… mounting the prop …

I’m finishing up work on the 1/72 scale model airplane for the “Combat” music video.

Take a look:

~2 mb

Double click to play:

[qt:/blog/movies/mountprop.mov /blog/movies/mountprop_poster.mov 480 270]

The footage above was shot on my HV20. This camera suffers from CMOS sensor wobble. The vibrations from the little motor inside the plane cause the image to turn to jello. You can really see it on the plane itself. It looks like it was filmed underwater. It looks like I will be shooting the plane sequences all in stop motion to avoid this (or maybe use it as an effect).

I almost destroyed the plane while drilling out the hole in the front for the engine. One of the little tail wings broke off and I had to re-glue it back on. I’m glad I can pick up more of these little planes for only ~$10.

I have the electronics conected and working. The electric motor has been connected with enamel coated wire. I the motor runs off a C-cell battery. I’m not sure how long it will last on one battery. I’ll have to pack extra when I go out shooting this weekend.

next: start working on Mr. Tank (painting, control system…)

I’m shooting this “off the cuff”, without a script. I used to shoot that way all the time. It’s been a while, so you have to trust that your imagination will take over in the process. I still feel like I’m needing a couple more elements for the video.