#melmac78 observation

[melmac78]

Guess what I have been doing? 😊

First real art piece I’ve made in about a month.

The leather needs to dry overnight before I dye it.

It’ll be turned into a cuff bracelet.

I’m using saddle tan antique dye to color it (and this color I’ve found ages beautifully) and a brass swing purse hook. It’ll be pretty simple.

There also a couple of “Hogan’s Heroes” inspired pieces I plan that fit the area here because they’re fairly timeless patterns.

I have lock one I have had a few years that fits Newkirk to a T.

Papa Bear - Hogan - I have the design and a great concho to fit it.

(Both I can see Carter actually have made for them post war and without revealing their operations. I could possibly see him getting into this post-war given he fashioned a leather belt in an episode. Belts are surprisingly hard to make).

Carter and Kinch I have a couple in mind,

Now - LeBeau… he’s surprisingly difficult to figure out. I don’t think Dad’s “Real men wear flowers and butterflies” belief quite fits, but I keep getting a call back to it. (I do have an unusual one that looks like a frying pan - pictured below- so… 🤷‍♀️ )

(I figured when I get all of the remaining finished of post them at once.)

Hope you enjoy.

•••

Personally, I’m going OK. Been a long few weeks, but finally adapted to the time change.

Plus I am watching a lot of different shows to get some inspiration for art of late.

[melmac78]

Head canon:

John uses math signs and symbols for shorthand to confuse any and all brothers trying to read his personal diary or journals.

Example three dots for “therefore” and a scale with two lines for “balanced.” He might even draw a triangle with different lines, a square in a corner and slash through it to signal “something isn’t right.”

Or medical logs on Scott do Scott cannot hide from mother hen Virg.

•••••

And yes, I can explain this thought if you want.

[melmac78]

Apparently Virgil in some stories has gotten me in an experienced mental - or experimental - art phase again…

But I’d like to have a T-Rex with the clear like the brontosaurus. And… I realized I have pebble frit that’s work with his.

And yes, the center hotel tag glitter with gears is a 6th Doctor inspired piece. I can’t find or afford the coat right now, so this next best option.

[melmac78]

Here are some photos of an interior of an air transport plane, a pilot trainer (the blue mock up) an RAF plane (the wings are folded up) and a jeep.

While some of them I know have museum artifacts in it, quite a few of them I took where you could have fictional characters interact with them, such as “Hogan’s Heroes” or any of the 1960s military shows, and possibly Thunderbirds.

I have seen the interiors of many historical planes, and have ridden into trainer planes with someone who is well-versed in flying historical planes, to say that the interior of this one is consistent with what I’ve seen of a T9 and B-17 bomber.

I joke about the trainer that’s on the USS Lexington - same color - because it has a mannequin in it that looks a lot like Scott Tracy, then in the captains quarters on the bridge, there is a mannequin that looks like the John Tracy from the original version of the series.

(And yes… there’s a clearly NON-WWII plane in the viewing window of the pilot photo, but why that plane is there is another story for another day. Regardless, I figured if anyone used the photos, they would cover up the windows and put in other scenes.)

•••••••

As I mentioned, please feel free to use these photos in your art. That is exactly why I took them.

The only thing I ask is that the photo is mentioned as being taken by me (MelMac78 or Mac) and it’s linked or blogged where I can see it just to see how one’s inspiration inspires others.

And if not: I hope you enjoy seeing the interior of some of these planes… and a bit more of Texas history.

[melmac78]

A pendant that’s more than meets the fad eye

(From the necklace prompt: See notes below. Thunderbirds/TAG based.)

•••••••

It was a cartouche.

A 7-letter cartouche.

Usually spelled a person’s name in hieroglyphics, encased in an oval representing the sun, and line underneath for the horizon.

It represented eternal protection, divine power, and - ironically for the Tracys annoyance at publicity - royalty.

The art loving man was all for inspiration - but he constantly bristled at how people were infatuated with it that they made cheap replicas.

“Oh… we want to be named Virgil,” they’d say wearing cheap plastic, wooden and aluminum pendants.

That didn’t have him seething though… annoyed enough to tell those “fans” to count the number of letters… embarrassing them when “Virgil” was 6 letters, but not seething.

No, seething was when Lemaire and Fischler created even cheaper knockoffs - profiting off a piece of history and treasure more valuable to Virgil than anything.

Ok, maybe tied with TB2.

Still… No one said a peep when EOS and John put in code up have both men’s versions print an unsavory curse word - bringing many lawsuits.

Lawsuits ended the fad.

But, you see: No one but the Tracys understood the meaning of that Cartouche.

It wasn’t his first name.

If they counted - there were 7 hieroglyphs in it…

Cobra - J - Jeff

Lion - L - Lucy

Bolt - S - Scott

Viper - V - Virgil

Cobra - J - John (flipped by error, but Virgil and John joked about “big brother anyway, even then.)

Jar - G - Gordon

Eagle - A - Alan…

You may ask why this also made Virgil seething mad?

It was the last gift BOTH his parents gave him.

Mom - now lost to snow.

Dad … well, until they knew where he was, it was the only tangible tie Virgil had to him.

But until then - as he fingered the pendant before tucking it under his grey shirt, he kept it even more protected.

••••••••

••••••••

From the prompt: “famous whumpee always wears a necklace. it's the only thing they have left of someone they were really close to, someone who they lost during something really traumatic. of course, whumpee's fans see the necklace and want one for themselves. they make cheap replicas and suddenly it becomes a trend, and whumpee is left seething in quiet anger that they could dilute the meaning of something so important.”

Inspiration: my own - it’s my sobriquet - so not like Virgil’s and therefore I won’t post it, but mine was one of two pendants I have both my parents gave me. I’ve been wearing it a lot lately, though not tonight as I went to a Rockhounds game.

Mom is a 14+ year colon cancer survivor. Dad passed away in ‘12, and I’ve been homesick lately (though this Midland trip is helping a lot.)

Also, these are given as gifts now, and souvenirs in Egypt.

[melmac78]

Little bit of spring fun. I made both bracelets, although the turtle one is an Italian link bracelet I added UV resin approved turtles and a little dot of resin underneath them to secure.

I have a mixed feeling about painting leather because it’s a bit of a pain unless you do geometric shapes such as the honeycomb. I’ve thought about seeing a paint pens work or I’ll just find other leather dye that’s in other colors.

This flower bracelet I’ve got planned is going to have a base of light or medium brown and then the flowers might be a mix of saddle, tan and mahogany since those are orangey and red colors and I can wear it around that way.

If leather paint isn’t too much (though I would be doing a sample collection so I don’t have as much dye to use.) I may do a spring one with Flowers. The Center rivets are gonna be copper tax only because the colorful dots don’t always secure correctly..

[melmac78]

Christmas duck.

Star and moon glitter added some texture. Still want to make the mallard too.

[melmac78]

These are my first two pendants inspired in part by Hogan’s Heroes.

The wings are glider pilot replicas I got from the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, TX. I tried to go khaki on the second set to tie in to their outfits… but they just leaned this slightly off color. The green one is the first.

(Note - these are replicas - I’d never do this with any genuine item).

The Gliders weren’t anywhere near Stalag 13 in real life, but it’s still a bit of inspiration given they helped with D-Day in the series.

I HAVE considered a short plot story where the Heroes do something to tamper with Rommel’s Asparagus- ie wooden or steel poles put in beaches to hinder the gliders landing, but not sure how it’d be done.

The one with the Keys is Newkirk inspired. He’s of course good at picking locks (keys) at night (stars) and had various shades of blue in his uniform.

The gold is in line with his RAF pin/badge on the sidecap (one of the few accurate items he wore in the series… and I really wish they at least had Richard Dawson accurate and the extras more his attire. Or at minimum the sidecap).

Hope you enjoy.