We’re joined by the costumer and cosplayer Beverly Downen this week to talk about how cosplayers like her have adapted to shift to virtual conventions this year, staying motivated, and revisiting some of her past projects. We also discuss the collaboration between cosplayer and photographer, and the joy of sharing fabrication processes and techniques.
Adam Savage’s Favorite Tools: Trammel Points and Rotape Beam Compass!
Adam’s shown some tools for drawing small circles on work materials, but what if you need to draw a very large circle? Here are two tools to help with that: a set of trammel points that you can clamp onto any length of wood, and a novel device called a Rotape that combines an adjustable tape measure with a drawing compass! Adam demonstrates how to use each of these, and now you too can draw large circles!
Adam Savage’s ILM Modelshop Greeblie!
Adam shares a memento from his ILM modelshop days: a cast piece of a complex kitbashed greeblie he made for Star Wars Attack of the Clones! We hear about how Adam made this piece, what set piece it was used for, and its versatility in providing surface detail for a variety of miniature scales.
Adam Savage’s Live Builds and Q&A (Sept. 14, 2020)
For this live stream, Adam is building his rickshaw LEGO form (posted by SteamPaul on reddit ), then taking questions about Star Wars (ranging from his thoughts about the films to his experience working on them to his props, as per the Patron-only poll).
Adam Savage’s One Day Builds: Planer and Spindle Sander Station!
Adam’s workshop organization project today involves creating a perfectly-fitted storage platform for his wood planer and orbital spindle sander. These are tools that are used infrequently in the shop, but still need to be easily accessed and stored–and Adam found the perfect place for them under his table saw. Additionally, Adam modifies his planer to work with his shop’s dust collector by making a magnetically attached hose adapter!
Lighting Setup for 1/6 Scale Figure Photography!
Norm shares his lighting setup for photographing sixth scale figures, using a combination of Aputure and Lume Cube LED lights, mounted to his office table with adjustable mounts. We walk through how each light is used and why a mini magic arm mounting solution works so well at this scale. To wrap things up, we put a Hot Toys War Machine figure under this setup for a quick photo session!
Adam Savage’s One Day Builds: New Sewing Machine Station!
Adam welcomes a new sewing machine into his workshop–a powerful Sailrite LSZ-1–by building out a custom table setup for it to include organizational drawers and rolling casters. It’s an upgrade based on the workflow Adam developed for his previous sewing station, and Adam breaks in the new machine by making a heavy duty canvas dust cover for it!
One Day Build Commentary: Blade Runner Blaster Box!
In this Tested Patron exclusive, Adam sits down to watch and comment on his very first One Day Build, the Blade Runner Blaster Box. Watching it for the first time in SEVEN YEARS, Adam reveals how the ODB series originated, exclaims over the many changes he’s made to his shop since 2013, and provides many other insights into this build and the techniques he was using at the time. As Adam says, it’s almost like attending a reunion!
Episode 567 – Take of Two Keynotes – 9/17/20
Jeremy and Norm discuss in-depth the two big tech stories this week: Quest 2 being announced at Facebook Connect and Apple’s new iPad and Watch event. We answer questions viewers have about the Quest 2 and brace ourselves for a holiday season of new hardware launches. And just as we finish recording, Sony drops the PlayStation 5 pricing and release dates!
Tested: Oculus Quest 2 Review!
We’ve been testing the new Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset for about two weeks, and dive deep into its differences from the first Quest, Rift S, and other VR headsets. Here’s how it plays existing Quest games with its new processor and display, how it feels with the new Elite headstrap accessory, and what Quest 2 means for the Oculus mobile and PC VR ecosystems.