Does anyone have a physical model or pic of a model of the Predator-ships from 1, 2 or AvP? I recently took some of shots from the AvP DVD, but it's so dark and blurry that it's hard to make out any real detail.
I also did the same for "Predator", with the same problems. Sure, it leaves more for the imagination and heightens the mystery of their race, but I want more.
The most prick-teasing ship is of course the one in "Predator 2", I can't even find bad shots of it on the internet.
What's interesting is that there are a lot of design traits carried over from "Predator" to AvP, for instance the ventral fin object and the positioning of the wing/engine pylons on both ships. This suggests that the designers working on AvP probably had access to a model of the original ship, or drawings of it, to do a progression/evolution of the design.
"Starshipmodeler" didn't seem to have jack shit from any of the movies (their still nonexistent search function is a pain in the ass, too).
If anyone has the Predator 2 DVD and a screenshot tool, could you post some large pics of the ship? I remember you could see the top of it when Danny Glover fell down on it, and then a ventral shot as it left LA. With some tinkering and brightening, I'll bet I could get some sense of the design. I know the roof shot of it showed that they retained the organic, barnacle-shell looking design, with glowing engine holes and swelled curves.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
My advice is to use the AvP ship (what a DUMB movie btw) to get the shape of the ship, and just make the details up. Make them dark, bulbous, and organic details.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
If you can find the original AvP comics from DHP, they either extapolated or had access to the original models to create a couple very useful renditions of the ships for their story. I dunno where mine is these days, I'm afraid.
Mark
Posted by Irishman (Member # 1188) on :
AvP was a GREAT movie. It was fun, the video and audio was very enveloping, and it brought the two species together in a way that didn't make you say "WTF?"
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
My only gripes are that they killed off Preds #2 and #3 so soon (especially #3, who almost developed some personality with those rippin' WWF/Aragorn moves) and that the preds had the same spaceships back in 2000 b.c that they have today.
I just can't believe the fan community has ignored the Predator ships and the Matrix hoverships. Pisses me off. It should be in the studio's best interest to spread the word, let slip some pics or concept art so people get hungry.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
The Neb has been seen in book form, in at least one of those art books. I think the reason some ships are not seen as the masterful works of art that they are is that a) they're very difficult for the human mind to reproduce on account of their complexity, and b) they're too often seen only in darkness or shadow, which is doubly hard to impress on the memory. Stuff like:
-The Nebuchadnezzar and other hoverships -The Leonov from 2010 -The "Alien" horseshoe ship -The Sulaco from "Aliens"
And so on. The most memorable ship designs can always be reproduced with a few handstrokes from a small number of simple geometric forms; Enterprise, X-wing, TARDIS...
Mark
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
quote:Originally posted by Irishman: AvP was a GREAT movie. It was fun, the video and audio was very enveloping, and it brought the two species together in a way that didn't make you say "WTF?"
Buhwuh!? I was saying WTF? through the whole movie. The Preds built the pyramids as landing sites to take the snakes here to hunt? Why not hunt them on their planet? Why'd they come back millions of years later to hunt humans then and not more snakes? Why didn't Ripley run into any Preds? No plot, no story, no intellectual stimulation at all...
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Aha, was the Space Jockey related to the preds? Food for thoguhuta. Fatass retcon-thoguhuta, but even so...
Mark: Interesting comment regarding memorability. And yes, I know about the small but tasty base of concept art for the matrix ships, what I meant was that that should've made a few kids interested in making 3d models and images with the ships.
Also, I've seen plastic/resin models of the most obscure and worthless sci-fi/action crap movies, including motorbikes and trucks from anime shows that hardly even lasted more than one OVA, so why not the matrix?.
I'm so disappointed that the wachowski bros didn't follow the franchise to that logical extension, capitalizing on the "Revolutions"-mechas and the ships of Matrix. Every one of the thirteen ships had different designs, it's a dream come true for ship g***s.
As for the Leonov from 2010, I've seen hundreds of good and crappy renditions of the Omega-class from B5 (saw a Sulaco too), but not one stab at any of the Matrix ships. Not even crayon-based.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
The whole AvP thing stemmed from a throwaway gag in Predator 2, which had an alien head amongst the various skulls in the Pred ship's "Trophy Wall". Later on, DHP was looking for a "versus" comic of some sort, and they capitalized on that.
The original AvP comic was set somewhere after "Aliens", when they weren't yet well known. On a ranching planet, a prissy Weyland-Yutani rep quickly finds herself in a bumload of trouble when the Preds come to town, seeding the free-range animals with Alien pods and waiting for the fun to start (and the humans to get in the way). It was a great look at Predator society and how one woman eventually becomes part of it. Awesome art for its time, too.
I've no love for the AVP movie, though. The whole thing MIGHT have made sense inthe broad strokes, but placing it in a modern-day setting killed it for me. Ended up liking the Chronicles of Riddick much more that year.
Mark
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nim: As for the Leonov from 2010, I've seen hundreds of good and crappy renditions of the Omega-class from B5 (saw a Sulaco too), but not one stab at any of the Matrix ships. Not even crayon-based.
You aren't looking in the right places - I've seen some. But with 3D modelers, I think the problem might be the environment. The Matrix ships were all underground, and that's a lot more work to do than just the ship.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
I've got a copy of Syd Mead's The Art Of 2010 at home, complete with original ideas for Leonov & associated aspects. If people want, I can try & scan them this weekend.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
I've found one Lego-version of the Logos and one home-made resin model of the Neb, that's it.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
I also have the 2010 book, but it's got EXACTLY ONE picture of the Leonov completed model, and a few pics of the interiors. No schematics of the final model, which would've been really useful... However, there are some gorgeous concept art pieces for the movie in there, and a lot of initial schematics for the Leonov when the design made more sense (ion engine propulsion, docking ring on the front, etc.). Syd Mead rocks my world.