1960s

This was the decade that Science Fiction modeling exploded.  And the decade's major influences can be reduced to four names: Gerry Anderson, Irwin Allen, Gene Roddenberry and Stanley Kubrick.

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 45 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.

Click Photos to Enlarge

TIME MACHINE FROM "THE TIME MACHINE" (1960)

ATL Models

1:12

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

Aurora

1:300

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

Polar Lights

N/A

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

Garage Kit

1:40

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

Larson Designs

N/A

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

Bandai

1:422

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

Bandai

N/A

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

Polar Lights/Skyhook

1:300

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

Aurora

1:48

MARS GRAVITY PROBE ONE FROM "ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS" (1964)

Fantastic Plastic

1:144

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

Lunar Models

N/A

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

Polar Lights

1:60

PROTEUS FROM "FANTASTIC VOYAGE" (1966)

Lunar Models

1985

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

AMT

1:650

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

AMT

1:50

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

AMT

1:650

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

Sci-Fi Spaceship Miniatures

N/A

S.S. BOTANY BAY FROM "STAR TREK" (NBC-TV 1966-1969)

Fantastic Plastic

1:350

FULLY-LOADED DY-100 FREIGHTER FROM "STAR TREk" *(NBC-TV 1966-1969)

Fantastic Plastic

1:350

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

AMT

1:7600

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

AMT

1:650

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

Aurora

1:72

SPECTRE "Bird One" from "You Only Live Twice" (1967)

Fantastic Plastic Models

1:72

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

Aurora

1:144

SPACE STATION V FROM "2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY" (1968)

Fantastic Plastic

1:1000/1500/2000

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

Lunar Model

N/A

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

Aurora

1:55

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

Lunar Models

1:211

ICARUS (FULL SHIP) FROM "PLANET OF THE APES" (1968)
Fantastic Plastic
1:72

LEIF ERICSON (1968)

AMT

1:500

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

Aurora

1:76

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

Aurora

1:72

XRV FROM "MAROONED" (1969)

Fantastic Plastic Models

1:72

 

 

 
 

 

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