SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT: PART 2

Following lunch we returned to the venue. Parked outside was a white Mini Moke perfectly decked out to look like one used for the Captain Scarlet toys promotion during 1967.

Coincidently, one of the Mokes used for that original Century 21 photo-shoot (reg no. CFC 916C) was also one of the four used during the filming of The Prisoner, which also celebrated its UK screening fiftieth anniversary last week. I have my suspicions that this example doubles as a Village Taxi from time to time.

Stuntman, Paul Weston was next on the list to be interviewed. I’ve seen Paul before at other events, and he’s always entertaining.  Paul has worked on pretty much everything, including most of the sixties ITC series, like The Baron, The Saint and Jason King. He was Martin Landau’s stunt double in Space 1999, and has appeared in, and worked as Stunt coordinator on several James Bond films.

You might recall the teaser scene in The Living Daylights, in which Paul plays a soldier on guard duty during an MI6 exercise in Gibraltar. He shoots an enemy agent with paint, exclaiming, ‘you’re dead!’…

He also appears in the original Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) series, standing in as ghost, Marty Hopkirk, driving round London sat on the top of Jeff Randall’s Vauxhall.

Here he is demonstrating a stunt punch on interviewer Chris Bentley.

Next up was a Terrahawks Sfx panel, comprising Steve Begg, John Lee and Terry Adlam, being interviewed by a young lady dressed appropriately as Capt. Kate Kestral.

I have to be honest here, apart from some of the model designs; Terrahawks holds very little interest for me. I remember it being heralded at Fanderson 82 and a lot of the original models being on display at Fanderson 84 (I recall fixing some damage on the original Battletank, as in those days I used display my own models)but that’s were any nostalgic pull ends.

I am always interested in hearing Steve Begg, who got his big break on Terrahawks, or probably more accurately a baptism by fire. He, of course has gone on to work on the Bond films following in the footsteps of the legendary Derek Meddings.

John Lee, who also got his big break as a model maker on Terrahawks, has gone on to work on Rogue One- A Star Wars Story.

Comedy writer, Terry Adlam was taken on as a set builder for Terrahawks, after a meeting with Bob Bell, the art director. He’d already entered the film industry earlier, working for matte artist, Cliff Culley on films like Warlords of Atlantis, and King Arthur and the Spaceman. Terry went on to create the animated character, Dick Spanner.

Designer Mike Trim and model set builder Alan Shubrook recalled their times working at the Century 21 Studios in Slough.

As most Anderson fans know, Mike started work at the Stirling Road Studios towards the end of the filming of Stingray, starting as a modelmaker before going on to design many of the secondary vehicles for Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, Secret Service and UFO as well as the Thunderbirds feature films and the live action Doppelgänger.

Alan Shubrook joined the Century 21 Studios in 1966, and worked as model maker and as a member of the special effects crew. He originally went for an interview as a scenic artist (not really knowing what a scenic artist was) , however, Derek Medding after seeing a scale model of a house Alan had built for actress Hayley Mills, in the boot of Alan’s car, Alan was offered the job as a model builder.

The next panel was for New Captain Scarlet, featuring voice artist, Wayne Forrester, Director Mark Woollard and Conceptual art director, Dominic Lavery.  Again, I have to be honest in that I’m not that keen on computer generated art, and it was getting way past time for another break. So time to take a peek at the model exhibition …