The DAF NOW Magazine from the Gadget Meister
Gadget Meister
Bicester, OxonPosts: 1,972MI6 Agent
Well, as promised, this one has been a long time coming, almost 6 years in fact. As some of you know, DAF is one of my guilty pleasures, probably because of the Vegas connection. Actually my Vegas obsession grew from DAF and not vice versa.
When I first looked at replicating the DAF NOW magazine I thought, as with most prop repro’s, that won't be difficult, just the front cover and centre pages to do and then incorporate them into a period NOW magazine from eBay. It was only when I started grabbing screen caps that I realised that you see far more of the magazine than I originally thought. This was going to make the design a little (actually a lot) more involved.
I started to look around for examples of the ads in the magazine that you see in the movie. This started to become my bet noir and the prop, although on the back burner, kept nagging at me like an angry mosquito in the room. I would always return to between other projects. I managed to source original matching 10x8 publicity shots of Sammy Davis Jr. and Leonard Barr from companies like MMG and Historic Images. The ads though were proving more challenging and I was buying up as many different NOW magazines and other period Vegas pieces from '70-'71 as I could find. I ended up with around 10 different examples, bear in mind this was a weekly publication, and I was looking at a two year production window, so had the scope to go through 104 issues. I scoured antique/junk shops in Vegas whenever I visited (normally twice a year). I could make out various pieces of text from the screen caps and almost match it to the original examples I had, but fine details eluded me, for example, what movies were playing in what theatres that week? What shows were on stage in which hotel/casinos?
Some people say I am overly particular and similar will do, unfortunately my OCD kicks in and if it's not right then it's wrong and I can't do 'wrong'. About 9 months ago I almost had a working magazine that would satisfy most collectors but I still wasn't fully happy. One evening on the off chance I searched eBay for "Vegas 1970", to my dismay this threw up so much Elvis memorabilia it was like looking for a pair of blue suede shoes in the ghetto, I was giving the results a cursory look when suddenly I spotted a NOW magazine with a green cover so I had a quick look to see if would be of any use, without any high expectations.
It was one of those collecting moments that only happen once so often, not on the scale of the TB Geiger Breitling, but it gave me spine tingles. The seller had taken the time to photograph every page of the magazine, and as I poured over them it was immediately obvious that I was looking at the exact magazine that the original prop was based on and fabricated from. Needless to say this was the quickest 'Buy It Now' I've ever made. I had it sent to my Los Angeles drop address as I was visiting within a few weeks and also didn't want to risk this to International Postage.
When I actually got this in my hands I was quite pleased that I had got fairly close on the pages we actually see, but was obviously completely out on the unseen pages. It was clear that I needed to start from scratch, I toyed with the idea of just scanning the original and printing it up from there to save time and effort......wrong! Looked bloody awful, so there was no choice but to redo the whole magazine, all twenty pages.
Identifying all of the fonts took forever and then re typesetting the whole thing. You may notice 3-4 typos in the text; every typo was present in the original. I anguished over whether to correct these, but eventually decided not to as they would undoubtedly have been present in the screen used magazine. Every advert was recreated. I have to admit to using some scans for unobtainable photos and graphics but I kept these to a minimum. Where graphics could be re-drawn they painstakingly were. Whereas the original was lith printed, I found that modern packages spaced the text differently to the original, I had no choice but to kern, or manually space, EVERY individual letter in every piece of text you see in the magazine. I took the finalised design to my printer in PDF format, the original file in my design package came in at over 250 Mb, and luckily the PDF was a lot smaller. He also managed a very close match to the paper stock from the original. After a couple of Artists Proof printings, that req'd very minor but necessary changes; we get to the finished article you see here.
I estimate that it has taken a minimum of 250 man hours to achieve this result. I understand this piece will be for the purist or completist only, but given the work it has taken I have to charge 40.00 GBP, but this includes worldwide first class shipping. I hope that if you purchase this piece you will appreciate the work that has gone into it and be proud to display it as part of your collection. Just a small aside there are three Easter Eggs in the text that I hope, once you find them, will enhance the authenticity and realistic portrayal of the prop. Please keep them to yourselves though, so as not to spoil the hunt for other collectors.
My thanks also go out to Julian, my long suffering printer, who thankfully is now used to my quirky requests and does his upmost to accommodate my every whim.
Below are some photos of the prop in a suitable setting compared with some behind the scenes photos and 'cropped' screen grabs in order to comply with AJB rules of engagement. I have only shown the screen seen pages but all twenty pages of this reproduction are just as they were the day the scene was filmed.
I will be able to get any orders received out this week but I will be in Las Vegas and Los Angeles from May 3-May 22, so there maybe a delay for orders received during that period.
Drop me an email to order at ahouse@globalnet.co.uk
When I first looked at replicating the DAF NOW magazine I thought, as with most prop repro’s, that won't be difficult, just the front cover and centre pages to do and then incorporate them into a period NOW magazine from eBay. It was only when I started grabbing screen caps that I realised that you see far more of the magazine than I originally thought. This was going to make the design a little (actually a lot) more involved.
I started to look around for examples of the ads in the magazine that you see in the movie. This started to become my bet noir and the prop, although on the back burner, kept nagging at me like an angry mosquito in the room. I would always return to between other projects. I managed to source original matching 10x8 publicity shots of Sammy Davis Jr. and Leonard Barr from companies like MMG and Historic Images. The ads though were proving more challenging and I was buying up as many different NOW magazines and other period Vegas pieces from '70-'71 as I could find. I ended up with around 10 different examples, bear in mind this was a weekly publication, and I was looking at a two year production window, so had the scope to go through 104 issues. I scoured antique/junk shops in Vegas whenever I visited (normally twice a year). I could make out various pieces of text from the screen caps and almost match it to the original examples I had, but fine details eluded me, for example, what movies were playing in what theatres that week? What shows were on stage in which hotel/casinos?
Some people say I am overly particular and similar will do, unfortunately my OCD kicks in and if it's not right then it's wrong and I can't do 'wrong'. About 9 months ago I almost had a working magazine that would satisfy most collectors but I still wasn't fully happy. One evening on the off chance I searched eBay for "Vegas 1970", to my dismay this threw up so much Elvis memorabilia it was like looking for a pair of blue suede shoes in the ghetto, I was giving the results a cursory look when suddenly I spotted a NOW magazine with a green cover so I had a quick look to see if would be of any use, without any high expectations.
It was one of those collecting moments that only happen once so often, not on the scale of the TB Geiger Breitling, but it gave me spine tingles. The seller had taken the time to photograph every page of the magazine, and as I poured over them it was immediately obvious that I was looking at the exact magazine that the original prop was based on and fabricated from. Needless to say this was the quickest 'Buy It Now' I've ever made. I had it sent to my Los Angeles drop address as I was visiting within a few weeks and also didn't want to risk this to International Postage.
When I actually got this in my hands I was quite pleased that I had got fairly close on the pages we actually see, but was obviously completely out on the unseen pages. It was clear that I needed to start from scratch, I toyed with the idea of just scanning the original and printing it up from there to save time and effort......wrong! Looked bloody awful, so there was no choice but to redo the whole magazine, all twenty pages.
Identifying all of the fonts took forever and then re typesetting the whole thing. You may notice 3-4 typos in the text; every typo was present in the original. I anguished over whether to correct these, but eventually decided not to as they would undoubtedly have been present in the screen used magazine. Every advert was recreated. I have to admit to using some scans for unobtainable photos and graphics but I kept these to a minimum. Where graphics could be re-drawn they painstakingly were. Whereas the original was lith printed, I found that modern packages spaced the text differently to the original, I had no choice but to kern, or manually space, EVERY individual letter in every piece of text you see in the magazine. I took the finalised design to my printer in PDF format, the original file in my design package came in at over 250 Mb, and luckily the PDF was a lot smaller. He also managed a very close match to the paper stock from the original. After a couple of Artists Proof printings, that req'd very minor but necessary changes; we get to the finished article you see here.
I estimate that it has taken a minimum of 250 man hours to achieve this result. I understand this piece will be for the purist or completist only, but given the work it has taken I have to charge 40.00 GBP, but this includes worldwide first class shipping. I hope that if you purchase this piece you will appreciate the work that has gone into it and be proud to display it as part of your collection. Just a small aside there are three Easter Eggs in the text that I hope, once you find them, will enhance the authenticity and realistic portrayal of the prop. Please keep them to yourselves though, so as not to spoil the hunt for other collectors.
My thanks also go out to Julian, my long suffering printer, who thankfully is now used to my quirky requests and does his upmost to accommodate my every whim.
Below are some photos of the prop in a suitable setting compared with some behind the scenes photos and 'cropped' screen grabs in order to comply with AJB rules of engagement. I have only shown the screen seen pages but all twenty pages of this reproduction are just as they were the day the scene was filmed.
I will be able to get any orders received out this week but I will be in Las Vegas and Los Angeles from May 3-May 22, so there maybe a delay for orders received during that period.
Drop me an email to order at ahouse@globalnet.co.uk
Comments
Patience is most definitely a virtue fella, amazing job.
I bet it feels a bit weird you now have finished it, but absolutely brimming with pride, well done my friend, cracking....
-{ -{
Cheers :007)
I have read it from cover to cover, albeit not in the bath!! and have spotted the Easter eggs which are brilliant to say the least.
Well done Andy you deserve a holiday after this epic project -{ -{
I think that I (along with you and apparently Matt S), DAF is also my guilty pleasure. It's the kind of film I watch late at night if I can not sleep.
Wow indeed.
well done mate -{ -{ -{
Thankfully, your OCD forced you to push yourself until it reached perfection...which you not only reached...but SURPASSED!!
This is an amazing piece of work and to hear of all the investigation work that went into making this makes us appreciate it even more.
Thank you SO much for allowing me into the circle of the chosen ones...I am not worthy (but glad you think so)
Anyone...that is ANYONE who is the least bit interested in this film needs to add this to your collection.
ON TO THE URN!!!!!! --Ed
the spyboys Facebook page
I think you did a superlative job. Your diligence and dedication to getting the prop right is a testament to the way true Bond fans behave. Bond aficionados, such as yourself, will leave no stone unturned to find or create the correct item. That hunt makes you an expert because you've been the route digging and digging. You're not an expert because you say so, but are an expert because the collective "we" say so. Excellent job!
i would definitely like a copy for the Donald Grant collection.
DG
"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Richard Grenier after George Orwell, Washington Times 1993.
Somebody better enlarge my vocabulary, though--I'm at a loss for words on this one. Can't wait!
www.justgiving.com/inMemoryOfLewisCollins
www.helpforheroes.org.uk
the spyboys Facebook page
The quality is amazing and I feel so grateful to be in possession of such an item.
Thanks to GM for such a speedy despatch and for his sheer persistence in putting this together.
DG
"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Richard Grenier after George Orwell, Washington Times 1993.
www.justgiving.com/inMemoryOfLewisCollins
www.helpforheroes.org.uk
I've just had a brief look - in my bathtub - but I can attest anal dedication for details and the one easteregg that I've immediately found made me chuckle
I have no idea how you can make such a faithful replica, but alone the designs in the spirit of the 1970's are gorgeous and worth alone the money.
I sincerely wish that the upcoming MR camera will be at least half as good!
Well done, GM, and the name is HIGGINS!!!!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Now I think you've been waiting far too long for your MR camera, so I've spent the day getting screen grabs and completing drawings and I think you'll like this, I've printed it out on my Ken 3d printer, and I think you'll agree that this is the closest that anyone has come to realising your dream. Let me know what you think and what you think would be a fair price for this fully screen accurate and functional Moonraker Camera. At least it came together quicker than the 'Stoopid Egg' :v
www.justgiving.com/inMemoryOfLewisCollins
www.helpforheroes.org.uk
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Bet that made your eyes water
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
www.justgiving.com/inMemoryOfLewisCollins
www.helpforheroes.org.uk