Blew off work this morning to take apart a snowspeeder, clean out the decades of grime and dust, then get those damned electronics working again. Mission accomplished! If anyone's been meaning to take on a similar project with an old vehicle, I highly recommend getting to it. Nothing's quite so rewarding as bringing these babies back to life.

nice job! it looks brand new I'm digging your website as well, I am now a subscriber!

thats talent! Looks awesome!

How do you get such incredible pics on the blog site?! WoW!

curch wrote:

How do you get such incredible pics on the blog site?! WoW!

Thank you Curch! That's a a great compliment. If I can chalk it up to anything it's just a lot of trial and error and patience.

RetroRewindToys wrote:

nice job! it looks brand new I'm digging your website as well, I am now a subscriber!

THanks RRT!!

yes, I joined as well. It must be the lighting you use. But how do you get such a crisp close up pic? I purchased a wondering 400$ Nikon and I think it isn't worth 2 cents! Although, its probably the person behind the camera that has no idea how to use it

curch wrote:

yes, I joined as well. It must be the lighting you use. But how do you get such a crisp close up pic? I purchased a wondering 400$ Nikon and I think it isn't worth 2 cents! Although, its probably the person behind the camera that has no idea how to use it

The lighting is key. But you sure don't need anything fancy. I use flashlights and clip on reading lights. I buy them all at the 99 cents store. As far as that crispness goes, the only way to get a clear image when you're working with that kind of lighting is to be sure the camera is absolutely still when the exposure goes off. That'll never happen if you're clicking a button on the body of the camera. So you need to either use the camera's timed exposure (what I do) or have some kind of a remote button for firing the exposure.

The camera I use is a relatively low-end Olympus Stylus that I bought about 6 years ago.

I totally like the exploded view of the Snowspeeder where you can see all the seperate parts.

Nice job, Pete!

curch wrote:

yes, I joined as well. It must be the lighting you use. But how do you get such a crisp close up pic? I purchased a wondering 400$ Nikon and I think it isn't worth 2 cents! Although, its probably the person behind the camera that has no idea how to use it

You've done a great job on the Speeder RC, Curch are you using the Macro setting(flower) My camera has a super macro setting and I imagine yours will to.

Grear Work, Pete. Maybe we should make a thread only about how to reapir the toy

yeah, I use the "flower" But they just don't seem to be that nice. Here is a pic I just took of some Joes last night. Just don't like the pic.

Dr Dengar wrote:

I totally like the exploded view of the Snowspeeder where you can see all the seperate parts.

Nice job, Pete!

Marco I only wish I'd have taken a 'before' photo of the interior. I bought this from an original owner who'd played pretty rough with it as a kid and obviously had not stored it well. We're talking multiple layers of that sludgey grade 'A' 30-year dust wax.

pomse2001 wrote:

Grear Work, Pete. Maybe we should make a thread only about how to reapir the toy

That's an excellent idea. There are definitely a few sticky points in the process that took me a while to figure out. Probably better to share before I forget!

[quote="curch"]yeah, I use the "flower" But they just don't seem to be that nice. Here is a pic I just took of some Joes last night. Just don't like the pic.

Don't back down just yet Curch!

A few thoughts:

1. For the macro setting you might want to try a few inches closer than that. For the super macro setting you probably want to be no more than 2 inches from the subject.

2. Did you do this with the timed exposure? I see a little movement in the pic. Try it again and again until your hands are absolutely steady during exposure. Even better, try it on timed exposure but set the camera on top of something and take your hands off. This should guarantee a sharper image. Or if it's necessary for me to have my hand on the camera I normally try to have something to rest my hand/camera on. Your hand/wrist/arm has way too many normal shudders and twitches if you're supporting the weight of even a small camera.

3. Turn the lights out! Grab a flashlight from that earthquake kit and have some fun.

BTW those Joe's are awesome. Can't wait to see more pics!

Thanks for the advise. I will take more on Monday. We shall see what happens. By the way, how do you get super macro?

I know its not a figure, but parts of it I like the way these pics came.

Nice work Pete, I also liked the exploded view of the taken-apart Snow Speeder. Some good photography tips as well.

Cool blog too, congrats on some superb shots and scenes. I added your link to my WP