Derek Meddings - master director of special effects

Much appreciated for starting the thread. Derek Meddings was good friends with Roger Moore. Moore wrote the forward for the tribute book called Special Effects Superman (it focused on his FX career in the films) that was released after Meddings death. Was told that his funeral was a who's who of the British FX industry. Some of his children went on to careers in makeup and special effects and has worked on the Bond films.

A little tribute to him can be found on the gantry (see red oval) from the film Casino Royale.
 

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And a discussion of one of his more obsure projects, a 1972 film based off the Alistair MacLean novel 'Fear Is The Key' whose only claim to fame is that it's the only film in which Ben Kingsley appears with hair... (It's also Ben Kingsley's screen debut.)

www.modelshipsinthecinema.com

Fear Is The Key 1972

From a book and screenplay by Alistair MacLean comes this obscure thriller with some miniature submersible shots supervised by Derek Meddin...
www.modelshipsinthecinema.com www.modelshipsinthecinema.com
 
Derek Meddings made Magic for James Bond "The Spy who love Me"
Next the large model of the Atlantis
original the Production wanted to use Real Supertanker by SHELL, but the elevated insurance and safety risks.
This let to build very large Model for the Liparus by Medding team.
 

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The man truly was a practical effects wizard. Other than Merriman, in this age of vfx domination not many masters of that craft/artistry remain.
 
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The 'Breakout' sequence from 'The Spy Who Loved Me' which is a mix of Ken Adams design work and Derek Meddings miniture mastery, which also includes the eeriest image in a James Bond film, a submarine with pennant number SSN-593... Why they used Thresher's pennant for the USS Wayne is one of those mysteries I don't think anyone has presented an answer for.

View: https://youtu.be/MpifFHnViqY?si=68fTLHnAyTsOaO7e
 
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Yes! You noticed the 2001 backpack too. It was used in the space walk in the episode “Close Up.” Here is the story behind it: the first production block of UFO was filmed at MGM Borehamwood studios, the same studios where 2001 was filmed. The backpack was found in props storage and it was decided to “dress it up” and be used.
 
On the question of space suit life support system size, how much of that system size is driven by the need to get rid of body heat accumulation from inside the 'sealed package' of the suit & transfer it outside to vacuum where there is zero air to absorb said heat before you give yourself heat stroke?
 
Good question. Some things were never explained. I figure it was designed basically to look good rather than function. However, Meddings was known to read all sorts of material for research when it came to designing any hardware.
On another note, I originally created this parts diagram for the now defunct Eagle Transporter Forum. A lot of gadgets were added to the spacesuit since filming Journey To The Far Side of The Sun. The parts shown were based on research of the series...and modeled by the lovely Gabrielle Drake.
 

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I wouldn’t be surprised. Three complete spacesuits were made and they were used a lot. In an interview Roy Thinnes commented the spacesuits were not very comfortable and took a while to get in and out of. The new suits appeared in the second production block of UFO (which were filmed at Pinewood Studios). They had less gadgets on them-probably to cut time for the actors to get in and out.
Here is a screenshot of the front from the episode “The Man Who Came Back.”
Another screenshot shows the 2001 backpack.
 

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On 2001 prob in ITC and BBC productions

After making the Kubrick Movie allot its stuff were stored in MGM Borehamwood studios.
were also Dopplegänger and UFO was made
However in 1970 MGM closed there UK brand and MGM Borehamwood studios closed, building sold to EMI
The production of UFO was halted for months and move Pinewood Studios.
allot Props in Borehamwood Studio storage were Sold to BBC, ITC and others, the rest went into landfill.
 
Graham1973 said:
The 'Breakout' sequence from 'The Spy Who Loved Me' which is a mix of Ken Adams design work and Derek Meddings miniture mastery, which also includes the eeriest image in a James Bond film, a submarine with pennant number SSN-593... Why they used Thresher's pennant for the USS Wayne is one of those mysteries I don't think anyone has presented an answer for.

View: https://youtu.be/MpifFHnViqY?si=68fTLHnAyTsOaO7e
Click to expand...
The actor who played the American sub captain was Shane Rimmer. A well known voice and small part actor. He was the voice of Scott Tracy, the pilot of Thunderbird 1 in “Thunderbirds.”
 

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In Star Wars, Rimmer was a rebel droid tech. While loading R2 D2 onto Luke’s X-Wing fighter, asked if he wanted a new R2 unit as this one was beaten up and if Luke would like a new one.
Monorail station manager in Batman Begins.
Radar operator in You Only Live Twice.
Security officer in Diamonds Are Forever to name a few. You can say Rimmer appeared in a lot of major movie franchises!
 
The movie Krull (1983) is a guilty pleasure and one of my favorite FX sequences in it was the Beast’s Fortress disintegrating at the end of the film.
 

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The K2 said:
Meddings also made some concept models of the starship Enterprise for a cancelled Star Trek film.
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Fireball XL5 meets Star Trek!

A strange Gerry Anderson connection with Hollywood?
downthetubes.net downthetubes.net
Click to expand...

One of the study models was in Spacedock in ST III
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