Talbot Street Tuesday/Thursday (Picture Heavy)

[Craig]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

X Sector

In celebration of 15 years of the X Sector, this week for TST, we take another trip into the world of concept art to look back at how the area was originally imagined.

Most of the concepts for the X Sector and its features are startlingly close to what was eventually built. One example being the concept of the entrance, complete with the scrolling banner that used to grace the gateway

The concept for what is now X-Cite, X-Sell and X-pose. Though the building is true to the design, clearly other names were originally considered for the retails units inside.

Inside the building the X-Pose counter still retains a very similar look 15 years later.

Whilst the design seen within this concept is reminiscent of the shop we have today, the layout is somewhat unfamiliar.

At the other end of X Sector, here are the concepts for the Enterprise when it was relocated into the new area.

The logo for the Enterprise when it arrived in the X Sector for 1998.

And finally this week a close up of an Enterprise car, showing the new paint job they recieved on the way to its new location.

 

[DaveW]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Looking at those image you could almost be forgiven for thinking that had been drawn after X Sector had been built! The similarities between the concept and the finished product are startling!

 

[aru]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Reality exactly the same as the concept art - you would struggle to find that these days. No expense spared!

 

[CoasterCrazyChris]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

You mean it WAS the same as the concept art.

The entrance doesn't look anywhere near as good as that anymore.

 

[djtruefitt]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

For this week's Talbot Street Tuesday, we take a trip to the other side as we look behind the scenes of Hex.

We start in the queue-line with it's main lighting turned on so we can see the detail of the rooms.

The queue includes massive amounts of old furniture of the style that might once have adorned the entire house, though now looking worse for wear.

The archway to the right of image is the point where the queue-line moves from the house's Armoury through to the Picture Gallery.

The Picture Gallery is mainly filled by the batching area and first pre-show, as seen here.

The batching area looks strikingly different when fully lit, and with the doors open you can see right through to the Octagon.

Moving forward into the first pre-show. This room is experienced by most guests in the pitch black during the introductory film, so it is unusual to see it so well lit.

Through the next set of doors we find ourselves in the Octagon pre-show (the image here looking back towards the earlier rooms)

The entrance to the Octagon is actually also part of the Picture Gallery, it's past usage alluded to by these covered frames that line the walls, which are passed without notice by most guests eager to get into the Octagon.

The Octagon is filled with intricate details, many of which are easy to miss when riding Hex, due to the dim lighting of the attraction.

Here we take a look at the generator which supposedly 'powers' the lighting in the Octagon, and an innocent looking statue that provides one of the room's more notable lighting effects.

Whilst most of the props in Hex were brought in for the attraction, some have more provenance than others.

For example the faux-tombs that lie in the Octagon are replicas of items that were on display here when the Earls of Shrewsbury still owned the house.

Looking towards the scaffolding tower in the Octagon and the Beggar woman.

The column at the centre of the Octagon is an original feature. When Hex was built the column was rescued from within the Octagon, where it had collapsed after after the structure's roof was removed in the 50s.

On either side of the scaffolding are supposedly blank windows, which during the pre-show use UV effects to light up and show the characters from the story, this one showing the beggar-woman.

In the other window can be found the Earl of Shrewsbury.

Whilst many parts of Hex are fabricated the cobwebs are everso real.

Come on, admit it... how many times have you run past this relief to get into the vault without giving it a second glance.

This large sculpture of the Shrewsbury coat of arms can be found in between the entrance doors to the vault.

Before we head into the vault, let's take a look into the control cabin, which can be found in the room just beyond the coat of arms, before you enter the vault itself.

A look at the legendary fallen branch inside the vault.

The level of detail found across the attraction continues onto the walls of the vault, where all sorts of contraptions can be found.

And more details on the walls of the vault.

The details found on the roof and columns are inspired by designs created by Pugin for the house itself.

An unusual view into a vault filled with people, looking through the entry doors.

Outside the attraction the vault looks very different, housed inside a large warehouse just behind the Driving School Education Centre in Cloud Cuckoo Land.

And finally this week a look inside the warehouse, but outside the vault, looking up at the large rotating drum that creates the ride's effect.

The wires and alike that can been seen on the side of the drum are the electricity supplies to power the effects lining the walls of the Vault.

 

[Lottie.]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Come on, admit it... how many times have you run past this relief to get into the vault without giving it a second glance.

This large sculpture of the Shrewsbury coat of arms can be found in between the entrance doors to the vault.

Erm... so I've never seen this before

 

[electricBlll]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Great photos, and I'm pleased to say I have noticed all of that detail before (and some more)! But only after many times riding it; which is why Hex is so great, you discover more each time.

I assume those images of the earl and the beggar were part of the original pre-show, before the ride was drastically altered in 2001. They no longer illuminate to my knowledge, and they have no reason to since the story is no longer narrated in the Octagon.

 

[thefatone]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

They light up, and have done clearly for a year or so now. It lights up as all the stuff's going off (cos they're cursing you y'see).

 

[djtruefitt]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Ye they do still light up, however you don't really notice them unless you are looking over at them, as the statue thing and begger light up at the same time and they are both more noticable. I think both images could do with being cleaned and repainted so they glow more, or maybe if the fluorecent lights were under the images they would light up more.

 

[Machin]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

The U.V paintings have worked for a few years now, however they didn't for quite some time. I agree someone needs to give them a scrub though, the ghostly image would be a lot clearer then!

 

[electricBlll]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Interesting. I definitely saw them on my last few visits but only because I spotted them before the lights blacked out. During the special effects sequence they appeared to glow very dimly, so I assumed they were just reflecting nearby light rather than having their own UV. It certainly wasn't enough to make out any detail in the pictures, if I remember correctly.

Are there any other hidden remnants of Hex 1.0 hanging around? I think only the Octagon was physically changed, while the other rooms just had different audio/video. Apparently the majority of the preshow was spent in the Octagon as the story was narrated, before 'something goes wrong' and you are lead into the Vault; quite different from today where most of the preshow is in the cinema. But I have only heard vague rumours, does anybody here remember Hex in early 2000?

 

[Dave]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

I have a vague memory of Hex 1.0

It wasn't too different except there was a voice over supposedly of a member of staff, the pre-show video showed a professor guy telling the story whilst walking around the ruins, he finished up in the Octogan and was inviting you to join him when the screen crackled and lost signal. The voice over apologizes for the technical error and asks you to join the professor in the Octogan.

When you got into the Octogan it looked similar to it does now without the witch dummy (also think the TV screens where not part of Hex 1.0). The voice over then says that the professor has gone on to the vault as there have been some unusual atmospheric readings which was when the Octogan effects start (similar to how they do now).

Then you went to the vault. I think the timings in each part of the ride are the same now as they was then. In theory they where programmed to each take the same amount of time (video, octogan, Vault)

 

[Craig]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

For this week's Talbot Street Tuesday, we take a look at an early concept for the redevelopment of the area around the Black Hole tent in the X-Sector

Dubbed 'Area 51', it would have occupied the area where new coaster The Smiler is now located

There are some similarities to what eventually became Nemesis Sub-Terra over in Forbidden Valley

 

[DiogoJ42]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

That explains a lot.

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Is that a picture from District 9 in the top-middle?

 

[LiamC]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Is that a picture from District 9 in the top-middle?

Yes, it's a sign from the slums in the film of a Prawn

 

[josht]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

PRAWNS !!!!!! Wouldn't want to visit your fish counter

 

[Rob]

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Another indicator showing how late on The Smiler was planned. Always nice to see concepts of things that never happened though.

 

[Mi-Nigle]

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How glad I am this never went ahead, what a monumental waste of space that would have been!

 

[delta79]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

It has the look of Nemesis ST. Look to me they decided it would work better with the Nemesis theme than a alien area 51 theme.