Atreides Ornithopter


Almost as ugly as everything else seen in the movie, this model of the scout craft from the 1984 David Lynch film "Dune" was researched and mastered by Small Art Works for production by another manufacturing company called "Acme 360 Models", where it is sold as a kit. 

These photographs show the prototype assembled kit which is made from Urethane Resin with sheet styrene wing sections. The above photograph is a composite shot to incorporate the model into the background. Digital motion blur was also added to the model. The photos below are unretouched.

 



 
 
 

The model is painted with metallic automotive laquers in a desert camouflage pattern and weathered with a light "wash" of heavily diluted flat black acrylic for weathering. The crests and symbols are printed "peel and stick" decals.


An "ornithopter" is a machine that flies by flapping it's wings. In the Frank Herbert novel, the craft were operated in this manner, but that feature was (correctly!) considered far too comical for the big screen, so the ships ended up with fixed but retractable stubby wing designs. The name unofficially stuck, but I'd argue that some of the bizarre and unconventional hardware that ended up in the film was not necessarily an improvement however!

 

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