Monday, November 5, 2012

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #29: GALACTICA 1980

Direct from the Universal backlot, here's a rare behind-the-scenes look at the full-sized "two-seater" model Colonial Viper mock-up, as seen on the Battlestar Galactica spin-off series, Galactica: 1980, back in, well, 1980.

When I was a kid, I used to fantasize about somehow getting my hands on one of the full-scale Vipers - I still love those ships. They were the "muscle cars" of 70s spaceships....
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10 comments:

  1. TonyNovember 5, 2012 at 12:58 AM

    When I was a kid, Universal stored a full-scale Colonial Viper (one-seater) and a "Draconian Marauder" from Buck Rogers at the Air National Guard base in Los Angeles where my father worked. I got to climb inside the cockpits and live out your full-scale Viper fantasies. However I, ever the Star Wars snob, just wished for a full-scale X-wing fighter!

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    1. Christopher MillsNovember 5, 2012 at 1:10 AM

      Oh, you lucky daggit! I am so fracking jealous....

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    2. DaveMNovember 5, 2012 at 8:13 PM

      Tony- of all the fracking luck. I think there is a competition here to see which of us is the greenest with envy.
      Chris- So are we calling him Star Kid Tony or Blue Squadron Pilot Tony?

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    3. leftylimboNovember 5, 2012 at 11:38 PM

      Frackin' A! A full-scale Colonial Viper?! Lucky you! I didn't quite have Viper fantasies; if anything I fantasized more of being a Cylon. Heh, the dark side.

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    4. SLOW ROBOTNovember 6, 2012 at 2:12 AM

      I wonder what happened to those mothballed ships in the end?

      I remember catching a brief glimpse of a wrecked Viper (possibly deliberately wrecked and used for whoops-we-crashed-again scenarios) in the background of the last-season KNIGHT RIDER episode shot on the Universal backlot (doubling as another film studio).

      Did they really build a full-sized Marauder for Buck Rogers? I don't remember it appearing in any episodes. Was it just the cockpit or the whole fighter? I always got the impression that, compared with a Starfighter, the Marauders were larger and - therefore - impractical to build a full-sized mock-up (as well as being an unnecessary expense for an only-occasionally-featured craft).

      I'll have to give my DVDs another spin and watch for it.

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    5. Christopher MillsNovember 6, 2012 at 2:24 AM

      I'm sure there was at least one Marauder; it can be seen in the Draconia's launch bay at the climax of the Buck Rogers pilot.

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  2. david_bNovember 5, 2012 at 7:47 AM

    Oh, Vipers and 1999 Eagles are my alltime FAVORITE dream ships of all time.

    Period.

    Great Story, Tony..!!

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  3. ScottNovember 5, 2012 at 5:33 PM

    Oh Tony, tell us you have photo's of that!!

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  4. AnonymousNovember 5, 2012 at 10:12 PM

    I like X-Wings too, but the Viper is probably the coolest starfighter of all time.

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    1. Thunderbird 7November 9, 2012 at 9:04 PM

      I beg to differ. The Vipers were good, but "of all time," (which presumably goes beyond the Space: 1970 era) I would have to choose the Gunstar. Nice, spacious, non-claustrophobic cockpit with excellent visibility and a widescreen head-up display, a navigator you can talk to face-to-face when necessary, and firepower in all directions rather than just straight ahead. Plus a good, varied arsenal instead of nothing but laser bolts.

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