FOCUS ON BLAKES 7 LIBERATOR

What’s left of the original larger prop of the Liberator was on display at Smallspace. Although age hasn’t been kind to it, its general appearance, as Smallspace host and former BBC special effects man, Mat Irvine pointed out, has a lot to do with the last third season episode it appeared in, Terminal.

In the story the Liberator flies through a fluid cloud as it heads towards the artificial planet of Terminal. The particles in the cloud begin to eat through the ship to a point when it finally disintegrates.

As this was originally intended to be the last episode in the series, the prop was covered in goo and given a heavily distressed appearance, and that’s the look that remains. The photos above shows it partly assembled.

Over the years it’s obviously had more than a few knocks, with panels chipped or missing, and the rear sphere looks like it’s been partly crushed.   But, at least it still exists.

 The production designer, Roger Murray Leach, who came up with the design of the Liberator, as well as the Liberator’s control room was also at Smallspace to answer questions and do signings.

Unsurprisingly, there was no shortage of excellent scratch built fan- made Liberator models of various sizes at the event.

Even Michael Keating who played Villa in the series came along to do some signings, much to the delight of Blakes 7 fans.

More Blakes 7 Smallspace posts to follow...