Uploads from Avanaut, tagged closeup

Stormtrooper Action Man

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:08:01 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

I made a mistake. It was a quick, fleeting moment of carelessness with the interwebz. I ran into this guy by accident just a couple of minutes before the auction on eBay closed, I thought it was cheap, a bargain even, and definitively worth a bid. The moment I confirmed the bid I realized the currency was not $, it was £. No one made any bids after mine.

Rats!

Well, now I own an Action Man Stormtrooper, it is very nice, but I never really needed one, it just happened. I guess I just have to try to make the best of it.

The Step of a Walker

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 02:13:35 -0800

Avanaut posted a photo:

A detail of the mighty AT-AT walker foot at work. Almost got stepped on myself...

Snowman Cometh

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:35:01 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

The DARK SIDE Sandtrooper Magazine Cover

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 04:02:18 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

The Sandtrooper armor is one of the most ingenious sci-fi military designs of the silverscreen. In Star Wars (1977) we first get to see the efficient shiny white stormtroopers take over the Tantive IV, a little while later we get to see the sandtroopers, dirty, rugged, worn out versions of the former. We know they didn't just come from the Star Destroyer above, they already were on Tatooine. We immediately understand the Evil Empire is present everywhere, overpowering, taking control in any form necessary. We know there is little hope or the good guys.

(Edit: Apparently the sandtroopers may have come from the Star Destroyer above after all, as I was pointed out. I think it doesn't really change the effect they have on the screen, though.)

It was so simple, the modifications, rank insignia and the wear and tear of the armor immediately created layers of history to the troopers: these guys had been around a long time.

In a way, the sandtroopers created the grand scale of the whole film. When they first appeared on the screen, the universe far, far away exploded from mere two spaceships and a planet into a whole galaxy full of life.

That's how I see it.

That's a Star Wars "Fan's Choice" Legacy Collection Action Figure. I added a little dirt because it's all clean straight from the package.

"Who cares about the droids, where's our base?"

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:23:09 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

They were lost. Again. The Tatooine midnight sandstorms weren't generally considered dangerous, but if you panicked... Well, let's just say panicking isn't always safe.

This is not the photograph I was going for. My original idea was a bit different, but it didn't work out that well and I thought I'd just shoot something else instead. I moved the camera sideways a bit and noticed a nice lensflare. With only minor adjustments this is what I got.

This turned out way better than the one I originally wanted to do.

As a bonus I got yet another shot at a "stormtroopers lost" gag. I like that gag.

Midnight view.

Tragedy on the Second Moon of Endor

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Mon, 31 May 2010 00:10:51 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

After the rebel troops left the forest moon of Endor a tragedy fell upon the furry Ewoks. An unnoticed spark from the great explosion of the Imperial shield generator started a forest fire destroying nearly all of the Ewok habitat.

Standing on the ashes of his home tree Wicket decided to use his insurance money sensibly. He would move into a condo on Coruscant.

Even sadder when framed with black.

The DARK SIDE MagnaGuard Magazine Cover

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Thu, 13 May 2010 03:53:58 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

The Dark Side Magazine Vol.3.

The MagnaGuard, what can I say, a machine that can beat the unbeatable.
It just has to be worth a magazine cover.

Looking good on the dark side.

Lego Scout Trooper

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Fri, 07 May 2010 02:31:47 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

A.K.A. Snout Trooper.

These guys have an odd shaped helmet (don't they all?). I really don't know what to think about it, it looks as if they had snouts, as if they were not clones at all.

TK-24/7

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:05:21 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

Always ready, always on duty... Always.

Oops, I had second thoughts on the cropping of this image. Originally it was a "widescreen" shot, but it felt too tight after all, so, I changed it. Sorry about that.

I still think it looks good when viewed on dark side.

Action Man Faces Death

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:58:39 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

An eye to eyesocket confrontation with the skull of death did not bother the Man at all.
Just another day at the office.

I found the skull of an old Revell (or Airfix) skeleton from the 70's, or early 80's from my old junk. It appears to be of the same 1/6 scale as the Action Man. Naturally I juxtaposed the two and placed them on a light table facing each other.

Funny thing is that the reflections created by this simple lighting made the eye of the Action Man look really good, almost alive.

Also, it's been a while since photographing this guy. One shot of him needs to be done every now and then...

Bossk

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:54:26 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

I was delighted to find the Bossk minifig in the Slave 1 Lego 8097 set. For some reason I really like it. Maybe it's because it looks a lot like Gorn from the classic Star Trek tv series episode "Arena". A crossover character?

The Lego Chachapoyan Fertility Idol

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 06:29:54 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

What always bugged me about the Lego version of the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol from set 7623 was that it was not gold plated, only painted golden. Then I ran into this from ChromeBricks.com. This is what it should've been like in the first place.

Looks grand decluttred.

Sandtrooper Experience

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 06:17:27 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

Fake magazine cover photograph without the typography.

Unknown Toy Soldier

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Fri, 28 May 2010 05:47:34 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

Another soldier of the 1/72 scale.

He's throwing a hand grenade at someone, but who? I cannot recognize the nationality of these guys, I'm not that familiar with WW2 era helmets and insignia. Even if I was, it would be difficult to tell as these guys stand less than 20 millimetres tall.

Explored, but dropped from #472.

Darkness is good.

Toy Soldier

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Sun, 23 May 2010 23:50:15 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

A classic toy soldier of the 1/72 scale. I spotted some of these guys among the kid's toys a while ago. I do not know where they came from.

They must be on a mission...

The Great Endortrainer

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Thu, 20 May 2010 00:32:12 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

During the mission on Endor Luke Skywalker felt his Jedi training was not yet complete. Missing Yoda Luke took a moment to make the final tweaks to his training by running around in the woods while listening to some good advice whispered to his ear by an ewok.

Unorthodox or not, but after this Luke Skywalker was ready to confront his father.

Actually the "Endor" in this shot is our front yard lavender shrub which miraculously survived last winter. Yay!

MagnaGuard Portrait

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Thu, 13 May 2010 05:04:24 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

The magazine cover photo without the typo.

Matchbox Series N°55 or 73 Mercury

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:25:46 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

By Lesney. "Superfast".

A Mercury Commuter (1968 I think) with two dogs looking out the rear window. The car is almost perfectly preserved with no chips in paint or scratches in windows.

Big on black.

Matchbox Series N°68 Porsche 910

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 07:21:41 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

Fine Tuning a Lightsaber

nobody@flickr.com (Avanaut) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:27:12 -0700

Avanaut posted a photo:

Before a new lightsaber can be fully operational it must be carefully fine tuned. If not, a "curved blade" effect may occur. No jedi wants an embarrassing thing like that to happen, Luke Skywalker is no exception.