Britain's Anderson was the children's sci-fi specialist whose "Supermarionation" shows including "Supercar" (1960),   "Fireball XL-5" (1962-63), "Stingray" (1963), and his Supermarionation masterpiece, "Thunderbirds" (1964-66).  Although his plots and characters tended to be as wooden as his big-headed puppets, his vehicle miniatures were truly state-of-the-art.

While Mr. Anderson was reigning over syndicated children's TV, Irwin Allen -- a schlock B-movie producer who would a decade later become a schlock A-movie producer -- dominated American network sci-fi with such beloved -- albeit hokey -- fantasies as "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1964-1968), "Lost in Space" (1965-1968), "The Time Tunnel "(1966-1967), and "Land of the Giants" (1968-1970).   Again, it's Allen's vehicles -- particularly the Seaview, the Flying Sub and the Jupiter 2 -- that are remembered fondly, not his stories.

At the other end of the TV sci-fi spectrum, Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek"(1966-1969) was a magnificent ratings failure that would, in decades to come, serve as the cornerstone of a multi-billion-dollar entertainment empire.  Designed by the show's art director, Matt Jeffries, "Star Trek's" U.S.S. Enterprise represented a quantum leap in starship design that, unlike the dated "cigar with fins" spaceships that were still in vogue when the decade began, looks wholly contemporary more than 35 years later.

The second quantum leap in speculative spacecraft design occurred just two years after "Star Trek's" premiere with the 1968 release of Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke's "2001: A Space Odyssey."  Featuring near-future spacecraft based on rigid scientific principles and given form by imaginative model-makers who added levels of detail never before seen on the silver screen, the gorgeous designs that sprung from this landmark motion picture set a new standard for realism that, even after the real year 2001, may have been matched, but have yet to be surpassed.

Designs from all four creators -- and more -- can be found in this lengthy section.

TIME MACHINE FROM "THE TIME MACHINE" (1960)

SSRN SEAVIEW  FROM "VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA" (1961)

AIR CAR FROM "THE JETSONS" (ABC-TV 1962-1963)

SPACESHIP FROM "MY FAVORITE MARTIAN" (CBS-TV 1963-1966)

CAVORITE SPHERE FROM "FIRST MEN IN THE MOON" (1964)

THUNDERBIRD 2 FROM "THUNDERBIRDS" (SYND. 1964-1966)

THUNDERBIRD 5 FROM "THUNDERBIRDS" (SYND. 1964-1966)

SEAVIEW  FROM "VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA" (ABC-TV 1964-1969)

FLYING SUB  FROM "VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA" (ABC-TV 1964-1969)

JUPITER 2 FROM "LOST IN SPACE"   (CBS-TV 1965-1968)

JUPITER 2 FROM "LOST IN SPACE"   (CBS-TV 1965-1968)

PROTEUS FROM "FANTASTIC VOYAGE" (1966)

USS ENTERPRISE  FROM "STAR TREK" (NBC-TV 1966-1969) 

SHUTTLECRAFT GALILEO FROM "STAR TREK" (NBC-TV 1966-1969)

ROMULAN BIRD OF PREY FROM "STAR TREK" (NBC-TV 1966-1969)

DY-100 SLEEPER SHIP FROM "STAR TREK" (NBC-TV 1966-1969)

K-7 SPACE STATION FROM "STAR TREK" (NBC-TV 1966-1969)

KLINGON BATTLE CRUISER FROM "STAR TREK" (NBC-TV 1966-1969)

UFO FROM "THE INVADERS" (ABC-TV 1967-1968)

PAN AM SPACE CLIPPER (ORION III) FROM "2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY" (1968)

ARIES I-B FROM "2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)

MOON BUS FROM "2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY" (1968)

DISCOVERY FROM "2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY" (1968)

SPINDRIFT FROM "LAND OF THE GIANTS" (ABC-TV 1968-1970)

VOYAGER FROM "FANTASTIC VOYAGE" (ABC-TV 1968-1970)

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