And let me just remind my fellow American types here that we're just about the only people who list the month first when we state our dates...which is to say, Rocket Surgeon will be getting it by July 1st, not January 7th.

Also, just to say that this is a really cool thing you've got going here...cheers to you for putting it together.

This sounds awesome!
I'm in the U.S. right now, and I'm going to China this summer, so any chance of it going there?

Now this is awesome. I won't participate however, as my area has been covered I think. But this is really and awesome idea all around, nice work:cool: :up:

I'm excited! (I'm just a big kid anyway.)

I'm thinking Chinatown would be perfect for Indy. (Cable car rides anyone?) And then there's always the Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz would be cool too, and appropriate to Indy (historically).

Le Saboteur, you are listed as West Coast USA: San Francisco / New Orleans. Let us coordinate (:up:) so we don't duplicate!

I'm trying to keep things appropriate to Indy. I work in Oakland right now, so the Paramount theatre would be a breeze.

In terms of the actual photography, I'm going to try for the smallest aperture like when I take model pictures so I can try and get (small) Indy and (large) background in focus at the same time This should give a nice "I'm really there" vibe, but will be a little trickier to set up on location. I will need to take my tripod to mount the camera on, to keep it steady during the longer exposure needed with a small aperture, and I may need to take something to put Indy on to keep him steady in the foreground. Anyone else thought about the photography end of things?

I'll try to get pics in several different locations. Unfortunately (fortunately for me, unforatunately for Indy), I can't leave the base, so I am limited in landmarks. We do have a weekly bizarre that is the type of setting that I can imagine Indy getting into some sort of scrape, that might be a good location for some photos. There is a mosque on base, but I am not sure we are allowed to photograph it. I'll seewhat I can come up with though.

Thanks for the clarification Attila !

What's your schedule ?

@Lao Che - don't count yourself out. Where are you located ?
@Billy Ray - I've never had problems taking photos inside mosques in Muslim countries - but your experience may differ. I'm sure you'll respect the local cultural and religious sensitivities just as Indy would.
@Nick Turner - I was thinking about using a "Tilt Shift" post-production filter to make the locations look like toy-scale models. Unfortunately my camera isn't advanced enough to mess with the aperture.

Does anyone know if Harrison, Steve Sansweet (Rancho Obi-Wan) or staff at Skywalker Ranch will sign and return items ? What about Bonnie Burton ?

When I was in Qatar, during my last deployment, it was illegal to take pictures of the mosques there. I really doubt if they care too much here though...they've got much bigger problems to worry abou here.

Indeed - keep your head down buddy...

@Stoo - any sign of Indy yet ?

For the last time, I don't live in the Valley!!!

My humble apologies Lance - this is what happens when you cut and paste !

UK (inky_skin) - DEPARTED 06-05-10
Switzerland / Malta (Stoo)
Afghanistan (Billy Ray) NOTE: Must arrive in this location by 01-06-10
East Coast USA: New Jersey / Princeton (Rocket Surgeon) NOTE: Must arrive in this location by 01-07-10
Canada (throwmetheidol)
West Coast USA: Culver City (Lance Quazar)
West Coast USA: LA / SoCal (Pale Horse)
West Coast USA: San Francisco (NickTurner)
West Coast USA: San Francisco / New Orleans (Le Saboteur)
Australia: Queensland (hemble)
Australia: Canberra (indy34)
??? Japan (indy34)
??? Bangalore (inky_skin)
??? Gdansk (inky_skin)

Sounds good, Nick, just as long as it doesn't end up looking like a Photoshop composite, go for it! As for me, I don't think I'll have any time for elaborate setups but definitely want to frame the figure in a way to make it looks like he's actually part of the scene.
No sign yet even though I really thought he'd be here by today. Hopefully tomorrow...

Anyway, an unforseeable situation has arisen which has postponed the trip to Malta. A member of my girlfriend's family has fallen gravely ill with a rapidly deteriorating condition and only has a few days left so we're heading back to Canada this week in an effort to pay our last respects before it's too late (don't think we're going to make it in time):(. We will return to Switz for only a few days before heading to Malta at the end of the month.

This means:
-Inky wasted his money on the Special Delivery fees and the figure could have possibly gone to Turkey. SORRY!
-If the figure definitely has to be delivered to Billy Ray in Afghanistan by the 01 June, I can't take him to Malta. (Returning from Malta to Switz on 31 May).
-If I do take Indy to Malta, I will have the figure for 3 weeks.
-I could take the figure with me and try and get some photos of him in Montreal, Quebec and Kingston, Ontario which both have plenty of historical landmarks. Don't know if I'll have the chance in Kingston (or even if I'll be in the mood) but we'll see.

That's the status. Hope this doesn't screw things up. Billy Ray, is 01 June an absolute deadline? I think I can get it to you within 4-5days. It could end up being:

Switzerland / Kingston / Montreal / Switzerland / Malta (Stoo)

@Stoo - don't give a second thought to the schedule - what's important is taking care of family business. I'll let you work things out with others on the list. The only immutable deadline (I think) is Rocket Surgeon / Princeton. The dates around Billy Ray were to give enough time for Indy to reach Rocket on East Coast USA.

Take care bud.

Sign me up, I'm good for it!

Whoops, double post :o

Stoo, sorry to hear about your girlfriend's family member.

Yeah, I am here until the end of July at the earliest,so anytime in June is good for me but I will need about 2 weeks to get him to Rocket in time. Mail is kind of iffy from here, so he could get there earlier than that, I say two weeks just to be safe. They always give the standard "10 duty days" at the P.O., which is meaningless really because everyday is a "duty day" here, so I don't know whose "duty days" they are talking about. :confused:

You know, I didn't think about this before, but I will be going to Kirgizstan from here for a couple of days before I go home, but theres not really much there in the way of photo ops. In fact, in many ways, it sucks worse there than here. No offense to anyone from Kirgizstan, I'm sure the country is lovely, but the base there sucks. Not sure what route I am taking home, but on the way here I also passed through Germany and Turkey, but didn't really get to leave the terminal.

I Think the Eagle Has Landed
 

Thanks a lot. It's going to be rough.:(

The good news is that I think Indy has arrived in the Confédération Helvétique (Switzerland)! There was notice in my mailbox for a letter to be picked up at the post office. It will be available tomorrow. Talk about cutting it close, we're leaving the day after (Thursday) and would've been leaving for Malta tomorrow! This post office is a 1 minute walk away. Is Indy in an padded envelope or a box?:confused:
Great to hear, homey!:hat: That didn't take much convincing. Ha ha.

@Billy Ray. Thanks for the kind words, my friend. I can mail him to you as soon as I get back from Malta and, hopefully, it will get there within the 1st week of June. (If I pull a "Lance" and lose him, I'll have to whip myself!):whip:

@Stoo - Indy's in a padded envelope - fingers-crossed he made it !
@AlivePoet - Consider yourself on the itinerary post-Australia...

Sorry for not having replied to this earlier....I'm actually not going to China for another five weeks or so. I'll be here in Oregon for quite a while....

@Stoo - has Indy arrived ? Any chance of photographic evidence ?

I have tickets to this as well!

Think Indy would mind seeing Austria as well??? ;)

Indy in La Suisse!:up: ARRIVED 11-05-10

Indy arrived in beautiful Neuchâtel yesterday but was held up at customs and finally managed to get out & about town today. Senility must be setting in on the ageing professor as he almost lost his luggage twice!:eek: Unfortunately, a downpour of rainy weather cut his promenade short. He leaves for Canada tomorrow morning. Bon voyage, Dr. Jones!

"It's almost 6 o'clock and Swiss clocks are never wrong. Where is everybody?"



More to follow...

WHOOO! First picture! Looks amazing! How exciting!

Great job, Stoo. Very cool!

Well done! Do we have an updated itinerary?:up:

Thanks, guys. It was fun to do but has made me realize that I am TERRIBLE at shooting miniatures with a digital camera.:o A manual camera is the way to go! The task of getting good shots was much more difficult than anticipated and no matter what setting was tried, Indy turned out blurry in almost every photo. Will have to experiment more.

Apart from the toys of my nephews, this is 1st time I've actually 'played' with an action figure since I was young so the need to become familiar with the flexiblity of Inky's custom was paramount. I picked Indy up at the post office and then went to a remote place to take some practice shots. Feeling like a weirdo, I then walked around for an hour trying different things...

WARNING: It is VERY easy to drop/lose the valise & umbrella!:eek: Extreme care is to be taken. If Indy doesn't lose his luggage on his 'round-the-world trip, I will be shocked!

DAMAGE: My first attempt to take the binding strap off the diary resulted in breaking it. I am very sorry, Inky.:o It just snapped immediately but is still hanging together by a thread! One of travel stickers in the middle of the suitcase came off but I have glued it back on. Hope it lasts...

NICE JOB ON THE DIARY, Inky Skin! Love it!:cool:

"It's almost 6 o'clock and Swiss clocks are never wrong. Where is everybody?" (IMPROVED VERSION)



"This boat doesn't leave for another two days. Gotta get to Canada as soon as possible."



"Outta luck and the rain is starting to pour! Too bad my umbrella won't open. I'll have to improvise!"

Silliness
 

"That swan seems to be taking an interest in me"



"Maybe I should use this bird to fly across the Atlantic. Reminds me of the time I dreamt of flying that goose back in Stockholm when I was 10."



Indy's about to be boiled & popped!:eek:

@Stoo - awesome, awesome work mate ! Don't worry about the diary - just stick an elastic band round it or something (this is what I get for substituting the finest corinthean leather with...um...'pleather'). I'd like to see the diary stuffed with anecdotes, signatures, bus tickets - anything really ! As for Indy's suitcase, well I guess that lost luggage is the occupational hazard of any long-distance traveller :)

Rough updated itinerary as follows...

UK (inky_skin) - DEPARTED 06-May-10
Switzerland (Stoo) - ARRIVED 11-May-10 / DEPARTED 13-May-10
Canada: Kingston / Montreal (Stoo) - ARRIVED ???
Malta (Stoo)
Switzerland (Stoo)
Afghanistan (Billy Ray) NOTE: Stoo - please ensure Indy arrives with Billy Ray in time for him to reach Rocket before the second week of July
East Coast USA: New Jersey / Princeton (Rocket Surgeon)
Canada (throwmetheidol)
West Coast USA: Culver City (Lance Quazar)
West Coast USA: LA / SoCal (Pale Horse)
West Coast USA: San Francisco (NickTurner)
West Coast USA: San Francisco / New Orleans (Le Saboteur)
Australia: Queensland (hemble)
Australia: Canberra (indy34)
Korea (AlivePoet)
Austria: (DoomTown)

Looks like you took Indy to the Carnival...the Swan (shaped) Boats and the Tea Cup Ride. I guess he's had his fair share of Roller Coasters. Speaking of which, do we care what year this (academic?) trip is taking place?

While it's interesting seeing Indy in settings he may have theoretically encountered during his own travels, I think confining him to period-specific activities (1930s-50s) may be too restrictive for some locations (eg, while I have ancient sites and buildings here, if I took him to London I wouldn't preclude snapping him on something as modern as the London Eye etc). Therefore, I don't think we care about the year of his trip. However, I'm quite happy for each individual to interpret their involvement any way they want...



No Marion to share Indy's hottub ?

I can't see any of these pictures:(

PM me your email address and I'll send them as attachments. Do you have filter on your web brower in your location ?

PM sent, really appreciate it inky!:D

Yeah, most image hosting sites like photobucket and imageshack are blocked on my network. Also any streaming video, facebook, twitter, etc.

This is awesome stuff. I may just make a photo album (a real material one, none of that online nonsense) after we're done here.

inky, obviously this is a difficult question to answer given variables that may shift in or out of transit, but do you have a target finish date in mind? Or will you welcome as many other countries as there are Raven reps willing to participate?

Great pics Stoo! Inky e-mailed them to me...good stuff there.

I was thinking we'd retire the figure at the end of 2010 (and perhaps do this again with a new figure for 2011 if there is enough interest / support). However, we could conceivably keep this going until a) we run out of people, b) the forum loses interest, c) Indy gets lost.

Incidentally, talking of interest, Ed Dolista has kindly agreed to mention our little project on the next IndyCast - make sure you guys tune in to support this great show !

@Billy Ray - I'll ensure I mail all pics from this thread to you in future :)

Lol, nice pictures, Stoo.

I did some test shots of Indy. It's great to see his pictures from the travels :up: but it would be nice if he wasn't fuzzy! I used a Canon Rebel XTi set at f29. The higher the f-stop you can shoot at the smaller the aperture. which translates to a much deeper depth of field. This means you can pretty much have close-up Indy and far-away back ground in focus at the same time. Exposure times are longer though so a tripod is recommended. So use an SLR if you can or enlist a photographer friend! If it's point and shoot or nothing you can try moving Indy a littler further away from the camera and maybe crop the pic later. Hope that's useful info to all you budding adventure photographers! (And don't worry - we like fuzzy Indy too!)

BTW, How big is the diary? I'm wondering what 'artifacts' might fit.

The binding strap is not entirely broken. It's still holding together by a thread but will try some repairs or include one of my girlfriend's hair bands. Lost luggage, indeed. Been there too many times. (I've even lost luggage on a direct flight!:eek:) You can't see in the photo with the water gutter that it was raining very hard. Indy's valise came loose and fell within inches of being washed away into the lake.:dead: Be VERY CAREFUL, my friends.

Updates:

Canada: Kingston - ARRIVED 13-May-10 / DEPARTED 16-May-10
Canada: Montreal - ARRIVED 16-May-10
Ha! How true and what an unintentional coincidence. Travelling fairs are all too common and roll into town almost every two months near that very spot.

Re: the year/period. Although, I'm trying to stick to period backgrounds (swans & tea cup rides are about as silly as I'll go;)), I do agree with Inky about avoiding restrictions. Some photos I took (not posted) have modern people/vehicles in the background. While they're not period, they do bring "life" to the surroundings and certain landmarks may be near impossible to shoot without other people in the way. Not to mention, Inky's first diary entry is dated 2010. Shoulda been an 111-year-Old Indy custom figure!:p
Thanks, Billy Ray. Had I not have been so rushed, they could have been better. Still need to empty out my PM Inbox and get your address. We're gonna make this happen!:up:
Thanks, kat. What I find funny is that the silly "carnival" pix are the ones being reposted!:eek: The swan was extremely interested in Indy and it's beak got really close at one point but, unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a decent shot. A 2nd swan joined the fun and they both thought he was food!
As mentioned above, give me my manual camera (Yashica) and I could shoot these properly. Please note that these were shot guerilla-style in a rush with a very limited digital camera (Canon) on a very windy/rainy day and holding Indy by hand half the time. (The camera has no fstops, no apeture control, etc.) I also had to get familiar with the flexibility/articulation of the fig because I don't own any. Will have more time this week to find a setting that captures maximum depth so, please, bear with me, Nick.:hat:

The past few days have been rather hectic but I did get a chance for a couple of shots of Indy in Kingston (yes, he is fuzzy again but was really pressed for time). Will post them tomorrow with a shot of the cool diary as well.

@Nick - great pictures fella. Could really use a masterclass from you in terms of photographing my figures and dioramas. Have you read "insight: Photography and Dioramas" by Gianni Lopergolo ? He was/is Hasbro's official toy photographer. You can find the book here. BTW - the diary measures approx 2 inches x 3 inches.

@Stoo - awesome job so far ! Don't worry about the "fuzzyness" of your pics - you are working out the issues for the rest of us ;)

Indy's itinerary is now as follows. Please note the addition of Ed Dolista - who kindly mentioned our thread on the latest IndyCast. Make sure you listen in !

UK (inky_skin) - DEPARTED 06-May-10
Switzerland (Stoo) - ARRIVED 11-May-10 / DEPARTED 13-May-10
Canada: Kingston (Stoo) - ARRIVED 13-May-10 / DEPARTED 16-May-10
Canada: Montreal (Stoo) - ARRIVED 16-May-10
Malta (Stoo)
Switzerland (Stoo)
Afghanistan (Billy Ray) NOTE: Stoo - please ensure Indy arrives with Billy Ray in time for him to reach Rocket before the second week of July
East Coast USA: New Jersey / Princeton (Rocket Surgeon)
Canada (throwmetheidol)
West Coast USA: Culver City (Lance Quazar)
West Coast USA: LA / SoCal (Pale Horse)
West Coast USA: San Francisco (NickTurner)
West Coast USA: San Francisco / New Orleans (Le Saboteur)
Australia: Queensland (hemble)
Australia: Canberra (indy34)
NEW ! Australia: Geelong (Ed Dolista - The IndyCast)
Korea (AlivePoet)
Austria (DoomTown)

We need to keep it going at least until we get Indy in the snow. If Indy does not get lost and eventually makes his way back to Devon, instead of raffling him off, maybe he'd ultimately belong in the Ravenwood Museum?

Next year it could be "Indiana Jones Around the World in 80 Days".:D
I heard it. It's the very last segment. Cool that Ed is involved! Too bad we can't get Indy in Iceland right now...

This is the nifty, 40-page diary. Can't wait to see it crammed with tickets, stamps, etc.! In the end, I think Inky's mini-diary will be cooler than the custom figure.:cool:



Kingston coming soon...(but the photos aren't very good).:(

No criticism intended Stoo! Great to have the pics so quickly and I appreciate that some of these shots will be 'guerrilla-style':gun:

Some folks may be unfamiliar with trying to shoot miniatures up close especially with a full sized background, so I thought I'd try it and share my findings.

Both excellent points. Perhaps I should sort out a change of outfit for Indy's snowbound adventuring ? Wouldn't be impossible for the holder at the time to swap out his jacket and arms. As to a permanent tenure at The Ravenwood - I'd be honoured if they agreed.

This is a fun and interesting project. Thanks to Ed and the IndyCast for putting me onto it! I'd be interested in having Indy visit me in Orlando, Florida.

Randy

LOVE to be part of this.

He has to visit his roots in SCOTLAND!

Indy in Kingston, Ontario, Canada
 

No criticism taken, Nick.:hat: Presenting quality is a personal rule of mine and I just wanted to explain why my photos looked so sh*tty.:o In any case, yes, take Nick's advice for getting maximum DoF. If you have the means, a tripod is recommended. Holding the figure at arm's length with a hand-held camera is tricky!:(
An additional winter kit is an excellent idea! This is getting better as we go. Les, carve out a space at your museum for the resting place of this globe-trotting figure! Whoever loses Indy gets 100 lashes.:whip:

Fuzzy Indy in Kingston. I wanted to get him near Fort Henry, the old locks at the Rideau Canal and at this Canadian Pacific steam locomotive but didn't get the chance. Kingston has plenty of sites and roots in Canadian history. Here's the engine in all it's glory.



"Just got into Kingston by train. My father gave a lecture at Queen's Univeristy after we finished our world tour but this is my first time on the grounds. One student kept in touch with Dad over the years and ended up teaching here at Queen's. He has fallen ill and I need to speak to him. Queen's has been around since the mid-1800's but the buildings look brand new! They must have had a clean-up recently..."



"He wasn't there. He's in the hospital!"



More on the way...

@Stoo - excellent work mate ! That second pic reminds me of "Abbey Road" for some reason.

@theinterchange - glad to have you on board, look out for an updated itinerary soon.

@adventure_al - consider yourself added. Maybe he can visit his dad while he's there.

Thanks again for your interest everyone. Feels like we're enjoying a bit of a "happening" here ;)

Darned order of being second last...I want Jones now!

:sleep: don't mind me while I hibernate for the next six or so months...

;)

More Indy in Kingston
 

Funny because the album cover did pop into my mind when I was framing the shot!:D
This thread is destined to become a Raven classic. So much more interesting than conversations about the latest Nintendo product.:p
You have a long wait ahead of you. Just pray he doesn't get lost!

"Well, dad's colleauge passed away overnight so it looks like I'm on my own. There are 4 Martello towers here in Kingston. Hope the Murney Tower is the right one."



"The construction of towers in the 1840s was a ripple effect due to the Oregon Boundary Dispute. Along with Fort Henry, the shore of Lake Ontario was well defended. Will have to get through that door. Damn, it's windy today!"

Liking the history lesson accompanying the pics...