Tag props

Recently Round2 released the model I’ve been waiting most of my life for: A 22″ Eagle Transporter from Space:1999. I can’t adequately express my love for this [fictional] spacecraft design. It is simply brilliant and utterly believable. It’s practical and beautiful in its utilitarianism. The show itself hasn’t aged well, but the design of this wonderful craft certainly has. So. I had to build one… maybe two. As I told my friend John [Foster, also an Eagle enthusiast], I have an Eagle Rule; When any new Eagle model is released, all other projects hit the backburner.

In the past, I’ve built one each of the old (and just ‘adequate’) MPC and AMT 11″ kits. This was some time ago and I don’t have either any more. But since then I’ve built a Warp Models kit (resin kit with lots of white metal parts including an all-metal spine) and the Round2 Deluxe re-issue of the MPC kit with lab pod and booster.

But the 22″ is the one I’ve been waiting on… for years. And not only did Round2 produce a 22″ Eagle kit, they also offered an upgrade kit with metal engine bells and another kit with metal attitude thrusters. Being the lover of this fictional spacecraft that I am, I went for the upgrades along with the kit. In fact… I ended up buying two sets of all. One day I’ll build another 22″ with, maybe, a rescue pod. (I recommend visiting CultTVMan if you’d like to buy your own)

OK. Apart from being bigger, what’s the deal with this whole 22″ thing? During the original production of Space: 1999 three scales of Eagle Transporters were built. 44-inches, 22-inches and roughly 11-inches (OK, and a 5-inch version, but… no one ever talks about that one). I don’t expect I’ll ever build or acquire a 44″ Eagle, but I’m quite happy with the 22″ version. I also built a 1:48 scale buggy to go with it as I did for my 1:72 Warp Models Eagle (shown below for size comparison).

So without further ado, my 22″ Eagle Transporter (I may post some ‘in progress’ pics later):

This was a weekend build (but more like two evenings) of a prototype for an idea I had earlier in the week; A box for Cthulhu cultists to hold sacred artifacts.  I’m happy with how it turned out, however I think the next version will be a pocket box which pulls out of the top of the standing outer box. I’ll probably add a handle to the top of this one as, after looking at the pics, it seems appropriate (and what gave me the idea to make it a pocket box next time.)

This is made using an off-the-shelf wooden craft store box with the catch removed. It’s covered in a synthetic hide which I bought off Amazon a while ago. The legs, corners, domed tacks and fake lock mechanism are scrap-booking ornaments bought at Michaels (mostly Jim Holtz brand). They’re sprayed with Dark Bronze hammered-finish paint (except the lock which I decided I’d paint as thought it were iron and rusty) and them weathered with Testor’s gold, Alclad ‘Burnt Iron’, and dulling spray. The interior has a felt bottom and Damask wallpaper in the upper lid. The wood is darkened and aged with a combination of brown acrylic paint and an india ink wash. Spritzes of flat black paint and dulling sprays over everything knock down any remaining shine. A smudged bloody thumb print also seemed appropriate. :)

The Cthulhu sigil is 3D-printed using a model from Thingiverse designed by Al Billings. It was sanded, painted with black hammered-finish spray, then weathered with Testor’s gold, a gold paint pen, a green-gold paint pen and india ink wash. The sigil and corners were bonded to the case using super glue,  accelerator and some Gorilla Glue for good measure. The legs were glued the same way, but also have small screws in the bottom for rigidity.

As its a prototype, I haven’t decided if I’ll keep it. Any cultists looking for somewhere to store a dried heart or tentacle, feel free to make an offer.