James913 Member Posts: 265 From: Houston, TX Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 08-02-2014 01:22 PM
In another (tangentially) space patch-related San Diego Comic Con 2014 promo (along with the Endurance patch), there was also a gold-color astronaut figure from the new "Call Of Duty: Ghosts" Odin Space Station Strike Mega Bloks construction set. (The gold astronaut promo also includes a $5-off coupon that can be used when purchasing the Odin Mega Bloks set.) Some background: In the Call of Duty video game universe, a highly militarized and weaponized U.S. space program has put up a large USAF space station (think ISS on steroids) and has been testing a series of progressively deadly orbital kinetic strike weapons. The co-orbiting Odin station uses railgun technology to launch multi-mach tungsten rods against surface targets, creating radiation-free megaton impacts. Unfortunately, the USAF and Odin stations are captured by enemy forces and used against the U.S., resulting in several cities destroyed (including Houston) before Odin is put out of commission. Here's a good HD video clip of the Odin space activities (the space segment begins about 4 minutes in). Be warned, this universe operates under some of the same laws of physics used in the movie "Gravity" (and the crew has a really bad day), but it is an interesting entertainment. Let's just assume they've developed completely recoiless rifles for exoatmospheric military operations. The reason that I mention all this under cS Patches, rather than Models & Toys, is that there is also a series of space shuttle and station patches to support the Odin timeline (shown below). These can be seen in the video placed around one of the hatchway bulkheads inside the USAF station, just like the real patch decals displayed on ISS. And, yes, more than a couple are reminiscent of actual STS and ISS designs (it is, after all, an alternate timeline). As far as I know, none of these designs have been made into actual patches, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a film version of all this someday, complete with promo and prop patch versions. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42984 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-02-2014 05:02 PM
What's most interesting to me is that a couple of those designs seem to borrow design elements from artwork not in the public domain (e.g. Shepard Fairey's CASIS ARK 1 and China's Shenzhou 6). They have been altered enough such that they are probably not a (legal) concern, but with so many public domain images to pull from, it is interesting that they didn't stay clear from any potential challenges. |