Catacombs Model GallerySpecial Effects
Catacombs Model GalleryA set of publicity photos of Brian Johnson, Nick Allder and art director Cyril Forster in the model room at Bray Studios.
Nick Allder, in red sweater, and Brian Johnson, in brown blazer, fitting the engines and command module of the first 44 inch Eagle, with the 22 inch Eagle immediately in front of it.
Allder, Johnson and Cyril Forster with the 44 inch Eagle, the 22 inch, and the 11 inch, which Forster holds in one photo. On the shelves behind Johnson is a box from the Revell 1:24 scale Gemini kit, parts of which were used on the Eagle and other models.
Forster and Johnson. Note there are two identical waste depot buildings in the foreground here. A larger model of the same building is seen in other shots.
On the far right on the wall (apparently a sealed door) are two photos of the Eagle. The lower one (curled over) is one of these photos of the 22 inch Eagle. There is one photo cut-out Eagle in the foreground left, propped up against a jar of brushes, and visible in many of the other photos. In front of the 22 inch Eagle and the paint can are two photos of the Eagle leg pod, apparently from the same photo as the cut-out.
The photo cut-outs of the leg pods and 22 inch Eagle are clearer here. Note on the far right wall, at the edge of the picture, is a large artwork of the Alpha logo, probably the same size as the costume badges. It isn't visible on other photos in this sequence.
On the wall by Forster is a folder labelled "Letraset". Letraset, founded in 1959, produced dry rub-down lettering and lines, which were used extensively in the 1960s and 1970s in commercial printing and advertising, before computers. Their range of fonts became industry standards. Letraset lines were used to detail many of the models. There are several colour charts on the Bray wall- "Rowney Oil Colour Chart" and "Georgian water colour chart" are readable. The Rowney Company was founded by Richard and Thomas Rowney in 1783, initially selling perfume and wig powder, and then artists' paints, supplying Constable and Turner. In 1837 it became the George Rowney Company. In 1983 it was sold to Daler, becoming Daler-Rowney. The Georgian colours were produced by Rowney, named after their 1837 owner.
The models are rearranged between each shot- the 11 inch Eagle moves to the foreground so it can be seen in these shots. Johnson holds an airbush. The paint is Humbrol spray enamel, with "frisk air" air propellent cans. Forster uses a fine brush on one of the nuclear waste depot buildings, and the tiny moonbuggy.
Sylvia Anderson and associate hand Johnson and Forster their pay. The dart board on the wall behind has a larger circle around it, with "pissed" written on the outside of the circle.
Contents copyright Martin Willey;
Space: 1999 copyright ITV Studios Global Entertainment