The Konami Lunar Carrier, another model from Konami’s UFO TV
series range.
Unlike my previous Konami post on the Konami S.I.D. which
came as part of a double pack, the Lunar Carrier was part of a separate UFO
set.
With all the sealed
boxes looking exactly the same what you’d find inside was down to pot luck, and
according to the UFO series page with the chances of getting a Carrier was one
in ten.
In the TV series the Lunar Carrier (or Moon Transporter as
it’s described in the UFO annual) is the lifting body used to take the Lunar
Module up to the edge of space, whereupon the Module is released to continue its
journey to the Moon, while the Carrier returns to Earth.
This concept art by Derek Meddings shows that there were few
differences between Derek’s original design and the finished studio model.
Like its TV counterpart, the Konami Carrier has a tiny
detachable Lunar Module.
It's definitely the coolest of Konami's original UFO model selections. It's certainly my favorite.
ReplyDeleteIf you look closely the original design had twin cockpits not unlike Douglas designs of the 50's (have a look at the plane transporting the gold in The Italian Job). For the actual model they were turned into thruster pods and a single cockpit placed on top.
ReplyDeleteThat's right, not noticed that before. Well spotted.
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