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1,200 extras, 6 sound stages, 4 exterior sets, 120 shooting days. And some of my models! Here's some of the action. Check out the film website
on http://www.starcrest.de |
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The first job was to make two tanks, a Russian T62 and a Sherman II. Trouble is, there aren't any T62 or Sherman II tank models around - so I had to canabalise what was available in 1/16 scale r/c models. R/c models were fine, because the tanks had to be mobile and also fire. Post-production would handle some of the effects, but there was still a need for basic mobility and the ability to handle a small pyrotechnic charge. |
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Here's the beginings of a T62, which was made from a German Tiger II - before I started this, I wouldnt recognise one of these if I met it in my soup. I only kept the suspension and chasis - everything else was scratch-built from sheet styrene or foamcore covered in epoxy. The turret was foamcore, cut roughly to shape then hollowed out to take the gun articulation mounts. After the epoxy had dardened, it was filled and sanded, then filled and sanded, then fill..... you get the idea! Detailing came from the spares box and was made to the specifications of the abundant books available on the subject. |
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Here's the end result, complete with battle damage. Markings were applied on-set, as they weren't sure about models from other teams. |
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The problems with the Sherman were in the detail - the gun and suspension were wrong, and it turned out to be more work modifying stuff to fit than to build it from scratch - as usual! Here's the before: |
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And here's the modification parts - they look a bit squinty, but the parts were loose here. The problem is that the suspension is dynamic, so these add-on parts have to look right and work right, too. |
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And here's the end result.... |
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The script calls for a shot through a shell-hole in a wall, which allows a pan back to get the name of the building - it's a cinema that was showing propaganda war film clips! |
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A wider shot of the set.... |
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And an even wider one.... no time to motorize the thing, so it was pulled across the set with wires, after being weighted down to produce a more realistic effect. |
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Here's Mark (Director) finishing off a crash scene with my Junkers night fighter. A harder working guy with a better eye for detail you will not meet. Optional placement of bent propellors and wrecked undercarriage meant that both sides of the aircraft had to be identical - to allow for swapping on set. |
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A scene from the film, with some actors in the background, being filmed as they film a narrative about the crash! |
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A flight of Liberators - they post edited a set of bombs apparently! |
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