Photo FeatureOriginal Space 1999 Miniatures
Article by David Sisson

The photographs on this site have been taken by myself over the last 15 years or so and feature various original Space 1999 models that I have had the pleasure of inspecting. The camera is a simple 35mm Praktica with no special features or even a flash so many of the pictures had to use long exposure settings with available lighting. - However with the benefit of a reasonably steady hand, good focusing and modern computer image fixing I think they look alright. Many of these models were only available for viewing thanks to the efforts of well known Gerry Anderson prop collector Philip D Rae and I take this opportunity to thank him again for his time and generosity.

I'm not going to go into too much detail here or explain exactly all the names of the models or which episodes they appear in - you should know after 30 years!!

These pictures were taken in the early 1990's when the models had recently been acquired from Alton Towers where they had been on public display for many years. The Superswift (above) had a lot of missing parts and was mostly just the central core (hollow plastic tubing) and a nosecone. This model like others featured numerous Airfix 1/24 scale Harrier kit parts.

The central core of the 6 foot Swift also featured parts from the Airfix girder bridge kit

The docking port below only had a door on this side - a support tube attachment point was on the far side.

Small 3 foot Ultrprobe below

Big 6 foot version above right

The nosecones were often solid wood (Jelutong) patterns detailed using plastic sheet and kit parts with no interior detail. The thrusters made from turned aluminium and the landing legs metal with spring suspension. The Swifts design was altered at the studio when they added the two large tanks to power the freon gas landing jets.

The big version of the glider from The Immunity Syndrome. Construction perspex and car filler. Instead of kitparts and plasticard detailing Martin would also use multiple shades of the same basic colour to break up the flat surfaces and create superb panel detail.

More high detail that you never saw on screen. Above the prison ship from Dorsak below the Space Warp derelict.

A Gerry Anderson display at Middleforth School in Preston 1993 raises £2000 for charity.

Well we had to have another Eagle shot so here is the second 44" model built during the filming of the 1st series when they realised that all the SFX shots could not be done using multi-exposures. During the first episodes they had to create the illusion of two ships on screen together by using large photo cutouts or different parts of the first model on either side of the screen.

The intersteller trader Tabors hyper-space travelling ship.

The model has an open back to allow access to the inside.

The alien ship from Dragons Domain.

3 foot Ultraprobe docked with Alien vessel on display at Wolverhampton Art Gallery 1992

Two Altares models were built between seasons 1 & 2 of Space 1999. Martin Bower believed it was for use on the series and built it using the same Earth technology 'look' he always used for his spacecraft designs. The forward crew cabin was supposed to detach like Fireball XL5

And finally

I hope you enjoyed this small display of Space 1999 models - but don't you just wish you owned them!

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