JAWS Scene

JAWS Scene in a Bottle

Who can forget the 1975 thriller film "Jaws", that made everyone just a little weary about going in the water. Though it lacked the special effects of movies today, the idea of a giant, man eating, great white shark lurking in the waters, awaiting its next potential victim makes me shudder within and convinced the minds of plenty, that the water is not always the safest place to be. Winning much critical accaim and awards, Speilburg's Jaws will certainly go down in history as one of the best films ever created.

Upon speical request, I get the task of recreating a combination of scenes from this very movie within a bottle. Please enjoy!

Carving the Hull:

Like most of my models, the "Orca," which was a lobster boat, is carved from a block of bass wood the has already been cut into two halves before carving. Above, you can see the outline for the cockpit is sliced into the wood using an exacto knife, which allows me to easily scoop out the interior.

Dowels are inserted into one side, which will allow me to reassemble the boat once it is inside the bottle.

A light bit of stain was rubbed onto the wood to attain the proper appearance of the boat in reality.

Developing the Cabin:

Trying to figure out just how to create the cabin so that it would pass through the neck of the bottle and come together, without too many problems, inside the bottle was a great puzzle!

I came up with a plan to attach the cabin walls to the boat, while having only the roof and rear bulkhead remain as a seperate part, which would drop down and into position. It was a fragile affair at first but once it was coated with a generous amount of super glue, all was well.

The roof being one piece also hides the seam of the two hull halves, which will most likely only be evident on the transom.

The cabin top is in the foreground. It is complete with its cabin wall (bulkheads) forward and aft, and will drop in place, fitting snuggly behind the forward bow plank. After testing it all three pieces are a snug fit to plass through the opening of the bottle.

Paint & Details:

Once the boat gets a little paint on her, there is a huge transformation that takes place, often making it appear as if I have missed photographing many steps in between. Above, you can see the two seperate sections of the hull laid out with a ruler to give size. Harpons are attached to the cabin side, the bow now has its pulpit, made of wire, and the windows of the cabin are made of clear plastic sheets so that once complete light can pass through.

(Bottom Right) You get an idea of just how the cabin will fit onto the boat. And (below), once everything is fitted together the boat truly starts to represent the real "Orca." The mast with all its rigging lines remains to be made, as well as the shark, the shark cage, captain, and crew.

The cabin top has really begun to take form and various details have been added to create a likeness between my model and the ship in the film. The running lights on the boards as well as a lifering are attached on each side. Two barrels remain, made of turned dowels on the cabin top, and if you look closely you can see the black handrail on the edge of the cabin top, made of wood.

(Left) On the rear bulkhead a chimney stack was made of a section of a toothpick with a wire inserted and bent over slightly. The ladder, made of wire sits just left of where the mast will stand and a tiny watch gear represents the steering wheel. (Below) The round portholes have been added to the boat by simply drilling through the cabin wall.

The Mast:

The mast is made from a bamboo dowel, turned on a drill while being sanded to create the taper. The boom is simply a length of basswood stained. Like a sailing vessel, she has spreaders and shrouds, but also includes more details, such as the large light at the top and two hoops, above the spreader, where a man would stand at lookout. Before calling the mast final, she will also have a full set of steps leading up to the spreaders.

A Few more Details:

The small black rectangles represent the non-skid mats that will be glued added, and run the length of the deck on each side.

The cockpit itself would not be complete without the fisherman's chair. Measuring only 10mm tall.

The amount of details makes all the difference when an artist is tyring to bring to life a scene like this one. A miniature fishing rod is made of a needle. Miniscule hoops (watch washers) act as the eyes, which the slender thread actually passes through. The reel is a gear from a watch.

If there are people, the must be directed to a task. The personna holding the bucket represents Quint (the shark hunter). He will be handing a bucket of chum. Brody (the police chief) holds the rifle and will be taking aim at the shark before its final moments. Hooper (oceanographer) bravely takes to what he calls the shark proof cage in an attempt to stab the animal.

Each of the little personnas are model train figures who have undergone some alterations, including the cutting off and reshaping the arms and painting.

The Shark:

The shark is carved from sculpey clay. This is a really great medium to use because it doesn't air dry, giving you ample time to work on your project. It also holds its shape well

It is also easy to work with. Small pieces, like each individual tooth can be added, knowing that they won't break of later after it's cooked. Once the sculpture was complete, I cooked it in my kitchen oven. In making a scene in a bottle, I took liberties on the actual size of the shark making him larger than he even was in the movie. Overall, it should make the whole scene just a bit more impressive!

(Above and Left) After cooking, I painted the shark with acrylic, making sure to add the touches of blood around his teeth, so that he'd appear extra scary.

The photo left also gives you a scale of size comparison to the people. The yellow scuba tank will be in the sharks mouth once it's positioned in the bottle.

Ready for the Bottle:

After and fun and creative building process, I am ready to begin the complicating procedure of inserting the Jaws scene into the bottle piece by piece.

Inserting Scene in Bottle:

Firstly, I cut templates and measured the space to be sure that everything would fit properly. The shark went in first. I ended up having to cut his bottom fin off so that he could be pressed into the sea. Once the shark was in position, I manipulated the putty to make wakes and painted the foamy white surface on the waves.

Setting up a space to work is very important when inserting a ship with multiple parts into a bottle. The difficult part, is that the strings (though not many) pass through multiple parts of the hull which are inserted in different phases into the bottle. Laying out the ship on a work space with all the strings organized is incredibly important and even so, I got many frustrating tangles. Strings will get caught and wrapped around everything!

Once I got all the pieces in the bottle, I pulled all the strings tight, taping them to the outside of the bottle. Each string was glued and cut off one by one after drying.

Finally, the paper was removed from underneath the model and the boat positioned and epoxied within the sea of putty. The diver and cage was also pressed into the water and white caps and foam were then added to the sea surface. Final touches on whole project include a turks head and label on the neck as well as a stand with two famous lines from the movie, one on each side, expressing a little humor and fun! (see below) Hope you have enjoyed reviewing this project!