The RC Geek Blog

By: Chris Wolfe

Geek Power! (raises fist to the sky with glowing ring on finger followed by numerous lightning flashes)

Though RC is my passion, as the name on this blog indicates, I’m also a geek (I know, shocking, right?!).  Though I’m not a big reader of comic books or graphic novels (I generally read for research), I love many of the comic book characters and thoroughly enjoy the many movies and TV shows that are out.  I’ve researched origin stories and evaluated similarities of film stories to comic book stories and all that nonsense (cue Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds as he declares, “NERD!!”).  So, you can understand my excitement when this year, I had the opportunity to go to one of San Diego’s institutions…Comic-Con!  If you know anything about how tickets are acquired for Comic-Con, being an average Joe like me, tickets seem almost impossible to obtain.  Somehow this year, we made it through and with much excitement by myself (and the rest of my family), we got tickets!

It was an early, cloud covered Sunday morning of getting to the Trolley station (no way were we going to drive down there!) and picking up our tickets.  We arrived an hour before the doors opened and there were already droves of people flowing towards the convention center.  Surprisingly though, getting our tickets was a relatively quick process and before we knew it we were equipped for our adventure.  We hopped in line about a half hour before the doors opened and we waited in anticipation to experience what waited inside for us.

At 9:20 (10 minutes early!), the doors opened and we all herded inside for our Comic-Con adventure.  Once inside and on the main floor, it was completely overwhelming!  Where to begin, where to go?!!  It was the largest convention I’ve been to and the shear number of people was insane.  Being our first trip there, we had no clue what to expect or even where to begin!

Walking the floor, the funny thing was that most of what I gravitated to the were the models and sculptures.  There were some absolutely incredible models, many of which were props that were used in movies.  There’s not doubt a few things we could observe and apply to our models as we look at this stuff.  Though, I’m not a sculpture artist of any form, I’m always looking at the finish and evaluating how they were painted and weathered to look so lifelike.  That’s what really adds so much realism and it all directly relates to our scale  models.  Here are just a few examples:

Some of my favorite items were the air and spacecraft movie models including the X-Men Blackbird model that was used in the X-Men 2000 movie.  It was a really large model that looked awesome.  What I found interesting however was that the model had really exaggerated separation/panel lines.  If you thought panel lines on foamies were huge, if you can imagine, these was even bigger!  I’m guessing that it’s in part so that there is sufficient contrast in those areas to be picked up on camera.  Otherwise I would guess it would all blur together into a big grey blob.

Here were a few of the other cool models:

This year was a DC Comics year (not much Marvel Comics presence on the floor) with the upcoming Batman v Superman movie being a main focus.  So, on display they had all of the costumes for the movie along with some of the DC TV shows (Arrow & The Flash).  It’s always interesting to see how these are fabricated.  Needless to say, they are extremely custom and somehow I don’t think one size fits all.  Maybe with some extra protein, we’ll bulk up to fit the BatFleck suit!

By the end of the day, we were just completely exhausted.  Trying to walk through the floor was slow and difficult at times.  But, it was well worth it.  So much cool stuff to see and geek out over.  If you ever get the chance to go, try to formulate somewhat of a plan ahead of time beforehand, it will help!

The post Comic-Con 2015 appeared first on The RC Geek.

The RC Geek Blog is your place to learn about all aspects of the RC hobby. Learn to build, design, drive or fly that RC project you’ve always wanted to build, but have been intimidated to try. This blog is here to help you on your journey and provide tips and tricks as you go! My hope is to inspire builders both experienced and new! So, welcome, please look around, it’s an exciting beginning!  I’m currently documenting my latest competition scale RC jet build, a Mark Frankel F4D Skyray, along with some other fun tips and videos. If you can’t find what you’re looking for on this front page, click on any of the categories to the right and it will show just posts related to those categories. Please feel free to add comments and/or contact me directly if you have questions, I’m here to help! And don’t forget to check out my YouTube Channel, I post new videos every week!

Subscribe To Our Blog Now

By Chris Wolfe 19 Sep, 2023
The B-58 Hustler Saga - From Triumph to Tragedy
By Chris Wolfe 13 Mar, 2023
Preparing for Battle: The ULTIMATE Guide to Scale Documentation Maybe you've heard about RC Scale Aircraft competitions, but the thought it sounded intimidating, or the process of it all seemed daunting and discouraging. Well, fear not! I am here to encourage you and dispel any myths you may have heard if any. Scale competition is a fun and challenging segment of the hobby that will undoubtedly make you a better pilot! So, in light of this, I've started a new "Preparing for Battle" live series and in my first episode, "Preparing for Battle: The ULTIMATE Guide to Scale Documentation," we talk about the AMA Scale Nats with special guest Joe Vermilion from Balsa USA and peel back the layers of scale competition and provide information on what it's all about! As an experienced RC Scale Aircraft competitor and two time US Scale Masters National Champion, my hope is to share whatever knowledge and practical advice I can for newcomers and seasoned competitors alike.
By Chris Wolfe 14 Feb, 2023
Are You Ready to Take Your RC Flying to the Next Level?? Then you’re in luck, because we’re giving away an FMS 1400mm F4U Corsair and an FMS 1100mm PC-21 ! But first, let's address the elephant in the room...it's been quite a while since my last blog post. With the move to TN and everything going on trying to get The RC Geek up and running full time, it's been difficult to sit down and set aside time to write. My goal is to change that going forward, so here's hoping! (check the vid below for even more details about everything mentioned here!)
By Chris Wolfe 25 Jan, 2022
Flight of the Flir Cat…The Sequel!! I tell you what, it has been quite the journey getting here! As a project, this Freewing F-14 Tomcat refinish took much longer than I had originally planned based on all of the other distractions that have come through the shop, but I'm so happy with how this model turned out in the end. It did take a few flights to get tuned and I have made a few small modifications in the process since our last installment, but otherwise I'm happy to report that the Tomcat is flying quite well. The F-14 Tomcat has such a great look and presence in the air, you just can't beat it!
By Chris 10 Jan, 2022
10 channels of power…and 1 receiver to rule them all! I personally love having the option for more channels, especially when building my own scale aircraft. While not always necessary, having channel options available is almost always helpful and it opens up opportunities to add scale functions and/or customize the controls more to your liking. And that's not to mention having individual servo setup across the same functions. So, I was excited to finally see the AR103060T and AR10100T 10 channel receivers released from Spektrum. It opens of channel options in a lighter weight package while also supports all of their new technology. Having been flying the NX10 for some time it is nice to finally be able to utilize all of those 10 radio channels.
By Chris 10 Jan, 2022
Good times and Warbird Flying are back! Needless to say, the last year and a half plus has been hard on all of us. With so many of our normal routines and activities disrupted, it has only brought that many more challenges it seems. This hobby is not just about the airplanes and flying, it is about the friends and comradery that can be enjoyed together with others as well. So, when the Scale Squadron's Warbirds & Classics came up again this year after being cancelled in 2020, I was beyond excited to go; it had been almost 2 years since the last event I went to!
By Chris 24 Nov, 2021
Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 4 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Low-Viz Navy Weathering How low can you go?…a little low-viz Tomcat weathering. Finishing up the refinish work on the Freewing F-14 Tomcat, it’s time to apply some characteristic low-viz Navy weathering. The Flir Cat paint scheme is from the mid 90’s at a time when the Tomcats in service were painted primarily in Dark Ghost Grey (FS36320) with variations thereof. They were high maintenance workhorses at this time and the aircraft got extremely dirty during operation. This opens up lots of opportunities to apply different weathering techniques on the airplane to simulate those years of service on the carrier.
By Chris 24 Nov, 2021
Refinish a Foam Jet Ep 3 – Freewing F-14 Tomcat Paint, Markings, & Panel Lines
By Chris 27 Sep, 2021
Refinish A Foam Jet Ep 2 - Freewing F-14 Tomcat Cockpit 3D Printing, Painting and Moving Pilots
By Chris 27 Sep, 2021
Fill…sand…poly…sand…primer…sand…aaaannnnddd repeat… You've probably figured out by now, I have many favorite aircraft. ;) However, if I was to put together my top 5 favorite aircraft of all time, the F-14 Tomcat would probably be at or near the top of that list. The airplane was one of brute force, but packaged in an elegant and distinct looking airframe that truly personified its name, Tomcat. And that's not to mention, it was an extremely capable fighter that filled many roles through the years that operated from the early/mid 70's into the mid 2000s.
More Posts
Share by: