Metropolis Robot Completed!!! Aug-18-2011

Re: Metropolis Robot

nickytea said:
Looks like a great start.
Is he doing the entire thing, or just a bust?
Click to expand...

Full body

Here is what Tim had to say about it

This just her face as my Fiberglass guy just had a baby and has not cast the helmet, and torso pieces yet. The paint is only a test, and the eyes on the finished piece will be made of aluminum, not cast in the face as you see here. I'm pretty proud of her
 
Re: Metropolis Robot

Great start, I would like to see the whole Costume or Statue!
One of my favorit Robot Costumes!
Red
 
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Re: Metropolis Robot

I was at Cronenberg's house several years for a party here in Toronto, and he had what I think was one of the original props in a glass case.! I'm honestly not in the know as far as Metropolis goes, but if he had it in a secure display case..
 
Re: Metropolis Robot

She looks pretty nice from the front, but the profile picture looks wrong. The original was sculpted on a real face - that of the actress - so the sunken in area of the cheek bones and eyes look a bit unnatural. It shouldn't be brought out by much and I think it would end up looking better.

Sadly, I don't have a very good side-view of the original to show what I mean. :unsure
 
Re: Metropolis Robot

AMP said:
Sweet!
Click to expand...

Howdy folks!

It's me, the Ape responsible for this adventure in fiberglass. I just wanted you all to know that I finally got registered here on the RPF, and just this last weekend I finally received the fiberglass castings of her helmet, and torso. They are in rough shape, and will require extensive work, and time, and money...blah, blah. I will do my best to post some pics when I have something worth showing off. Rest assured that this project is still on going, but it is quite expensive, so it will be slow in it's progress as money and time allows.

Thanks for all the kind words, and encouragement. Special thanks to Rotwang for posting this for me. You rock dude!
 
Re: Metropolis Robot

Apelord said:
Howdy folks!

It's me, the Ape responsible for this adventure in fiberglass. I just wanted you all to know that I finally got registered here on the RPF, and just this last weekend I finally received the fiberglass castings of her helmet, and torso. They are in rough shape, and will require extensive work, and time, and money...blah, blah. I will do my best to post some pics when I have something worth showing off. Rest assured that this project is still on going, but it is quite expensive, so it will be slow in it's progress as money and time allows.

Thanks for all the kind words, and encouragement. Special thanks to Rotwang for posting this for me. You rock dude!
Click to expand...

Glad you're on board !
 
Re: Metropolis Robot

Well, for starters, any man (or woman) that wants to make any prop from the Fritz Lang Magnum Opus Metropolis has my respect and admiration. My friend Tony Lover has a film/animation studio in Manhattan and when I worked for him in the early 90's, I would always try and talk him into forgoing the back-pay he owed me and just have him give me the Maria statue he had built in the 70's for an HBO movie trivia show his studio shot (the statue was seated and was next to the water cooler on the way downstairs to the photolab). It was a beautiful prop, in some disrepair but still gorgeous. It was actually built off a modified mannequin.

Now, since people want honest critiques here and not just pointless backslapping, a few of my observations. I agree the face seems a bit off. The feminine quality of Brigitte Helm is sorta missing. I'd say the face it a bit long and the cheek bones need to be a tad higher, adding a bit of definition. As it is right now, based on the several angles, the whole face seems a bit too oval-ish like a spoon. (I know, this is nitpicky, but I'm sure you'd want honesty)

Also, the upper eye lid might need to extend toward the outer side a bit more. In some photos, the mask from the film gave off slightly longer shadows, slightly indicating that feminine eyelash sort of shadow. Don't know if I'm making my self clear (on my 3rd glass of wine).

And finally, my biggest problem is the mouth. I'm looking at some prints of the original right now, and even though you seem to have made the right call on the size and shape of the actually opening, it still doesn't really capture the original for some reason. Even though the original is open a decent amount, the lighting and shadows create a more dark pout as opposed to a blow-up doll mouth. Perhaps it's just the more harsh "progress pics" lighting that is throwing me off. But based on these pics, the mouth is kinda not working for me personally.

Hope I haven't come across as a nitpicky jerk, I just wanted to give you honest feedback. Overall, though, it looks amazing and is really, really close. It's just that the face is so subtle, iconic and important that I can imagine losing your mind and countless hours over trying to get it right. Good luck and I can't wait to see it when it's done!
 
Re: Metropolis Robot

Y'know, on second look of your sculpt pics, I feel like a jerk. I'd like to take back some of what I said. In some of the sculpt pics, it just looks so damn dead on. In a few pics, the eyes seem a bit too wide, but then you compare it to photos of the original and they really aren't, they just seem that way. I'm gonna chalk up much of my original criticisms to lighting. In your original sculpt, the film prop actually looks too long in comparison!

I guess something was lost in the translation to fiberglass. Maybe fiberglass isn't the best medium (I don't know enough about fiberglass mold making to say for sure). But man, if it made economical sense, I bet that thing would look out-friggin-standing in crisp resin!

But don't get me wrong, it is amazing and far better than I could ever hope to do in 100 years, and I'd kill for one!
 
Re: Metropolis Robot

Thanks, I appreciate the observations, and no I don't think you are being a jerk. I have spent the last 2-3 years working on this, just ask Rotwang, and I can tell you from experience that this is one of the most challenging pieces of art I've attempted. To be clear on my approach though, I must state that:

A: If you look closely at the stills from the film, and the handful of production photos, you will see the problem that I have faced. Because of the design, and the different lighting from scene to scene she never looks quite the same. It is amazing and frustrating that she appears so drastically different. To that end I have had to make my best guesses as to her geometry. In fact their no shots of her side profile, or back that I have found, so their is a a massive amount of extrapolation on my part, based on the breath-taking deco-style Mittendorf was master of.

B: I'm not currently in possession of Bridget Helm's remains, clones, or life casts, so it has been difficult to say the least to imbue this sculpture with her immortal loveliness. :lol

C: Rotwang has stated previously on my behalf, that the face plate's mold and subsequent casting went terribly weird, and actually shrank and warped. A problem I'm now facing with the helmet and torso pieces. (*FYI, latex molds WILL shrink and warp if you don't cast in them relatively soon after making them. I had to wait 6-8 months before I could afford the materials to do so, and now I'm paying the price. which for those of you keeping score at home is around $800 to date... and more to go) So YES, her face is a bit thin. What you currently see is an extreme reworking of the cast, and will indeed be corrected more-so when the final mold is made... hopefully.

I hope this answers some of the points made by Duck and a few others who love this wonderful robot. I take no offense at such critiques but please understand I am doing this with scraps of money saved up in small doses against challenging odds. Yes, that means my wife is ready to kill me and my expensive fiberglass girlfriend... :lol
 
Re: Metropolis Robot

please let us know if you ever offer that face plate in any form!
 
Re: Metropolis Robot

Apelord said:
A: If you look closely at the stills from the film, and the handful of production photos, you will see the problem that I have faced. Because of the design, and the different lighting from scene to scene she never looks quite the same. It is amazing and frustrating that she appears so drastically different. To that end I have had to make my best guesses as to her geometry. In fact their no shots of her side profile, or back that I have found, so their is a a massive amount of extrapolation on my part, based on the breath-taking deco-style Mittendorf was master of.
Click to expand...

Oh God, I can imagine! I bet you've had some serious restless nights tossing and turning thinking that damn face out over the years. That type of thing could break a man.

B: I'm not currently in possession of Bridget Helm's remains, clones, or life casts, so it has been difficult to say the least to imbue this sculpture with her immortal loveliness. :lol
Click to expand...

You're not? Jeez man, I thought you were a fan. Hell, I have her skull sitting right here!

C: Rotwang has stated previously on my behalf, that the face plate's mold and subsequent casting went terribly weird, and actually shrank and warped. A problem I'm now facing with the helmet and torso pieces. (*FYI, latex molds WILL shrink and warp if you don't cast in them relatively soon after making them. I had to wait 6-8 months before I could afford the materials to do so, and now I'm paying the price. which for those of you keeping score at home is around $800 to date... and more to go) So YES, her face is a bit thin. What you currently see is an extreme reworking of the cast, and will indeed be corrected more-so when the final mold is made... hopefully.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a friggin' heartbreaking nightmare. Your sculpts look absolutely amazing.

Question: is that the final finish you are going to use? That kind of mottled hammered finish? Is that impregnated into the fiberglass or is it a paint finish? I only ask purely out of curiosity. Unlike something like C-3po where we have exact references depending on which film version you're doing [vac metalized or oxidized brass-like), we really have no clue what Maria's finish was. My friend Tony's prop of it was actually a very dull gray metallic, almost flat gray. I loved it, but it really was probably quite wrong and didn't read as "metal" to most people.

Thanks for not thinking I was a tool. I mean, I am, but I didn't mean to be one in my posts!
 
Re: Metropolis Robot

Well let me tell you that it certainly has been awfully frustrating to say the least. When I started this thing, my intention was to have finished by now... So much for that. I'm working with almost no budget, very little reference photos, no printer to print them on, (I had to take cell-phone pics of my computer screen with her pics up, and hold the phone next the clay as I sculpted!).

My good friend in St. Louis, helped me cast her, but I live in Kansas, so he had to take the molds home with him to finish...and that was about a year ago. He had a second child, and lost his job, got a new one...and let's just say he finally got back to me last weekend. Unfortunately, these pieces are gonna need a lot of TLC before I can show them off, but it'll be worth the wait.

Yes Resin is what I'd like to try casting in next, but I need to get some more mold material first. Again, none of this stuff is cheap.

No, the final paint color I'm using will be a silver/metallic that will match the color you see on screen fairly close. As I understand it, the true color was a bronze, according to the novelization by the writer of the screenplay. Many other sources back that up, but I want what I see on screen.

There are more pics of her, and plenty of the other groovy things I've made on my Flickr page below. Some of you may have already seen them, but for those of you who have not feel free to take a peak.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25213497@N06/
 
Re: Metropolis Robot

Hello,
WONDERFUL!

Bob Riggs has a life sized one from the Robot Hut!
I saw in person years ago.

It was liscenced from I think Forrey Ackerman (?)

Will this be made available to us here?

I would be more than interested!!!!
"My Lost in Space Robot B9 would go crazy for her.

Let me know.
Tom:thumbsup
 
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