Can we get Indy around the globe ?

inky_skin said:

Perhaps a little too elementary?

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Quite elementary, Dr. Inky. However, Le Sab is both well-traveled & a Sherlock fan so it's quite fitting that he answered first!

inky_skin said:

However, this was one of the first instances of authority stepping in to prevent photo taking. Apparently they get a bit twitchy when you produce a camera on the underground - I was told in no uncertain terms to stop what I was doing...

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"In no uncertain terms",...that SUCKS! (I had a similar experience on the Circle Line in 2008.)

Did you take Indy to the Holmes museum on Baker Street?

Stoo said:

Did you take Indy to the Holmes museum on Baker Street?

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I had planned to. Was rushing to get to a certain location before I had to catch a train out out to Elstree and check into my hotel, and was going to go back on the Sunday morning before returning home. Didn't work out unfortunately, but that's another story.

So...onwards from Baker Street to Tottenham Court Road and then...



The British Museum.



"Ever get the feeling the best years of your career are behind you ?"

The museum was a real education in how tough it is to photograph Indy in a low-light location. Seriously, people like Nick Turner made taking beautifully composed shots look easy - but it really isn't ! Macro shots of Indy were blurred without a flash, and with a flash you couldn't capture any backgroud detail. Due to the challenging conditions, the crowds and my limited schedule, this was about the only publishable shot I got off here...

inky_skin said:

The British Museum.

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NICE! I was hoping you would do that

inky_skin said:

Due to the challenging conditions, the crowds and my limited schedule, this was about the only publishable shot I got off here...

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What a shame! But that's one of the reasons why every visitor is allowed to take pics. The BM knows they all come out badly . So no reason to restrict photography such as at Le Louvre .

Can't wait for more pix from Globetrotting Indy's London adventure.

Archaeos said:

What a shame! But that's one of the reasons why every visitor is allowed to take pics. The BM knows they all come out badly . So no reason to restrict photography such as at Le Louvre

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Was probably the only place I didn't get shouted at for raising my camera From our exchanges in other threads, I get the impression you are connected to the British Museum (I understand if you can't elucidate)...

Okay, so the town of Elstree itself is peppered with Indy references...



(Harrison's star on the "Elstree Film Trail" is right outside the train station)



(Banner on the Film Trail)





(Plaque on the Film Trail)



Sneaky peak around the back of Elstree Studios into one of the f/x shops. Say, that fella looks familiar...

But did I manage to get any shots of Travelling Indy in the studio itself ? Tune in this weekend to find out...

Wonderful teases for Elstree!! But I want to see more museum pics. Blurry and dim or not!!

Lance Quazar said:

Wonderful teases for Elstree!! But I want to see more museum pics. Blurry and dim or not!!

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I honestly wish there were more to show. Sadly there aren't.

inky_skin said:

But did I manage to get any shots of Travelling Indy in the studio itself ? Tune in this weekend to find out...

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You are probably busy but thought I'd send you a wink, Ink.

Cool photo in front of the British Museum. Such a natural location for Indy and it ties in so nicely with the mention in "Crystal Skull".

This is a great idea/thread. I'm just coming into it, so I just read the first few posts, and skipped to the last couple posts. Is this thing finished, is there a link with all the pics? (I'll try to go back and read through it). If it's not done, sign me up for Seal Beach CA, I can take a picture of him near the beach, or an In-N-Out or some local landmark, oh maybe Disneyland if he hasn't been there already. The pictures of Esltree studios are great, but shouldn't the pictures of Indy's trip include Indy somewhere? If it hasn't been done already I can make a website dedicated to his adventure, I would love to see a big map, and then see all the pics of the doll in various locations. Fun, stuff. Thanks @inky_skin for a great idea!

Hi, Russ. In my opinion, this is THE GREATEST THREAD in the whole history of The Raven, due to Inky's creativity & generosity and the full-blooded enthusiasm of everyone involved.

The project isn't over yet because, more than 2 years after it began, Mini-Indy still hasn't circumnavigated the globe (he keeps zig-zagging across the Atlantic). The mighty Pale Horse took the figure to Disneyland already, however, Indy is due to return to Californye-yay. Ultimately, it's up to Inky to decide whether or not to include new hosts/chaperones but he's a nice fellow so you may be in luck.

If you're willing to create a dedicated website, I say, "Go for it!". We've discussed perhaps making a book but I think a website would be welcome. Inky made a map but it's rather small and hasn't been updated in a very, long time.

This thread is filled to the brim with wonderful stuff so check out the entire thing...and don't skip a single post!

russds said:

...all the pics of the doll in various locations...

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It's not a doll, it's an ACTION FIGURE

And I second Stoo's statement. It is the greatest thread, and it was the thread that lead me to The Raven over a year ago, making me a regular lurking reader - and now an active member. Inky, I bow to you

Firstly, a huge apology - I know I've been slack in curating this thread but work has simply kept me maxed out for the past few weeks.

russds - Welcome. If you want to host Indy I'll add you to the list, but please be aware that you'll be some way down the batting order. You are correct that my initial Elstree pics don't contain Indy - but I wanted to include all of the Indy-related stuff that I saw as a "trailer" of sorts (see below for the main feature). I've been considering a website to pull all the pics together (with an interactive mapping element) so I may contact you via PM for some consultation.

Archaeos - Glad to know that this thread pulled you in. My wife often refers to my action figures as "dolls" - I prefer "miniature human analogues". Any chance you'd like to hang out with Indy before he leaves these shores ?

So, as I alluded to earlier, taking pictures at Elstree was somewhat tricky - although not for the reasons I first thought. We had been told that it was a working studio ("Millionaire" and "The Voice" were filming there that evening) and therefore had to sign a disclaimer that we wouldn't take pictures on the lot. It actually transpired that half of Stage 7 was occupied by guests (who you had to pay to photograph) and the other half by the Kurtz-Joiner Archive (who are writing a book about their artefacts and therefore wanted to preserve "exclusivity"). So - security were keen to eject anyone who broke the rules.

However...



Indy on the "Elstree Film Trail".





Behind the Studios, looking onto the "George Lucas Stage".



"Uh-oh...looks familiar". Another backlot relic - not sure from which show though.



Main entrance.



Straight into the studio bar/commissary - where Harrison, George, Steven and friends no doubt had a few drinks.

Onto the backlot itself (had to be very careful where I was pointing my camera at this point)...



The prop store. I had visions of the interior looking like "Hanger 51". Perhaps The Ark really is still in there ?



The exterior of Stage 7. I gather they filmed the "campfire" scene from Temple on this soundstage. Anyone know whether other Indy segments were shot here ? I heard an anecdote later in the day that suggested Harrison and Pat Roach did their ToD fight scene on this stage.

Okay - so now things get "guerilla" style



Warning sign as you enter the soundstage.



Indy posing by a list of some of the shows shot on Stage 7 (don't ask me how they "filmed" Toy Story here. Mo-cap perhaps?).



Indy finally makes it onto hallowed ground!



Hanging out on the stairs.

So - that's pretty much it for picures. Indiana Jones is still intrinsically linked to Elstree, featuring heavily on advertising for the studio complex.



I think we can rest assured that the legacy of the films won't be forgotten in the place that saw a number of their key scenes brought to life.

One final entry:

I was fortunate to be able to pose an Indy-related question to a panel comprising production staff who had worked on both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films (much to the ire of the Star Wars fans present!).



l-r Michael Ford (Set Decorator), Ron Punter (Specialist Painter), Toby Lofthouse (Prop Supervisor)

I asked whether it was more challenging to dress a period film (Raiders) or a sci-fi picture (Star Wars). Their answer was Star Wars as everthing had to be fabricated. Apparently they just hit every costume hire store in a 50 mile radius of London for Raiders looking for uniforms. No real regard for accuracy, provided the era was roughly correct.

Incidentally, Ron Punter painted both the Ark and the Flying Wing (and the door that Jack Nicholson put an axe through in The Shining - there were 40+ of them made). He also mentioned watching Harrison and Pat Roach doing their Temple scenes together on set (Thugee / rock crusher?) and being approached by a young woman looking for Spielberg (transpired it was Barbara Streisand. Whether she was wearing her S&M outfit was unconfirmed ).

Hey @inky, great stuff. love the pics, and the fact you got to go to the Elstree studios, and even sit on the QA session. What a great adventure, and appropriate trip for mini-indy. Yes, please add me to the list, even though it might be a while, I would still enjoy being a part of it. With every trip the "action figure" grows more and more mature.

I have been thinking of website ideas actually, and even started looking at the google maps API, and thinking of ways of organizing the pics/trips/posts into a nicely designed website with map. I would love to see this. Feel free to PM me (i'm a web programmer so I dig this sort of stuff) for ideas or just talking about it. I think it would make a great site!

Hey there everyone, I've been following this thread for about a month now, and I finally registered and got an account just to say that I think this is one the coolest ideas ever. I've greatly enjoyed seeing mini-Indy's adventures across the globe, and look forward to even more awesome pictures in the future!

Stoo said:

...Indy is due to return to Californye-yay...

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...and points beyond! But those points shall remain nameless at this juncture.

inky_skin said:

Any chance you'd like to hang out with Indy before he leaves these shores ?

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By all means, please do. If anybody else on that dreary Isle of Blight wishes to share the sights with Indy, please take advantage of his nearness as I fully intend on keeping him in my possession for... well, quite some time.

russds said:

(i'm a web programmer so I dig this sort of stuff) for ideas

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Hmm... I have a domain that's in need of some content. It's almost site appropriate.

inky_skin said:

Archaeos - Glad to know that this thread pulled you in. My wife often refers to my action figures as "dolls" - I prefer "miniature human analogues". Any chance you'd like to hang out with Indy before he leaves these shores ?

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Sorry for late reply, I have been travelling myself (under the pretext of organising a fresh beer delivery at The Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München for all you Raveners after Finn came clean on some gastronomy deficiencies here, but I drank it all myself to reduce ballast near Mount Kailash - I mean, why is this haunt in Nepal and not in... Ojai CA, anyway ).

WOw, okay, Inky, I genuinely am lost for words. I always thought that one day in the future, I would want to take part in this, but as a newbie here (at least in term of participation), I never thought of thi being anytome soon.

I also wouldn't want to be seen jumping queue here as many have diligently waited for a very long time to do their bit of adventuring with Travelling Indy. I don't want to rub someone badly by accepting...

Also, I am unsure for how long any member is allowed to hang on to Travelling Indy. If it's like 2 weeks or so, then I have to decline as I wouldn't be able to mount anything in such a short time. If I could hang on to him until end of July, or possibly even end of August, that's different.

What could I offer..? I will be in London throughout July, and could see if Indy could do some long-overdue research at the British Museum, the Petrie and some other places. After all, with so much mileage on his legs, he needs to catch up what academia has been up to in terms of objects and discoveries...

In August, I will be off to Turkey (if things hold and the Syrian border region ain't becoming a hotchpotch - the F-4 downing near Hatay could become a catalyst). In Turkey, Travelling Indy could immedialtey apply some of his recently-learned knowledge in London and do some site visitations - although he won't be allowed to do some digging because he doesn't hold a Turkish government license...

Sorry, this post reads like rumblings and I realise the orhtograpy is bad but I am genuioely humbled and excited alike of this offer, and typing on a train aint' helping. So by any means, if you think what I could do is okay and of interenst and if no one here objects and if the times are right (sending INdy to Le Saboteur in CA, if I understand that correctly), I would love to give this opportunity a try (jeez, hopefully my camera will be able to do something good).

yours,
-Archaeos *who lost his cool because of a doll*

Quick update: Archaeos - Turkey etc sounds great, will be in touch. Hoping to get Indy to Clouds Hill / Bovington on Tuesday - will let you chaps figure out why those two locations are significant...

inky_skin said:

Quick update: Archaeos - Turkey etc sounds great, will be in touch.

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Thx.

inky_skin said:

Hoping to get Indy to Clouds Hill / Bovington on Tuesday - will let you chaps figure out why those two locations are significant...

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Hmm... I think Indy is visiting an old friend from his Young-er days... talking Egypt, Arabia, Paris..., how that chap Arnold Toynbee was right after all..., maybe exchanging latest news on what's going on at the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) and thinking of old and lost ANZAC comrades?