Short filmic homage to Gerry Anderson & Derek Meddings

[gmart364]

Greetings Whiffers(?),
I have just completed a short (17min) film called "Dogfight!" which is my own personal homage to the TV shows of Gerry Anderson and especially to the talented genius that was the late, great Derek Meddings, creator of model FX for series such as; Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, Secret Service and UFO. Having created my own futuristic aircraft and vehicle designs for many decades, I finally got around to videoing some of them and editing the footage into some semblance of a model sequence. This is actually my second film, but undeniably my best so far. I've been trying to faithfully recreate the filming and design techniques that Derek and his model teams managed to achieve way back in the 60s and yes, I was definitely there too, albeit as a wide-eyed ten year old. To get an idea of what I have been attempting, please visit my blog and read all about the filming experience over a two month period in my video diary. There are plenty of original models to see, as well as an increased appreciation of what Derek and his teams accomplished in these wonderful TV shows. The address is:   www.gmart364.blogspot.com.au     While there, you can take a look at a host of other designs that I've created over the past few years, all up I think I've posted 41 entries to the blog, so there's plenty there to see.
Please add some comments - any feedback would be much appreciated.
Thanks for your time.
Space Captain Greg Martin

[rickshaw]

Looks interesting.  Where is the actual video though?  I can't see any obvious link to the video.

[gmart364]

The actual film itself has been burnt to DVD and, at the moment, I'm busy trying to arrange to get it "out there". Will advise when I've succeeded.
Cheers.

[Cobra]

The Scene with the Enemy Interceptors Reminded me of the Attack Sequence from the Thunderbirds Episode "The Cham Cham" Great Work have You Submitted Your Video to youtube? Be great to See Something That Cool on there Dan

[perttime]

Bluefire 4 looks somewhat like a Mikoyan Project 1.44/1.42. Cannot figure out what went into the enemy aircraft: totally scratch built?

[Merv_P]

The stills look great; looking forward to seeing the footage - as others have mentioned, YouTube is probably the best platform for that.

I spotted your TSR2 conversion a few weeks ago and highlighted it on this forum. It's good to see that the traditional methods of SFX are still being used, even if it's mainly in the hobbyist sector.

[Mr.Creak]

Cannot figure out what went into the enemy aircraft: totally scratch built?

They look to me to have some SAAB Viggen in there somewhere.

[gmart364]

There is indeed a little SAAB Viggen in the enemy interceptor, along with a new nose and entirely scratchbuilt wing area. There is a full account of the construction of this aircraft in my blog, along with about 38 additional articles on models I've done. Am looking forward to getting "Dogfight!" up on YouTube for you guys to take a look at. May be a week or more before that happens as I'm away on holidays at the moment. Will advise as soon as it's available. Until then, the blog will have to do: www.gmart364.blogspot.com.au
You can also see more behind-the-scenes stuff at: www.abc.net.au/open
Just type into the Search area "Plastic Stories" and it will take you to where my article appeared on October 14, just two weeks after I began filming. Please leave some comments as the ABC likes to receive feedback from interested onlookers.
Many thanks for your interest.
Cheers, Space Captain Greg Martin

[Mossie]

Greg, that's fantastic work!

Very much looks like an Anderson/Meddings work, has that same feel.

I remember Gerry Anderson saying that he wasn't too keen on puppetry and using models as the puppets were imprecise and the models took so long to do, the modern day cost of producing a Thunderbirds episode would be astronomical.  Well done for doing it and sticking with it and I'm looking forward to seeing the YouTube video.

[McColm]

Great work,
When I was down at  RAF St Mawgan, back in 1986. I managed to have a go on their simulator, they used cotton wool for the clouds and models for the airfield. The one at Kinloss had just gone digital.

[Spey_Phantom]

ive just looked at the production photo's, you really managed to capture that Gerry Anderson feel, he himself would be proud