Frontier in Space

[warmcanofcoke]

model miniature TARDIS made by Ian Scoones

Frontier in Space 1973 QQQ Season 10 Story 67

Frontier in Space model 01.jpg
Frontier in Space model 02.jpg
Frontier in Space model 03.jpg
Frontier in Space model 04.jpg


1:6 scale TARDIS made by Shawcraft
Frontier in Space model 05.jpg
Frontier in Space model 06.jpg
Frontier in Space model 07.jpg
Frontier in Space model 08.jpg
Frontier in Space model 09.jpg


1:6 scale TARDIS made by Shawcraft

Planet of the Daleks 1973 SSS Season 10 Story 68

Planet of the Daleks model 01.jpg
Planet of the Daleks model 02.jpg
Planet of the Daleks model 03.jpg
Planet of the Daleks model 04.jpg
Planet of the Daleks model 05.jpg
Planet of the Daleks model 06.jpg
Planet of the Daleks model 07.jpg

[deafeningsilence]

Does anyone (perhaps Tony Farrell) know why the corner posts were so freaking wide?? It's actually kind of distracting.

[markofrani]

The first four shots of the model Tardis on the scanner screen, are not the Shawcraft model but the smaller model made by Ian Scoones for The Curse Of Peladon...

[tony farrell]

Does anyone (perhaps Tony Farrell) know why the corner posts were so freaking wide?? It's actually kind of distracting.

The following is a quote from an e-mail Mat Irvine sent me:

"I can't be any help about your Tardis piece as you are dealing with the 1:1 prop, (actually if you want to be really precise - scenery), whereas FX only dealt with the miniatures - and OK they differed too! The differences you note of Tardis changes between stories - even scenes within the same story - can be easily explained - many people involved in storing it, transporting it, setting up, mending it, moving it again, (probably mending it again...)  and no one person involved in the entirety of its journey - so no continuity. As I said when it comes down to it 'Does it look like a Police Box?' - 'Yes'.... "

The key phrase is the last sentence: "when it comes down to it 'Does it look like a Police Box?' - 'Yes'.... ". Perhaps this should read "Does it bear a passing resemblance to a Police Box? - 'Yes' ....".

Don't forget these model sequences pre-date the availability of VHS (and now DVD/Blu-ray) sales. The episodes were designed to be viewed once (maybe twice if they got a summer-time repeat) only and - as such - were never meant to be viewed repeatedly or discussed 'ad nauseum'.

The second point would be that of 'audience expectations'. With very few exceptions (mainly Star Trek and programmes from Gerry Anderson's Century 21 stable) brief model work and visual effects sequences were there simply to help tell a story rather than being intrinsic to the programme itself. Of course, that was all to change with a little-known trilogy of films from a certain Mr George Lucas.....  But, as they say, that is a different story!

T

[markofrani]

Does anyone (perhaps Tony Farrell) know why the corner posts were so freaking wide?? It's actually kind of distracting.

When Shawcraft were instructed to build the smaller model for The Daleks' Master Plan, it appears to have been done in haste due to the fact that the volcano model set that Shawcraft had already built was out of scale with the larger 1:3 scale model they had.





Unless some other BBC plans come to light that I'm not aware of, I think they probably used the plans they'd received for the 1:3 scale version they built for 'The Romans' and re-sized them for the smaller model. Although some of the measurements don't add up, the corner posts on these plans would give a full-size (including quadrants) of 7.5 inches rather than the 6.5 inches the Brachacki prop had. This might explain why they seem wider than they should be.