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Forbidden Valley: Future Changes?

QTXAdsy said:
I have actually realised something regarding the new Nemesis gun in the queueline regarding its somewhat cheap nature as to why that was.

Allow me to put on my tinfoil hat on but I suspect that the old Nemesis gun/drill was supposed to be moved from its former location to where the new Nemesis gun is in which would have been a use of recycling old theming in which the plan would have been to restore the structure and simply replace the drill end with a blast on the end. Given how many old bits of theming of Nemesis have been reused it does seem plausible that this would have been no exception.

It would seem that the problem was that when they tried to move the old drill, it must have disintegrated given how bad of a condition it was in and thus they were force to make an all new gun quickly which is why it might look rather cheap to some. Same really as if the structure wasn't so dead on its legs and given some theming tweaks to it then I'm sure we would have had a very cool and detailed looking piece of theming that would have looked better than what we got and the fact the drill head remains in the queueline might be a little hint to what might have been.

Oh, if only...
Click to expand...

You might be on to something
 
For me at the moment the Nemmy Rebo queueline and FV is giving last 10mins of Grand Designs VIBES.
As in they ran out of money/ time but still had to show Kevin McCloud the finished product for the ‘reveal’ section at the end of the episode. Yes there some impressive bits but a lot unfinished or rushed.
To keep with my analogy - I think the grand designs revisited episode of FV will only happen once the new flat is installed and they sort out Galactica.
 
QTXAdsy said:
I have actually realised something regarding the new Nemesis gun in the queueline regarding its somewhat cheap nature as to why that was.

Allow me to put on my tinfoil hat on but I suspect that the old Nemesis gun/drill was supposed to be moved from its former location to where the new Nemesis gun is in which would have been a use of recycling old theming in which the plan would have been to restore the structure and simply replace the drill end with a blaster on the end. Given how many old bits of theming of Nemesis have been reused it does seem plausible that this would have been no exception.

It would seem that the problem was that when they tried to move the old drill, it must have disintegrated given how bad of a condition it was in and thus they were force to make an all new gun quickly which is why it might look rather cheap to some. Shame really as if the structure wasn't so dead on its legs and given some theming tweaks to it then I'm sure we would have had a very cool and detailed looking piece of theming that would have looked better than what we got and the fact the drill head remains in the queueline might be a little hint to what might have been.

Oh, if only...
Click to expand...
That's very interesting, and it could be true. I like the Nemesis gun in the queue line, but (judging from pictures alone) it looks like it was rushed.
 
The_bup said:
Maybe they’re working on a replacement/replica?
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Would be nice, but unless they can find a similar drill machine out off a scrapyard I highly doubt it though with just a few tweaks, it would have looked a lot better than what we got, maybe even have a flash in the blaster end when the train heads into the first inversion.

Mind you, I'm not sure even when the drill was first installed in 1994 that it was in any good condition to begin with and that by 2023 it was held together by rust.
 
With a bit of forward thought and planning they could have salvaged a number of parts from Enterprise to build a gun that would be more robust and authentic looking. Part of the trailer as the base, the hydraulic lift ram as the barrel, maybe the hub as part of a turret and you’d be most of the way there! Proper heavy-duty materials as opposed to some sheet aluminium that’s been haphazardly folded and screwed onto a frame and quickly spray painted.

The original Nemesis gun was a solid piece of theming (like most of the set pieces from the original ride) and as a result it stood the test of time. Will the current pieces last 30 years like the OGs did? I doubt it.

I’d love to see some old school resourcefulness come through, rather than seeming to feel the need to build everything in house and new. It would hopefully lead to high quality end results whilst also potentially saving time and budget (the amount of old components and bits that Towers generate and have kicking around would surely give a good selection of resources to play with.)

Building from scratch is fine for things like Alton Manor, where you have control over positioning, lighting and environmental elements. But outdoors, this stuff needs to be built to handle direct sun in the summer, high winds, snow and frosts in the winter, and frequent deluges of rain. Sadly, not many things built in recent years seem to consider that. Scraggy netting and blue plastic ivy on Th13teen, pretty much anything on The Smiler, the Galactica entrance sign literally falling apart, some of the flags and willow emblems on Wicker Man (though I will say, WM is a cut above the others in terms of build quality if you as me). Beyond Towers, just look at the state of things like those baskets in Jumanji at Chessington, and I don’t doubt other bits in the area will start looking shabby in a couple of years too.

All that being said though, I do get the impression with the current gun that it was either a last minute addition or was the victim of budget cuts/running out of money. We know for a fact that most of the theming installs were last minute, as a number of pieces still weren’t on site less than a week before opening! Hopefully it’s something they will look to address in the future. Alton Manor has shown us that they aren’t adverse to keep revisiting and tweaking things after opening.

I’m heading up to Towers on Sunday for the first time this season, so I’m interested to see it all in person. From the photos I’ve seen so far I do have some reservations, though equally a lot of people do seem to be saying it all looks and works so much better in person. We shall see…
 
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Ian said:
With a bit of forward thought and planning they could have salvaged a number of parts from Enterprise to build a gun that would be more robust and authentic looking. Part of the trailer as the base, the hydraulic lift ram as the barrel, maybe the hub as part of a turret and you’d be most of the way there! Proper heavy-duty materials as opposed to some sheet aluminium that’s been haphazardly folded and screwed onto a frame and quickly spray painted.

The original Nemesis gun was a solid piece of theming (like most of the set pieces from the original ride) and as a result it stood the test of time. Will the current pieces last 30 years like the OGs did? I doubt it.

I’d love to see some old school resourcefulness come through, rather than seeming to feel the need to build everything in house and new. It would hopefully lead to high quality end results whilst also potentially saving time and budget (the amount of old components and bits that Towers generate and have kicking around would surely give a good selection of resources to play with.)

Building from scratch is fine for things like Alton Manor, where you have control over positioning, lighting and environmental elements. But outdoors, this stuff needs to be built to handle direct sun in the summer, high winds, snow and frosts in the winter, and frequent deluges of rain. Sadly, not many things built in recent years seem to consider that. Scraggy netting and blue plastic ivy on Th13teen, pretty much anything on The Smiler, the Galactica entrance sign literally falling apart, some of the flags and willow emblems on Wicker Man (though I will say, WM is a cut above the others in terms of build quality if you as me). Beyond Towers, just look at the state of things like those baskets in Jumanji at Chessington, and I don’t doubt other bits in the area will start looking shabby in a couple of years too.

All that being said though, I do get the impression with the current gun that it was either a last minute addition or was the victim of budget cuts/running out of money. We know for a fact that most of the theming installs were last minute, as a number of pieces still weren’t on site less than a week before opening! Hopefully it’s something they will look to address in the future. Alton Manor has shown us that they aren’t adverse to keep revisiting and tweaking things after opening.

I’m heading up to Towers on Sunday for the first time this season, so I’m interested to see it all in person. From the photos I’ve seen so far I do have some reservations, though equally a lot of people do seem to be saying it all looks and works so much better in person. We shall see…
Click to expand...
They had how many cranes there over the winter? How long would it have taken to crane that up the hill and install it where the current gun is? It was a solid lump of iron it's not like you're trying to lift the Titanic from the seabed, it wasn't going to crumble in to a thousand pieces.

My only thinking is they didn't do this because it looked "rustic" so won't fit in with the new shiny military theme.... Only issue is this new theme is a hell of a lot more upkeep than the original.
 
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RIPCorky said:
They had how many cranes there over the winter? How long would it have taken to crane that up the hill and install it where the current gun is? It was a solid lump of iron it's not like you're trying to lift the Titanic from the seabed, it wasn't going to crumble in to a thousand pieces.

My only thinking is they didn't do this because it looked "rustic" so won't fit in with the new shiny military theme.... Only issue is this new theme is a hell of a lot more upkeep than the original.
Click to expand...

Earlier Ariel shots near the beginning showed what appeared to be rubble and 4 large pieces left from what I remembered it was hard to make out but would have made sense to be the previous gun? It may stand the test of time in situ but moving that hefty thing was probably a different matter, I have no doubt they wanted to reuse it & bring it to life probably paint it black with the added sound effect. I mean why else would they make a quick replica added in very last minute? But I’m assuming it fell apart into pieces trying to get it out, which cant be helped. They did add the head to the Que line as a farewell I guess.


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I can believe the "they wanted to reuse it, but it fell apart" theory. But surely they must realise how pony this replacement looks? It looks like something a kid would make out of cardboard boxes. Personally, I'd rather have nothing than something that bad. It's embarrassing.
 
Given how we have Project Ocean for next year, I wouldn't be suprised if they have their eye to use that as a chance to improve the theming and such maybe not just that gun having something looking more substantial and other features for the queue such as that space looking out towards the car park which I'm certain they are still trying to fix it as we are speaking.
 
Martin said:
If it's true that it's a last minute placeholder I'd have rather they not bothered, left the space until the permanent piece was ready, and spent the money trying to make the smaller helicopter look like it actually has crashed
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I don’t think it’s a last minute placeholder, it looks more like the base of something that was intended to have more layers of theming added on top.

Now whether that’s been cut or they ran out of time I don’t know but it feels like it’s got more that should have or is going to be added.
 
Martin said:
If it's true that it's a last minute placeholder I'd have rather they not bothered, left the space until the permanent piece was ready, and spent the money trying to make the smaller helicopter look like it actually has crashed
Click to expand...
I was very impressed by the helecopter, imo it just needs a couple tenticles (like where the vine is) looking like it is pulling down the helecopter, but the base model is very impressive with it moving, they have hidden the motors really well, and I think it is just a reletivly small task of installing a couple tenticles pulling the helecopter down.
 
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