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What ever happened to the 2001 ships?


James Steven Beverly

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I read on IMDB that the 7 foot model space station (Space Station 5) used in Kubrick epic masterpiece 2001 a Space Odyssey was left to rot in a field in England and shortly after it's rediscovery a few years later, was destroyed by vandals. What a loss to movie historians and collectors. Does anyone know what happened to the other models, The Moon Buss, the Aurora (space plane) The pods, the moon landing craft and most of all, The Discovery? What a shame if they all met the same fate as Space Station 5 did. :o

Edited by James Steven Beverly
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Man, I hope you're wrong about the real model, if you're right, what a shame. :( Well at least the 17 ft test model still survives, that's something anyway. I wonder if any of the others did? OH BTW I did make a mistake, the Aurora was the moon bus, the Orion was the space plane.

Edited by James Steven Beverly
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Sorry to stalk your threads, and be the bearer of bad news, but according to the documentary on the 2010 DVD, Kubrick destroyed all the models after principal photography ended for 2001 (maybe by putting them in a field?) for fear of them making another movie, which they did anyway.

 

So they had to painstakingly rebuild Discovery in 2010.

 

IDK if they made an exact replica, but it was pretty damned close.

 

 

Never liked Discovery, but the space station, and space shuttle were very nice. *Loved* those pods too.

 

Also really like the Leonov from 2010, but that is a different year, and a different movie :-p

 

 

Off topic: I'm pretty sure it was a big inspiration for the Earth Force ships in Babylon 5.

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Sorry to stalk your threads, and be the bearer of bad news, but according to the documentary on the 2010 DVD, Kubrick destroyed all the models after principal photography ended for 2001 (maybe by putting them in a field?) for fear of them making another movie, which they did anyway.

 

So they had to painstakingly rebuild Discovery in 2010.

 

IDK if they made an exact replica, but it was pretty damned close.

 

 

Never liked Discovery, but the space station, and space shuttle were very nice. *Loved* those pods too.

 

Also really like the Leonov from 2010, but that is a different year, and a different movie :-p

 

 

Off topic: I'm pretty sure it was a big inspiration for the Earth Force ships in Babylon 5.

 

What a shame. Well there is a small comfort in that Kubrick, intentionally had them destroyed out of a sense of artistic integrity rather than just because of apathy or a lack of respect, and Karl, I always like hearing form you so don't ever think answering my threads is in any way considered "stalking" .

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OH BTW I did make a mistake, the Aurora was the moon bus, the Orion was the space plane.

 

Yeah geez get it right!! Or you're out of the super geeks club!

 

R,

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However, the plastic model of the Orion was made by Aurora.

That might explain the confusion.

 

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/2001/md_orion.htm

 

:lol: How's THAT for ironic? Well I WISH I could say that was the reason but truth be told, I just screwed up. :D If ya want to get technical it actually was named the Orion III , not to be confused with the Orion 1 or II which are implied but never shown in the movie. I did hear A LOT of props were being sold because of decreased production in LA. Might be a good time to own a piece of movie history.

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From http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/faq/index4.html

 

 

 

 

2001 Space Station

Trevor Parsons writes

I was at college in Stevenage (about 15 miles away from St Albans in the early 1970's). Our studio, we were studying graphic art, faced the entrance to the local corporation dump. One afternoon in 1974 a truck turned up after the dump was closed & left some crates in the entrance way. They contained 2 of the models used in 2001, the space wheel & one of the pods. Of course they may not have been the only ones but I believe they were genuine (the film had been made about 20 miles away at Boreham Wood the old MGM studios). By the time I got there the pod had been taken, the space wheel damaged & taken out its wooden case. I took pictures of it, its surface had been covered with bits of old plastic construction kits to make it look more technical when filmed. I desperately wanted to take it home, but I only had a motor bike & a room 8 feet by 10 so it was not really workable. It was smashed up by kids a few days later.

 

ss4.jpg

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That is a bit of bitter-sweet irony, isn't it?

 

Think about Kubrick's message.... the first scene of the film with the apes smashing around with bones and skulls. The pieces flying all over the place. I sure bet those kids were too close for comfort in their physical demeanor when trashing the model.

 

How strange that a theme from the film be revisited in the models demise.

 

 

From [url=http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/faq/index4.html]http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/faq/index4.html[/url

 

 

2001 Space Station

Trevor Parsons writes

I was at college in Stevenage (about 15 miles away from St Albans in the early 1970's). Our studio, we were studying graphic art, faced the entrance to the local corporation dump. One afternoon in 1974 a truck turned up after the dump was closed & left some crates in the entrance way. They contained 2 of the models used in 2001, the space wheel & one of the pods. Of course they may not have been the only ones but I believe they were genuine (the film had been made about 20 miles away at Boreham Wood the old MGM studios). By the time I got there the pod had been taken, the space wheel damaged & taken out its wooden case. I took pictures of it, its surface had been covered with bits of old plastic construction kits to make it look more technical when filmed. I desperately wanted to take it home, but I only had a motor bike & a room 8 feet by 10 so it was not really workable. It was smashed up by kids a few days later.

 

ss4.jpg

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From http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/faq/index4.html

 

 

 

 

2001 Space Station

Trevor Parsons writes

I was at college in Stevenage (about 15 miles away from St Albans in the early 1970's). Our studio, we were studying graphic art, faced the entrance to the local corporation dump. One afternoon in 1974 a truck turned up after the dump was closed & left some crates in the entrance way. They contained 2 of the models used in 2001, the space wheel & one of the pods. Of course they may not have been the only ones but I believe they were genuine (the film had been made about 20 miles away at Boreham Wood the old MGM studios). By the time I got there the pod had been taken, the space wheel damaged & taken out its wooden case. I took pictures of it, its surface had been covered with bits of old plastic construction kits to make it look more technical when filmed. I desperately wanted to take it home, but I only had a motor bike & a room 8 feet by 10 so it was not really workable. It was smashed up by kids a few days later.

 

ss4.jpg

 

Wow, something that should have been in the Smithsonian rotting in a field and busted all to Hell by a bunch of rowdy kids. I wonder if those poor, dumb little bastards knew just what it was they destroyed. Reminds me that line from that Steely Dan song, Reelin' in the Years, Well you wouldn't know a diamond if you held it in your hand. The things you think are precious I can't understand.... :(

Edited by James Steven Beverly
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