Starwars.com delve into the visuals of Skeleton Crew to look at how some old techniques are given a shot in the arm and employed to be essential elements of making the show feel just like the classics, with matte paintings, animatronics, puppets and – with the skills of John Goodson and John Knoll – miniatures, specifically their work on the hulking Onyx Cinder, Tak Rennod’s legendary starship.
Over the past few years, Goodson has built numerous physical models for recent Star Wars tales, including the Razor Crest and Moff Gideon’s Light Cruiser in Star Wars: The Mandalorian and the rotating T-6 Jedi Shuttle in Star Wars: Ahsoka. He returned to Skeleton Crew to put the same care into crafting the Onyx Cinder, the hero ship for the series. As Knoll puts it, “Miniatures have a quality that’s hard to describe. There’s something immediately tangible about them. When you’re looking at them, there’s no question you’re looking at a real, physical object.” Goodson agrees, adding, “It helps drive the overall look, and then further refines it. You get a better look overall between the computer graphics and the practical.”
In addition to a beautiful sculpt, the model also needs internal electronics and mechanics that interface with the rest of the technological set-up. In order to make sure everything is symbiotic, Knoll and Goodson work with Dan Patrascu, a machinist and fellow model maker. “Dan built the chassis and everything that’s inside of it, and mounted the motors,” says Goodson. “We generally refer to ourselves as ‘Three Garage Productions’ because all three of us are working in our garages to do this stuff.”
After that garage work is done, the miniature sets the visual bar for its digital counterpart. “When we first started shooting the Cinder miniature, we had already built a CG model of the ship,” remembers Knoll. “But, once we had photographed the model, we went and retooled the digital version to match it more exactly, because the model’s paint job is just too gorgeous. It truly elevates all work.”
