I've mislaid my copy of the G&D book, and I can't recall exactly how John Allen's "World's Largest Indoor Parking Lot" illusion was set up. I know he had two cars diagaonally (and perpendicular), with a different paint job on the back of each one, and mirror(s) in there...
Can someone please post a photo or illustration or description of exactly how it worked? Did he have a one-way mirror in front? How was it lit? What was the angle of the mirrors? Etc.
This is a bit off-topic, but I'm building a home arcade and I'd like to put a full-size bumper car in a closet and use mirrors to achieve the effect of more than one car. So I'd like to do a life-size version if possible. Yes I'm a little crazy ;-)
Thank you so much!
Randy in Long Beach, CA
As I remember, he set it up so that all four walls of the building's interior were mirrors facing each other (like in a barber shop). The trick was, the buildings big front "window" was actually a...oh I forget now if you call it a "one way mirror" or "two way mirror" or what, but it was one of those ones like they use on TV cop shows where the cops can stand on one side and watch the bad guy being interrogated, but the bad guy can only see a mirror. So you could look in the 'window' but it was still a mirror on the other side, so it reflected the mirror across from it. I think he only used one car, maybe two, but it made it look like it went on forever.
Ah yes, the J.A. "World's Largest Parking Garage" an amazing creation! I've wanted to build a copy of Allen's parking garage for years but haven't ever gotten around to it.
Stix is essenially correct in his description - the arrangement was a small cube with first surface mirrors on three of the interior walls and a one-way mirror on the fourth where you looked through. Each mirror was at 90-degrees to the adjacent one. The interior ceiling had a suspended grain-of-wheat bulb to illuminate the interior. The two vehicles were placed at somewhat less than a right angle relative to the viewer and the far side of each was painted a different color from the directly visible portions of the cars. Just infront of the cars, against one wall, there was also a guardrail
I'm not sure but there might also have been a small viewing device, something like a small keychain novelty picture magnifier/image viewer attached to the cube such that the observer had to look into it to properly view the scene. This not only magnified the view, it also helped to reduce/eliminate outside light, improving the view through the one-way mirror.
CNJ831
When I saw it in the book, wondered how the mirrors were arranged; I'm glad to know. Wasn't it called the "Expandalot"?
He did a similar thing with a subway tunnel.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
If I remember right, the subway tunnel was a glass fronted station with tracks built "underground" into the side of the cityscape front fascia, it had sound effects of a subway train arriving and leaving but no actual trains ever arrives or leaves. Its featured on my DVD of the layout.
Have fun with your trains
Thank you so much for the replies, guys!
I guess I'll have to start looking for full-size one-way mirrors ;-)
I know that in order for them to work properly, the "interior" (or other side) needs to be well lit, while the side you're viewing from needs to be relatively dark.
It reminds me of other illusions I've seen, whereby a one-way mirror on a 45-degree angle could make it appear as if one image was transforming into another -- such as a person into a skeleton. As the amount of interior light (or source of light) is changed, you see either the image behind the mirror, or the image reflected by the mirror, or a little of both. That might also make good fodder for a fun and humorous model railroad scene ;-)
Thanks again!
Randy
Good luck, BTW its a 2 way mirror you should be looking for, a one way mirror is a regular mirror and as such is completely opaque on the reverse side, a 2 way mirror was a lighter coating of the silver oxide it still functions like a regular mirror but when theres more light on the one side the glass can be viewed thru on the other. Your typical crime drama or spy movie type mirror is always a 2 way mirror
http://www.reflectionproducts.com/transparent-mirror.htm