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# Followup on image challenge entry from a couple of weeks back...








This is a followup to this:
b3ta.com/board/11369047

As I said in that thread, I've given up trying to get hold of an actual Vertically Aligned NanoTube Array black coating. What you see is Musou Black, on the model on the right and on the baseplate. I've not messed with the photos, and in real life if you look from the top (like in the third photo) it genuinely disappears into the background, with no sense of depth at all. As Zaphod said, it's bad for the eyes. It's now mounted in a perspex case to keep the dust off, with a quotation plaque commemorating the first time it was mentioned in public, on the radio show. And yes, I know that strictly speaking that was a Haggunenon ship, not Disaster Area's stuntship, but it was the BLACK SHIP, which is what matters here.

Credit is due to:
- Binkley Spacetrucker, who created the screen-render 3d model sketchfab.com/Binkley-Piratepants
- Alex Johnson, who, when I asked for help on a 3d printing forum, made the model printable, redesigned the dish, and actually printed it for me
- Philip Paine at Model Bus Transfers in Southampton, who made the custom 'Disaster Area' decals for the sides and front that match the ones on the TV model
- my colleague Jo, who lent me her airbrush (an Iwata Eclipse) with which I applied the Musou Black.

I hope someone with more skill and money than me eventually gets the idea to do this really properly, and prints the model in metal or something else that will definitely take the temperatures required to cure nanotube array coatings, and makes the necessary arrangements to apply such a coating properly and safely.

A few things I've learned:
1. 'black' is a simple concept but 'black paint' describes a phenomenally wide range of actual coating effects.
2. Stuart Semple, maker of Black 2.0 and Black 3.0, has achieved a lovely work of performance art in his annoyed reaction of Anish Kapoor getting sole rights to Vantablack.
3. Giving just one artist sole rights to Vantablack rather than selling it to the public is actually quite sensible, given that it turns out that it's very much more complicated than simply a paint you can slap onto anything. Apart from anything else, it's dangerous.
4. There comes a point in any project where you have to accept the result isn't going to be perfect. I think this is good enough.

Thanks for your attention.


(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 20:01, archived)
# This deserves applause and attention
Well done! This is great work.
(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 20:03, archived)
# You are truly a frood who really knows where his towel is
(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 20:27, archived)
# ^
(, Sun 10 Jul 2022, 4:37, archived)
# Oh yes!
Very very nice.
And beautiful presentation.
(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 20:47, archived)
# froody
(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 20:50, archived)
# Woo! Yay! Hoopy!
(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 21:04, archived)
# Fantastic job
bravo!
(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 21:08, archived)
# Cool.
(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 21:12, archived)
# tl;dr
soz
(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 21:31, archived)
# Traditional "BIGGA!!!!" think of the 620x480 monitor users!!
But 10 points for using the the words "nanotube array coatings" on here and not getting bummed, and for bringing the hitchers back into the publics attention spans.

(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 21:39, archived)
# Wonderful!
(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 22:08, archived)
# that... is really bad for the eyes
(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 22:31, archived)
# nicely done
(, Sat 9 Jul 2022, 22:46, archived)
# good stuff
(, Sun 10 Jul 2022, 0:22, archived)
# I wish I could see these picutes in 8k
(, Sun 10 Jul 2022, 0:41, archived)
# out of this world
(, Sun 10 Jul 2022, 7:45, archived)
# Looks expensively achieved.
(, Sun 10 Jul 2022, 13:17, archived)
# what, no backpanel slide?!? :(
(, Sun 10 Jul 2022, 14:46, archived)
# Careful Now…
(, Sun 10 Jul 2022, 18:09, archived)
# If you mean something across the back of the case...
I did consider putting some sort of "space" background there, but I felt it would detract.

It's tricky to convey what you see IRL. Whatever angle you look at it from, all you see is the outline... which matches the ship next to it. It's therefore quite important that you can check it out from all angles. I've Musou Black'd the base so that when you look at it specifically from above, it just... vanishes. You really can't see it at all. It's fkn weird.
(, Mon 11 Jul 2022, 21:54, archived)