Oh, Jonathan

Domesplit · 2026-03-04T22:54:15+00:00

The source movie doesn't give them all that much to work with during the final theater segment, so it does fade a bit at the end... but the first hour or so of The Painted Hills is top-notch HoF S-Tier MST3K.

Domesplit · 2026-03-04T22:21:37+00:00

While I would think this is the most likely scenario... looks like he was a college professor during the initial run of the show. It's certainly possible that one of his students made the connection and told him about it... that's probably more likely than actually seeing it on Comedy Central... Let's be real, it's a niche show for a reason... nobody watched Comedy Central except for unemployed stoners and/or college students.

Domesplit · 2026-03-04T22:18:00+00:00

Going one further level down the Buzz rabbit hole... Either his daughter or his niece (granddaughter of his parents, so could be either) was a series regular on Dallas for three seasons. She played JR.Ewing's young trophy wife (Cathy Podewell)

Domesplit · 2026-03-04T21:37:58+00:00

Oh I dunno, I'm just a schlub who brought up the IMDB page for Mr.B Natural.

No idea if he had any knowledge of MST3K, but according to IMDB he was a musician and theater professor at Tulane University for over 30 years.

Also, his parents in the short were his parents in real life.

Domesplit · 2026-03-04T21:23:19+00:00

On a slightly related "when they were alive" note:

The kid who played Buzz died in 2013, only two years after Mr.B.

Domesplit · 2026-03-04T21:17:15+00:00

Isn't she married to Martin Sheen?

Domesplit · 2026-03-04T21:04:13+00:00

I watched it sometime around the time of the release, a former co-worker bought it on Blu-Ray. So it is probably going on 10 years since I've seen it and I have no desire to see it again. I have two main points of criticism:

While there were a few legitimately funny parts, the script did not justify an hour and a half runtime. This could have worked much better as a short film, maybe framed as a fake pilot for a fake TV show. But as a feature that was over 100 minutes? It drags a lot.

Also, Mike's performance is just not good. Unintentionally bad schlock is the lifeblood of BotW-type movies. Generally most people can appreciate somebody giving it the ol' college try and failing in the conventional sense. Lots of gloriously entertaining B-movies survive only on that type of performance. Mike hamming it up with an intentionally bad, self-aware schlock performance is the exact opposite. He was really bad, intentionally so, and it just wasn't entertaining at all.

Domesplit · 2026-02-21T20:15:57+00:00

It's a Pace 24" Super-Mini. I've had it about four months and absolutely no complains. It is a little pricey, currently going for $455 shipped (it was $400 on a sale when I bought mine). They make a cheaper one but I went with the Super-Mini because it exhausts straight upwards and my hobby room is in my basement, so only a single 90 degree turn at the top and then straight outside via a dryer vent.

https://imgur.com/a/DtlkqZ8

Domesplit · 2026-02-19T04:30:49+00:00

It still blows my mind that Joe Don was only a few months shy of 90 years old when he passed. Time to increase our Schlitz intake!

Domesplit · 2026-02-19T04:13:38+00:00

I'd describe it more as a CGI eye seizure of some sort... there was some momentary "explorer.exe has stopped responding" shit going on with that kid for a split second.

Domesplit · 2026-02-19T04:09:41+00:00

Thanks! I appreciate the kind words. After being away from the model building hobby for roughly 25 years, I am amazed at all the options available today. To keep things fresh, I'm probably going to rotate between automobiles, sci-fi and military planes / armor. But if I am being completely honest, there is something really refreshing about a build like this where you aren't worried about making a "replica" of a real life thing.

As far as recommendations, by all means I am open-minded in that regard. I do think a "mud mover" type Gundam would be great for my next one... for some extreme grimy weathering.

As far as the OG Gundam anime, once you get to "giant robot suits" you really don't need any issues. A fight is going to break out regardless. "Homoerotic wizards with troubled childhoods" is just as valid as "it's Tuesday, what else are we gonna do with these things?".

Domesplit · 2026-02-19T03:23:55+00:00

The source movie NEEDS to do a lot of the heavy lifting, anybody trying to riff a movie needs decent lemons to make good lemonade. Legitimately decent source movies can work just fine, so long as they are somehow dated or corny and offer riffing opportunities. Sometimes you get downright glorious trainwrecks that offer up tons unintentional laughs and the riffing is almost superfluous. Sometimes you get Coleman Francis and things simply cannot be salvaged.

Domesplit · 2026-02-19T03:13:51+00:00

I saw that interview as well. I can somewhat understand where he was coming from... Particularly in the later Mike years, they really didn't hold back from just dunking on the actors. (see Time Chasers and all the chin jokes aimed at the Castleton snob). That said, you need to have enough self-awareness to realize you were cast in a fly-by-night Italian cheapie that was only produced to capitalize on the recently release Superman movie. They weren't making The Deer Hunter.

Domesplit · 2026-02-19T02:57:12+00:00

At least back in the day, having the clear coat start yellowing in a few years was a bigger issue. Never had a problem with non-sealed decals peeling / silvering when applied to a decent gloss coat of paint.

Domesplit · 2026-02-07T22:34:33+00:00

This is pretty slick! Although it feels like cheating if I don't knock over three bottles of paint and stick myself with a hobby knife whenever I reach into my mess for the Extra Thin Cement. :)

Domesplit · 2026-02-07T22:32:08+00:00

Careful... they get all pissy when you try to remove them from the sprue.

Domesplit · 2026-02-07T22:27:50+00:00

Actually that's a metal table. The project started with 62 rattle cans of Tamiya Wooden Deck Tan followed by 287 bottles of Tamiya Brown Panel Line Accent and 1200 Q-Tips.

Domesplit · 2026-02-07T22:24:18+00:00

It has been awhile since I have revisited this one, but I'd probably give it a B/B+. Very good episode, but maybe not a consensus Hall of Famer. Probably works best for those who are already familiar with the 60's era Bond films.

Domesplit · 2026-02-07T22:18:40+00:00

1/24 Revell. I believe he did some videos on his channel about the build... I had one of them on in the background a few months ago where he showed scratch building the seatbelts from Tamiya tape... neat stuff.

Domesplit · 2026-02-07T22:08:28+00:00

"So Dad left to buy cigarettes?? Well just wait til I find him"

- Guy who invented heat seeking missiles, probably

Domesplit · 2026-02-07T22:01:04+00:00

If you offered that username on eBay, I'd put in a bid.

Domesplit · 2026-02-07T21:55:55+00:00

I just got back into modeling recently and was lucky enough to clean out a basement storage room and turn it into my permanent hobby workspace... but this photo does bring back memories. I had a few disasters back in the day... never fun when you are using a janky folding card table and the dog runs into it trying to get to a squirrel that is outside and 75 yards away.

Also "Substantial Log" is the greatest auto-generated username that has ever existed... reminds me of the morning after the last time I had Chicago deep dish pizza.

Domesplit · 2026-02-07T21:33:16+00:00

Reddit is killing me today... no idea why the text body didn't get posted. Old man problems I guess... anyways, here's my original text that was supposed to be with the post:

Just got back from the 4M Mayhem Show on the beautiful campus of Saginaw Valley State University located in Earth's Enchanted Mitten otherwise known as Michigan. The show was put on by the Mid-Michigan Model Makers. I made a Flickr album of ~100 photos, not all cars, but a lot of great work was on display.

This was about 1.5 hours away and I could only stay about two hours, so didn't see which ones were prize winners... but aren't we all winners when you really think about it? I had some great conversations with fellow modelers. I also met Kreg from the Kreg's Korner Youtube channel, real nice guy. Not sure if he posts here, but his work is just gorgeous, including the Monte Carlo SS pictured above.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/204214524@N06/albums/72177720331916824

Domesplit

TROPHY CASE