Buck Rogers Display

[perigee]

Sorry about the delay - had to wait to collect a few odds and sods to set the piece up. Here's Buck's Final Resting Place:

Thanks to Phil, here's the logic: 1934 was the first year of the Empire State Building, the first incarnation of Donald Duck, the last year of the World Expo, the National Relief Act blue eagle was in it's last year, the Nazis had just come into power in Germany, The Walking Liberty and the Buffalo Head coin were still in circulation and the tootsietoy car was the correct vintage. The one cheat I have is the Buck Rogers Membership Card - that'll probably transfer over to the Sonic Ray Gun, when I lay hands on one.

So, as Joel was fond of saying, "Well; what do you think, sirs?"

(Oh - just noticed this - should I flip the whole thing to show off the imprint? Didn't even think of that when I was futzing around...)

[perigee]

And since I have this whole rig up and running, here's another part of the collection - although I'm not entirely sure it is how it's gonna stay yet...

The five Star Trek buttons are original Lincoln Enterprises pieces, back from the first conventions in 1974; the little tricorder is the only surviving piece of my original Exploration kit; the Phaser is an Ed Miarecki, who went on to actually build the props for the Next Gen series, the communicator and the tricorder are MR.

[dratomic]

It's an interesting way to show off the toy. Most people would have put it in some sort of science-fictional context, but you've put it in a society-at-large context. It's less about where the toy fits into the Buck Rogers mythos, and more about where the Daisy toy fits into the world itself. In other words, what sort of civilization would produce such a toy, not "what's this whole 'Buck Rogers' thing you're all jawin' about."

All in all, I think it's a success. However, I'm not so sure about the Nazi stamps. They pose two problems that I can see. (And I'm ignoring my own personal distaste towards any and all Nazi imagery -- even in a "historical" context...)

1. They feel out of place. I don't think the rise of Nazism had anything to do with Buck Rogers or the creation of the ray gun -- either directly, or even in the general cultural sense you're trying to capture. I don't think Buck or the Buck toys were a reflection of that particular world event. While you can argue that they come from the same time period, most people don't associate the Nazis with 1934 -- they associate them with WWII, which was a number of years away.

Even people in 1934 weren't thinking about the Nazis. We were still in isolationist mode. So while you can DEFINITELY argue that the cold war and ensuing paranoia played a role in the rise of the 1950s space gun, I don't think you can say that the Nazis had anything at all to do with the existence or popularity of Buck Rogers. Not directly, certainly, but not even in the broader cultural context that I think you're trying to capture. In short, it's pretty random -- the date just doesn't provide a strong enough link in terms of a strong, coherent display.

(While the rise of Nazism in 1934 would certainly be one of history's most important events, it didn't seem so at the time...)

2. The other problem -- and this is a much larger one, in terms of setting up a nice display for the gun -- is that Nazi imagery tends to overwhelm everything else. The focus of the display is supposed to be the gun, and everything else is supposed to support it and lend meaning to it. The Nazi stamps, however, immediately draw the eye and command attention. As a symbol, the swastika is SO loaded with meaning and emotion that its impossible to see it as "just another item in the case." So it ends up detracting from the ray gun. I know it was the first thing I noticed, before I even really saw the toy.

Anyway, like I said, I think that, overall, you've got a cool display. It's a really creative approach to showing off the toy, one that focuses on the gun as a real world object as it does on the fantasy infusing the object. That's a rare thing, and it works on a lot of levels.

[perigee]

(While the rise of Nazism in 1934 would certainly be one of history's most important events, it didn't seem so at the time...)

Thanks for the critique, Doc, but I don't agree that the rise of Nazi Germany didn't play into the American consciousness to any noticeable extent.

Although isolationism was the official government position, it didn't reflect the actual tone of the country. In January 1933, the mass emigrations began from Germany (38,000 people), including Marlene Dietrich, Albert Einstein, Fritz Lang and Peter Lorre. In May of 1933, 100,000 people in New York marched in protest of Nazi Book burnings - the largest protest the city had seen in its history up to that date. Similar protests were made in many major cities in America including Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago.The Reichstag fire had happened, Germany rescinded its writ of habeas corpus, the night of long knives and the first concentration camp was up and running. That Swastika flag went from being the symbol of a political party to the symbol of a nation. 1934 was the beginning of forced sterilization of 400,000 "unfit" human beings, the next step towards "The Final Solution." America had pulled its ambassador from the country, and Germany pulled theirs from America. The appearance of the Graf Zeppelin at the world's Fair in 1934 caused a tumult in Chicago.

If the threat of Germany was not there, the menace was, much the same as we see Iran today - or Iraq five years ago. When you count down the "first world nations," as considered in the thirties, you don't have to go too far down the list to hit Germany - this wasn't a backwater tin-pot country, and it was The major player in WWI, which was then less than twenty years old. What was happening in Germany was a very big part of the international landscape, and folks in the thirties still read newspapers, saw newsreels and listened to the news on the radio. In fact, Germany's press was so bad at this time Germany founded an American propaganda network called "Friends of New Germany," renamed in 1936 "The German American Bund."

It was the first shadow of a terribly dark time, and if you want a tie-in, I'll give you the one I see. Then, as now, we need heroes to fight back the darkness - someone to stand up against the bad guys and fight the good fight. A lot of the soldiers who died in 1945 ran around as 9 or 10-year olds fighting imaginary menaces with this gun. Personally, I believe the spirit of this hero - a member of our pantheon of American mythology - fed that burning desire to do the right thing and put the bad guys out of commission that took our boys through the war. I'm not sure what the age range is in here; back on the TOS Star Trek boards, we're getting pretty ancient. But I know for most of us, those Federation guys were our heroes, and they instilled a certain set of values in us in a way our parents or pastors never could. I know I've done some crazy stuff above and beyond the call just because it was "the Federation thing to do." I like to believe it was the same back then. Proto-Trekkies all fired up about their chance to do the right thing the way their heroes would have. And they got their chance, and did Buck proud.

At the same time, I think I can see an alternate solution.

The Graf Zeppelin - an airship the size of an ocean liner - carries the same sort of art deco style that infused the early sci-fi comics, and arguably the bulbous shape was the prototype for the Buck Rogers spaceships. I'm going to dig around to see if I can find a small replica or memento to replace the stamp, along with a few other tech examples of the time, like the streamlined locomotives like the Commodore Vanderbilt that debuted in '34. That might tie the contemporary tech design in a little better to the gun.

[dratomic]

Valid points, and I can see how those kids raised on Buck Rogers might have been influenced by this spirit by the time we entered the war -- your explanation made a lot of sense. But maybe it also illustrates my problem -- it requires the long explanation. These types of dioramas need to "read" clearly... pieces in the display shouldn't beg those types of questions, and shouldn't require lengthy answers. It distracts from the point of the display, I think.

But your point is really interesting, and I love the idea that the kids playing with these toys would later grow up to fight real dictators -- and perhaps these toys, and the stories that inspired them, played a role in shaping the kids' sense of right and wrong. So the question becomes: How to draw attention to the rise of Nazism and the role it was playing at the time... And how to capture that idea that the kids playing with these toys would grow up to become the soldiers fighting in Germany? And how to do it in a way that blends seamlessly into the diorama as a whole, and keeps the gun as the focus? I don't think you have to get rid of the stamps if they can be worked into the display a little better...

Ultimately, it's your display -- my opinions don't mean anything. You need to arrange things in a way that works for you. My late night ramblings should always be taken with a grain of salt. Or a shaker of salt. Or a whole block of salt. Maybe an ocean...

[Phil R]

As usual, I have to get my two cents worth. When I initially looked at the diorama montage I liked the new idea of placing the guns to portray imagery of the times. Then I noticed the stamps. At that time I wanted to express my opinion but thought I might be overreacting . I understand your concept but as Brian indicated you might be better served to include more heroic and less controversial subject matter in association with Buck. You might create a better image with something like Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics. Your substitution of the airships is also a nice connection to the montage. Communication works better when meanings and intent are clear and not unintentionally abstract. On a more positive note I really liked the physical way you displayed the gun and the time and energy you spent to do something beyond the normal . ;)

[perigee]

Ultimately, it's your display -- my opinions don't mean anything. You need to arrange things in a way that works for you. My late night ramblings should always be taken with a grain of salt. Or a shaker of salt. Or a whole block of salt. Maybe an ocean...

And don't mind me - the sad thing is I do this all the time. I actually have a guy at work who translates what I'm blathering about into real english for the bosses consumption. I think a fathom too deep, and once I leave the written word I tend to sound more and more abstract: I can't see the trees for the forest, if you follow me.

Honestly, I do agree it needs to be more cohesive. I like the idea of using art deco tech like the zeppelin, the train, etc. to tie back to the design influence of the weapon. First off, it will help me get a little more 3D -I think there's too much paper going on. Secondly, industrial design is a huge tie to the age. Like the effect of the V2 stabilizer fin and vertical take-off had on spaceship design in the sci-fi films of the late forties and fifties.

Beleive me, your opinions - any opinion - means something; the one thing I've learned from my mental dyslexia is to count on other people to tell me when to "watch out for that tree!"

So, what do you think? where should we go from here? A little brainstorming and blue-skying seems apropos about now to get this thing moving in a clearer direction.

- Bob

[perigee]

At that time I wanted to express my opinion but thought I might be overreacting .

Phil, when you're talking to me, you never have to hold back; I'm yakky as hell, I'm a bent for leather jumper-of-the-gun, and almost impossible to understand in casual (verbal) conversation - I'm all artsy that way. But I'm never sold on "one perfect way," and although I'll defend a point I hold valid, I'm never so married to it that I'll defend it to the death.

In that, the Irish side of my ancestory are probably spinning in their graves...

Now, the question is, what can we do about a retool? There are some great architectural examples at the '34 World's Fair, but that's already represented; do we switch out the ticket for a photo, or maybe attach the photo and a ticket? Besides a zep and a train, what else carries that art deco feel that we could incorporate into the small design space? I'm buying clues by the hogshead - any idears?

= Bob

[Phil R]

In graphics sometimes simplicity is the key. Too much going on becomes frustrating and runs your eye all over the place. I would just remove the stamps. The rest of the graphics are fine. I wouldn't worry about the scale of different items. if you want to add a dirigible, put in on top of the clear box area space on the left in front of the gun. that will give it a flying look. Also, a technique is to have some graphic full color, while others are black and white or muted by screening them back so that you don't have bright color everywhere. It should have a kind of flow with the main subject as the focal point. As to your rambling, I find it refreshing. I was accused many time of overexplaining something. :unsure: :blink:

[perigee]

I was accused many time of overexplaining something. :unsure: :blink:

Yeah - welcome to my world. ~sigh~ If you don't explain enough they look at you blankly, and if you try to explain the big picture, they roll their eyes. Those frightful cads on Hale-Bop forgot to send me my boarding pass, I tell ya...

Ok - no need to answer this until your leisure, but a few questions:

1) Do I flip the gun to show the maker's marks, or not?

2) The mirror is doing no good under the current layout - should I take the remaining mirror area and clear out some of the paper rubble? Maybe move the NRA sign up there, or perhaps pastiche a bunch of the Rogers paper items to clean up the look of the acrylic tri-stand? That Empire state building is doing very little good back there...

3) Should I trash the mini-book cover in the trifold entirely? With the big cover in the background, it feels like overkill, and by coincidence the color scheme on the '34 worlds fair ticket compliments the big cover perfectly.

4) Alternate - center the back cover, trash the box-cover bed and mini-book cover entirely, and remove the membership card? I've got a few vintage Sunday comics coming in I can scan and use as a bed instead of the box cover that will damp down the colors a bunch. That'll un-busy the display pretty nicely.

On a side note, Zazzle has a repro pinback "Sattelite Pioneers" button (and shirt, and keychain, and coffee cup, and god knows what else) if you're interested in either adding to your collection or outing yourself as a Buckomaniac to the general public. There are a couple other Buck-based pieces too - have a look, if you haven't already.

- Bob

[dratomic]

You need to ask yourself: What am I trying to accomplish?

If your intention is to show off the gun, and to provide an interesting way of displaying it, one that provides some context, I think you need to reduce the background noise somehow. Or, at least find a better way to manage it, one that allows the gun to sound out loud and clear.

If, on the other hand, you're creating a "Buck Rogers" display, one that's similar to your Star Trek display, then I think it's merely a matter of arrangement. In this case, the gun is merely another "Buck" object, albeit one that's completely off the hook and cool. :)

Once you've established your intent, I think you'll better be able to decide how best to approach the display.

For me, it'd be a tough call. On one hand, I'm a ray gun collector and I'm always looking for ways to really show off the toys. On the other hand, I'm a serious science fiction buff, one who views, reads, collects, and studies the genre to a degree that my girlfriend -- as great as she is -- sometimes wonders whether or not I might actually be a Martian. So I see the potential of your display no matter which direction you take it...

[perigee]

HA!!! A NEW CONFIGURATION!!! I LOVE ACRYLIC!!! Stand by, guys - I have one heck of an answer here!!!!!!!! WOO HOOOOO!!!!!

[perigee]

OK - the pieces all aren't there, or in the right places, but try this -

[Phil R]

Brian is pretty much on target. Display your intent. Don't worry about pleasing someone else. All the things you mentioned make my head swim! I'm very good at visualization, but not that good! when I want to display something I try different arrangements until I see something I like, then I stop. If I get tired of that, I try something else later. There is no such thing as perfect. Artists, sculptors and writers are always searching to do the ultimate. That's how they reach their pinnacle. :D