From: trogers@watson.ibm.com
Subject: Re: SW toys Memories
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 22:44:59 GMT
News-Software: IBM OS/2 PM RN (NR/2) v0.16 by O. Vishnepolsky and R. Rogers
Reply-To: trogers@yktvmv.vnet.ibm.com
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In <BzFA86.9Kx@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> ssquier@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Sean Alan Squier) writes:
>In article <1992Dec17.150049.15535@news.stolaf.edu> walter@inga1.acc.stolaf.edu (Dr. Egon Spengler) writes:
>>
>>     I never melted my toys, but I always had a nack for frezzing my guys
>>in ice.  I guess that after I had seen the Empire Strikes Back, I decided
>>everyone in my collection needed to be frozen in carbonite (water).  This
>>was pretty cool.  I then had some people rescue the frozen guys and they'd
>>melt and then they would go home.
>>
>>     Also, I had the Rancor Monster, a truly cool toy.  This guy could hold
>>figures in his hands.  The Rancor Monstor could swollow jawas and my little
>>sister's Yoda too.   It was quite interesting.
>>
>>                                -Greg Walter
>>                                 walter@stolaf.edu 
>>
>
>The Rancor Monster is great!!  I found mine in my closet (in the
>original mint box even!!) along with some playsets (Jawa Driod
>Factory, Hoth scene, etc..) and so of course I had to pull out ALL the
>figures and make a huge mess while I tried to remember whose gun went
>with who.
>
>Then I had an idea!!  I got out my new 8mm SONY handicam and went into
>the stop motion animation business, complete with dialog and Star
>Tracks music in the background.  My best scene was when I had the
>Rancor Monster sneak up on a platoon on Rebel Commanders (I have about
>20 of the soldier guys each, i.e. stormtroopers, snowtroopers, bespin
>guards, sand people, etc...) and devour them one at a time.  Truly a
>cinematic masterpiece.  Overall it was pretty funny, making fun of the
>characters and their figure limitations, like how the X-Wing Pilots
>head couldn't move from left to right, and Darth Vader was the leader
>since he had the shiniest black helmet.  Has anyone else done this?
>My film ended up around 10 minutes (that's a LOT of stop motion
>photography) and took 2 days...But what the hell, I'm only gonna be 22
>once. =-)
>
>
>Sean Squier
>(Future CEO - The Walt Disney Company)
>ssquier@silver.ucs.indiana.edu

I made an TESB movie using stop-frame animation with a Super-8
camera back in 1980.

The storyline, with descriptions of how it was done in <>'s
follows:

  Start with actual TESB preface text on star background.
  <Large black poster paper with text letters cut out of
   yellow construction paper and glued in place.
   Camera pans from top to bottom>

  Luke Skywalker's X-Wing moves across star background
  on its way to Dagobah.
  <Left to right, spfx was an X-Wing cutout from a Topps
   trading card with a magnet glued to the back.  Star
   background made from black construction paper and white
   glitter for stars all mounted on my Mom's clothes dryer.
   Use stop-frame animation to move the X-Wing>

  The X-Wing crash lands into the Dagobah swamp.  Cockpit
  opens.  Luke climbs out, crosses swamp.  Artoo falls in
  swamp then goes to shore.
  <Used the X-Wing model for far away crash landing shots,
   and the Kenner X-Wing toy for closeups.  Swamp was a
   ditch filled with water>

  Darth Vader talks with Boba Fett.  Figures shake hands
  to signify the deal to capture Solo.
  <Regular stop frame animation of the action figures.  A
   set, complete with blinking background lights was created
   from a shoe-box and construction paper>

  All characters are assembled around the carbon-freeze chamber.
  Solo is encased in carbonite.
  <Set was made out of black construction paper and very poorly
   lit.  Slits were cut in the black construction paper set and
   orange tissue paper was placed on the opposite side.  Bright
   lights were placed behind and under the set, off-camera, and
   the entire set looked real eerie.  The scene went from everyone
   standing over the carbon-freeze pit, to a closeup of Han in
   carbonite.  Not much animation>

  Artoo and Threepio on the MF.  Artoo rolls over to an access
  panel on the wall, inserts a probe/tool into the wall and
  the MF goes to lightspeed.
  <Artoo and Threepio models were used.  Pretty good animation
   here.  The set was hand-made and really small.  The MF going
   to lightspeed was really just a picture of a star-field 
   shot before and after star-streaks were added.>

  Luke, Leia, Artoo and Threepio on the medical frigate watching
  MF take off.
  <The action figures were used.  The scene looks really close to
   the one from the film.  The MF was created out of construction
   paper, and it moved into the distance of a star field that was
   pretty far from the camera>

I also made a TESB "Battle On Hoth" movie using the AT-AT and 
Snowspeeder models and some hand-painted backdrops.  This was
pretty good.  Not much to mention.  Speeders encircling the
legs of an AT-AT.  A kamikaze speeder crashes into the head of
an AT-AT.  A speeder is crushed by an AT-AT's foot.

Ah, to be 14 again....

Regards,
Tom Rogers
roy@trigger.watson.ibm.com
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