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Post by dreagle on Mar 18, 2006 19:22:19 GMT
whe remember the 1969 series UFO staring - ED BISHOP - GEORGE SEWELL - MICHAEL BILLINGTON Inspiration for the eagle range may be??? The biggest props to re-appear in UFO were a pair of futuristic cars, two of three designed for Doppelgänger by Ford consultant designer Len Bailey. Constructed of aluminium, the cars were assembled over a six month period on modified Zephyr-Zodiac platforms fitted with Escort engines and gearboxes. The most memorable feature of these cars were their gull-wing doors, which - as they were not counterbalanced - had to be opened by stage hands out of shot. A metallic grey for Doppelgänger, one of the cars was resprayed a tan/gold colour and became Commander Straker's car in UFO, while a second was sprayed lilac and became Colonel Foster's car. A trio of jeeps were also designed for Doppelgänger by visual effects director Derek Meddings and constructed on British Leyland Mini Mokes by Space Models at Feltham - two of these were later sprayed blue and seen regularly as SHADO jeeps in UFO. This might help Chaz with his cooling!!! LOL ;D
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Post by dreagle on Mar 18, 2006 19:27:01 GMT
the car in black and white is actually pink
found this too - well funny
What can you tell me about those futuristic automobiles? Straker's and Foster's futuristic automobiles were originally designed by Derek Meddings for the movie DOPPELGANGER (aka JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN), and were redressed slightly for UFO. Life-sized clay models were built by German auto manufacturer designers, and then racing car driver Alan Mann built the cars for 8500 pounds each. The cars were constructed using beaten aluminum on top of a Mark 4 Ford Zodiac chassis (predecessor to the Granada). The gull-wing doors didn't actually work, so someone always stood off-camera to raise or lower the doors. The actors reported that the cars were very unpleasant to drive in, as there was not enough headroom and the engine exhaust fumes spilled into the interior. Also, the cars could not move very fast, so many scenes were shot in slow motion and sped up to fake a fast-moving vehicle. In the years since UFO was made, the cars have changed hands a number of times. Straker's car was owned by Radio One DJ Dave Lee Travis in the 1970's. In 1980, the car was bought by someone in Birmingham who had it repainted with scenes from UFO, and then let it sit in a warehouse for years. He eventually gave it away to one of his employees, who in turn has let the car rust away in his back yard. To make matters worse, he eventually built a garage next to his house which prevents the car from being removed without a crane, and has no particular interest in ever restoring or selling the car to someone else! After UFO, Foster's car was originally sold to a film company which removed the scoops and slats and painted it red for a futuristic porn movie. It was later purchased in 1982 by film buff who made the car driveable and actually used it as his personal transportation for 18 months! It was then damaged in the front and ignored until 1993, when it was purchased by UFO fan Tony Read, who is very slowly in the process of restoring the car.
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