Cosmic Relief News Posted by Ian Symes on 17th March 2017, 19:00 Seventeen days after an intriguing tweet from TV’s Emma Kennedy, we now know the extent of Red Dwarf‘s contribution to this year’s Red Nose Day. As we figured out soon after our somewhat gun-jumping report, the show has donated an item to the Red Nose Day auction, all proceeds of which go, of course, to Comic Relief. The auction is now live, and it’s for a 3D-printed Starbug replica. It’s described as “an exact simulation of the one that crashed in Twentica” – not the actual one, considering that smashed into several pieces. This is presumably a new print of that 3D model, so not something that’s been actually used on screen, but pretty bloody close. It comes signed by the cast, and with a certificate of authentication signed by Doug Naylor. Although, the most that can be authenticated is that it’s authentically made by the same people who made the one for the show. Those people, incidentally, are Voxeljet, who have recently released a video showcasing their work on Starbug. It features some cracking new footage of the model’s creation, as well as its use on set, and interviews with Doug and Richard in full on corporate video mode. Lovely stuff. The bidding starts at £250 and continues for nine days, so it’s not going to be in everyone’s price range. For a more affordable way of supporting Comic Relief – which really is a cause worth supporting in these deeply troubled times – you could consider buying a raffle ticket for the chance to meet seven Doctor Whos, or simply buying a red nose, or donating directly.
That video’s soundtrack reminds me of those royalty-free music packs amateur films always use that are so overwhelmingly dramatic it borders on distracting. Some guy’s running through a parking lot and you hear a full orchestra blaring a piece more fitting for a climactic CGI fantasy battle. That aside, that video really leaves me wanting a more extensive look at the models and special effects work in Series XI. At least we can expect the XII DVD to give us more look at the model side of things, if only in the raw effects reel. Personally I wish I could see a video outlining all the complicated masking and green screen work from Officer Rimmer. Somewhere on the DVD I was really hoping to see that early WIP officer’s club shot the audience saw on the night (or at least another stage of it), but sadly not.
£4383 in the end, then. Given the suggestion from Doug cited in the Voxelijet video thread that it was worth around twelve grand, that seems rather low. I hope it’s not going to end up more expensive to produce than the final price, or Voxelijet might as well have just donated the cost of making a model in the first place.
>Given the suggestion from Doug cited in the Voxelijet video thread that it was worth around twelve grand, that seems rather low. It’s only worth what someone’s willing to pay. It’s very pretty, but I still have buyer’s remorse after splurging on a Hot Toys BTTF Delorean, so I stayed well away.
I’m not suggesting it should have been more, just that it’s a shame if Comic Relief is getting less money by actually selling the thing than it would have from just having the cost of manufacturing it donated directly instead.
£12K is not the cost of manufacturing it – it’s how much it would have cost in materials, labour and VAT to commission and purchase the same thing for a commercial TV production. This still raised a nice amount for CR.
There are many people round here who know more about 3D printing than me, but the way I understand it, the initial development of the blueprint is what takes the time and money. Once you’ve made your first one, which could well cost five figures considering the man-hours that go into it, the second one is just the cost of materials, and then a bit of time for painting it.