Tony Hardy’s 4 Foot Jupiter 2 part 1
Like the rest of us, I was always enthralled with the overall design of the classic Jupiter 2 spacecraft. I drew pictures of this ship endlessly as a child and came to memorize every detail. Of course I always hoped that Aurora Plastics would produce a model kit of this vehicle. After all, they had done a nice (but too small) Seaview, a great Flying Sub with interior, the “Land Of The Giants” Spindrift with interior, the “Lost In Space” Robot and Cyclops diorama kits. In the 1960’s every time I went to a toy or model shop, I looked for a kit of the Jupiter 2.1 knew that there had to be one. Even friends at school told me that they had seen it. They described it as having an upper deck interior, working landing legs, and a crash site diorama display base. As I grew older I realized that I had been lied to and that no such kit ever existed. Aurora management had dismissed the idea of producing a Jupiter 2 kit because “it was too plain and simple looking and would not sell.” Boy, were they wrong! As it turns out a Japanese kit company by the name of Marusan did produce a couple of J2 kits and a chariot, but again I would not find out about these until years later when they were expensive collectors items.
Over the years I attempted to locate information regarding “behind the scenes” production of these classic Irwin Allen series. “Star Trek” was well on its way to being properly documented, but little was known about the actual production of the Irwin Allen shows. I wanted to learn about the models and wire work utilized in the various series. Who did it? How was it done? Where are the models today? Who were the production designers? Etc, etc. As the years went on, these questions were gradually answered.
In later years movie modelmaker Greg Jein rescued several models and molds of classic Irwin Allen vehicles from destruction. These included a badly trashed 4 ft. J2, 4 ft. chariot, stand-in robot, launch towers and platform from the “LIS” pilot, and Flying Sub molds. We’re all lucky that someone like Greg Jein intervened. He’s the only reason that these materials are around for us to enjoy today. Greg ended up making new protection molds of some of the vehicles, robot parts, etc. This is how Greg was able to assist Kevin Burns in restoring the hero robot suit as well.
In 1995 I went to the Planet Hollywood on the Disney property in Orlando. As I looked up into the top dome of the restaurant I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. Hanging there was a fully lit 4 ft. J2. It was way up there, but it was definitely a cast of the 4 ft. filming model. Wow! There it was! I had beard that Greg Jein had been making Flying Sub replicas for the restaurant chain, and had hoped that a J2 would make an appearance. I never thought that I would actually see one in person. I took as many photos as I could and left quite happy, but I still wanted to get closer and get some better shots.
In the late 90’s Polar Lights finally rewarded all of us with a plastic kit of the J2. Incredible! Good things come to those who wait. With my Polar Lights and Lunar Models J2 kits I was perfectly happy. Little did I know what awaited me.
In August of 1999 1 was visiting a good friend of mine who is a pretty serious prop collector. At that time it was made known to me that a cast of the 4 ft. J2 had made it’s way out into the collectors market and was available for the right price. This was too good to be true! Never in my wildest imagination would I have envisioned it, but here it was falling right into my lap. Needless to say I jumped at the opportunity, and in March 2000 a fiberglass casting of the original 4 ft. filming model of the Jupiter 2 showed up on the loading dock at my workplace.
The casting was gorgeous. Finished off in a pure white gel-cote and hand laid up by a professional shop. The fusion core was cast in urethane with a clear vacuformed insert. The fusion core lighting unit came assembled with a variable speed control and dropped right in.
Upon closer inspection it was interesting to take note of what was not on the filming model. Over the years you can build up details in your mind, and think you see things on the model that aren’t actually there. This happens when you try to reconcile the full- scale sets with the filming model. Example: The upper hatch is lightly scribed into the hull. So lightly that it’s almost invisible. There is no hatch detail, window, hookups for space walks, etc. Same for the landing gear, just lightly scribed lines. Though I do plan on cutting into the hull to create working gear at some point. The other inconsistency is a bit of a hoot, but falls completely in line with what I call 1’Irwin Allen Continuity” or lack thereof. The Space Pod door is on the wrong side of the ship. That’s right! And upon viewing some 3rd season videos you can clearly see that it is. Go ahead and check out an episode and watch the space pod launch. Look at the round porthole on the upper deck. Did you always think that this porthole was supposed to be the same one in the reworked 3rd season sets? The porthole inside the access hatch near the elevator? WRONG! There is no such porthole on the filming model. What you1re looking at is the porthole by the main hatch, but the main hatch is so lightly scribed, you can’t see it. So the pattern makers at Fox put the pod door on the wrong side of the ship. Of course we all thought it was correct because it did look that way on film.
Now that I had the model in my possession, a challenge reared its head. Lee Staton (Wonderfest Guru) asked if he could have the J2 as a display at the 2000 show. It was already mid-March and the show was in early June. Could I do it? Why not! Damn the torpedoes! I was going to get this model finished in time for Wonderfest. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to do it. I had about 10 weeks, plus I had my full-time job and had to travel for a couple of weeks in April. After doing some quick figuring I came to the conclusion that I only had about 6 weeks of part4ime hours to complete the project by myself. Once I committed myself there would be no turning back. The J2 would be at Wonderfest!
on to page 2
