about the movie. Science and religion, what a messy philosophical web we weave. Prometheus tried to broach the touchy issue of religion / faith / science and it did so to fair effect. I enjoyed the idea that “life here began out there, far across the universe”, but that may be because I’m a bit of a fan of some ancient astronaut theory and Battlestar Galactica. Prometheus’ beginning with the primordial soup / or engineer aided biogenesis (or was it abiogenesis) had me hooked straight away. Mans quest for immortality was also touched upon… heck when you delve into it Prometheus runs the gamut of sociological undertones, just as its non-sequel Alien managed all the way back in 1979. If you think about it Prometheus featured all the classic sociological and psychological themes, class, gender, sexism, the human condition, religion, science, industry, family, politics. I wouldn’t be surprised if papers start popping up all over examining Prometheus via one sociological perspective or another, just as Alien has become tantamount in sociological analysis on class and gender. Prometheus managed to touch upon those themes whilst also giving us a kick-ass science fiction movie, that’s some feat, despite what the haters might be thinking. That’s not to say it was perfect of course… Prometheus silliness… These things could probably be fixed with additional scenes, so who knows, maybe they’ll be on the bluray release. Here’s the upshot of things that annoyed me in Prometheus: Elizabeth Shaw’s caesarian and post caesarian athleticism IMO this needed just a few seconds of additional footage showing the future tech of the Med Pod, with a display or something showing it had essentially healed Shaw to 70 or 80% prior to her leaving it. Let’s face it, seeing her insides ripped out, staples shot into her only for her to be climbing, jumping, running etc moments later was.. ‘Prometheus silly’. Milburn’s nonsensical reaction to the snake in the goo Maybe a scene earlier showing Milburn to be the type of biologist who is intrigued, though naive about biological life would have made the fact he was treating an unknown - possibly dangerous - alien creature like a cute stray cat more believable. Wait what… Reapers Slightly more confusing than the med pod or the alien snake petting was the ‘we made you now we’re going to kill you’ thread, I was having flashbacks to the ending of Mass Effect 3. I do suppose this is covered ever so swiftly when Shaw’s boyfriend Holloway and David are discussing his creation by humans, during which something about humans making him ‘because they can’ is stated. Perhaps that explained it, though I’m not so sure, I’m still confused on this plot point. A Rubik’s Cube… I’ll say no more… that was lazy prop making, though I imagine the prop making community is happy given how simple that should be to replicate. Vickers for goodness sake, if something is rolling toward you slowly due to its bulk and is following a particular trajectory… RUN SIDEWAYS!! er death a total letdown, she was meant to be the villain I assume, like a Carter Burke character, but she wasn’t and for this reason the glee I should have felt as Engineer Ship 01 rolled over her was lost, I wanted her to survive, I wanted to see more. What I Loved - Prometheus Alien / Aliens crossovers! I couldn’t help but notice there were numerous scenes and even some dialogue that must surely have been a cross over / shout out / homage to Alien and Aliens purposely added to the Prometheus script. Sadly I can’t remember them all now, but things like Vickers asking what the creature was changing into, or Vickers toting the flamethrower and saying Holloway can’t get onboard (total Ripley shout out from both Alien and Aliens). The opening credits for goodness sake. David’s head saying “I can hear you”, shout out to Ash in Alien. That’s without the obvious interior shots of the Prometheus itself, the egg / urn room and all the other ones I have forgotten. Bits missing in Prometheus The trailers to Prometheus featured certain things I think were missing (I could be wrong I’ve only seen it once at this stage), most notably was Shaw seemingly praying in an alcove in the corridor of Prometheus post caesarian, maybe she was just clenching her hands together in agony, either way I don’t think it was in the film.

[caption id=”attachment_2185” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Am I praying, probably… maybe I’m just in agony and panic stricken”][/caption] Also wasn’t there a bit in the trailer showing a guy leaping on someone inside the main hold (I assume this was when Fifield lost his sh-t, but I don’t think that was in it. Feel free to add others to the comments. Meh that’s it for today, I’ll probably pop back and edit this tomorrow.