Robinson Caruso on Mars
- Thread starter OhioAstromech
- Start date
Great screen captures phase pistol. The flame from the engines were painted caps that plugged into the engine bells.
Props from the movie were used in another movie, and "The Outer Limits" episode "Soldier". The O.L. used the slaver rifle. The movie "Project X", http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063465/ used the rifle, and other props from RCOM.
David.
Props from the movie were used in another movie, and "The Outer Limits" episode "Soldier". The O.L. used the slaver rifle. The movie "Project X", http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063465/ used the rifle, and other props from RCOM.
David.
Gemini-derived "Pilgrim One" lunar lander from "Countdown" (1968)
The lunar shelter, supposed to keep the one astronaut alive for two months, was landed automatically before his arrival. This vehicle seems to be just a pressurized tank on top of an Apollo lunar landing descent stage. Neither the Shelter nor Pilgrim One are designed to take off from the Moon.
Mars has twice the gravity of the Moon, and the dinky landing craft shown in RCOM could not have landed there... the actual serious proposal for landing a Gemini capsule on the Moon looked like this, with a much larger descent stage.
An even bigger vehicle was proposed as a "rescue" craft to be able to land, take on board the crew of a stranded Apollo Lunar Module, and take off the Moon again
The lunar shelter, supposed to keep the one astronaut alive for two months, was landed automatically before his arrival. This vehicle seems to be just a pressurized tank on top of an Apollo lunar landing descent stage. Neither the Shelter nor Pilgrim One are designed to take off from the Moon.
Mars has twice the gravity of the Moon, and the dinky landing craft shown in RCOM could not have landed there... the actual serious proposal for landing a Gemini capsule on the Moon looked like this, with a much larger descent stage.
An even bigger vehicle was proposed as a "rescue" craft to be able to land, take on board the crew of a stranded Apollo Lunar Module, and take off the Moon again
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OhioAstromech
Well-Known Member
Here is the nose and solid side panel to the Revell Gemini Capsule.
I think I can use these as the start for a Studio Scale Model but I will have to wait till I get more RTV and resin.
Sorry for such a large photo.
The nose will be easy but do you think I should add material to the backside to make the panel easier to cast?
I will have to remove the detail on the side so that it will be smooth.
Scot
I think I can use these as the start for a Studio Scale Model but I will have to wait till I get more RTV and resin.
Sorry for such a large photo.
The nose will be easy but do you think I should add material to the backside to make the panel easier to cast?
I will have to remove the detail on the side so that it will be smooth.
Scot
Frankly I think you'd be better off building it out of lathed cones... the MGP capsules are smooth sided, without the louvers and other details that the real Gemini capsules have.
Also the rear section is not only shorter but straight-sided (cylindrical), so it doesn't match the Gemini at all.
Also the rear section is not only shorter but straight-sided (cylindrical), so it doesn't match the Gemini at all.
Some quick notes. First off, the 1/24th Gemini kit will be too large if you want to use it for a studio-scale MGP-1. The whole thing was about 2' long. Even the 1/48th scale Gemini kits are the wrong size/shape. But they are close if you don't mind.
Profiles in History auctioned off the model within the past couple of years, and I went up there to see it. Apparently, it was modified over the course of filming and the Gemini capsules and docking ports were removed. Another section was added to the nose and the whole thing was painted silver. The graphics were changed from 'MGP-1' to 'SRG-3' in a reference to "Space Rescue Group 3" that was mentioned at the end of the film. I'm not sure if the shots with the modified ship were even filmed (they reuse stock footage from the beginning of the film at the end). The model was the original, as I could see the yellow of the MGP-1 where there were some chips in the silver paint. The rear nozzle does look like a shower head, but it is much smaller - about 2" in diameter. There was a set screw in the fitting that made me believe it was an off the shelf piece. (Think kitchen sink faucet, not shower. I've tried looking for a real one, but struck out.) The perforated back plate was missing from the model when I saw it at Profiles.
I've been working on a model of the SRG-3 version (and intending to make a MGP-1 version since they are so similar). I'll take some photos of my model and see what references I can dig up.
Regarding the frame grabs - you can thank the FX guys on the film for those. For some reason, they decided to shoot the model animation style, instead of on wires or 'live'. As a result, there is no motion blur because neither the model nor the camera were moving as the film was exposed. When you do that you get really crisp images that are a boon for modelmakers looking for reference, but look really crummy when projected in the context of the film.
Gene
Profiles in History auctioned off the model within the past couple of years, and I went up there to see it. Apparently, it was modified over the course of filming and the Gemini capsules and docking ports were removed. Another section was added to the nose and the whole thing was painted silver. The graphics were changed from 'MGP-1' to 'SRG-3' in a reference to "Space Rescue Group 3" that was mentioned at the end of the film. I'm not sure if the shots with the modified ship were even filmed (they reuse stock footage from the beginning of the film at the end). The model was the original, as I could see the yellow of the MGP-1 where there were some chips in the silver paint. The rear nozzle does look like a shower head, but it is much smaller - about 2" in diameter. There was a set screw in the fitting that made me believe it was an off the shelf piece. (Think kitchen sink faucet, not shower. I've tried looking for a real one, but struck out.) The perforated back plate was missing from the model when I saw it at Profiles.
I've been working on a model of the SRG-3 version (and intending to make a MGP-1 version since they are so similar). I'll take some photos of my model and see what references I can dig up.
Regarding the frame grabs - you can thank the FX guys on the film for those. For some reason, they decided to shoot the model animation style, instead of on wires or 'live'. As a result, there is no motion blur because neither the model nor the camera were moving as the film was exposed. When you do that you get really crisp images that are a boon for modelmakers looking for reference, but look really crummy when projected in the context of the film.
Gene
Gemini of course featured two astronauts sitting in a more or less "upright" configuration, facing windows that had cutouts so that straight-forward vision was possible.
A similar configuration was used for the (considerably more advanced of course) Icarus spacecraft flown in Planet of the Apes (1968)
... and the famous Eagle Transporter of Space:1999 (1975)
A similar configuration was used for the (considerably more advanced of course) Icarus spacecraft flown in Planet of the Apes (1968)
... and the famous Eagle Transporter of Space:1999 (1975)
Ahh there we go... first Profiles catalog I pulled off the shelf. :lol
OhioAstromech
Well-Known Member
The only sections of the Gemini kit I was looking at were the main louvered capsule section and nose.
Other than the louvers (which could be filled in and sanded smooth.) the section I have has no windows in it and I could make 3 pieces and 1 nose for for each escape pod.
I scaled the blueprint to match the size of the Gemini capsule section and it appears the overall length would end up being 61.41" long or a little over 5 feet long.
Scot
Firefoxm31
Sr Member
Howdy,
just a quick chime in here but ya know many years ago, Lunar Models offered a kit of Paul Mantee on a base signed by Mantee himself and the monkey as well with radio box...I know this for fact because somewhere I still have the master sculpted patterns.. well what's left of them anyway
Will
just a quick chime in here but ya know many years ago, Lunar Models offered a kit of Paul Mantee on a base signed by Mantee himself and the monkey as well with radio box...I know this for fact because somewhere I still have the master sculpted patterns.. well what's left of them anyway
Will
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Yeah, good find.
Everything from the engine nozzle forward to the big tank is unchanged from the MGP-1 save for the silver paint. I'm assuming that the big tank is the same, just with the connectors for the Gemini capsules removed (I saw some yellow peeking out from under the silver paint in this area), and the retro rocket package added to the front.
Though the model was surprisingly light, it felt like the entire thing was made of metal. I have a feeling that tank is some sort of surplus oxygen bottle or some such part.
Here's the back end:
Lastly, here's my WIP:
I based everything off of the photos I had blown up to the actual size. Luckily, all the tank diameters were round numbers and that allowed me to get off the shelf parts for the tubing and hemispheres. The spine is a 3/8" threaded rod. I embedded 3/8" nuts inside the engine and tank parts. That allows me to take the thing apart. The ribs on the main tank are actually bent pieces of wire. On mine I used that plastic coated wire from Plastruct.
Hope it helps.
Gene
OhioAstromech
Well-Known Member
It's nice seeing a piece of movie history being actively replicated like this.
Yours looks awesome.
I wonder what the MGP-1 would have looked like if it was designed today?
Scot
Yours looks awesome.
I wonder what the MGP-1 would have looked like if it was designed today?
Scot
Yeah, good find.
Everything from the engine nozzle forward to the big tank is unchanged from the MGP-1 save for the silver paint. I'm assuming that the big tank is the same, just with the connectors for the Gemini capsules removed (I saw some yellow peeking out from under the silver paint in this area), and the retro rocket package added to the front.
Though the model was surprisingly light, it felt like the entire thing was made of metal. I have a feeling that tank is some sort of surplus oxygen bottle or some such part.
Here's the back end:
Lastly, here's my WIP:
I based everything off of the photos I had blown up to the actual size. Luckily, all the tank diameters were round numbers and that allowed me to get off the shelf parts for the tubing and hemispheres. The spine is a 3/8" threaded rod. I embedded 3/8" nuts inside the engine and tank parts. That allows me to take the thing apart. The ribs on the main tank are actually bent pieces of wire. On mine I used that plastic coated wire from Plastruct.
Hope it helps.
Gene
I note that on the yellow MGP-1 in the film, the thruster quads are straight... on at least one of your photos of the silver version, the thrusters curve around the sides. So perhaps the nozzles broke off and were reattached, or replaced.
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Jaruemalak
Well-Known Member
Feek61 is correct... on the MGP-1, the forward (retro?) thruster pack is flush with the main body, but on the silver SRG-3, the thruster pack is extended several inches from the main body. Does anyone know if this is a change to the model, or could this piece extend out from the body on the MGP-1, and we've just never seen it done?
EDIT: Looking the downloaded pictures, as well as some from other sources, it looks like the retro package was an add on for the SRG-3.
So, exactly how long is the SRG model? Or, a better question, exactly how long was the original MGP model? I have a couple 1/48 scale Gemini kits that I'd be happy to convert, but i'd like to know how big the original model was, and make calculations from there.
Even if it is kind of a goofy looking ship, i've loved it since i was a kid. I saw RCOM in a theater when it came out, and it's been a favorite ever since! And i've wanted a model of it since i was a kid!
EDIT: Looking the downloaded pictures, as well as some from other sources, it looks like the retro package was an add on for the SRG-3.
So, exactly how long is the SRG model? Or, a better question, exactly how long was the original MGP model? I have a couple 1/48 scale Gemini kits that I'd be happy to convert, but i'd like to know how big the original model was, and make calculations from there.
Even if it is kind of a goofy looking ship, i've loved it since i was a kid. I saw RCOM in a theater when it came out, and it's been a favorite ever since! And i've wanted a model of it since i was a kid!
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OhioAstromech
Well-Known Member
That is a great point since it looks like it has the same exhaust bell pattern as the escape capsules.
Scot
Oh, that's interesting... land the whole front section of the rescue craft. Hm.
On the one hand it seems unlikely since the MGP had the two small landing capsules.. and apparently only the chimp was supposed to ride down in one of them, the whole ship was to stay in orbit and I'm not sure either of the astronauts were intended to land! :lol
Oddly the two astronauts' control consoles were IN the landing capsules.. so they would have had to ride somewhere else if the chimp took one of the capsules down...
I don't think this mission was planned out very well! :lol
In any case at the end of the film we see that the "rescue craft" consists of just ONE landing capsule, presumably to rescue the two stranded men (I'm not sure they would have known that Adam West was dead)... although I guess two men could have crammed in there if the rescue capsule was unpiloted and came down on remote control. Hm.
Hm.
- k
On the one hand it seems unlikely since the MGP had the two small landing capsules.. and apparently only the chimp was supposed to ride down in one of them, the whole ship was to stay in orbit and I'm not sure either of the astronauts were intended to land! :lol
Oddly the two astronauts' control consoles were IN the landing capsules.. so they would have had to ride somewhere else if the chimp took one of the capsules down...
I don't think this mission was planned out very well! :lol
In any case at the end of the film we see that the "rescue craft" consists of just ONE landing capsule, presumably to rescue the two stranded men (I'm not sure they would have known that Adam West was dead)... although I guess two men could have crammed in there if the rescue capsule was unpiloted and came down on remote control. Hm.
Hm.
- k
OhioAstromech
Well-Known Member
I would say it was just the front.
It would be big enough for a small crew.
Maybe have enough room for 4 people inside compaired to the escape pods.
Scot
It would be big enough for a small crew.
Maybe have enough room for 4 people inside compaired to the escape pods.
Scot
Oh, that's interesting... land the whole front section of the rescue craft. Hm.
On the one hand it seems unlikely since the MGP had the two small landing capsules.. and apparently only the chimp was supposed to ride down in one of them, the whole ship was to stay in orbit and I'm not sure either of the astronauts were intended to land! :lol
Oddly the two astronauts' control consoles were IN the landing capsules.. so they would have had to ride somewhere else if the chimp took one of the capsules down...
I don't think this mission was planned out very well! :lol
In any case at the end of the film we see that the "rescue craft" consists of just ONE landing capsule, presumably to rescue the two stranded men (I'm not sure they would have known that Adam West was dead)... although I guess two men could have crammed in there if the rescue capsule was unpiloted and came down on remote control. Hm.
Hm.
- k
