My previous posts on View-Master appeared to have proved popular, and a couple of people have contacted me about showing some of theirs, with one reader happy to let me take photos of the reels. Here's some photos taken by reader, Lewis Morley, of his fine collection of View-Master sets. Some nice and interesting items amongst this lot.
On this photo, apart from UFO and Space: 1999, Battle Beyond the Stars, Buck Rogers and Superman Returns look interesting, I reckon the Moon Landing one is also worth a mention.
Thanks for sharing Lewis.
An impressive collection. I shall have to see if I can dig out my own modest collection, and send in some photos - my set dates from the 1970s.
ReplyDeleteI'll forward to seeing them, Paul.
DeleteI have a few of these.
ReplyDeleteI bought my Apollo Moon Landing one on a school trip to either the Jodrell Bank radio telescope or the London Planetarium (can't remember which), probably in 1970 or 71.
I also have one called Man On The Moon, I think, produced before the 1969 moon landing, featuring models and miniature landscapes with Action Man (or GI Joe) like figures in space suits. It also has an earlier NASA Lunar Module design, which is more pod like and has 5 legs, I believe.
Mish.
Interesting Mish, I like the idea of using dioramas to illustrate the Moon Landing. I suppose it would prove problematic for the man from View master to do actual 3-D photos on the Moon itself ;)
DeleteThe Early LEM design sounds good.
Check the Man On The Moon (also called Project Apollo) images out online Scoop.
ReplyDeleteThey're 'modelly' looking, but beautifully made and photographed.
Mish.
They also look much more dynamic and spectacular than the real thing, which was rather flat and featureless.
ReplyDeleteMish.
Have you worked on any of these films Looey?
ReplyDeleteMy phone ate my reply!
DeleteI worked on Superman Returns, I was Lead Concept Modelmaker for set designs and I also supervised the construction of Lex Luthor's model train set. It was a HUGE layout and is glimpsed only briefly in the final film. There were about nine separate train tracks winding through a variety of landscapes that me, my team and my wife hand built. We actually put mini cameras on each train and ran it through the landscapes, but none of that stuff ended up on the DVD bonus features (maybe I should send you some frame grabs from my private disc?)
I thought Kevin Spacey made a great Lex, but his subsequent opprobrium may have tarnished that performance for some viewers. I was surprised SR was considered a box office dud, as I thought it was a perfect extension of the Chris Reeve films.
(it was also the last time in my career that I got a pay rise -so movies are only money makers if you're the stars, kiddies!)
I was thinking I couldn't remember what my SR Viewmaster reels depicted, so I had another look and the pack was still sealed! So I cut it open just for this reply. One of the scenes is just 2D, but the rest are actual 3D, but not particularly interesting (no VFX naturally!) Did my train set feature? As a tiny out of focus background
-story of my life!
After SR I worked on pre-production for George Miller's presciently named "Justice League:Mortal" which was the first of several aborted films I started work on! -but I digress!
It's a pity Star Wars never made the Viewmaster catalogue!
I have 6 of these sets.With the exception of Close Encounters and 20000 Leagues I have all the sets about dinosaurs and monsters.Little Yellow Dinosaur is my all time fave!I have seen the Prehistoric Life set,but that's a Talking View Master set.I don't have the talking projector,but I remember being very impressed by it.I also have the GIJoe set that Mish mentioned.Its a really nice looking set,using actual GIJoe dolls and toy vehicles.
ReplyDeleteOops,correction time.Tbe GIJoe set I just mentioned is not Mish's Man on the Moon set,but a set of three stories involving a sea rescue,an adventure at the Training Center, and recovery of the mummy's tomb.Definitely worth looking into
ReplyDelete