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 K2 said:
Meddings also made some concept models of the starship Enterprise for a cancelled Star Trek film.
downthetubes.net

Fireball XL5 meets Star Trek!

A strange Gerry Anderson connection with Hollywood?
downthetubes.net downthetubes.net
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One of the study models was in Spacedock in ST III
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I found this drawing on how the pilot enters Sky 1 on a Japanese UFO website. The signature is not visible, but members of the defunct Eagle Transporter Forum agree it was done by Meddings. Unfortunately the website no longer exists. I tried to decipher the paragraph pointing out the cockpit seat: “Seat with back down. Pilot slides down chute on to seat. Back comes up until pilot in sitting position and then raised into the cockpit through the cockpit floor.”
Compare this with an earlier drawing by Meddings when Skydiver was a small one man sub.
 

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Derek Meddings designed submarine Skydiver for the UFO series. Thinking back, how did the pilot eject if he had to from Sky 1? An ejection seat was out because the back tilts to allow the pilot to slide in. The pilot doesn’t wear a pressure suit and the aircraft is a supersonic, high altitude fighter. Looking at the FX models, I discovered this: the front section separates from the rest of the fuselage. The markings on the surviving FX model supports this (see attachment). A rocket engine(s) would separate the nose section, then parachute down. Much like this concept art seen on another thread:

Sorry for editing this entry so late. It's the OCD in me. A friend stated that the proper term in this case is "escape MODULE" not "escape CAPSULE"
 

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Terrific film. Many of those who worked with Meddings on the Gerry Anderson shows were on the FX crew
www.modelshipsinthecinema.com

Shout at the Devil 1976

A model of a pre World War One German battle-cruiser the Blücher features in the really brilliant miniature ship work of Derek Meddings. My ...
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I was told the FX budget was soooo small. Puppet dinosaurs had to be used. With Meddings’ excellent work in the FX field, he was often kidded about the scene involving the full scale pterodactyl flying away with the caveman.
www.modelshipsinthecinema.com

The Land That Time Forgot 1975

The visual effects were supervised by Derek Meddings and they are for the most part pretty well orchestrated in this movie. There is a...
www.modelshipsinthecinema.com www.modelshipsinthecinema.com
 
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The K2 said:
I was told the FX budget was soooo small. Puppet dinosaurs had to be used. With Meddings’ excellent work in the FX field, he was often kidded about the scene involving the full scale pterodactyl flying away with the caveman.
www.modelshipsinthecinema.com

The Land That Time Forgot 1975

The visual effects were supervised by Derek Meddings and they are for the most part pretty well orchestrated in this movie. There is a...
www.modelshipsinthecinema.com www.modelshipsinthecinema.com
Click to expand...
I saw that one in the cinema when I was a child. I still love it.
 
Another forgotten film Meddings supervised the FX for: ZPG (Zero Population Growth). This was his first job after the cancellation of UFO and the end of Century 21 productions. Photo of a lobby card showing some kind of machine from the film.
 

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The K2 said:
Another forgotten film Meddings supervised the FX for: ZPG (Zero Population Growth). This was his first job after the cancellation of UFO and the end of Century 21 productions. Photo of a lobby card showing some kind of machine from the film.
Click to expand...

That machine was a hovering government news-broadcasting unit. (Given the creepy plot, the hover machines probably should have been given an eye-in-the-sky spying capability too ... but then again, what society would ever put up with surveillance cameras everywhere?)

BTW, apparently, Meddings was also responsible for the design of the doll baby-substitutes in ZPG.
 

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Apophenia said:
That machine was a hovering government news-broadcasting unit. (Given the creepy plot, the hover machines probably should have been given an eye-in-the-sky spying capability too ... but then again, what society would ever put up with surveillance cameras everywhere?)

BTW, apparently, Meddings was also responsible for the design of the doll baby-substitutes in ZPG.
Click to expand...
I heard of that too. Those baby robots creeped me out.
 
The K2 said:
Derek Meddings designed submarine Skydiver for the UFO series. Thinking back, how did the pilot eject if he had to from Sky 1? An ejection seat was out because the back tilts to allow the pilot to slide in. The pilot doesn’t wear a pressure suit and the aircraft is a supersonic, high altitude fighter. Looking at the FX models, I discovered this: the front section separates from the rest of the fuselage. The markings on the surviving FX model supports this (see attachment). A rocket engine(s) would separate the nose section, then parachute down. Much like this concept art seen on another thread:

Sorry for editing this entry so late. It's the OCD in me. A friend stated that the proper term in this case is "escape MODULE" not "escape CAPSULE"
Click to expand...
As an aerospace engineer, I cannot think of any fundamental reason why an ejection seat could *not* be designed with a tilting back. Paging Dr. Martin-Baker...
 

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