Behind the Scenes: Making Colin Fly

I thought I'd do a post to show how a special effects shot is created for the videos. It really depends on what's required as to whether I need full-on effects or not, but for the recent video for Gashapon Mini Action Maze Game, I needed quite a complex sequence.

The effect required for Colin the Robot to :

• Approach a sign (defocused, and then focused) with "Free Flying Lessons" written on it
• Walk onto a green 'track' (an enlargement of the miniature Gashapon game)
• Be seen walking on the actual game itself (As if Colin was now somehow tiny)
• A closeup of Colin with the real game seen behind him
• The hand of The Curator coming in, flicking the action lever on the game
• Seeing Colin being flipped up into the air and out of frame

Quite a lot!

So here's some screenshots and notes on how it was done:

Museum OFFICIALLY Dedicated via an Amazing Youtube Video by Nick Larson!

Just days after The Museum was Officially Sub-Sponsored by Jason, we've now been OFFICIALLY dedicated in an AMAZING video by fan of the show, Nick Larson!

In it he showcases some excellent working miniatures of his own, including his collection of Takara miniature gun replicas, which he demonstrates and explains perfectly.

Check out his awesome video:




He also pays a glowing compliment to the Museum's work, which once Colin heard about it, he did this:

Many thanks to you Nick - hope you keep making Youtube videos!

Museum of Working Miniatures Get OFFICIALLY Approved and Sub-Sponsored by Jason

I'm delighted to announce that The Museum has been OFFICIALLY endorsed and sub-sponsored by an excellent young fellow called Jason - after seen the show, he decided to make his own Working Miniature showcase video to help promote the channel.

Jason, you are the first OFFICIALLY awesome fan  - should I ever find a way to shrink you down to 1:32 scale, you will have a job helping curate the exhibits here at the museum.

Check out his amazing video below:




PS: When Colin saw for himself what Jason had done, he was so impressed, he made this face:

Colin Invaders

Here's a behind the scenes photo showing the creation of the digital LCD Colin for the end of the Mini Space Invaders Cocktail Cabinet arcade machines video.

The little icon version of Colin was created by me in the style of an LCD game sprite, and then animated in Photoshop with a an added blue background. Using the Blue-screen filter in iMovie, the background to the video was then removed, and overlaid onto a closeup shot of the miniature game screen.

Shooting Colin

Here's some behind the scenes photos from the recent video for the Pocket Shot Shooting Gallery by Basic Fun.

Shown is the product as it arrived in the mail - boxed and unopened for 16 years!  I took some photos just to preserve how it looked - I know that I've probably made hardier collectors very angry, but for me these working miniatures are here to be shown working - not just a sealed package.

Also there's a shot of me making the fake game board 'alley' that was used in an effects shot for Colin to walk on as if he's miniaturised and inside the game (and yes, Im using a bread box lid as a ruler - this is a high-end production I'm running here).  All the other shots were done with blue screen.

NEW VIDEO: Miniature Fake-Lego Fake-Optimus Prime Build

Miniature 'Lego'?? Really?? COOL!!! Yep, The Curator managed to find, not one buy TWO different current manufacturers of miniature 'Lego' - not official Lego of course, but a clear copy... in perfect working miniature!

So sit back and watch the unboxing and build of a teeny-tiny 'Lego' set of a Definitely-Not-Optimus-Prime - and then let's see what Colin makes of another Robot on his turf!

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Making tiny robot hats

Today was a weird day. spend the morning making a tiny chef's hat and apron for a robot, and then the afternoon trying to cook bacon on a miniature barbecue (only 2 inches wide)

You can watch the video to see how I faired with the latter, but as for the tiny chef hat and apron, I thought I 'd share a few photos from the day. I also had to make some little placard signs for Colin's segment of the video. Oh and some matchstick kindling bundles which totally failed to light.

NEW VIDEO: Cooking bacon in miniature??

God help us!! The Curator has decided to try and cook something... Hope the insurance is paid up to date on The Museum!  With Colin to help him, he shows us an amazing MINIATURE BARBECUE, only a couple of inches across, and yet - will it work just like the real thing, and be admitted into the Museum as a Working Miniature?

WITCH THE VIDEO TO FIND OUT!!

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NEW VIDEO: Miniature TV SET!

MINIATURE TV SETS!! Sounds straightforward, but as The Curator discovers, its not as easy to get right as you might think... But this gorgeous Gaudi TV Set / Digital Photo Frame by Greenhouse in China is as close to a working miniature as we can currently get.

Take a look and see what you think - is there something out there even better? If so drop us a comment!

And stay tuned to see what Colin the robot makes of it - wonder if he enjoys cartoons?

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NEW VIDEO: Miniature PERFECTION Game

The Curator continually waffles on about striving for perfection... So we gave him this little beauty to play with: The Basic Fun working miniature Perfection Game from 2000! Working just like the real thing, you have to race against the timer to put all of the little pieces of the puzzle into the right holes before the clock runs out or... BOOM!!! Pieces everywhere!

See how the Curator fares with his sausage man-fingers - he reckons he can do it.. we're not so sure.

And will Colin the robot do any better? Stay tuned to find out :)

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The 5 Paths to Youtube Success

Being a long-time watcher of Youtube content, you see a lot of channels come and go. Some rise up quickly to become overnight successes, and others are slow burners, gradually building a following over time. Some content seems random, whilst others seem carefully curated and crafted.

So what's the secret?

Here are the observations of the 5 Paths to Youtube Success, by one of the people that helped many of the lucky ones one their way, just by watching:

1.  Celebrity
If you're already famous, getting a fan base is much easier. We have seen many Youtube channels set up by celebrities as an extension of their creativity - for example George Takei's TakeisTake or Adam & Jamie's (from Mythbusters) Tested.com (although they joined the already established Tested channel)

2. Memes
Whether it be a shocking moment captured, humour, trends, titillation or just being offensive - the right video at the right time can spread faster than any other and generate millions of views. But be warned - they're also the most difficult to maintain channel momentum. Most Meme channel only end up having a handful of videos and never recapturing that initial lucky success.

3. Skill & Talent
Showcasing a great skill or talent at something, be it physical, mental, vocal, craftsmanship or other can generate a huge following, as people seem to enjoy watching them show their stuff - but it may still take time to get high viewing figures

4. Great Presentation
Being a great presenter of content seems to be hugely important for Youtube success. Many of the biggest channels (that are not covered by any of the above) seem to do best if they are presented well by a team with: clear speaking voices, clever wit and affable personalities. Most of the top shows I've watched, regardless of content, seem to ALL comply with this point

5. Working Your Way Up
This last one is the hardest of all, as it takes a lot of work and even harder still - patience. This involves working your way up from scratch by starting with zero, trying stuff out, learning, changing, developing, listening, promoting, sharing... whatever it takes to claw yourself an audience. This can take several months or, more commonly, several years; but is by far the most rewarding to see


Personally, I have to put myself at number 5, as its early days for me and my little channel at www.youtube.com/workingminiatures - but I have great fun doing it, I'm learning with every video I produce and its really rewarding seeing the numbers steadily climbing :)

So my advice (for what its worth) is create content for yourself - make the kind of Youtube videos that you would want to watch, not what you think are trending.  Be patient, experiment, watch other videos and learn from them and slowly, (perhaps very slowly) you will start to get an audience.

And that may take time, but don't give up - for the first couple of weeks of my channel, I was pretty much the only viewer!

Also, explore the tools that Youtube have to offer - take some time to learn their admin system as there are a plenty of tools they provide to help you on your way.

And above all - enjoy it!

New Video: Mystery STAR WARS Miniature Action Figures

Hmmn... A mystery in our midst here at The Museum!  What ARE these cool working miniature STAR WARS action figures found by The Curator in 2004? Clearly from Japan and made by Tomy, they were never released in Europe or America as far as we can tell... So what's their story?

Join The Curator as he tells us all about them and maybe even solves the mystery in the process.

And stay tuned for Colin facing off against a very DARK opponent, in a one-to-one face off!

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Bonus Content:

As part of my research that finally solved the mystery of what my 1999-2000 miniature figures were, I found this image of the full set of phase 1 and phase 2 (ignore the other thing top right). These were all that were produced as far as I know:

New Video: Working Miniature Battling Tops Game

Battling tops! A great game of settling old scores with your mates. And today The Curator is showing off an amazing working miniature version created by Basic Fun in 2001.

But will The Curator be able to successfully demonstrate it? IT DOES require skill and patience, both of which he doesn't seem to possess.

We've put in all of his MANY FAILS too, particularly as it shows his dim-witted thinking process in working out how to do it at all!

Colin also takes a peek at the game...

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New Video: DOUBLE FEATURE! 2 Different Miniature Marvel Comics + Eating 33 YEAR OLD Gum!

SPECIAL DOUBLE FEATURE!! The Curator takes a look at TWO different working miniature Marvel Comic Books - one REALLY tiny one from 1966 (Mini Marvel) and another series from 1981, (Bubble Funnies) which is original and unwrapped... and STILL CONTAINS 33 YEAR OLD GUM!!

You can guess where this is leading to.  Let's hope The Curator can avoid blowing his lunch over the camera long enough to show us these two amazing Marvel comics, featuring Spider-Man, Captain America, Spider-Woman and The Hulk.

And then see what Colin the Robot gets up to when he takes a peek at the collection...

COLIN SMASH!?!?


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Bonus Content:

COLIN'S COMIC BOOK

Most of the time I don't have any idea what Im about to do - in real life AND in making the videos.  I just shamble along until an idea appears.

But for the Comic Books, I knew that I wanted Colin to read an adventure about himself - so this one took some pre-planning.

First I created the artwork for the comic - I did this using a cool Photoshop template that makes it really easy to lay out a simple comic book. It even has photo actions built in that turn regular photos into comic book-style artwork.

So using that, I create a cover, and 4 pages (You can view the comic in a separate post here)

Then, I printed them out on an inkjet, using gloss photo paper for the cover. Cutting them out and glueing the pages back-to-back, I then stapled it along the spine and - there we are: A suitable fake comic book, the same size as the Marvel Bubble Funnies.

It worked really well on screen - I even managed to get Colin's claw to hook onto the edge of the page for some shots. I think its the best puppetry Ive done with him so far.

I mean, he could have just done it himself, but he's immensely lazy.

Here's some shots of the construction:

And this is something I wanted to add into the video, but couldn't find a place for it. Its the original vending machine that the Marvel Minis comics would have been sold in 1966. Its the only shot of one I could find:

Colin's Comic Book

Here's the artwork for Colin's Comic book, which featured in the 2 x Marvel Mini Comic Books video. You can also learn more about how I went about making it in this post.

New Video: Micro Tanks Working Miniature Aquarium

Is this strictly a Working Miniature or not? You tell us! Leave your comments as to whether you think it is or isn't - The Curator seems to think it is - and its definitely cute! This little working Aquarium has two fish, a light, a sandy floor with shells - everything you need to relax!

In fact, thats exactly what Colin wants to do - so let's hope this feud with The Curator doesn't spoil it...

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Extra Content

Below shows the construction of the face mask and flippers I made for Colin - I knew he'd be inside the tank at some point, so I took the time to make some custom props. I used craft foam board sheets as they are light, have good thickness and are easy to cut. Photos show some initial cutting and gluing (With tape to hold them in place) and then Colin in all his Aqua-glory.

New Video: Working Miniature Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots

"I could have been a contender!" The Curator keeps telling us here at the Museum - so to shut him up, we gave him this 2001 Miniature Rock 'e, Sock 'em Robots by Fun-4-All Corp. to demonstrate. He does quite well, but then he's only playing against himself!

We may need Colin the Robot to show us how this shizzle should go down - but who will he fight - the red, or the blue Robot?

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Extra Content:

Here's some behind-the-scenes shots showing how the closeups of the Robots punching Colin were done. The Robots in the miniature version were just too small to use, so with some pre-planning, I managed to find some cool finger versions of the robots via ebay. These were perfect as they allowed me to used them like puppets and spend a happy half hour repeatedly punching Colin in his smug android face.

Museum Setup: Update 5

New display shelves are nearly completed! These bad boys are custom made for the cabinets and effectively double the space allocation for exhibits. So we're future-proofing (for the time being anyway).

In the photo below you can see the top rows completed - just the lower half to do hopefully this week.

It took a little cash, some experimentation and patience, but I think its worth it. Still need some more acrylic risers to display the smaller items (like the board games) more effectively.

I was going to use this shoot of photos for new headers on the Youtube Channel and social media, but the quality isn't there - will have to try again.

New Video: Working Miniature Metal Detector

Finding buried Treasure! Riches! Fortune and glory! That's some of the things you can watch in films whilst you try your hand at unearthing tin cans with this working miniature Metal Detector!  And many thanks to Colin the Robot who volunteered to be used in the testing process. Well, he sort of volunteered. Okay he was jumped by The Curator.

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New Video: Operation Miniature Working Board Game

"Here's goes his funny bone!" OPERATION!! What a classic family game of exploratory surgery with tweezers. And today, The Curator gets his surgical hands on this 1998 Miniature version by Basic Fun - which works just like the original!

Hope Colin doesn't get operated on... we'll have to see I guess....

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