FOCUS ON THE 16/12 'WARGAMES' SET

Some new photos I‘ve taken of the limited edition Sixteen 12 Collectables ‘Wargames’ episode set in my Space Dock diorama.

The set features a battle damaged Eagle and a Mark IX Hawk.

Although a squadron of Mark IX Hawks only appear in just the one Space: 1999 episode, and proceed to attack and attempt to completely destroy Moonbase Alpha, it’s still a very popular guest ship with fans.

Special effects director, Brian Johnson came up with the initial design, and the filming model was built by model-maker Martin Bower. When completed the Hawk was white, however it was decided at the studio that the colour of the model was too much like the Eagle, so sections of it were painted orange, and the front triangular sections by the pilots’ screens painted white by art director, Cyril Forster to distinguish the models on screen.

For the filming prop, three different scales were built, 31” (790mm), 16” (410mm), and 5” (130mm)

George Lucas, was known to be impressed by the effects used on Space:1999, and was inspired by a scene in ‘Wargames’, of the alien bomber flying overhead. He recreated something similar for the first Star Wars film two years later, albeit with a much bigger budget. (Brian Johnson, himself went on to work on the second Stars Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back)  

At just under 8” (200mm) long, the ABS  plastic Sixteen 12 Hawk is smaller and much lighter than the die cast Eagle which is just less than 12” (300mm), and is designed to be in scale with the Eagle.

In spite of its size though, it does have some lovely and intricate detailing, perfect for those who prefer a ready-made display model without the hassle of putting it all together!

The set comes with a battle damaged Eagle; It does look good, however the laser blast scorches are quite subtle. If I’m honest I would have liked to have seen the Eagle with more obvious blast marks, and maybe a damaged leg pod. 

One small detail worth mentioning is that Sixteen 12 has added black paint under the leg pods which has been missing for some reason on previous sets.  

The die-cast Eagle has the usual detachable pod, and aluminium engine bells.  The whole set, with is limited to 1500, comes in deluxe packaging and in-flight model display stands.