It
all seems so funny now... When I first came up with the diorama
idea it was the hard-core "someday..." sort of idea. Then
I had to shift gears to actually *make* the darned thing: unfortunately,
my natural procrastination came into play and the whole process
became somewhat of an ordeal after a while ;^) So, tongue in cheek,
here's a Ziggy Timetable...
8 MONTHS BEFORE
GENCON - we decide to go! Yay!
5 MONTHS BEFORE
GENCON - work on diorama idea.
2 MONTHS BEFORE
- think about working on diorama. Make half-hearted sketches...
Buy up some materials I’ll need.
1 MONTH BEFORE
- realization dawns. Work begins… Concert stage is mostly completed
at this point.
2 WEEKS BEFORE
- oh crap... Work accelerates to fevered pace. Finish stage!
Begin work on lighting rig and drum stage.
1 WEEK BEFORE
- take week off work to finish diorama: 60% of actual effort occurs
at this time ;^). Finish light rig, drum stage. Begin painting
spiders.
3 DAYS BEFORE
- finish wiring miniature stage lighting! Yay! Blow them all out!!
Aaargh! ~8^O (Due to miscommunication on bulb wattage vs. Voltage,
all 3 volt bulbs burn out in a 12v system). Mad dash to the hobby
store for more light bulbs. Finish painting drummer, Ziggy, Psychedelic
Rocker, and Spiders.
2 DAYS BEFORE
- rewire lighting... They work this time! Cautious yay!! Work
on Grunge and Glam Rocker and assundry detail painting.
1 DAY BEFORE
- still painting feverishly. Finish at 4am. I assemble the whole
diorama. ("Stay on target…." "Almost there…")
THE NIGHT BEFORE,
8 PM - on a whim, decide to test the motion sensor built into
the base to see if it works through glass. It doesn't >8^O (in
retrospect I should have seen this coming... but what did I know
about electronics then?)
THE NIGHT BEFORE,
10PM - after weeping and tearing of hair subsides, begin work
making an *external* motion sensor to attach outside display case...
Wife's "Itty-Bitty Book Light" valiantly gives its life
for the project :^(
5 AM THURSDAY
- Finish! Sleep…
6AM THURSDAY-
wake up to get ready (note to self - *never* do this again - 1
hour sleep is bad mojo…)
8 AM THURSDAY-
get to airport
8:15 AM THURSDAY
- Diorama storage box takes a tumble in X-Ray machine… No time
to survey damage.
7 PM THURSDAY
- arrive in Minneapolis. Check into hotel room and register at
con. Open diorama box and see that spider on stage and Glam Rocker
have come loose and bounced around the place! (Damn you crazy
glue! Should have used epoxy glue and pins, but no time…) Miraculously,
no damage to paint jobs. Electronics still functional (thank god!)
FRIDAY
MORNING - go to dealers room to buy 2-part epoxy. *No one* at
GenCon carries 2-part epoxy. Buy more crazy glue… sheesh. Repair
damage and go to contest! Enter in contest. Whew! It’s all over….
Now if I hadn't won
1st Place and got to enjoy the oohs and aahs of the contest staff
from Global Games, the Judges, and the Art Show viewers, I'd have
probably been pissed! ;^)
I think my basic problem
is I hit a creative second-wind when under stress, especially at
around 2 am. I do some of my best mini painting in the wee hours,
and tend to get the work done just before the deadline... Unfortunately
that also means I pay for it in the form of serious sleep depravation…
I like to joke at the whole experience now, but if anyone out there
on the internet is reading this - it’s not too late!! Put down that
brush and go get some sleep! ;^)
IN
OTHER WORDS, KIDS - DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!!! 8^)
