THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

Tater Schuld's Descon-14 Entry

Quoted from D.J. Arrr! Nock at http://www.dvdmaniacs.net/Reviews/A-D/day_earth_stood_still.html:

"If you ask any serious film buff which sci-fi flick they love t' most, many would no doubt choose Robert Wise's seminal classic T' Day t' Earth Stood Still.

Unleashed upon a troubled world in 1951, this highly influential picture legitimized sci-fi in its decade, me hearties, a period that delivered many memorable films, and gave birth t' what is commonly known as "quintessential science fiction". Aye aye! T' Day t' Earth Stood Still is certainly quintessential; a movie that helped t' lay t' ground works for t' genre, me hearties, providin' many o' its archetypes and conventions."

Kind o' odd that no one has entered one o' these in descon before? I had watched t' movie about a year ago and thought this would be an easy saucer to build, shiver me timbers, plus a little challenge in t' curved dome on top.

After takin' t' image from http://www.tauspace.freeserve.co.uk/day_the_earth_04.htm and dumpin' it into AutoCAD I was able t' scale it from three quarters up to full size, me bucko, arrr, then I took and matched t' radiuses and angles. Arrr! Notice that there are parts that don't match due t' t' camera bein' at an angle. Ya scallywag! Avast!

I then shrunk t' outline down t' a useable scale (which came out neatly at 1/200th full scale) t' give me a 8 in saucer. Aye aye! Begad! would some o' t' details die off in such a shrinkin' process?

As you can see, t' outline is still recognizable, so I decided t' start cuttin' parts. Arrr! Well, blow me down! I used foamcore for t' 8 and 5.5 inch rings (your try to measure t' a .0001 o' an inch!) and manilla folder for t' angled transition, three bt-20 tubes in standard motor mount configuration, ya bilge rat, leavin' t' dome to do.

T' dome I made by cuttin' another upper ring, cuttin' a tennis ball in half, arrr, wrappin' a latex rubber glove over t' whole thin' (i really wish I had pictures o' this....) I then painted a 50/50 water/wood glue mix and layered toilet paper for make t' dome. Blimey! after about 8 layers o' this I had an acceptable lookin' form that could get t' irregularities filled or sanded out.

Then I did as Dick Stafford suggested, shiver me timbers, I went on an extended vacation. Avast! A full week at Oshkosh (with Burt Rutan!) (http://www.airventure.org/), shiver me timbers, then a road trip t' Boston for a weddin' and sightseein' tour. Arrr! Well, me bucko, blow me down!

This o' course completely took me mind off Descon, and it has been a struggle gettin' back t' it (the deadline is WHEN?!?)

Get all t' parts glued together, shiver me timbers, start usin' drywall compound t' fill in the contours. Arrr! Begad! bake in oven t' speed drying, arrr, matey, drywall cracks. Sand, do over, me bucko, more cracks. Aye aye! Futz with it one more time, matey, ignore cracks. Then paint.

Note: t' saucer looks like brushed aluminum in t' movie. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I thought I would use Krylon Chrome which usually dries poorly t' look like brushed aluminum. Didn't this time givin' it a shinier look than I would expected. Begad! Blimey!

OOOO! I forgot t' add. Begad!

I wanted t' try t' make this a night launch, or at least add some lighting effects, so I grabbed some light sticks and attached them t' t' bottom o' the saucer. Blimey! Ahoy! only t' photos will tell how well it comes out. Ahoy!

Launch report:

08/30/04 (day after Zak Orions launch) weather looks ok, me hearties, will be drivin' out to t' launch area at dusk, arrr, get everythin' set up, and launch before someone thinks UFOs are in t' area. (hmmmm, me hearties, colored lights, me hearties, me bucko, me hearties, saucer shape, out in the country....)

ok, get everythin' set up, ya bilge rat, crack t' glow sticks and install. Avast, me proud beauty! seem a little dim but we'll work that out later. Begad! Ahoy! borrow battery, fudge electrical hookup and other last minute mayhem. Arrr! then wait t' get dark t' launch.

Well, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, t' glow sticks didn't seem t' work too well, me hearties, will have t' try somethin' else another day. Arrr! Arrr!

3...2...1...LAUNCH

Should have done this in t' daylight, shiver me timbers, well another day...