Internet Sci-Fi Airshow

[cljohnston]

Our buddy Winchell Chung posted this on Twitter...

Sci-Fi Airshow :: Home

Some beautiful work here...

And some very creative writing on the explanatory text!

 

[Andy44]

Very cool idea for a website!

Although I have to put on my nerd hat for this:

The controls of the Viper closely match the instruments for the Grumman Tomcat F-18. This was done deliberately so that Air Force pilots familiar with the controls of the Tomcat could be hired to fly the Viper and perform the elaborate stunts needed for the show. All of the Vipers shown in the original series were based out of the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake, near Ridgecrest, CA.
The reliable Vipers have been in constant use since the demise of the series, appearing at various functions in and around L.A. Their most famous appearance since the series ended is probably their dramatic flyover at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, as stunt pilot Bill Suitor arrived using a jet pack.

A. The USAF has never operated F/A-18s, and in the 1970s the Hornet had not yet entered service...

B. The Mk 1 Viper returned to service in the 20-ohs when the new BSG series began, alongside the newer technology Viper models.

 

[Coolhand]

Andy, as much as i hate to out-nerd you....

A, Forget about what service operated it, Grumman F18 tomcat? Aint never heard of that plane...

B, in nu-BSG i don't think i ever saw a Mk1 as in the original series model, the show depicted mk2's and mk7's... perhaps they were shown in something else however.

 

[Andy44]

I thought they had a bunch of retired Mark 1's on the flight deck when the attack came, prompting Adama to press them back into service, including the one with his name on the side?

 

[Coolhand]

Those are all mk2's including adamas old one.

MK2:

MK1:

 

[Izack]

The one with his name on the side was a Mk.2, but a Mk. 1 appeared for a half-second in the background when they showed the museum in the starboard flight pod.

I claim first nerd prize.

 

[Coolhand]

The one with his name on the side was a Mk.2, but a Mk. 1 appeared for a half-second in the background when they showed the museum in the starboard flight pod.

I claim first nerd prize.

yea they shoved in a model of a the old basestars and an old cylon suit in there too they were in shot for a while... dont recall seeing the mk1 in there but i'll take your word for it:thumbup: Technically you could also say that the enterprise and a firefly are in the show also as they are seem briefly in the background of a couple of shots:

Firefly, the serenity model in the scene where Roslyn learns she has cancer, and the enterprise is in the background of the ragtag fleet at some point.

Nerd +1

 

[Izack]

yea they shoved in a model of a the old basestars and an old cylon suit in there too they were in shot for a while... dont recall seeing the mk1 in there but i'll take your word for it:thumbup: Technically you could also say that the enterprise and a firefly are in the show also as they are seem briefly in the background of a couple of shots:

Firefly, the serenity model in the scene where Roslyn learns she has cancer, and the enterprise is in the background of the ragtag fleet at some point.

Nerd +1

I caught both of those, too.
Cheers to nerdism.

 

[Andy44]

Nerds unite!

 

[cljohnston]

Yeah, sorry, I caught that glitch with the "F-18 Tomcat" after I'd posted the thread.
But what'd you think of the rest of that site, guys?

 

[jinglesassy]

Are these actual aircraft or just some massive models?

 

[Bendarr]

Are these actual aircraft or just some massive models?

CGI I believe. Especially the shots showing some in flight.

Edit to add. Love the site!

 

[Coolhand]

Yes, as far as i can tell they're all nicely made, textured and rendered models. A couple of them are very convincing, looking as if they are actually there, esp the spindrift and flying sub. If you look carefully there are some problems though, the flying sub seems to change scale a bit depending on the shot, and the lighting on the orion shuttle is really off in the composite against the shot of earth... IE, it doesn't match what i'd expect based on the background plate - given the quality of the other comps, i'm surprised this error has been made. I'm sure you could find a few more problems to 'prove' the cgi-ness of it all, but these are great images overall, i'm sure someone is rightly very proud of them.

 

[cljohnston]

The guy behind the site is Bill George, a Visual Effects supervisor at ILM.

 

[Izack]

Some of those shots are fantastic.
The reversed lighting in the Orion space shot was awkward, but it still looked good. (It was, uh...lit by Earth, yes.)

---------- Post added at 12:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:03 AM ----------

Little update: The 'Tomcat F-18' problem was corrected, and now correctly reads 'F-14.'

 

[Andy44]

Ha ha! You post technical details about jet planes on a sci fi website, you know you better get it right because you'll hear about it if you don't!

 

[cljohnston]

SciFi Wire | FX artist creates stunning tour of classic sci-fi spaceships

 

[Coolhand]

I wish there was a bit more on how these were done. A friend of mine at SFM informs me these are probably photos of real physical minatures, not CG. Given the background of the guy who put them together it seems likely but i bet theres plenty of computer touch-ups and some digital elements in there.

 

[dougkeenan]

Sci Fi Airshow

Eagle Four joins the airshow! Neat site.

http://www.scifiairshow.com/index.html

 

[streb2001]

Yes! Nice site. That's some seriously clever CGI for those airshow ground shots.

Unless of course they really do exist....